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A review by lassarina
My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin
4.0
I picked this up, as I do many romances, because it was mentioned on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, and I ended up really enjoying it. The story is basically "My Fair Lady" in Imperial China.
Things I loved: There are lots of awesome people having compelling friendships. I especially liked the way that the women's friendships fleshed out, though the other relationships were great as well. The friendship between Dao and Yan Ling, in particular, was really delightful. I loved the way Lin wove in little explanations for things that Western readers might not be familiar with, while at the same time avoiding info-dumps or "as you know Bob" sorts of worldbuilding. (Corollary: the writing assumes the reader is smart enough to pick up the cues, which I liked.) Little things, too, like the fact that sleeping arrangements in this place and time were not the massive four-poster beds of Western design but rather small compartments.
I loved the way that the affection built between Yang Ling and Fei Long without being all about pantsfeels. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely pants-related feelings and they were lovely, but so much of this was about a slow and meaningful evolution in the characters' perceptions of and feelings for each other, and I loved that. I loved the way everyone simply dealt with the various issues they had been handed without making a big fuss of it, and just doing what needed to be done without a lot of dithering.
And the ending made me genuinely happy - I kept hoping there would be a resolution that somehow worked out to keep everyone in a place where they could be happy, and there was, even though I feared for the worst a few times. I would definitely read more by this author.
Things I loved: There are lots of awesome people having compelling friendships. I especially liked the way that the women's friendships fleshed out, though the other relationships were great as well. The friendship between Dao and Yan Ling, in particular, was really delightful. I loved the way Lin wove in little explanations for things that Western readers might not be familiar with, while at the same time avoiding info-dumps or "as you know Bob" sorts of worldbuilding. (Corollary: the writing assumes the reader is smart enough to pick up the cues, which I liked.) Little things, too, like the fact that sleeping arrangements in this place and time were not the massive four-poster beds of Western design but rather small compartments.
I loved the way that the affection built between Yang Ling and Fei Long without being all about pantsfeels. Don't get me wrong, there were definitely pants-related feelings and they were lovely, but so much of this was about a slow and meaningful evolution in the characters' perceptions of and feelings for each other, and I loved that. I loved the way everyone simply dealt with the various issues they had been handed without making a big fuss of it, and just doing what needed to be done without a lot of dithering.
And the ending made me genuinely happy - I kept hoping there would be a resolution that somehow worked out to keep everyone in a place where they could be happy, and there was, even though I feared for the worst a few times. I would definitely read more by this author.