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A review by sandlynn
Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin
4.0
My book group decided to read Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords, published in 2010, this past October.
I believe Butterfly Swords is the first book of a series set in the Tang Dynasty in China, which covered about 618 to 907 A.D. It’s a Harlequin Historical category romance, possibly their first ever set in ancient China. In any event, this particular story is set in 758 A.D. When the story opens, we are in the midst of a caravan taking Princess Ai Li, whose father is the new Emperor to complete her wedding vows to a powerful warlord by the name of Li Tao in order to cement their relationship and keep peace in the Empire. Ai Li admires her parents and has been dutiful, but she learns from an old retainer to the household that one of her favorite brothers was killed by Li Tao. Ai Li decides that she needs to escape, return to the capital city — Changan —and warn her father of this deception. As such, she has set up an incident which will look like a kidnapping to intercept her travels. This goes successfully. Ai Li escapes with her Butterfly Swords, which she is very proficient at using.
Not too long after that, on the road back, Ai Li is betrayed by the men hired to “kidnap” her. She is helped, however, by a tired and hungry man she had offered food to earlier. He is traveling on his own — a foreigner or barbarian — who is a part of a foreign fighting force that has a installation at the western border of the Empire. In order to live in peace there, with the Emperor’s permission, they protect the border against any invaders. Ryam, a large man with blue eyes and dirty blond hair, is returning to his comrades in shame, after he and the men he was leading as they transported weapons, were attacked, leaving many of them killed … or so he believes.
Seeing the young woman (who is now disguised as a boy) being attacked by the men hired to help her, Ryam, a swordsman himself, joins in the fight and helps Ai Li escape. Now on their own Ai Li asks Ryam to escort her to Changan. He has no interest, but after betting that she could win a sword fight with him, she succeeds and he agrees to lead her to the city. The rest of the story follows Ai Li and Ryam’s adventures on the road, their growing relationship, and the various places they visit both on Ai LI’s quest to warn her father and in their own quest to be together.
Knowing very little about this part of the world and especially during this time period, I was impressed with how well the story incorporated details about China’s historical past without turning into a data dump. Butterfly Swords is basically an “on the road” romance as we travel along with Ai Li and Ryam as they first head to the Chinese capital, Changan, and then to other locations that showcase the many levels of Chinese society at that time. In the course of the story we visit Ai Li’s childhood home, Ryam’s comrades outpost, small villages and towns, the home of one of the former Emperor’s mistresses and Li Tao’s fortress. Each place introduces us to characters important to Ai Li and Ryam, some of whom will be featured in later books in this series, so I guess this was a clever way to go about it.
Most of the book’s characters were interesting and memorable. But sadly, we don’t get to spend much time with each since the main characters are always moving to keep one step ahead of their pursuers. Considering how vast China is, one of the more unbelievable parts of the story was how quickly Ai Li and Ryam managed to get from one part of the empire to the other. I’m guessing one has to suspend their disbelief for the sake of the plot but that stood out. Be that as it may, it didn’t bother me enough to throw me out of the story. Considering the build up of Li Tao as the main baddie, the ending did have me worried for our protagonists, but once everything is resolved, I was a little disappointed that it was tied up so nicely and quickly. I wouldn’t want to spoil it, but it becomes pretty clear who the next book will focus on by virtue of how this book ended. I’d give this story a B+. It was satisfying and does make me want to continue but it had some faults due to being the first in a series and needing to build this world and incorporate all these characters.
I believe Butterfly Swords is the first book of a series set in the Tang Dynasty in China, which covered about 618 to 907 A.D. It’s a Harlequin Historical category romance, possibly their first ever set in ancient China. In any event, this particular story is set in 758 A.D. When the story opens, we are in the midst of a caravan taking Princess Ai Li, whose father is the new Emperor to complete her wedding vows to a powerful warlord by the name of Li Tao in order to cement their relationship and keep peace in the Empire. Ai Li admires her parents and has been dutiful, but she learns from an old retainer to the household that one of her favorite brothers was killed by Li Tao. Ai Li decides that she needs to escape, return to the capital city — Changan —and warn her father of this deception. As such, she has set up an incident which will look like a kidnapping to intercept her travels. This goes successfully. Ai Li escapes with her Butterfly Swords, which she is very proficient at using.
Not too long after that, on the road back, Ai Li is betrayed by the men hired to “kidnap” her. She is helped, however, by a tired and hungry man she had offered food to earlier. He is traveling on his own — a foreigner or barbarian — who is a part of a foreign fighting force that has a installation at the western border of the Empire. In order to live in peace there, with the Emperor’s permission, they protect the border against any invaders. Ryam, a large man with blue eyes and dirty blond hair, is returning to his comrades in shame, after he and the men he was leading as they transported weapons, were attacked, leaving many of them killed … or so he believes.
Seeing the young woman (who is now disguised as a boy) being attacked by the men hired to help her, Ryam, a swordsman himself, joins in the fight and helps Ai Li escape. Now on their own Ai Li asks Ryam to escort her to Changan. He has no interest, but after betting that she could win a sword fight with him, she succeeds and he agrees to lead her to the city. The rest of the story follows Ai Li and Ryam’s adventures on the road, their growing relationship, and the various places they visit both on Ai LI’s quest to warn her father and in their own quest to be together.
Knowing very little about this part of the world and especially during this time period, I was impressed with how well the story incorporated details about China’s historical past without turning into a data dump. Butterfly Swords is basically an “on the road” romance as we travel along with Ai Li and Ryam as they first head to the Chinese capital, Changan, and then to other locations that showcase the many levels of Chinese society at that time. In the course of the story we visit Ai Li’s childhood home, Ryam’s comrades outpost, small villages and towns, the home of one of the former Emperor’s mistresses and Li Tao’s fortress. Each place introduces us to characters important to Ai Li and Ryam, some of whom will be featured in later books in this series, so I guess this was a clever way to go about it.
Most of the book’s characters were interesting and memorable. But sadly, we don’t get to spend much time with each since the main characters are always moving to keep one step ahead of their pursuers. Considering how vast China is, one of the more unbelievable parts of the story was how quickly Ai Li and Ryam managed to get from one part of the empire to the other. I’m guessing one has to suspend their disbelief for the sake of the plot but that stood out. Be that as it may, it didn’t bother me enough to throw me out of the story. Considering the build up of Li Tao as the main baddie, the ending did have me worried for our protagonists, but once everything is resolved, I was a little disappointed that it was tied up so nicely and quickly. I wouldn’t want to spoil it, but it becomes pretty clear who the next book will focus on by virtue of how this book ended. I’d give this story a B+. It was satisfying and does make me want to continue but it had some faults due to being the first in a series and needing to build this world and incorporate all these characters.