The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin
Series : The Pingkang Li Mysteries #3
Genre : Historical Romance, Mystery
A well-bred lady and lowly street hustler team up in a historical
murder mystery set during China's glittering Tang Dynasty. Part of the
best-selling Lotus Palace series.
Impetuous and well-educated, young Lady Bai has always been the
forgotten daughter between two favored sons. However, when Wei-wei's
older brother is tasked with investigating a high-profile assassination,
he turns to his clever younger sister for assistance.
Gao is a street-wise scoundrel with a checkered past and a shady
reputation. He knows better than to set his sights on the high-born Lady
Bai, but when she asks for his help, he can't refuse.
As the unlikely pair chase down a conspiracy that reaches from the
gutters of the capital to the imperial palace, Wei-wei is intent on
seeing justice done, while Gao is determined to solve the mystery just
for her – even if the attraction between them can never be more than a
moment's longing.
I honestly wish more people would read this series because
they're really good! It's very rare to find historical romance
books that are set in China and each one has a murder
mystery/case-solving element that brings the respective leads
together!
The Hidden Moon features Lady Bai(or Wei-Wei) - who's talented
and intelligent but her gender limits her from getting the
opportunities that her brothers would get(the ones she helps
train btw) and Gao - a street hustler with a shady past and an
informant at best. The assassination of a high-ranking
Chancellor has her brother Bai Huang busy and Wei Wei decides to
help him solve the case and Gao is inadvertently pulled in as
well.
Wei Wei is a mix of many things - she's very intelligent but
also sheltered in a way only noble ladies could be. She wishes
for more while covertly avoiding marriage and though she knows
she could never become a scholar or an official like the men in
her family, it doesn't stop her tiny acts of rebellion. On the
other hand is Gao, illiterate but street-smart with his own set
of principles.
The class difference is huge and many of their interactions
would highlight these differences, but the attraction between
them still comes alive! Working on this case gives them both a
glimpse of a life with unprecedented freedom but unacceptable to
society and Wei Wei's family. It's truly a forbidden romance
because both the characters and we as readers know this won't be
possible, but it doesn't stop them from wanting to be with each
other. So, the yearning and the pining is truly delicious!
(≧▽≦)
The mystery goes hand in hand with the romance and I loved the
bits of political intrigue. Jeannie Lin's writing is truly
beautiful and it brings Chang'an to life! Do give these books a
chance because it's hard to find ones like these that hit all
the right notes!✨
You can also find this review on my bookstagram here
You can also find my reviews for the previous books in the series
here :
Jeannie Lin started writing in 2005 while she was teaching
high school. After a long journey through rejections and
contests and revisions, her manuscript, Butterfly Swords, won
the 2009 Golden Heart® award for historical romance. Her first
two books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly
and Library Journal and her second novel, The Dragon and the
Pearl, was listed as one of Library Journal’s Best Romances of
2011. Check the Books section for information on individual
titles and release dates.
Her stories are inspired by her love of adventure, history,
and fantasy in both western and Asian traditions. From an
early age she was fascinated by legends of King Arthur and the
fantasy of Lord of the Rings as well as the Chinese wuxia
(martial arts) fiction. As a result, she writes heroic
characters in epic situations while interweaving a strong
romance to make larger than life characters human. For more on
wuxia and the historical background to her books, see the
extras section.
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