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Red Blossom in Snow by Jeannie Lin
Series : The Pingkang Li Mysteries #4
Genre : Historical Romance, Mystery
Murder and forbidden love in the Tang Dynasty. The latest in the bestselling Lotus Palace Mystery series.
Magistrate Li Chen harbors a secret. One that could destroy his hard-earned reputation, as well as his growing passion for the talented courtesan, Song Yi.
Li Chen’s duty to his family and the Emperor must come before the desires of his heart, but when a stranger to the city is found dead near the House of Heavenly Peaches, where Song Yi is indentured, the complicated nature of their relationship becomes the least of his troubles.
For Song Yi, Magistrate Li’s gentlemanly, late night conversations provide a welcome change from the games of courtship she is accustomed to, but his reserved attention won’t pay the bills. When one of her courtesan-sisters goes missing at the same time a stranger is killed in the pleasure quarter, she and Li Chen embark on an investigation as well as a passionate affair. But the riddle they uncover goes deeper than they could have imagined, and mysteries from their pasts may shatter any hope for the future.
I'd been saving this one for more than a year and I finally read
it😂 This is such an excellent series set in Tang Dynasty China and
has the perfect mix of romance and mystery in it! And all of the
books can be read as standalones!
In this one, we have Courtesan Song Yi and Magistrate Li Chen - two
people who have been yearning for each other from afar but never
talk about it openly because of their characters. Li Chen had been a
regular visitor to the House of Heavenly Peaches where both he and
Song Yi had some amazing conversations that brought them closer but
he hasn't returned there in months. But a murder and the
disappearance of Song Yi's courtesan sister has brought him back
here again and when it appears that this case might be linked to
Song Yi's past they end up working together.
I love how Jeannie Lin's characters are all quite unique in their
own ways. Song Yi might not be the prettiest or most popular
courtesan but she has a steady charm and a peaceful quality to her
that attracts many. I loved her thoughtfulness and intelligence! She
might be pragmatic but she has a lot of hidden strength too.
Compared to her, Li Chen seemed a bit dull at first - given how
restrained and reserved he was. Actually both of them were reserved
characters but Li Chen is a rule follower on top of everything, so
it took me a while to warm up to him. But at the same time there was
so much yearning between them and I relished that! The mystery runs
parallel to the story and it was quite intriguing too! I loved
learning more about their pasts. While I loved the romance and the
characters I couldn't stop myself from comparing it to The Hidden
Moon(my fave in this series) at times and I felt like this one had a
melancholic tinge to it. It was still an amazing read though and I
hope we get more books in this series!❣️✨
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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