Butterfly Swords is set in the Tang dynasti in the 8th century, 758 AD. Ai Li is the daughter of an Emperor and she is promised to a warlord, Li Tao. Ai Li has been warned that Li Tao is plotting against her family and escapes when she is on her way to her own wedding. Unfortunately Ai Li and her protectors have been set up and she is saved in the nick of time by a ghost man named Ryam. Now Ai Li needs to get back to her family and warn them of the danger they're in but the journey there is long and dangerous.
My thoughts:
I was very exited to read a historical novel set in China, I must admit that I did not know all that much about the Tang dynasty before reading this historical novel. It seems to me that Jeannie Lin has done her homework and knows quite a bit about this period of time in China.
I liked Ai Li, our heroine, she is a girl who knows how to wield her sword(better than a lot of men) and she gives it all for the causes she believes in. She sometimes seems a bit young for her age but she has led a protected life so that's probably why. Ai Li can be punished for what she has done, disgraced her family in one of the worst possible ways by not showing up at her wedding.
The western barbarian Ryam is the hero of the day(watch out you might get burned) and it is hard not to fall for his character. He is young but he has lived a hard life as a soldier for many years already. Ai Li needs his protection to get safely home but it means terrible danger to Ryam if he offers to go with her to her father, the emperor.
The antagonist, Li Tao, is an awful, cold man and it seems like he has eyes and ears everywhere, making it difficult to escape his soldiers.
At times I felt like some parts of the story, or some of the characters behavior, was a tad bit unrealistic but it didn't bother me all that much. If you enjoy an adult historical novel with romance, sword fighting and adventure then Butterfly Swords is a novel for you to check out!
My rating of this book:
3.8 stars out of 5 - wonderful historical romance. Looking forward to the next one The Dragon and the Pearl.
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Full disclosure:
Review copy from Harlequin Historical via Netgalley.
Book published:
October 2010
This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and on-line book stores such as Amazon or The Book Depository(I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store does by the way have free shipping to about 100 countries.
Right the white guy, yes I have not read this one! I want to, I remember it, but it took a few books for me to start the series
ReplyDeleteI rememered how much I enjoyed this one when I read your review last night. So much fun and a bit educational at the same time since I knew next to nothing about this period of time in China, the rulers and so on.
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