Romance and Me: Historical Romances – The Foreign Edition

Hey Everyone!

We have discussed different aspects of historical romances: our favourite eras, what we like the most about this genre, why we read HR novels, we have even discussed gladiators, HR pet peeves and erotic historical romances but there is something we haven’t talked about yet, and that is foreign or exotic historical romances.

About 99% of historical romance novels are set in England, in smaller part France or Scotland, a couple are even set in North America (and one or two in Ancient Egypt), but historical romances set outside of these usual locations are few and far and between. Can you think of any which take place in South America? Africa? Asia? Australia? Oceania? Or we don’t even have to go that far, any historical romances set in other European countries …

Review: An Illicit Temptation by Jeannie Lin

Format read: ebook
Release Date: 1 September 2012
Series: Book #3.5 in the Tang Dynasty series (Sequel to My Fair Concubine)
Number of pages: 52 pages
Publisher: Harlequin
Formats available: ebook
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Read an excerpt

Blurb:

Dao is a house servant masquerading as a princess on her way to marry a powerful chieftain. As a lowly commoner with no prospects, she is content to be an alliance bride until an encounter with Kwan-Li, her enigmatic escort, tempts her with the promise of forbidden love. On their adventure through the wild Khitan steppe, Dao discovers Kwan-Li has secrets of his own…

My Thoughts: You might remember how much I enjoyed My Fair Concubine, the 3rd book in Jeannie Lin’s Tang Dynasty series (though no need to worry if you haven’t read the previous books, …

Review: My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin

Format read: ebook provided by publisher through NetGalley
Series: Book #3 in the Tang Dynasty series, but the novels are standalone stories
Release Date: 22 May 2012
Number of pages: 280 pages
Publisher: Harlequin
Formats available: ebook, paperback
Purchasing Info: Goodreads, Author’s Website, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository

Blurb:

The Nobleman Who Turned a Tea Girl Into a Princess…

Yan Ling tries hard to be servile—it’s what’s expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle.

Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit—until he realizes she’s the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a “princess.” In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman?

Yet it’s hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Long wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for …

Author Interview with Jeannie Lin + Giveaway

I’ll tell you a secret: besides being the Latin Lover and a big fan of Latin culture, I’ve been fascinated by the rich history and culture of China ever since my pre-teens. For my graduation gift I asked for a 2week trip to visit the imperial cities of China from my parents and since then my interest for it has grown.

So when I heard about My Fair Concubine, a historical romance set in Ancient China (!!) which was a retelling of My Fair Lady, I couldn’t say “Yes!” fast enough! 😀 Since then I devoured My Fair Concubine and discovered a new favourite author in Jeannie Lin. (You can read my review here.) So it is my great pleasure to welcome her to Book Lovers Inc. today and tell you all about her novels and all the research and secret that goes into writing …