Review: The Lotus Palace

The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Tldr: Loved this story, first half more murder mystery, romance comes on in second half, a lot of underlining emotion, it's in the subtitles with this one. I could have talked about this story forever and I kept having to go back to talk about things I missed, so this probably comes off rambling :/ 

*This is a TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion. 

The earthquake had dredged up all the hidden secrets of the quarter. Two murders, occurring so close together. One was a stranger who meant nothing to anyone except the grim-faced constable who was ruthlessly dedicated to his duties. But Huilan was well-known and beloved. Or at least she had been. 

This month's TBRChallenge theme was Location, Location, Location and I immediately thought of this book that has been on my tbr since 2016. It takes place 847 AD in Tang Dynasty China and with how fascinating this story was, I need to read more books taking place during this time and place and historical romance needs to get with the program and published more. Thank you to the author for including and incorporating so much of this world. As an overall story, this is 5 stars, if I was just rating on romance, I'd probably give it 4 stars. The first half is more about setting up the murder mystery and the romance doesn't really start to get more focus until around 45%. We enter the story when an earthquake has just hit and this dislodges a small boat that has a dead body in it, no one recognizes the body and then Huilan, a favored courtesan, is strangled to death and the mystery is on. 

Her fate had been decided from birth by a bright red birthmark that curved along her left cheek. The stain rendered her unsuitable for the pleasure houses, for who wished to invest time and money to train a courtesan with a ruined face? A prostitute required no such training. 

The emotion in this is more underlining, subtle and not verbally spoken at times. I struggled with feeling like this had the emotions but they weren't quite reaching the depth I wanted; I kept thinking the strength of a Courtney Milan but a more surface Milan, better than the average but not hitting that peak for me. The latter second half delivered on this better for me and maybe this was planned because I started to feel them more as our lead Yue-ying started to warm up too. Yue-ying is the maidservant to Mingyu, one of the Four Beauties of the North Hamlet, also known as Pingkang Li, a pleasure district. I think it was around 40-50% that we learn that Mingyu is actually Yue-ying's older sister and that when Yue-ying was 8yrs old, a man came to their home and said that Mingyu was so gorgeous, that a nobleman would want to marry her and even though Yue-ying has a large red moon-shaped birthmark on her face, he took her too, or rather, her parents sold them to him. The sisters get separated when Mingyu goes to be taught how to be a courtesan (While scholar-gentlemen professed to be enthralled by the courtesans, ultimately these women were slaves. Despite their elevated status and illusion of independence, they were bought and sold as commodities.) and Yue-ying is put in a brothel to be forced to be a prostitute. Mingyu eventually is able to find her and buys her freedom and for the last four years Yue-ying has been her maidservant at Mingyu's place of work, The Lotus Palace. There's some vague flashbacks to this time of Yue-ying's life but it's more about the PTSD she developed, how she's more closed off, and how this affects intimacy between her and Lord Bai Huang. 

Bai Huang was a well-known fixture of the entertainment district. He was a night owl, a flirt, a spendthrift and an eternal student, having failed the imperial exams three times. 

Lord Bai Huang is an often visitor to Lotus and while he makes a good show of trying to win Mingyu's affections, his eyes follow Yue-ying. We kind of come in after his fascination is already developed for her, which I missed a little bit but the getting to know her and the growth with how he treats her once he keeps learning about her, more than makes up for it. Reader's learn (about 30%) before Yue-ying that his jester attitude is a bit of a put-on as he's really spying for his father, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense, he's trying to get information about a General Deng (I feel like this was a character that we didn't get a great handle on) and keep a general ear to the ground as there is a new emperor and he has appointed a new magistrate, Li. People accept this role from Huang because he is a gambling addict and a couple years ago, he ran up a huge debt. His father ended up paying it for him but with some tough love, Huang ended up on a naval ship and learning some hard work. The courtesan, Huilan, who ends up being strangled had previously went to Huang and asked for his help, because of his rich nobleman status, in getting out of the North Hamlet in exchange for some important information she had but she ends up dead before he can help her. So we have secretly trying to be redeemed Huang while he is trying to figure out who murdered Huilan, spying for his father, and studying to pass the palace exams because without a jinshi degree, Huang can't hold an imperial appointment, which failure of this would be shaming his family. 

The fool Bai Huang lacked shame or manners, but he made up for it with good looks and money, so he was tolerated. The girl had treated him like a sack of potatoes that night. After that, Huang had made a point of trying to catch her eye, but she couldn’t be charmed. She couldn’t be bribed. He was fascinated. 

Because Yue-ying lives and works in Pingkang-Li, Huang asks for her to work with him to ferret out information and find out what had Huilan scared, wanting to leave, coming to Huang for help, and what important information she wanted to tell him. This is around 15% when they start to work together and you'll feel Huang's fascination for Yue-ying right away, he's the more lighter and open one but because of Yue-ying's past, she doesn't trust in his or her emotions. It hurts in the only way reality can with every thought Yue-ying has about their class differences and how they don't have a future, her shame of her past, and her disbelief in her physical attraction. I think because of her true relationship with Mingyu (remember, sisters) wanting to be a story secret, we don't get a feeling for their relationship in the first half. Mingyu warns Yue-ying in a protective feeling manner to be wary of Huang's feelings, she of course has her own past PTSD and experiences with men's natures but after working slightly to keep them apart, she tells Yue-ying to make her own choices and almost seems to push Yue-ying towards Huang. It begins to look like Mingyu knows something about Huilan's death and now she is scared for her and Yue-ying's safety. 

“An arrest warrant has been issued for Lady Mingyu,” Wu reported. “She is to be brought in on suspicion of murder.” 

After Yue-ying returns to the Lotus after a night with Huang, she discovers Mingyu gone and is obviously worried and Huang reveals that he was attacked, warned to stay out of Huilan's death, and the men threatened Yue-ying but using a nickname she had when she was a prostitute. Yue-ying agrees to stay with Huang and this is when the romance part gets more of a focus. It's hurtful emotional but I liked how the author showed Yue-ying's disconnect in the beginning of her and Huang's intimacy, she doesn't immediately accept sex just because it's Huang but it becomes a process and learning, growth, and connection for both of them (even then I thought there was a little gliding over painful pasts). Around 65% is when Yue-ying starts to be able to connect with herself and Huang in this regard. 

“You’re always trying to hide this.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb and she fought hard not to flinch. People always asked if it hurt. No, it doesn’t, she’d answer. But yes. Yes, it did. 

“That’s the problem with men like you. This sort of thing is a game, as if you had a right to everything in the world for your amusement.” 

“I didn’t mean—” 

“You only meant to tease. You have the privilege of turning everything into a jest when I’ve never had the privilege to even refuse such an act.” She hadn’t intended to become so aggravated. Bai Huang was silent beside her while she tried to calm herself. 

“I didn’t consider it that way,” he said finally. She didn’t acknowledge his words. If it was an apology, and it didn’t sound like one, she wouldn’t accept it. “Have you never—?” To his credit, he continued past her cold stare. “Have you never had a kiss that you actually wanted?”

“Why would I ever want such a thing?” she replied sharply. Any man who had ever touched her had held something over her. Money or status and usually both. And always the threat of his physical strength. They hadn’t all been brutes or drunks. A few were even kind, in their own way. Most were indifferent. In many ways, a kiss was more of an invasion than a body pressing over her. It was the touching of mouths, the exchange of breath. Too much was woven into a kiss; all the senses of touch, taste and sound. There was no way for her to explain how she had been overwhelmed by it all. 

I thought the author did a great job of showcasing the power dynamic between Huang and Yue-ying, this was the emotional and believable plot keeping them apart, and provided lines (the quote above) that brought some watery-eyes emotion. 

The sounds on the other side of the wall had quieted. In the darkness, he touched a hand against the wood, pressing lightly as if he could reach through to the other side. To Yue-ying. 

Mingyu ends up showing back up as the murder mystery starts to get unraveled and reveals are made. I feel like, before I forget, I need to quickly talk about Constable Wu, the talk, dark, man who arrests Mingyu and who she likes to push. After Yue-ying visits Mingyu in jail and then asks Wu Kaifeng to look after Mingyu and he clenches his jaw (I'm a sucker for the restrained emotion represented by a clenched a jaw) I raced to GoodReads to see if they are in the series. THEY ARE! I NEED their book, STAT. Where was I? Oh right, the murder mystery getting unraveled, I'm not going to reveal all, specifically the who, but I am going to reveal that Mingyu was involved because she was recusing a little girl from slavers, the same kind of people who paid for Mingyu and Yue-ying. 

“Mingyu didn’t take a stash of silver from the smugglers,” she concluded. “She took this child. That’s why she’s been so secretive—to protect the girl.” Because the girl was a slave. She was property and Mingyu had killed her owner and stolen her. Yue-ying felt a deep ache within her chest. She knew exactly why Mingyu had done such a thing. 

Y'all, the watery-eyes at the above quote and all out catch sob at Mingyu saying: “I had to rescue her.” It's not all blatant emotion but good god is it here. The murder mystery actually (almost) wraps-up around 80% and while this usually has me complaining about the story having a dearth ending feel, the last 20% gives us Yue-ying and Huang working for their HEA. 

“I was always aware of who you were. I have to be. Look at Taizhu. Even as well respected as he is, he still feared retribution because of where he came from. One never forgets. The world does not let you forget.” 

Yue-ying learns that Huang has been betrothed since childhood, which hammers home even more her belief that they will never be together forever, especially when Huang passes his exams and is about to embark on his future. There's talk of Yue-ying being his concubine but because she loves him too much, she doesn't think she can do it and this gets tied into new information that Huang learns about his mother, father, and his father's concubine; marriage and love, it contains infinite multitudes. This is a romance genre story, so never fear, Yue-ying and Huang do get their happily ever after and even though I would have loved to have seen a conversation between Huang and his mother, I liked how it all came about. 

Bai Huang, the most beautiful man in the Pingkang li, was watching her and asking her with his eyes to kiss him. 

There was a last second, in the last ten minutes of the story, reveal involving the murder mystery to give this a completed wrap-up feeling but I was still coasting a little high on Yue-ying getting the love she deserved to care too much. Huang was the more light-hearted of the two, obviously because of life experiences but I loved how he learned to grow in how he loved Yue-ying and I loved how the author had him understanding Yue-ying by tying it back to his father and how Huang understood “tough love”. (Some quotes: - Her eyes were alight with mischief. Huang had the sudden urge to take hold of the trailing end of that red ribbon around her waist and reel her in close. 

- He had thought he was finally getting close to Yue-ying, when he was never further away. 

- He pressed a hand to his chest, looking on in wonder as she disappeared.) 

Yue-ying is the one that will crack your heart and give you that hurt-emotion that romance genre masochists like me love to read; watery-eyes, heart-clenching, but ultimately uplifting in the endurance of humans and love. (Some quotes: - Yue-ying had no reputation to protect and her virtue was long gone. And she had given up so much more to men who had meant so much less to her. Why not someone who was well mannered and well-spoken? Who was handsome and strong and who she was growing fond of? On some tomorrow, she would be old. Bai Huang would be just a name and a memory. Mingyu had so many admirers, yet she cared little for them. Yue-ying, the girl once cruelly called Half-Moon because of her ruined face, had no such admirers. So let me have this one, she thought with an air of defiance as she returned to the Lotus Palace. Even if it is just a game to him. 

- Whereas Mingyu was considered ji, an artist and entertainer, Yue-ying had been chang, nothing more than a vessel, a whore. 

- “It’s your decision,” Mingyu said quietly. 

“You know that’s not true. There is no decision to make.” A wealthy patron occasionally offered to pay off a courtesan’s debts to her foster mother. But Yue-ying was already free, or as free as a woman without family or means could be. Mingyu had bought her debt from the brothel to bring her here, something that a nobleman like Bai Huang would never have considered. 

- “Is this love?” he asked simply. His voice was low and sensual. 

“Scholars and their romantic notions,” she chided, though her heart was hammering inside her. 

Magistrate Li - the young new appointee, Constable Wu (that clenched jaw currently lives rent free in my mind), Mingyu (“I had to rescue her.” SOB), Wei-wei – Huang's sister who seems headstrong and adventuress, Gao – works for a money-lender, the one who stabbed Huang when he didn't pay his gambling debt but now helps gather/works for him during the murder-mystery solving, and Zhou Dan – the Bai's manservant, were all secondary characters that I demand get their own books. 

And because I'm thirsty af for their stories, I went and spoiled myself with who future books are about. 

- Constable Wu and Mingyu – I NEED 

- Wei-wei and Gao – The f-ing way I Gasped. Y'ALL. The privileged headstrong daughter and the guy from the wrong side of the tracks that once stabbed her older brother. WANT 

- Magistrate Li and Song Yi – I don't think we meet Song Yi in this? Or wait, was she the one who took Huilan's place? 

Anyway, sorry to my book club because the way I'm going to keep nominating these books until we've all read them.

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