REVIEW: My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin

Title: My Fair Concubine (Tang Dynasty, #3)
Author: Jeannie Lin
Genre: Romance
Rating: 5 Stars

First off...Please look past the cheesy cover. I almost passed up this book because of it. I think the cover would've been better off with one of those digital arts instead of the photoshopped stock photos... Now that we got past my little book cover rant, I will now review.

Fantastic book. A nice change from those regency romance books nowadays. This book takes place during the Tang Dynasty, the Golden Age of China. Duty-bound Fei Long has no choice but to enlist the help of Yan Ling, a headstrong tea girl he met at an inn, to fill in his sister's position as the promised bride of some Khitan lord after his sister had eloped with her lover. With only two months to prepare for Yan Ling's envoy to Khitan, Fei Long is faced with the impossible task of transforming her from an unrefined tea girl into a cultured noblewoman.

Enters Li Bai Shen, the solution to Fei Long's worries! Bai Shen, a notorious opera actor and Fei Long's longtime, meddling friend, was entrusted with the task of schooling Yan Ling in the art of feminine grace. Because Bai Shen portrays female characters really well as an actor, Fei Long thought that Bai Shen was more than highly competent for the task. But as the days near the date of the envoy's departure to Khitan, Fei Long wonders if he's doing the right thing for the woman he has grown to love. And of course, Bai Shen, being the incorrigible creature that he is, won't let Fei Long make the wrong decision. Haha.

Summary aside, this book was a keeper because of the characterizations. The love between Yan Ling and Fei Long grew day by day and was realistic. It wasn't the usual recipe of INSTALOVE. Bai Shen's antics, on the other hand, never failed to have me reeling from laughter. Precious precious Bai Shen.