The Jade Temptress

By Jeannie Lin

Welcome to the infamous Pingkang Li––home of the celebrated Lotus Palace courtesans, and a place of beauty and treachery...

Charming and seductive, Mingyu is the most sought–after hostess in the pleasure quarter. She has all men wrapped around her finger––except Constable Wu Kaifeng, the one man she can't resist, the only man to have placed her in chains.

Wu Kaifeng's outwardly intimidating demeanor hides a reluctant, fierce attraction to beautiful Mingyu. But the passionate temptation she presents threatens to destroy them both when a powerful official is murdered and they find themselves on a deadly trail. Amid the chaos, a forbidden affair could change Mingyu's fate forever, for following her heart is bound to have consequences....

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Mar 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781488709463

Jeannie Lin

Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie started writing her first romance while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles. Her first two books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and The Dragon and the Pearl was listed among Library Journal's Best Romances of 2011.

Reviews for The Jade Temptress

[eyes92c · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Trapped in a jaded cage.Pingkang li during the Tang Dynasty of 848 AD.An important general has been murdered, General Deng Zhi. The Emperor wants answers.Courtesan Mingyu (Bright Jade) finds the body. With blood on her hands she goes to Wu Keifang, the policeman who was her nemesis, her torturer in a previous murder. Why? What is it that draws Mingyu back to him?Once more, 'The Pingkang li, with its dual persona of sensual decadence and refinement becomes the place for Lin to examine the roles that women took on in Chinese society, to investigate a murder and explore the nature of love. Front and centre is infamous Lotus Palace, home of the celebrated courtesans of the Pingkang li entertainment area and the fertile backdrop to crime and treachery, fear and revenge, and the political intrigue surrounding the courts of the Emperor.Now Wu Keifang has to battle an important official, Inspector Xi Lun, who seems bent on destroying his master Magistrate Li, find the murderer and resolve the puzzle of himself and Mingyu. They shared a kiss but 'they both knew nothing more could become of it.' Does the kiss represent honesty between two people who are faced with dishonesty every day, or is Wu for Mingyu a man who truly sees her as she is, not what he wants her to be?During the investigation, when Mingyu is accused of Deng's murder, she is forced to contemplate the nature of the place she works, a place of so called harmony. Now she recognizes that that harmony is not the peace she previously thought but that of silence. A place where all feelings are buried deep, silenced and subjugated to tranquility, gaiety and beauty--the facade of the Pleasure House. Wu becomes that place for Mingyu where true feelings can be, can exist, a place of safety and honesty.Mingyu's sister Yue-Ying and her husband Bai Huan support Mingyu and help Wu in his search for the truth.Skilfully written, the various lines of Lin's textured brush strokes hold your interest in an emerging picture, the figures who occupy the landscape suspended in tension right until the very end.A NetGalley ARC

[sirsangel_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

OMG.

Excuse me, I was expressing my joy at reading this book! I have read Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin and was so impressed, that when I saw Jade Temptress was available to review, I jumped at the chance!

Oh, so glad I did! What an enjoyable read. Even if one does not know the Tang Dynesty, it is possible to find yourself so immeresed in the reading of this book, that it doesn't matter. Jeannie seems to really know how to stay true to the time, the culture and the characters. She gives history lesson in her writings, and you do not even mind it!

I will be looking for more titles by Jeannie Lin for certain!