Diana

3 stars because when it ended I thought "That's it?" I wasted all my time to be horribly let down. A romance is supposed to have a HEA ending, but this so does not. It's one of those endings where it echoes real life and when I read, I want to escape, I want that good feel ending. Reality is tough enough as it is. While I love spicy scenes, I was irked by the author using "influence" and "pink plum." While I get that for the time period, that might have been the language used, but it's fiction, it's fantasy, just say sperm and butt, or find some way to allude to it. But I don't think I can ever look at a plum the same way after this book. And talk about the overuse of italics! We get it, they are in China in the past! There is no need to italicize their speech to show that they are speaking Chinese. Also, in a romance, there needs to be a third thing to tie the couple together. The author does this well with one couple, but with the others, he fails to establish a third thing, so their relationships fall flat. With all that said. It was an entertaining read, but not one I would return to.