Review

The Dragon and the Pearl is a lushly exotic read that will delight fans eagerly awaiting Lin’s debut follow-up while enchanting new fans.

Both leads were introduced in Lin’s debut novel, Butterfly Swords: Warlord Li Tao and famous Courtesan Ling Suyin.  I admit I was fascinated by the ominous Warlord Li Tao in Lin’s first book and was delighted to know he would have his own story.  I was not so enamored that Courtesan Suyin would be his heroine because of her seemingly emotionless sophistication.  However, Lin develops both characters to be perfectly suited. 

Tao is a military Warlord/Governor in Feudal China.  He is caught in a political intrigue between a rival governor and the Emperor Shen.  Tao is man steeped in violence and control who slowly opens up to beautiful Suyin.  As Suyin says to Tao, “your head will always rule your heart.”  Tao does not change his personality so much as invite Suyin into his emotional safe haven.  I adored the way Lin balanced Tao’s controlled personality with his new-found love of Suyin.

When I began the novel I was not sure I would like Suyin as a heroine because of emotionless perfection.  However, Lin quickly shows the real Suyin, who is very different from the China-doll persona she has had to perfect in order to stay alive in the Emperor’s Court.  I grew to like Suyin because of her spirit and strength of character but I loved her when she refuses to play the empty courtesan for Tao.  Suyin says to Tao, “’I wonder if you imagine that I simply remain here motionless and vacant until the moment you return.’”  By novel’s end I was utterly charmed by Suyin’s complex character. 

Tao and Suyin’s relationship is possibly the most sensual one I have read recently.  Of course sex is a part of their relationship but so is the quiet sharing of a morning abed or their enjoyment of a forest lake.  The novel is so sensual without overtly long sex scenes many writers rely upon for intimacy.  For example, “her awareness reached out with tiny threads to search for him, only to be left to languish.” Lin did a marvelous job of matching the couple’s physical intimacy with their growing emotional intimacy to make Tao and Suyin’s relationship realistic and so very enjoyable to read.

The plot is harder to describe as it centers upon Tao’s doubtful loyalty to the current Emperor Shen and if Suyin knows a secret to help or hinder his decision.  The plot added the necessary tension and was told in both the present and flashbacks.  The plot is well paced and never drags.  It wrapped up slightly quicker than I anticipated with all the plot threads coming to a head within the final twenty-five pages. 

Lastly, I cannot say enough about the exotic setting of Feudal China.  It is such a unique setting that I know readers fell in love with in Lin’s debut, Butterfly Swords, and to return to it here is wonderful.  Lin is an amazing writer who describes things beautifully.  For instance, “she shuffled into the darkness, her hands out in front of her like the sensing whiskers of a cat.” 
Fans of Jeannie Lin will be overjoyed to return to her exotic world in The Dragon and the Pearl and new fans will quickly become just as enamored of it.

Reviewed by Janine