Lady of The Imperial City by Laura Kitchell: A Book Review

Lady of The Imperial City
Author: Laura Kitchell
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: CreateSpace
Release Date: 2015
Pages: 293
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Love isn’t forbidden to Lady Kirei as long as it’s with a proper gentleman of Kyō and she doesn’t mind sharing him with his wife. Her provincial upbringing makes her socially unacceptable as a true wife, yet as a lady by birth and a court favorite, her position makes it impossible for her to seek a match below her station. She’s trapped. 

      When a nobleman of similar provincial upbringing arrives in town and becomes an instant favorite of the emperor, he is sent to Lady Kirei for tutoring on city ways. Lord Yūkan is smitten, but she’s not a conquest to be won. She’s a woman of substance and worth, and she’s off limits. 

      Despite his unrefined manners, Lord Yūkan’s aristocratic bloodline shows through his fine taste and quick mind. It doesn’t hurt that he’s handsome, too. As he begins to touch her heart, Lady Kirei is ever mindful that they can’t commit, especially when her uncle schemes to make her a consort to a prince. 

      Will her family’s honor relegate her to the shadow-life of a consort, or can love find a way? 

     My Review: Kirei is living with her aristocratic uncle in the city of Kyo. However, because she was born and raised in the country, she cannot have an advantageous marriage. Her most prosperous future is to be the concubine to a prince. One day, Yukan, a country relative and a distant relative to the empress, arrives in Kyo. Yet, his manners are so unrefined for the city people that he is a laughing stock. The emperor appoints Kirei to teach him the refined manners of aristocratic elite. While tutoring him, they soon fall in love. Can they find a way to be together or must Kirei resign herself to her fate as the prince’s concubine?

      Kirei is very lively. She is educated and observant in the behavior of the aristocratic society. She is feisty and headstrong. She does not want the life of what society dictates to her. She is attracted to Yukan because she can relate to his situation. He is a fish out of the water. While she laughs at him, she also feels sorry for him. Even though Yukan is often looked down upon by other members of society, he is very clever. He is hard-working and seriously strives to be a refined aristocrat. Thus, Kirei and Yukan make a good pair because both of them have a lot in common. Both of them are outsiders to society.

      Overall, this book is about friendship, love, choices, and happiness. The story is very slow-moving, but I thought it was a good character story. I liked how the relationship between Yukon and Kirei has progressed naturally and slowly. I found the author’s writing to be very beautiful. The author did a great job in describing the Japanese aristocratic society. Even though this novel was set in medieval Japan, it reminded me of Jane Austen and other Regency novels. I recommend this book to those interested Japanese history and to anyone who is looking for a light, sweet, love story that is not set in Europe.

 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blog Tour: Hope (The Knights of Av'Lor: Book One) by Sam Rook: A Book Review

Image
Hope (The Knights of Av'Lor: Book One) by Sam Rook ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GENRE: Fantasy/Romance Source: This book was given to me by Goddess Fish Promotions in exchange for an honest review. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BLURB:      The winged knights—magically altered humans—are the only ones defending the portal from Av'lor to Earth. With defeat imminent, they find an unlikely source of hope in software engineer, Kathryn.      Kathryn doubts her life could get any worse after the death of her mother and daughter. She realizes her mistake after she arrives on Av'lor with only part of her house and hungry creatures looking for their next meal. Once the knights bring her under their protection, she discovers their angry commander is far from welcoming.      Sir Lanclor, Commander of the Knighthood, lives with the curse of betrayal. While the treachery occurred lifetimes before, few see past his guarded shell to the grim man beneath. Barely holding the Knighthood together, his grip
Read more

The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) by Lucinda Riley: A Book Review

Image
The Seven Sisters (The Seven Sisters #1) Author: Lucinda Riley Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance Publisher: Atria Release Date: 2015 Pages: 463 Source: My State Public Library Synopsis: Maia D’Apliese and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home, “Atlantis”—a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva—having been told that their beloved father, who adopted them all as babies, has died. Each of them is handed a tantalizing clue to her true heritage—a clue which takes Maia across the world to a crumbling mansion in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once there, she begins to put together the pieces of her story and its beginnings. Eighty years earlier in Rio’s Belle Epoque of the 1920s, Izabela Bonifacio’s father has aspirations for his daughter to marry into the aristocracy. Meanwhile, architect Heitor da Silva Costa is devising plans for an enormous statue, to be called Christ the Redeemer, and will soon travel to Paris to find the right sculptor to
Read more

Interview with Paula Margulies

Image
     Today, I have the opportunity to interview Paula Margulies. She has recently wrote a novel about Pocahontas called Favorite Daughter, Part One , which won an Editor’s Choice Award at the 24th Annual San Diego State University Writer’s Conference. The story creates a different perspective to the American heroine. It is told in first person narrative, and it is how Pocahontas at a young age embarks through the many changes of her life. By doing so she transforms into a strong, courageous, wise woman. I am very pleased that she took the time to grant me this interview and to generously donate a copy of her novel to the giveaway. I look forward to reading her books in the future, and check back for my review of Favorite Daughter’s Part One soon. This interview is to give readers insight about her and her novel. Thank you, Mrs. Margulies. 1. Where and when do you write?  In my home office mostly, although I try to sneak away to artist residencies whenever my teaching and cli
Read more