Iris C

Readers who enjoy romance novels will love this book as it is a cut above most of the novels of this genre. The usual components of the romance novel are here, but Fiorato has done her research and is able to provide a believable storyline. Her characters are skillfully drawn.

I was away, and just finished reading this book Rather than reiterate the story line so well stated by previous reviewers, I will confine my remarks to the author, Bo Caldwell. Caldwell is a talented writer. She has received several awards, among them the Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Creative Writing at Stanford. The Stegner influence appears in the easy word flow , passion, and succinct descriptions of people, places and things. My only reservation is that Caldwell does not show the depth of fine detailing which brings vibrance and immediacy to Stegner's prose . Perhaps this is because Caldwell has never been to China. I look forward to reading her future novels and hope that she will rely on her own experiences and observations to bring forth her full talent.