Butterfly Swords an Exciting Historical Romance
By Shanisse Murillo
Jeannie Lin, Harlequin, Nuñez de Balboa 56, 28001 Madrid, Spain, https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781426870071_butterfly-swords.html, 2010. 319pp. ISBN 978-84-9000-178-3. €5,10.
Butterfly swords is a Chinese historical romance written by the popular author Jeannie Lin. The book takes us to the imperial China of 758 AC, when the Tang Dynasty had the control over what today is Xi'an. Jeannie Lin is a best seller author from the United States. She used to work as a science teacher in L.A and her first novel was published in 2005, her latest release was on 2016.
Lin tells us the story of a Chinese princess, Ai Li, a fierce warrior, and the only female daughter of the Tang Emperor. Her marriage with Li Tao, a military governor had been arranged. She is not happy with the marriage, then she discovers that Tao is a traitor to the emperor, and her sense of honor do not allow her to marry a traitor.
In a rebellious act, unexpected from a female, Ai Li escaped, showing that she is a strong woman. In her way back home, Ai Li met a foreign warrior named Ryam and they felt in love, going against every established norm for a princess.
The author’s main purpose of the book was to portray Chinese females as warriors that can fight and overcome every situation without following the stereotypes of a sexist society through the creation of a warrior princess that confronted her family for her right to be with the person she loved and stopped a conspiracy to kill the Tang emperor.
At the beginning of the book the author describes an innocent and shy Ai Li, with Ryam trying constantly to take her to bed, what makes the reading a bit tedious, but when things finally come to a head between them, we can see a growth in the characters and a develop in the storyline. The book is highly recommended to any historical romance lover.