Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao is a beautiful story. It is a companion novel to the Rise of the Empress series. Don't worry if you haven't read those two books yet (I still haven't), you can still enjoy this book.
Lan is supposed to marry Tam, a boy who is of the same social status as she is. He's been putting off the marriage date, and it's beginning to worry her. Bao is an orphaned physician's assistant that works for Tam's father. He's in love with Lan, but doesn't tell her.
Until he has a brush with death and realizes that it could be now or never.
Unfortunately, when he declares his love to her, Lan doesn't return his affections. She drives him away, and he runs into a witch that turns him into a spirit attached to his flute. He needs to find someone that loves him in the next two weeks, or he'll remain in the flute forever.
Lan, feeling bad about what she did, decides to help him on this quest. Together, they find that there is more to each other than they originally realized. And they get involved in some political intrigue.
I LOVED the characters. Lan is not like all the wealthy aristocrats that look down upon the poor, although she has to take a good look at herself after she treats Bao poorly. The villain is absolutely convinced that she's the hero of her own story, which makes this book more realistic.
I also loved the setting, which is Asian-inspired. The world has its own history (which I'm guessing you can read about in the other books in this series) and the characters all seem to be living their own lives apart from the main characters. I liked that.
The book also has a good message. Don't worry about what other people expect from you; do what is right. I loved how the author did the ending. I was expecting one thing but ended up with something even sweeter.
You definitely want to read this book.
Lan is supposed to marry Tam, a boy who is of the same social status as she is. He's been putting off the marriage date, and it's beginning to worry her. Bao is an orphaned physician's assistant that works for Tam's father. He's in love with Lan, but doesn't tell her.
Until he has a brush with death and realizes that it could be now or never.
Unfortunately, when he declares his love to her, Lan doesn't return his affections. She drives him away, and he runs into a witch that turns him into a spirit attached to his flute. He needs to find someone that loves him in the next two weeks, or he'll remain in the flute forever.
Lan, feeling bad about what she did, decides to help him on this quest. Together, they find that there is more to each other than they originally realized. And they get involved in some political intrigue.
I LOVED the characters. Lan is not like all the wealthy aristocrats that look down upon the poor, although she has to take a good look at herself after she treats Bao poorly. The villain is absolutely convinced that she's the hero of her own story, which makes this book more realistic.
I also loved the setting, which is Asian-inspired. The world has its own history (which I'm guessing you can read about in the other books in this series) and the characters all seem to be living their own lives apart from the main characters. I liked that.
The book also has a good message. Don't worry about what other people expect from you; do what is right. I loved how the author did the ending. I was expecting one thing but ended up with something even sweeter.
You definitely want to read this book.