Opal Moon book review

I am fascinated with anything historical in time. Whether it is from the U.S. or another country, I just crave to learn more about the historical way of life, customs, etc. That is one of the reasons I was drawn to this book aside from the mysterious woman on the cover. It promised a great love story, suspense, and the chance to learn of historical customs in China.

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• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co (November 11, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434912183
• ISBN-13: 978-1434912183

From the back of the book::

The land of China is under the rule of Emperor K'ang-his. As an upright and efficient leader, he favors his fourth son, Yin-chen, a young man of upstanding character, over his corrupt heir apparent, Yin-jeng, who brings nothing but trouble to the family. The latest is an attempt by Yin-jeng on the life of Opal Moon, a teenage orphan girl whom Yin-chen rescues with the aid of his chamberlain.

Captivated by Opal Moon's beauty, he takes her under his care and presents her as a boy to ensure her safety as his ward. But the pretense cannot suppress their feelings and they eventually give in to their hearts' desires, setting off a course of events they could not have foreseen.

My Thoughts::
This book didn’t turn out to be what I thought it would be. There are a lot of events that disturbed me in this novel, and if you surprise easily I wouldn’t recommend it. One of the most disturbing to me was Prince Yin-jeng’s sexual encounters with young boys. I couldn’t hardly stomach the details in which the events were explained, even though that is how things were done in imperial court back then. All in all I felt it was a very sad novel, and I was very upset by the ending. I felt the book focused on more carnage than anything. Without spoiling the novel I will just say that there was no way I could have at all predicted how things would turn out for our characters so the unpredictability of the novel was what kept me reading. The one thing I did like about this novel is Opal Moon’s will to overcome all obstacles thrown her way. Having been abandoned by her mother at a young age and raised by foster parents serving as their maidservant, she had to learn at a young age to be independent and diligent. This shows through her character and it was easy to admire her at times despite her young age. Even though she succumbed to her passions with Prince Yin-chen eventually, and despite her ardent Christian beliefs she continued to try to do the right thing. The problem arose when there became too many obstacles for her to try and overcome all alone and instead of seeking wiser help she tried to take things into her own hands.
I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone under the age of eighteen due to sexually graphic/disturbing content. Despite the fact that this novel wasn’t quite what I expected it was very well researched, and very well written. I was hooked in by Opal Moon, and I couldn’t wait to see how things would turn out for her in the end.


All in all I would rate this book: 4/5 stars


 I rated this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

This book is available in Paperback, Kindle, or Nook
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DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. All opinions expressed are mine alone.