PEACH BLOSSOM PAVILION
MINGMEI YIP
ISBN: 978-0-7582-2014-1
May 27, 2008
Kensington Publishing Corp
850 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022
Trade Paperback
$14.00/$16.95
352 pages
Fiction
Rating: 5 cups

Xiang Xiang missed her father and her mother could no longer take care of her. She now looks back on her life at the Peach Blossom Pavilion. She sees things for what they really are now after all these years. As a younger girl, she never understood why things had to happen the way they did. She had a lot of experiences and felt that she had something to share. Her experiences ranged from horrible to wonderful and if she could write it down so it would never be forgotten, that would be even better.

Richard Anderson sees something in Xiang Xiang but he only sees her once in awhile. He loves to sit and talk with her, finding her so sweet that he cannot see any other way to find pleasure with her. When he comes across her again later, he wonders if it is fate after all. To his mind, there is only one thing left to do and that is to ask her to marry him. But will she accept?

Xiang Xiang soon becomes Precious Orchid in the Peach Blossom Pavilion calling Fang Rong and Wu Qiang mother and father. But being a virgin makes her more profitable in their minds. Now she must become pleasing to them but she wants to avenge her parents as well as make enough money so she can eventually leave this place. Her best friend Pearl helps her through everything as well as gives her some helpful advice on how to get through her life better. Xiang Xiang learns to paint and play instruments making her the most sought after courtesan. She stays humble through it all since she misses her mother so much and longs to leave this place where she does not have to please other men but can seek her own pleasures. The price for her freedom will not be one that is easy to get so she must learn to be strong and work her mind to solve this problem.

This is a beautiful story that I could not put down. Never having to do what Xiang Xiang did, I found it shocking what she had to do to keep living the high life. Ms. Yip has an amazing story that will keep you turning pages. The characters in this book show how corrupt people used to be all over the world. It did not matter what nationality or where someone was on the social standing, all wanted to go to these houses for pleasure. I was moved by this story and found the character of Xiang Xiang to be a woman who truly knew what she wanted and would work diligently to get it no matter what. This book has history and that that pulls you into it until the last page.

Krista
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books