Review: The Moon in the Palace

The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mei, an orphan, is taken to live in the Emperor's Palace in the hope she will become, one day, one of his concubines.
Set between the years AD 631 and AD 648, we follow Mei from her family home to the Emperor's palace and her life among the many concubines and wives that live there.

Though the book seems to be very well researched, I felt the characters lacked some depth. There is endless gossip and wrong doing between the Emperor's favorites, and Mei goes back and forth between being disgraced and back in his favor. Historical books are fascinating, and China provides even more fascinating characters and plot lines. As there is a second book, I suppose we will see Mai's character develop and deepen, but from this book, there isn't much to see where it will lead.

Some of the language/expressions seem too modern, but as a whole the writing is easy and the 400 pages go fast. All in all, a good, interesting book.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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