A review by massivepizzacrust
The Lotus Palace by Jeannie Lin

emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I was really excited for this because it's a romance novel set *not in period England* and it has a mystery at its core, which I always like. But I found the romance itself kinda forced and not enjoyable. The mystery itself was pretty good though there was a lot of miscommunication between characters who should have trusted each other, which prolonged the conflict more than I thought was necessary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual assault

Spoiler

the main character has a history of being sold into prostitution, that part isn't graphic. What is graphic is the first sex scene with the love interest where she disassociates from the scene and just lets it happen. He doesn't really notice until after the fact. He feels terrible after and is more sensitive to her mood after that experience but it's distressing to read.