Author: Jina Bacarr
ISBN-13: 9780373605408
e-ARC: 347 pages
Publisher: Spice, 2010
Purchase at IndieBound, Amazon, The Book Depository
FTC Disclosure: My copy of The Blonde Samurai was provided by the publisher for this review. I am an affiliate at IndieBound, The Book Depository, and Amazon, and any purchases made by clicking on the cover or the links provided may result in monetary compensation.
drey's thoughts:
I picked The Blonde Samurai to review based on the cover--what lovely colors it has! Alas, that was the best part of the book, for me. The story is one of a woman's journey to Japan, where she meets up with the man--the samurai from the title--who will be her lover. I pick up books set in Asia to read more about the culture and its nuances on everything that we take for granted here in the west, and what I did manage to get through, didn't explore any of that at all.
The Blonde Samurai is told from the point of view of the main character, Katie O'Roarke, who becomes Lady Carlton before running away from her husband. Lady Carlton has written her memoir, and in the book addresses the reader as if she was actually having a conversation with them. She details her meeting with Lord Carlton, the inevitable marriage, and her discovery of his sexual proclivities. In 52 pages (all that I managed to read), only the prologue mentions the samurai, Shintaro.
There is a lot mentioned about sex in these 52 pages, which I guess I wouldn't have objected to except that it was all there to provide a background to the affair. I also found the conversational tone annoying, because it felt stilted (which I suppose is a byproduct of reading a "memoir" set in 19th century England).
I only made it through about 1/6 of the book, and I'm not planning to finish it. If you've read this, and liked it, please let me know via email or in the comments.
drey's rating: Meh (did not finish)
Challenges: 100+, Pub
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