Review (Giveaway Closed): The Warlord and the Nightingale by Jeannie Lin

Jeannie Lin is one of the authors I newly discovered this year.  While she primarily writes historical romances set in China and Japan, she has delved into the Steampunk genre with The Gunpowder Chronicles, a series set during the Opium Wars of the 19th Century Quing Dynasty.

My first taste of this series, and my first Steampunk in a purely Asian setting, was the short story of The Warlord and The Nightingale, published first as part of the ebook “Once Upon a Fairy Tale: A Collection of Fairy Tale Inspired Romances” and then as a stand-alone ebook.  Here is an excerpt from my (pre-blog) review of that collection:

This is a very enjoyable collection of 11 fairy tale retellings by romance authors, and while Cinderella pops up more than once, there are less familiar (to me) tales as well. With the adult content ranging from sweet and blush-free to oh-my-goodness-someone-hand-me-a-fan, there are stories to suit many taste levels… [M]y particular favorites were those that drew on fairy tales that I am less familiar with:

Jeannie Lin’s The Warlord and the Nightingale is based on The Nightingale and set in the same world as her Steampunk series, The Gunpowder Chronicles. Hanzo, a karakuri (clockwork figure) maker, is challenged to make a karakuri worthy of Lord Mizunaga, but is it just a toy? Is all as it seems?

Now you may be wondering what level of adult content is in this short story and the answer is a bit beyond a blush, but without going into excessive detail and entering give-me-a-fan territory.

After reading the second novel in the series, Clockwork Samurai, I remembered that I had two signed copies of the very limited print versions that the author had made for convention souvenirs (they are quite small, approx. 4.5″w x 5″h and under 1/4″ thick).  I won one in a giveaway and received the other in a mystery box I purchased, both through her website.  So, I decided to use one of the copies for my first ever giveaway.

I’m doing my best to keep this short and simple.  Entries will close on December 5, 2015 at midnight PST.  A winner will be picked at random, and announced on this post, on December 6, 2015.

1.  Be a U.S. resident over 18 to enter.  International postage is, unfortunately, quite expensive and this short story does include a small amount of adult content involving a courtesan.
2. Follow my blog (you can always unfollow later, though I hope you will stick around).
3. Like this post.
4. Comment on this post.  Be sure to include your email (type it out like emailname dot gmail dot com).

Comments must be made during the giveaway period (12/2/15 – midnight PST on 12/5/15 ) to count as an entry.

This giveaway is not sponsored in any way.  Depending on how this goes, I may do another giveaway pretty soon (I even have a book or two in mind).

Giveaway winner: Jenny Haggerty!