7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mixed Review... Original Hero but average heroine, September 2, 2008
This review is from: The Dragon Earl (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
Jade Lee has taken a departure from her entertaining Dragon series into the world of Regency England but she kept a little taste of China for her readers. This book is highly original with a hero who is no ordinary English aristocrat. The heroine, however is a little on the bland side compared to him and she is just a little too unsure of herself for too long.
The novel begins with Evelyn's wedding to Christopher the future Earl of Warhaven but before I do's are exchanged, the wedding is stopped by an Englishman wearing a Chinese monk's robes. The Englishman, Jacob, claims to be the Earl. When he was a boy his family visited China and while there, were attacked by bandits, killing all but him. He was raised by Buddhist monks and now is on a pilgrimage to stop the wedding, and let all know he is alive. He does so only because he wants to take his vows as a monk and the head of the monastery has required this pilgrimage.
Evelyn is furious over the interruption of her wedding. Chris is also angry and his father declares Jacob an imposter. However, he knows way too much about the family.
Evelyn is drawn to Jacob right from the start. She was betrothed to him when they were only children and she finds him fascinating. Before the week is out they are engaged in some steamy lovemaking.
Evelyn is wishy washy. She wants to stay true to Chris but also wants Jacob. In fact she wants Jacob in her bed knowing she will go to his cousin without her virginity. I guess she plans to pretend to be virginal on her wedding night. This was a bit troubling for me. Her character seemed selfish. I liked her desire to experience life as more than a countess and her yen to be less than proper was refreshing but not at the expense of people you love.
Jacob is troubled by his past, present and future. He believes his parents were not attacked randomly and this haunts him, he isn't sure if he should be a monk or not, and finally he cannot figure out how Evelyn fits into his future.
This book has a decent ending with a setup for another novel. I enjoyed the mysticism of the Chinese culture that Jade Lee uses to give us glimpses into Jacob's life. His character was deep but Evelyn's character needed some more history and spark. She doesn't come alive until the second half of the novel whereas Jacob is interesting on page one.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An exotic and emotional historical romantic tale of self discovery, September 30, 2008
This review is from: The Dragon Earl (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
I read my first full length romance novel in the early 70's when I was a mere teen. The story was of Lucy Waring, a young English girl raised in a Chinese mission after the death of her missionary parents. The tide in that country had turned against the "foreign devils" and one minute Lucy is stealing to feed the mouths of the younger children, the next she finds herself in Regency England at Moonrakers, the home of the Falcons where she becomes torn between the desires to two men, a noble of challenged sanity who can provide for her every need and a commoner whom she loves but can't begin to understand. The story was MOONRAKER'S BRIDE by Madeleine Brent (Peter O'Donnell) and it remains one of my all time favorites today.
I mention this because style and subject matter of THE DRAGON EARL brought back me to that long ago favorite. Jade Lee has brought that exotic flavor that I loved so much in MOONRAKER'S BRIDE back Regency England. THE DRAGON EARL is however destined to join it on my keeper's self based on its own merits. It is an incredible tale of self discovery for both the hero who has lived a life very different from the one he was born into and the heroine who is trapped by the very life she's been expected to lead since birth.
Mere moments before Evelyn Stanton say's "I do" to her betrothed Christopher Cato, the future Earl of Warhaven, the wedding is disrupted by a Chinese monk. Evelyn is shocked to discover that the man is not Chinese at all, but white. He claims that he is Jacob Cato, Christopher's long lost and presumably dead cousin, the true heir to the Earldom and that he is here to claim his promised bride.
The youngest of the family of solicitors who served the Cato's had been a childhood friend of Jacob's. The man before them had shared memories of their times together.
He is convinced that he is the true earl. Jacob's grandmother also sees a strong physical resemblance between the man claiming to be her grandson and her late husband.
Pandemonium breaks out as "Jacob" easily dispatches three of Christopher's groomsmen who try to remove him from the church. While the current Earl sputters and consults with Evelyn's parents, Christopher's grandmother proclaims the Monk to be her long lost grandson.
Evelyn appears to be just as furious at the intrusion as her future husband but realizes their marriage will not take place that day. It appears that this man claiming to be Jacob is not going to go away, so while things are sorted out she offers Jacob a room in her home presumably to keep him close until Christopher's father can discredit him.
Jacob's father, the former Earl of Warhaven had chafed at his responsibilities and for reasons know only to him had decide to take his family off to China when he'd been a child of ten. There the family had been set upon by bandits while Jacob had been playing with the young son of their Chinese guide. Both boys had witnessed the murders helpless to intervene. Jacob had been taken to the temple where he had chafed and stewed and waited for his English family to retrieve him. But no one had come. He had later discovered that the bandits had been well paid by someone in England to kill his entire family. He had lived in fear that this person would find out he had survived. His dark secret that he has shared with no one is that when he'd grown and learned to fight at the temple, he had sought out the bandits, killing each one. Still he had not found peace.
Afterwards the Earl's manservant had returned to England family to report that the entire family had been murdered. Christopher's father as next in line had assumed the responsibility and all had agreed he was far more suited to the responsibility than his late brother. The obligation to marry Evelyn and join the lands of both families had passed to Christopher.
Jacob, who thinks of himself as Jie Ke wants nothing to do with the title or the woman. He wants to become fully a monk of the Xi Lin temple. However through what Jacob feels is prejudice against his race by his otherwise holy master, he had been told that he must explore his English roots and find himself before he can be accepted as such.
Evelyn has secretly yearned for the passion her future station denies to her. Even as a child she had relished dancing in thunderstorms. Jacob is powerful and exotic, everything she wants to be but isn't. She is the only thing the can quell the turmoil in Jacob's soul. What does it all mean? Deep within Jie Ke the apprentice monk who cannot seem to find the inner peace necessary to be ordained, is still the child Jacob who had helplessly watched his as his family was murdered and now found that his lifelong quest for vengeance had left him empty. Evelyn soon realizes what the wise temple leader had always known; only Jacob could set himself free. Can Jacob Jie Ke Cato forgive himself, let go of his hatred and his past to at last find peace? Will Evelyn find the courage to give up the security of the only life she ever known and take a leap with a man who had opened her mind and her heart to a world of possibilities?
Though the mystery of who paid to have Jacob's family killed is never resolved, it matters not. The important thing is the pair learn leave the past behind in order to embrace the future. Oh and what a fantastic journey it is! THE DRAGON EARL is a stunning and highly evocative tale of self discovery that leads to a simple truth that defines all human beings regardless of culture. Life should be lived in the here and now. The past is gone. The future awaits. Amen to that. ~ reviewed for PNR Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unique Hot Regency Romance, August 25, 2008
This review is from: The Dragon Earl (Leisure Historical Romance) (Mass Market Paperback)
Jade Lee has penned another unique hot historical for readers to savor with THE DRAGON EARL (Dorchester Leisure/Sept. 2008) which promises to be the beginning of a terrific new historical series set in Regency England. In the English countryside it's Evelyn Stanton's twenty-fourth birthday and also her wedding day. She's to marry her childhood friend, Christopher, who will one day be the Earl of Warhaven. However, as the wedding ceremony is about to begin a Chinese monk dressed in a hooded robe bursts into the church with his entourage and interrupts them. When he throws back his cowl they are astonished to see the Chinaman is really a white man! He is obviously also an Englishman when he questions if Evelyn and Christopher are married yet. When the minister tells him "Not yet", the monk declares himself to be Evelyn's betrothed and the rightful Earl of Warhaven! Jie Ke aka Jacob Cato has waited years to go back to England to declare his heritage and get revenge on whoever was responsible for killing his sister and parents as they traveled in China when he was a child. During those years, he has known unspeakable horror and loneliness but has found a family of sorts as a monk in training at the Xi Lin Temple that taught him self-discipline and martial arts. It's through this training that he was able to earn enough money in pugilist fights to travel to England with his faithful Chinese friends and fellow monk, Zhi Min. Before Jie Ke can take his final vows and join the monastery he must find inner peace and realizes he can't do this unless he returns to England to confront his family. Instead when he sees Evelyn all grown up, he questions what he really wants out of life. Evelyn is very upset at first when her wedding to Christopher is ruined by Jacob. In fact, Jacob thought long dead is so greatly changed they're not even sure it's him despite their repeated questions that he answers correctly. However, when Jacob returns home with them, Evelyn is intrigued with this exotic stranger. When she starts meeting Jacob nightly in the moonlit garden for lessons in lovemaking she starts to question if Christopher or Jacob is the right man for her. Add to this the puzzle of who caused the deaths of Jacob's family and you have a truly unique, passionate and winning Regency in THE DRAGON EARL!
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