Book Review Club: The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See #reviews #amreading

Tea Girl coverThe Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
by Lisa See
Scribner, 2017

In this fascinating book, Lisa See sheds light on Chinese culture, tea plantations, and China’s one-child policy.

The main character, Li-yan, is a member of the Akha people, an indigenous tribe living in the mountains of China, as well as neighboring countries like Thailand.

Li-yan’s family are tea planters and pickers in a remote village largely untouched by time. Her only knowledge of the outside world comes from her lessons at the local school where she is one of the best students. As she grows older, she is encouraged by her teacher to seek further education. But hormones intervene and she finds herself pregnant out of wedlock. She has no choice but to give her baby to an orphanage where the child is adopted by an American couple.

In a sense, the book is a twin-stranded story line, though the parts involving her daughter Haley are pretty sketchy until the girl grow older. In the meantime, Li-yan’s life tracks the progress of Westernization in China, including a bubble in the tea market. Despite the ups and downs and success of her life, Li-yan never forgets her daughter, who longs to one day meet her mother.

I loved this book. The glimpses into another culture were fascinating, if at times appalling. Some of the Akha superstitions were understandable but some were just silly and others downright cruel. Li-yan is a strong female character, and I enjoyed watching her mature. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in China and anyone who loves good women’s fiction.

Dear FCC, I checked this book out of the public library.

What have you read lately?

Linda

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Last Day to Enter for Tova’s Dragon $25 Amazon Gift Card #Giveaway

Update: The Rafflecopter giveaway for a $25.00 Amazon gift card ended at midnight yesterday, October 30. Winner will be notified today. My thanks to everyone who entered.

Tova’s Dragon is a special story and one of my favorites. Five years ago I decided I wanted to write a dragon story, but I had no ideas. When I went to bed that night, one of my last thoughts was that I really wanted to write a dragon shifter story. That night I had a vivid dream about a young woman running away from a lightning storm. She found shelter in a cave where a dragon guarded its lair.

lady & dragon

Romancing the dragon

For a week, I mulled over possibilities about turning the dream into a story. Then I had a sleepless night. As I lay in bed in the middle of the night, trying to asleep, the story started coming to me in vivid images. I knew I had to get it all down before I forgot the details, so I got out of bed at 4AM, went into the living room, grabbed a yellow pad and started scribbling. When I was done I had the outline for Tova’s Dragon, truly a gift from the muse.

I hope readers love the story as much as I do.

Tova's Dragon coverHere’s a PG-13 excerpt:

Tova awoke to find herself on a soft bed wrapped in the embrace of a very hot, very aroused man. She opened her eyes to look around the dimly lit chamber, and everything came back to her—the climb up the mountain, the lightning storm, being guided to the cave, and the fall in the tunnel.

She squirmed around to stare at the man. “Where am I? And who you are?”

He flashed a reassuring smile. “I am Kane and this is my cave. You fell and hit your head.”

She studied the face just inches from her own. He was older than she, perhaps in his third decade. Long black hair hung down to his shoulders, and his eyes were a warm shade of amber under straight black brows. Her gaze dropped to sensual lips above a cleft chin. He was handsome as sin and naked to the waist. A shiver traveled up her spine and her heartbeat increased. Why did his name sound familiar?

Around his neck he wore a heavy gold chain with a large, luminous pearl dangling from it. When she reached out to touch the pearl, she sensed power radiating from it, from him. “You guided me to the cave, did you not? I thank you.”

“You are welcome, daughter of earth.”

She smiled at the apt nickname. “I am called Tova Svensdottir.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. “How are you feeling, Mistress Tova?”

She assessed the situation. Though warmer, her head still hurt and her energy was depleted. Self-healing would take a long time in this state. “Better, but still weak.”

“I am not surprised, given your ordeal. Where were you headed in such a hurry, and what on earth brought you to my mountain? Are you lost?”

She hesitated, uncertain whether to trust him. Mutti Zee’s instructions echoed in her head and she plunged ahead. “I seek the Lord of Drakkenberg.”

Kane raised his brows. “You have come to the right place, though the old lord is dead.”

Suddenly, she realized who he was and scooted away from him. ’Twas just her luck to be rescued by the most feared outlaw in the land. “Please do not hurt me, Kane of Drakkenberg.”

With a sigh, he rose from the bed, clad only in his breeches and hose. He stared down at her, an earnest look on his face. “I would never hurt you, Mistress Tova. I am not the monster legend depicts me.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Well, not entirely.”

Purchase now at Amazon or borrow on Kindle Unlimited:

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07635W1SR
AU: https://www.amazon.au/dp/B07635W1SR/
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07635W1SR/
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07635W1SR/

Happy Halloween!

Lyndi Lamont