Princess Shanyin: The Complete Obsession Saga

I'm more of a romance fan than an erotica fan, but I decided to snag this after hearing that Liliana Lee is Jeannie Lin. I'm a fan of Jeannie Lin's romances because she always builds a complicated, emotional world for each of her works, and very interesting characters. This book starts off deceptive. At first, I didn't like the protagonist at all, but as I continued reading I found myself rooting for Shanyin more and more. Even though the author is Jeannie Lin, since the genre is erotica, I didn't expect there to be much plot or character development. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that this series had both. It also has: good world building, political intrigue, well rounded characters, and very complex, emotional characters. In other worlds, a lot more than just sex, although it has plenty of steamy scenes as well.Given my beginning ambivalence for the lead, I'm glad I read the whole saga at once rather than purchasing the books individually. If I had bought them individually I don't know if I would have stuck it through after reading the first book. But I'm very glad I did. There was a lot of emotional payoff in the end, and I was surprised by how much Shanyin as a character grew by the third book. In some ways it's almost like a high brow literature kind of character development (I'm thinking of a very specific Dickens novel). But of course, a lot more entertaining and full of sizzling scenes.Shanyin is also a very interesting female character. There are a lot of female leads in both the romance and erotica genre that start to seem familiar if you read enough of them. Given the beginning premise (historical female princess with a harem), you may expect her to fall into one of these types: the overly proud heroine who just can't say her feelings, the heroine who dominates but secretly wants to be the one who is dominated, the heroine who pushes people away because she just can't trust, the heroine who discovers how great sex can be with the right partner. Shanyin is not any of these types. The best way I could describe her journey would be "pragmatic survivor finds real love". I can't think of many female leads in these genres that are like her.There are two things that I'd give a heads up on for the "more romance than erotica" fan like me:(1) this is not a conventional romance. In fact, in some ways, this saga is not very "romantic" at all. I mean, the main guy is fairly absent from most of the second book. So it's not "A meets B, cue violins and sexy happy times." This has threesomes. That said, there IS a heart aching complex love story that slowly develops, and times when my heart squeezed painfully for Shanyin.(2) There are some early interactions between the lead heroine and hero that border non-consensual (which is usually a turnoff for me), but while it dances that line, it (1) doesn't cross it completely, and (2) is in complete service of the character and plot. She IS a princess, after all, and he's her temporary love slave so the scenes were completely expected and is pretty mild compared to some of the other erotica out there that I've read. There's another dance near noncon in the second book that in some ways does cross the line (or at least, blurs the noncon line so much that I have trouble seeing it) but is so well written and shows so much character that it didn't make me queasy, and it serviced the plot. I don't read as much erotica as romance so again, this seemed pretty mild when compared to some of the other erotica that I've downloaded on my kindle, and then skimmed because I couldn't stomach it. A seasoned erotica fan will have no problems. I just thought I'd mention this in case anyone reading this review was also more of a romance fan than an erotica one.Liliana Lee/Jeannie Lin can always be trusted to deliver solid writing.

I enjoy novels with an Asian setting so I was looking forward to reading this one. It was a surprise to find this was a little hotter than my usual reads (I overlooked the word "erotic"). Not being a quitter, I continued reading! At first i didn't like the main character, finding her spoiled and mean. But as the story unfolded she slowly adapted to changes, and I found myself beginning to understand and warm to her. The beginning is told of a selfish and indulgent world, but the plot developed into an interesting story that I wanted to continue. I'm happy to see there is a second book that continues.

The story did not draw me in at first. I struggled to keep reading, but persevered. I am glad I did. There was lots of sex, love, hate, deception, betrayal, manipulation, and sadness. I so wanted Shanyin and Yuan to have their HEA. I was crying while reading the last chapters and disappointed in the ending. I was so invested in the characters that I wanted badly for them to find happiness - especially Shanyin. I just wanted more. I would give 4.5 stars - not 5 because I can't describe my feelings after reading it. The author is someone I will read again. Definitely talented.

“It was all mixed up for him — sex and death and despair. It was all mixed up for me as well. It always had been.”This is as perfect a quote to encapsulate Princess Shanyin: The Complete Obsession Saga by Liliana Lee (aka Jeannie Lin) as exists. This historical erotic romance (which is, actually, three separate novellas, though you can buy them as one set) is so many things all at once that trying to tease them out and make them plain for a review seems an almost insurmountable task. This is, in short, a breathtaking story written in gorgeous prose that demands attention and, when you give it, completely absorbs you.

SPOILER alert - this is a sad and depressing tale- avoid unless you want to be swept into the story and be saddened by it

Seductive and intriguing and while looking into the lifestyle of Emperors and their feuding famlies. Talk about dysfunctional families and how far they will go for power.

It is difficult to give one rating to three books, but overall this is a solid 4 star read. The first story is my absolute favourite, if I was to rate that one on it's own, I'd give it 5 stars.

Very very interesting. Enjoyed the history lesson. Learn interesting things in the bedroom. Survive is to the right of passage.

This "book" is a drag from start to finish!