Book Reviews

Book Blurb

In eighteenth century Japan, during the golden age of samurai and of the Kabuki theater, young actors known as “flying fish” traveled the countryside, performing for audiences by day and giving their bodies to their samurai patrons at night. 

Genji Sakura is one such flying fish, yet he dreams of finding the man he can give his heart to and leave the loneliness of his itinerant life behind. Though he loves theater, he doesn’t love every part of his profession, especially some of the patrons. So when a handsome ronin comes upon him stealing some solitude for a bath in a hot spring and their encounter turns passionate, Genji’s surprised and delighted. 

Daisuke Minamoto’s past fills his life with a bitterness that grips his soul and makes him dangerous. Yet passion takes him when he spies on a graceful young man bathing naked in a hot spring. He has always loved women, but he can’t deny the call of his heart. 

After an afternoon of sexual bliss, his heart and soul are tormented and torn. Keeping this miraculous lover will require giving up the one thing that has kept him alive for years: his hatred for the lord who murdered his wife. If he loves another, how will he go on and who will he become?

First edition published by Loose Id, July 2009.

Second edition published by Ai Press, October 2011.

Third edition published by Dreamspinner Press, August 2016.

 

Book Review

Eighteenth-century Japan is not a setting I am very familiar with – but after reading this novella, with its glorious descriptions, detailed understanding of cultural traditions, and lifelike characters, I feel as if I have taken a trip into the past to see it for myself. Samurai and their belief in honor have been the subject of more than one book, but Daisuke is more than the “standard” warrior. Genji is also not just the “flying fish” – an actor and prostitute for his patron – he appears to be. When these two men meet and are tempted to break with the traditions of their positions in life, all kinds of new opportunities - and more than one threat - could quite possibly destroy their dreams.

Genji loves acting, but he hates having to move around wherever his patron tells him to go. He is also less than charmed by having to physically serve the men the troupe manager sends his way after performances. Despite all he has seen, he dreams of true love and leaving his traveling life behind.

Daisuke is a complicated man. He is an accomplished samurai, but chose the life of a ronin – one who is not associated with a specific lord. His heart is full of the need for revenge, and all he wants is to kill the lord who murdered his wife. His rage is controlled but it has blinded him to other opportunities life throws his way.

Both these men are in prisons of their own making – their emotions, feelings, and beliefs limit their ambitions and stop them from being happy. Once they meet and spend a passionate few hours at a hot spring, it changes both of them to the point where they can make a decision to change their lives – all it takes is a lot of courage and recognition of what is critical to them.

If you like stories about men who fight tradition as well as their own expectations, if historical Japan sounds like an unusual setting for an unexpected love story, and if you’re looking for a read that packs a lot of emotional punch into just a few pages, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do. It transported me into a different world and helped me live inside the heads of two fascinating men.

 

 

 

 

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Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 82 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-October-2019
Price	$2.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Flying-Fish-Sword-Silk-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B005VHSJYG