HUNGRY TIGRESS

Author: Jade Lee ISBN: 084395504X 6/2005 HISTORICAL Publisher: LEISURE
Time Period: 1898

Joanna Crane joined China's Boxer Rebellion because of the emptiness inside her. She was tired of being her rich daddy's showpiece and had a hunger to do good. But when the rebels—anti-foreigner bandits with a taste for white flesh—turned out worse than their ruthless Qin enemies, her only hope was a Shaolin master with fists of steel and eyes like ice. A Shaolin master who was not what he seemed. He had no wish to harm the meddling American, so, when she learned his secret, Joanna's captor determined to stash her at a Taoist temple. True, the sect was persecuted throughout the land, but he saw no harm in seeking divinity through love. And the cult's mistress was a great Tigress, Shi Po. What he did not see was that he and Joanna were already students, their hearts were on the path to Heaven, and salvation lay in a kiss, a touch, and sating the...Hungry Tigress.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

While I truly wanted to like this book and feel that Jade Lee is a wonderful writer, HUNGRY TIGRESS fell a bit flat for me. It all seemed a bit contrived, Joanna's irrational reasons for fleeing her father's house and putting herself in danger, and Zou Tun's reasons for taking her to the Tigress Shi Po to begin with. Why give the Tigress something to hang over his head, like blackmail, if he doesn't need to? Especially if his very life and that of Joanna's is at stake. It just seemed a very stupid thing for an intelligent man to do.

There are some very good aspects of HUNGRY TIGRESS along with the few negatives. The truly saving grace that this book had, was the fact that Joanna and Zou Tun have an absolutely dynamic relationship. From the first, their relationship is just right, it fits. Every single sexual encounter that these characters have is breathtaking to the point that it is beautiful. Joanna is beautiful and strong, if not a bit spoiled, and Zou Tun is handsome and steadfast, if not a little bit on the over dramatic side.

Miss Lee gives us a wonderful picture of Shanghai in 1898, and I felt as if I was truly there with Joanna and Zou Tun. I will also admit to being a little bit confused, at first, with all of the yins and yangs and dragons. I did grab on eventually and understand what that was all about, but not before first becoming a little frustrated. I truly did understand that these Tigresses sought to find immortality through sexual enlightenment, but it just all seemed a bit much for me.

All-in-all, HUNGRY TIGRESS wasn't a bad read, it just wasn't what I was looking for. I didn't feel like I grasped enough of the concepts that Miss Lee was originally trying to put forth to me. As I said, Miss Lee is a wonderful writer; I just felt confused and a little frustrated with the story that was put before me.

Kristal Gorman