In the captivating sequel to The Moon in the Palace, Mei must protect her people from a murderous empress
The second book in this stunning duology, The Empress of Bright Moon follows Mei as she struggles for power within the Emperor's palace, risking her life to dethrone the murderous Empress and establish herself as the new female ruler of China.
After Mei's lover, Pheasant, is crowned Emperor, a power struggle erupts between Mei and Pheasant's wife, Empress Wang. Both women are desperate to secure their name and rank. But when Empress Wang takes their feud to a new level by murdering Mei's supporters, Mei realizes that she must defeat the bloodthirsty Empress—not only to save herself, but also to protect her country. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2)
This novel is about loss, choices, forgiveness, and redemption. It is about a woman who is trying to cope with loss. This novel is very heart-wrenching and is an emotional, poignant, and raw read. Full review you can find on my blog: https://poetryofreading.blogspot.com/... The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) The Empress of Bright Moon is the second book in a duology. This is the continuing story of Mei, a concubine who rises up to be the new potential empress in ancient China. In this book, Mei is now more confident in her skills and power. When her lover becomes the new Emperor, Mei knows that she must force her way to the top any way that she can. She knows that she will be better for Pheasant than any other women, including his current wife.
Like I said, this is the second book in a duology. Definitely go back and read the first book! It will give you a lot of insight into the various characters, including Mei. Mei has definitely changed since the first book. She is now more confident and able to get what she wants. I loved watching her transformation between this book and the previous book. She is such a fascinating character!
Again in this book, the historical detail will make this a true treat for any historical fiction lover. I loved the detail about court life in the first book but even more so in the second book. The stakes are higher for Mei in this book and she must even more carefully navigate the in's and out's of court life in order to stay on top. It is incredibly intriguing!
I was not ready for this book to end and will definitely be looking for more from this author in the future! The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) Horrible. Can't understand any reviews that give this more than 2 stars. By page 99, I wanted to give up because I was so tired of the endless stereotypes of the good (childbearing fertile beautiful poor desirable) concubine Mei and the bad (barren fat ugly bipolar rich mean) empress wife. I had thought that Fifty Shades of Gray was the worst book ever written until I read this. Predictable boring plot. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) Wowser, this book is truly exceptional and a fine, fine finale to the story of Mei (Empress Wu) that was begun in beautifully crafted The Moon In The Palace set during the Tang Dynasty.
Mei's story began in the first book as she fought to gain herself a place with the Emperor, while being in love with his son Pheasant. She saw the rise and fall of many, both rich and poor, royal and not while rising and falling herself, over and over again. Now Mei has reached a point in her life, with the death of the Emperor and the rise of his son, and Mei's true love, Pheasant into his father's former position, where she could finally be happy but there are those who no not wish it to happen and both Mai and Pheasant find themselves in a desperate fight to keep their positions of power while those around them, particularly Pheasant wife's the Empress Wang, try to pull them asunder, to bring them to ruin.
As with the first book in this duology this book is just as stunning, just as heart-stopping and just as terrifically crafted. Everything good that I have said about the first book holds true in this case too. Again the characterisations are astonishingly good, the evolution of the characters from the first book through into this one are truly incredible especially Mei and Pheasant who both go on an extraordinary emotional and spiritual journeys, both together and apart, over the course of Bright Moon. Again the world-building is impeccable and just as realistic and evocative as before, drawing the reader into the finer details of the world and the lives people had in those days gone by. The pacing again is on the ball and perfectly structured to keep the flow of the story ebbing and flowing in the best way to keep the reader engrossed and enslaved by the story.
The duology is a no-brainer for fans of books about ancient Asian culture and fans of historical novelizations in general. The story of the great Empress Wu told here over the course of the two books is an extraordinary tale of an extraordinary woman who fought against everything and everyone to get what she believed she deserved for herself and her family. You should really give this par of books a chance to wow you in the way they have wowed me, they caught my imagination and went fleeing away on the wind with it, incredible. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) This book is better than the first half, but still suffers from the passive narration. The woman doesn't actually do much, everything happens to her, or around her. But a lot more happens here than in the first book. The scenes are more exciting and the emotional impact is well developed.
Unfortunately, everyone keeps making the same mistakes over and over.
The ending is a bit abrupt, and the author's note says that the Empress lives a long time after the book ends, so perhaps a bit more of the story would provide a better resolution. It is pretty cool that the author researched quite thoroughly and that significant portions of the story are factual according to written histories. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2)
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The is the second book to Empress of Bright Moon duology and I must say it had exceeded my expectations. i have read many series which book 1 was terrific and the subsequent ones are just moderate. Am glad to say that this is not one of them.
what i love about this second book is the way the author look at things that happened to Mei(Empress Wu) after the death of Emperor Taizhong. It's unlike what many fiction /non fiction authors wrote about her and yet the story woven here is believable. Things could have happened as what the author had imagine it to be.
It was a time where male hold all important posts. Women were to stay home and take care of the family .Many parts of in this world still holds this believe. Mei had to battle all these prejudices .
in this book, Mei had to depend on her wits to survive the battle in the Inner Courts. The story was vivid and many times i find myself screaming at the injustices that had happen especially on Mei and Princess Gaoyang.
i also like that there is not much politics involved here. Yes, there are some but mostly about strategies. It's not boring as like some with endless plotting who going to ousted who and stuffs like that.
what i can say without revealing too much is that this book feeds my imagination.
Downloaded the book yesterday and can't stop reading till i finished it this morning. it was that captivating. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC at netgalley .
now am going to crawl back to my caves and have good books withdrawal syndrome. How i wish authors can write as fast as i read. Too bad authors had to do a lot of research to come out with book as good as this. looking forward to more goodreads from this author. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) It is important that I review these two books together as the full story of Empress Wu cannot be told without them being read one after the other.
There is no other way to describe these two books, but to say they are sensational. Truly, I cannot stop raving about them.
In Book 1, The Moon in the Palace, we are introduced to a young, intelligent young woman named Mei from humble beginnings who is swept into the emperor's court as a concubine. There she must weave her way through a a maze of treachery by other concubines who are equally struggling to claw their way to the top.
There is danger, betrayal, enduring love, and plenty of intrigue and unusual circumstances around every corner, on every page. Book 1 hooked me with a powerful grip at the start and kept me engrossed until the fabulous ending. The best part is that I was thrilled that the story continued in Book 2, The Empress of Bright Moon. Beautifully described surroundings, fashions, and every day items add to the enchantment, bringing to vibrant life the Chinese court of the Tang Dynasty.
These two books have become some of my very favourite books, along with the author. I will be eagerly awaiting future releases. These are definitely 5 star reads!
Thank you to the author and publisher. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for visiting my blog, http://greathistoricals.blogspot.ca, where the greatest historical fiction is reviewed! For fascinating women of history bios and women's fiction please visit http://www.historyandwomen.com.
The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) The Empress of the Bright Moon, is the sequel to Moon in the Palace It is the continuing story of Mei, who eventually becomes the only female ruler in China.
This book is beautifully written just as the first book was,but I felt it dragged in parts.
It is an engaging story that tells the cultural history of China.
There is plenty of intrigue and drama as Mei struggles to become Empress Wu.
I liked very much Weina Dai Randel explains in the end of the book what is true and where she became creative. Some of the facts have not been proven.
This story makes me want to know about Empress Wu.
If you love historical fiction you will enjoy this epic saga. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2)
Booklist, Starred Review: The author’s talent for dramatic, well-timed dialogue, and portrayal of women’s friendships and emotions—especially dislike, jealousy, and fear—intensifies the reader’s understanding of palace intrigue.
Library Journal, Starred Review: A must-read for fans of historical fiction set in ancient China, this novel offers a compelling look at a woman’s unprecedented rise to power and a fresh take on the often vilified Empress Wu. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2) Unlike the first in the series, my interest simply kept fading until I simply had to put the book down. Same characters but darker palace intrigue and hopeless outcomes, or constant manipulation and outmaneuvering evil forces. Maybe if I'd had both to read one right the other, an enthusiastic momentum would have helped. Writing ok but not as strong as first in series. The Empress of Bright Moon (Empress of Bright Moon, #2)