All the Flowers in Shaghai...Review & Giveaway!

How lucky have I been lately with all the awesome books that have been coming my way??  Well, so lucky that I can share some of these fantastic reads with my mother-in-law the Queen Bee!  She got first dibs on All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson.  Here is the scoop on what she could not wait to read.... For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir. The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing years comes a reckoning, and Feng must reconcile herself with the sacrifices and terrible choices she has made in order to assure her place in the family and society—even as the violent, relentless tide of revolution engulfs her country. Here is what The Queen Bee had to say.... <br /> Both a sweeping historical novel and an intimate portrait of one woman’s struggle against tradition, All the Flowers in Shanghai marks the debut of a sensitive and revelatory writer. This is the story of Feng and her life in 1930's Shanghai. As her sister is prepared to marry into the very wealthy Sang family, Feng is living the innocent life of a young teenager. Taking walks with her grandfather, meeting a boy and falling in love. Her life as the second daughter would be devoted to her parents, as they grow older she will be with them to care for them. Then, just before the wedding, her sister gets ill and dies. To save face the family offers Feng as a substitute for her sister. It is decided. In Shanghai, saving face is of utmost importance. Have a daughter marry in to a wealthy family brings up the status of the brides family. She was given no say in the matter. Once a bride marries she goes off to live with her husband's family, seeing her own family maybe only once or twice a year. Her husband's family, the Sangs, did not care for the new daughter-in-law but would wait to see if she produced an heir. She did get pregnant, but had a baby girl and as an act of spite gave her away. An action that would haunt her the rest of her life. If you have read any of Lisa Lee's books about life in China, you know that although these books are fiction they are based on facts. Very hard to understand how anyone, especially a woman, ever survived life in these places and times. I liked this book. It was alittle slow to start but I found myself picking it up every night to read a few more chapters. Recommended. It sounds like a great read to me and I can't wait to dive into it!  You can pick up your copy today on Amazon...

I am so excited to tell you that Harper Collins is giving one lucky RBM reader a copyof All the Flowers in Shanghai! Thanks so much to the sponsor and here is how to enter...
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