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Over The Mountain Of The Moon: A Tale Of A Samurai Consort (2010)

by Reiko Morgan(Favorite Author)

3.86 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

MLR Press

review 1: Yaoi. A terrific opening few scenes. Starts strong, turns quotidian. Samurai who is really a prince (or Japanese equivalent) and a male geisha. Charming in beginning, and then their relationship and the sex is So Repetitive that I just got tired of it. And the grooming details, over and over. Way too long and bogs down in boring narrative in the middle. Hurt-comfort in unrealistic, they-get-well-way-too-fast way. Boring and trite, after a very, very good start.
review 2: This was a beautiful and very emotional story, a romance in the best sense of the word. I'm normally not a big fan of insta-love, but I didn't mind it much here because I found it fitting. Although the heroes fell in love practically on first sight, it wasn't all flowers and rainbows f... moreor them afterwards; they had to work hard for their happiness. For one, there were many adverse circumstances to overcome, attempts at their lives, injuries, sickness, rough streets and bad weather, torture, separation, and a society that condemned their love. For another, there were the inner obstacles, which were almost harder for them, since both were very much set in the ways of their mutual social classes.I don't know much about ancient Japan, but for all I know, social boundaries were hard to overcome then and there. Tetsuya, in particular, had the idea of self-sacrifice internalized to a point where he allowed himself caged into Jin's golden cage, profoundly unhappy and yet convinced he had to submit completely to his lover's wishes. Jin, on the other hand, had firsthand proof of Tetsuya's resilience and inner strength - Tetsuya saved Jin's life more than once, after all. Yet, Jin was so set in his role as protector and nurturer that he didn't realize how much his overbearing threatened to smother Tetsuya beyond recognizability until it was almost too late.This inner conflict and the resulting inner growth both heroes had to go through went a long way to create a distinctive "Japanese" feeling for me. It also went along very well with the worldbuilding.Again, I can't say much about historical accuracy. The author placed a foreword to the story where time and setting are explained, and the story fit perfectly to this, so I could just go with the flow and enjoy the author's skill at painting pictures of her world with words like this:"When the large silver globe of the full moon crested the darkness of the imposing mountain, the scene changed in front of Tetsuya’s eyes as if somehow another world had come to life. The snow lying silently on the sloping mountainside refl ected the soft moonlight from its depths. The light sparkled and danced with a life of its own, making the shadowed valley an ocean, lighted with silvery blue."In the end, though, despite all the exotic setting, the vivid fighting scenes and the passionate lovemaking, it all came down to the old truth that nothing should be taken for granted and every love worth it's name is worth fighting for. Over the Mountain of the Moon is a beautiful story that transported me far out of my everyday life, and I can heartily recommend it to everyone who wants to escape reality for some very enjoyable hours. Read the full review at reviewsbyjessewave.com less

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