Looking For Good Japanese or Asian Romances

Kren · Joined: 04 Apr 2007 Posts: 14

I recently read and enjoyed Anne Stuart's Ice Blue & Fire and Ice, which both feature Japanese heroes. I found it interesting to find out little tidbits of Japanese culture while I was reading them (just like I used to soak up little tidbits of Regency England). I was wondering if anyone knew of any other good romances with Japanese heroes or heroines. Actually, I'd really be interested in hearing about any good Asian romances, although I prefer modern stories to historical. Thanks so much in advance for any suggestions!

graceC · Joined: 28 Mar 2007 Posts: 440

I remember a book called Jade Island by Elizabeth Lowell. It's contemporary and I quite enjoyed it. The heroine is a Chinese American. You might want to check out Special Title Listing too for this theme.

Edited to add: Jade Island has been reviewed on this board.

Nicole · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:09 pm Post subject:

Well I'm not sure if this will apply to what you want, but Mary Jo Putney has a historical book called China Bride, where the heroine is half Chinese and half Scottish. She was raised in China though. Although to be honest I felt it was very western portrayal of eastern culture.
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LeeB. · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1221 Location: Seattle, WA

Kren: Also check out the special title listings for Inter-Ethnic romances. http://www.likesbooks.com/ethnic.html
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KayWebbHarrison · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1206 Location: SE VA. USA

I have been reading Eileen Wilks's Lupi series--shapeshifters and magic. One of the main characters is Lily Yu, who first appears as a homocide detective in San Diego. She is of Chinese descent. Wilks also introduces Lily's family; her paternal grandmother is a "real tiger." The books are: Tempting Danger, Mortal Danger, Blood Lines, and Night Season, so far. I have read the first two and am almost finished with the third. These are more paranormal, adventure stories with romantic elements than true romance novels; Lily and Rule continue from book to book.

Another paranormal with Asian characters is Marjorie M. Liu's Red Heart of Jade. The heroine is American of Chinese descent, and the story takes place in Asia. Liu's book Tiger Eye takes place mostly in China; the hero is Asian.

Kay

Rosario · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 326 Location: Liverpool, UK

In Suzanne Brockmanns Into the Storm, the heroine is Japanese American.
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Sandlynn · Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 1601 Location: Washington, D.C.

I share your interest in changing things up a bit and looking for romances that feature heroes and heroines from different ethnic, religious or cultural backgrounds. I must admit, though, when an author I enjoy *always* writes about a particular ethnic group, as if it's a cause, I get a little tired of it. I like authors to shake things up, either way.

That being said, I think there are two romances not mentioned in the "Special Titles" list, linked to above, which might interest you.

Although I haven't read this book, I've been curious about it and have it on my radar screen when I hit any UBSs:

"The Businessman's Bride," by Jackie Braun. It's a category romance from last year, so it's already OOP. The heroine is Japanese and I take it she was a minor character in a previous book.

The Businessman's Bride

This second book I *have* read and really liked. The heroine is half Filipino. But, unfortunately, you're not going to get much of her ethnic/cultural background from the story. However, there are references to the heroine feeling that there are racist attitudes against her. It's been a while since I read the book, so I can't remember it being a big, big part of the story. Just sort of a underlying thing.

Anyway, the book is Anna Jeffrey's "The Love of a Cowboy".

The Love of a Cowboy

Trish B · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1109 Location: Mid-Atlantic, USA

Marie Donovan had a book out in 2007 (a Silhouette or Blaze?) titled Her Book of Pleasure. It's a contemp about a half-Irish American and half-Japanese woman who meets a man who finds a Japanese "pleasure book" that his grandfather brought back from WWII Japan. It was kind of interesting . . .

bamagirl · Joined: 27 Apr 2007 Posts: 125 Location: Georgia

I really enjoyed Tempted Tigress by Jade Lee. It is set in China in the early 1900s and has a Chinese hero and an English heroine. The plot is very different - the heroine is an opium smuggler and the hero fights the drug trade.

MaryK · Joined: 27 Mar 2007 Posts: 177 Location: Denham Springs, La

Karen Harbaugh has a Japanese hero in a short story called "Anna and the King of Dragons" in the "Dragon Lovers" anthology. He's a samurai who shape shifts into a dragon. It's very good.

Terese · Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 250

I suggest Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Masuoka. Not precisely a romance, but historical fiction with some romance thrown in. It takes place in 19th Century Japan and features a Japanese samurai warlord and the Christian missionary who comes to Japan and how they end up hiding the love they develop for from another. I think it is an exquisite story. Religion makes only a small appearance in the book. it really deals more with the politics at the time and the Japanese culture is front and center. Again, not a romance, but the romantic overtones deepen as the story goes on.

KayWebbHarrison · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 1206 Location: SE VA. USA

Love Conquers All - Roseanne Williams - Harlequin Temptation
#350; 7/1991

The hero is of Japanese descent. The story is set in California.

Kay

Yuri · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 252

Two recc.s within the romance genre:

Allison Leigh's "Mergers & matrimony" was my favorite 2006 series romance and is worth hunting down if you can. It is set in Japan and features a Japanese hero, with whom the heroine is concluding a business deal. They are wonderfully sensible about the whole thing.

Historicals:
Laura Kinsale -The Shadow and the Star: the hero is Japanese trained and it is set in Hawaii. This was actually the book that made me realise why everyone raved about Kinsale - I never got it before.

cawm · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 208 Location: Ontario, Canada

Although they are not romances, I have enjoyed Sujata Massey's mystery series about Japanese-American Rei Shimura. Most of the books are set in contemporary Japan, and Rei's romances form a significant element in the plots.

Sally in Scotland · Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 58

Try the following

Pat Barr
Kenjiro - set in Japan - as far as I can remember the heroine is British and the hero Japanese
Chinese Alice (published as Jade in the USA) - heroine is British and the hero? is Chinese

It is a long time since I read these books but I did like them very much.

Alexandra Jones
Fire Pheasant - set in Thailand (Siam 1873)
Heroine is Danish and the hero is Siamese.

I read this book a couple of months ago after having had it in my TBR pile for years. I loved it and wished I hadn't let it lie in the pile for all those years.