Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Friday, April 22, 2011

Song of The Silk Road by Mingmei Yip... Review & Giveaway!

Song of The Silk Road by Minmei Yip... As a girl growing up in Hong Kong, Lily Lin was captivated by photographs of the desert - its long, lonely vistas and shifting sand dunes. Now living in New York, Lily is struggling to finish her graduate degree when she receives an astonishing offer. An aunt she never knew existed will pay Lily a huge sum to travel across China's desolate Taklamakan Desert - and carry out a series of tasks along the way. Intrigued, Lily accepts. Her assignments range from the dangerous to the bizarre. Lily must seduce a monk. She must scrape a piece of clay from the famous Terracotta Warriors, and climb the Mountains of Heaven to gather a rare herb...

What would you do if someone offered you three million dollars to go on an adventure? Lily Lin was suspicious, but also a poor struggling writer, so she decided to pack her bags and escape. Her life in New York was a tedious low paying job, a married lover and frustration over writing her "novel of a lifetime", so China's infamous Silk Road was a dream come true for her. And what an adventure it was!

In Song of The Silk Road, Mingmei Yip seduces you by painting such an exotic landscape, and whisking you off with Lily Lin into a world filled with mysterious potions and whispers of legends. The novel feels contemporary, with modern day problems and situations, and Lily herself is a bit jaded. But there's a quality to the story, with references to Chinese superstitions and sayings that turns the contemporary into more "traditional".

"In good fortune is always some misfortune, and in misfortune, always some good fortune."

Song of the Silk Road will seduce you with its' exotic landscape, and Mingmei Yip can almost have you feel the sand between your toes, but it is the characters that fill those pages that will have you feverishly reading... Alex, the young vibrant traveler, who saves Lily Lin on more than one occasion and becomes her lover, the herbalist Nop Lor, who mourns the ghosts of his past and who Lily will ultimately set free from his guilt, The Monk who isn't as chaste as one would think, and the village that becomes home and the villagers that become almost family. Each of these people and places play an important part of Lily's journey to the end - and to the money. The predicaments that Lily Lin finds herself in and how she gets her self out of them is also a fun part of the story. And what a twist at the end!

If you love stories filled with adventure in exotic places, a bit of romance and wonderful writing, you need to add Song of The Silk Road to your wish list! I could not put this book down! It's Bridgett Jones Diary meets Memoirs of a Geisha.

Song of The Silk Road is available right now at your local bookstore! Would you like a chance to win a copy?! Courtesy of Kensington Publishing I am giving away one copy of Song of The Silk Road to one lucky Chick with Books reader! Here's how to enter...

To Enter this Giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button on the sidebar to the left! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents only (No PO boxes). The books will be shipped to the winners directly from the publisher. Contest ends 11:59pm EST on May 3rd, 2011. I will randomly pick the winners the next day and email them! Good Luck!

22 comments:

Harvee said...

Definitely a book I'd like!

I'm a follower.

harvee44 at yahoo.com

Linda said...

Having just read a couple of books about Genghis Khan, I'm now very interested in this area of the world. Thanks for the giveaway.
lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

Linda said...

extra entry -- Google follower
Thanks,
lcbrower40(at)gmail(dot)com

I ♥ Book Gossip said...

+1 Please count me in.
+1 Follower
+1 Blogged sidebar
http://juniperrbreeeze.blogspot.com/

cindyc725 at gmail dot com

PoCoKat said...

Sounds like a great book...thanks for the opportunity!

pocokat AT gmail DOT com

PoCoKat said...

I follow on GFC

pocokat AT gmail DOt com

Reading said...

Please count me in. I would love to win this.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Melissa said...

Thanks for the giveaway.

coffeebooksandlaundry(at)gmail.com

Melissa said...

I'm an old follower.

Coffeebooksandlaundry(at)gmail.com

Laura at Library of Clean Reads said...

Great review. Thanks for this giveaway!
laura at laurafabiani dot com

Laura at Library of Clean Reads said...

I'm an old follower.
laura at laurafabiani dot com

Shoshana said...

followed you and my daughter would really love to read this book.

Martha Lawson said...

Sounds awesome! Enter me please.

+1 old follower on gfc

mlawson17 at hotmail dot com

Meredith said...

This books sounds like a great adventure! I'd love to read it!

meredithfl at gmail dot com

Meredith said...

GFC follower

meredithfl at gmail dot com

stpand said...

Please enter me, thanks!

http://services.nexodyne.com/email/icon/kZP6YCw8ToE%3D/DrfPGPc%3D/SG90bWFpbA%3D%3D/0/image.png

I am a follower of your blog.

Sarah said...

Wow! I'm a follower and I would *love* to read the book you've just reviewed!

Sarahbogdanovich@hotmail.com

mingmei said...

I just found your site and read your wonderful review on my new novel Song of the Silk Road.

I want to say a big thank you and hope you will all enjoy the novel as much as when I wrote it!

Happy reading and more advenutres await!
Mingmei Yip
www.mingmeiyip.com

Maureen said...

It looks like an interesting book.
I am a follower.
mce1011 AT aol DOT com

CherylS22 said...

I'd love to read this book.
Thanks for the giveaway!
megalon22 at yahoo dot com

CherylS22 said...

GFC follower
megalon22 at yahoo dot com

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I'd love a chance to win. I do follow your blog.

bibliophilebythesea AT gmail DOT com

thanks so much

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