Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Giveaway: The Concubine Saga by Lloyd Lofthouse

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 30, 2012
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | 12 Comments

The Concubine saga combines two of Lloyd Lofthouse’s books into one glorious read, My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.  I had the pleasure of reading them both.  They fictionalize Robert Hart, known as the ‘Godfather of China’s modernism’.  A man I knew nothing about before I read Lloyd Lofthouse’s account of him.


Hart was born in Ireland and in 1854 we went to China to work for the British Consulate as an interpreter.  Before that he had a reputation for drinking too much and womanizing and he was determined to change his ways and grow up in China. 

He hired a Chinese tutor to learn the language and customs.  He learned that it was customary for foreign men to have a concubine while in China.  While he was conflicted with the ethics of it he did get a concubine, actually two.  Sisters, Ayaou and her younger sister Shao-mei.  The two sisters did not want to be separated.  Hart loved both of them but was deeply in love with Ayaou.


Hart and Ayaou have children together and their eunuch servant, Guan-Jiah becomes a surrogate uncle for the children. Robert became the deputy commissioner of customs for the Ch’ing dynasty in his late 20’s. and it kept him away from his family for long stretches at a time. He was indispensible to the dynasty and work for them in to his senior year. They fondly referred to him as “Our Hart”.

Lloyd Lofthouse does a great job pacing the story and keeping the reader engaged.   I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.  I highly recommend The Concubine Saga  to historical fiction lovers who are interested in Chinese culture.

About Lloyd Lofthouse:

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart [combined in this single volume], which earned honorable mentions in general fiction at the 2008 London Book Festival, 2009 San Francisco Book Festival, 2009 Hollywood Book Festival, 2009 Los Angeles Book Festival, 2009 Nashville Book Festival and was a finalist in historical fiction for the National Best Books 2010 Awards. Lloyd Lofthouse grew up in Southern California, served in the Vietnam War as a U.S. Marine and lives near San Francisco with his wife and family with a second home in Shanghai, China.

Here’s your chance to win a copy of The Concubine Saga!  If you live in the U.S., you will have your choice of a print or Kindle copy.  If outside the U.S. you will receive the book in Kindle.  Be sure to follow the tour for the entire month of June for extra chances to win!  This giveaway ends on June 30,2012.

Lloyd Lofthouse is also holding a giveaway:

Leave an approved comment on one or more Blog posts found at  Lloyd Lofthouse.org or  iLook China.net
between May 30, 2012 and June 30, 2012
during “The Concubine Saga” Web Tour
and automatically be entered into a drawing
to win a limited edition, signed and numbered hard-cover copy of the novel.
(NOTE: only one limited-edition, hard-cover copy is available to give away)


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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Giveaway: The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 29, 2012
Posted in My Past Giveaways  | 19 Comments

Thanks to Ava Kavyani, Freelance Publicist and the author, Emylia Hall, I am giving away one copy of The Book of Summers.




Book Description:

Beth Lowe has been sent a parcel.

Inside is a letter informing her that her long-estranged mother has died, and a scrapbook Beth has never seen before. Entitled The Book of Summers, it’s stuffed with photographs and mementos complied by her mother to record the seven glorious childhood summers Beth spent in rural Hungary.


It was a time when she trod the tightrope between separated parents and two very different countries; her bewitching but imperfect Hungarian mother and her gentle, reticent English father; the dazzling house of a Hungarian artist and an empty-feeling cottage in deepest Devon. And it was a time that came to the most brutal of ends the year Beth turned sixteen.

Since then, Beth hasn’t allowed herself to think about those years of her childhood. But the arrival of The Book of Summers brings the past tumbling back into the present; as vivid, painful and vital as ever.

About Emylia Hall:

Emylia Hall was born in the U.K. in 1978 and grew up in the Devon countryside, the daughter of an English artist and a Hungarian quilt maker. After studying at York University and in Lausanne, Switzerland, Emylia spent five years working in a London advertising agency before moving to the French Alps. It was there that she began to write. Emylia’s short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, and Elle Magazine (U.K.) named her one of 2012’s most anticipated debut novelists. Emylia now lives in Bristol with her husband, also an author.


THE BOOK OF SUMMERS is her first novel, and is inspired by evocative memories of childhood holidays spent in rural Hungary.

Sorry, this giveaway is for the U.S. only and ends on June 12, 2012.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Mailbox Monday

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on May 29, 2012
Posted in Mail Box Mondays  | 8 Comments

Mailbox Monday now has it’s very own blog, Mailbox Monday. It is also on tour and is being hosted by Martha’s Bookshelf in May.

This is what I received last week:

 Thanks to C.W. Gortner, and Amy of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for this highly anticipated book!  Please watch for my review and a chance to win a copy on June 18th!

 Okay, this is embarassing.  I actually won this book and I can’t remember who from.  I can’t find the email anywhere.  If I won it from you, please let me know and thanks so much!

 I received this book unsolicited from William Morrow/Harper Collins.  Mysteries, even historical are not usually my cup of tea but this one sounds like it may be good.  It’s set during WWI and the outbreak of the Spanish Flu.

Thanks to Erin McNichols of Meryl L, Moss Media Relations.  I wont be reviewing this book but watch for my feature, excerpt, and giveaway on July 17th.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.