My Beautiful Enemy

I am not particularly fond of stories with martial arts. I am not crazy about the settings of India or Asia (just a personal preference), and I really dont like spy novels. However, Sherry Thomas spins a tale like no other, and for the first time in a long time, I read a book in a day.

First, I highly recommend reading The Hidden Blade first, which is the prequel novella. I did, and I felt it added so much to the story line of this book almost another dimension that I would have been sorry to miss. It is so essential to know the background story of Ying-Yings very complicated childhood, and her and Leightons relationship with Herb Gordon, the lover of Leightons father and friend and tutor of Ying-Ying. It also helped explain a lot of the developing plot lines in this book. I almost think they should be one story with Hidden Blade as volume 1.

The story moves back and forth between 1883 when Ying-Ying and Leighton met and fell in love and 1891 after an 8 year separation. While this could have given me whiplash, it worked beautifully to build their story and create the conflict that grew between them. Thomas deftly connects the dots with this technique. The addition of the Leightons engagement to another woman could have been so predictable, but Thomas develops a very complicated triangle with very believable dialogue and 3-dimensional characters.

Some of the scenes from when they met and consequently were parted left me so moved I had to put the book down and walk away to recover, only to grab it up again to see what happened. I cant speak highly enough of an author who can write a book that moves me so much that I cant stop thinking about the characters. Sherry Thomas has never been a disappointment, and even when the setting or plot devices are not my favorite, she manages to pull off a stunner. She will forever remain one of my favorite authors.

Ms. Thomas has re-imagined the genre of romance novel bringing to it the larger literary meaning of romance. This novel and its prequel should be read together to have the full scope of the story. A fair comparison could be made to such books as The Far Pavilions and Jamaica Inn. The plot is updated nicely with the heroine’s martial arts skills. The villians are fully fleshed and chilling with an intricate plot that is skillfully fitted together by alternating the hero’s and heroine’s stories in the prequel and using a past/present construction in the second book. Ms. Thomas has fitted a beautifully written love story with its heartbreaking human tragedies into the larger context of historic tiime and place. Her protagonists are so sympathetic, and their struggles to achieve happiness are so compelling that this reader was alternately charmed and alarmed but never unengaged. She has added gorgeously described geographic settings with all fitted into the word count restrictions and plot conventions of a romance novel. These books are worth the time and emotional committment to read them. They will have a place on my bookshelf.

My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas follows closely on the heels of The Hidden Blade. I would say this once again, this time having finished the 2nd book that signals the end of this duology; you have to read The Hidden Blade first in order to really get into the characters Leighton Atwood and Bai Ying-Hua (Catherine Blade), whose tragic and moving pasts entwine both of them in a way thatd not be felt if you just end up reading My Beautiful Enemy as a standalone.

My Beautiful Enemy tells the story of Catherine Blade aka Bai Ying-hua, who is tracking the three jade tablets for the treasure it might unearth based on the legend of the monks that had been a part of Catherines life when she had been growing up. She seeks the tablets on behalf of her stepfather Da-ren, the closest thing she has left as family, to win his approval and perhaps be considered worthy of all that he had done for her.

Catherine is well versed in the art of fighting, she is like a lethal blade honed to perfection. But her life had not come without making a formidable enemy in its wake. The man who searches for her seeks vengeance of the kind that needs Catherine to be in her best form, something she has been hard pressed to achieve ever since the last encounter between them. Her journey takes her to London, the stories of a city that teems with life according to her childhood friend that fails to live up to her expectations. And then it happens; she crosses paths with that of her lover, the lover that she had poisoned trying to kill him, the man shed searched for in vain after, the man who still has the ability to bring her to her knees, the only man she has ever loved.

Leighton hasnt forgotten the young woman who had slayed his heart in the Chinese Turkestan 8 years back. His love for her had been swift, but it had been a relationship based on half-truths at best, which hadnt served well for either of them when the time had come. Seeing a different version of the woman he has tried to forget all these years throws him for a loop, and Leighton is hard pressed to act normally and not let his fiance think anything untoward about his aloofness around Catherine.

Old habits die hard and before Leighton knows it, he is swept into his old role of taking care of Catherine, looking after her well being because Leighton would rather die himself than see any harm come to Catherine. My Beautiful Enemy consists of a lot of flashbacks into the entwined pasts of Leighton and Catherine, how they meet and how the beautiful man that Leighton is wins the prickly Catherine over with his gentleness, charm and the fact that when it comes to Catherine, his heart had never stood a chance.

For the most part, Catherine comes across as someone who is straightforward and assumes a no nonsense lifestyle. Though well versed in the etiquettes of what is deemed as proper behavior for a lady, beneath the facade that she presents to the rest of the world lies a heart filled with loneliness, an aching soul that yearns for nothing else but love. Her past had taught her to be wary, but when it comes to Leighton there is little fight left in her when she had already succumbed to his touch years ago. I didnt like the flashbacks all so much. I felt that one reason why I failed to connect to both Leighton and Catherine as the story progressed was because all that had indeed connected them happens through flashbacks in the story.

My Beautiful Enemy is certainly different from the books that I have read from Sherry Thomas to-date. This tale doesnt focus mainly on the element of romance between Catherine and Leighton. Rather I would say this duology focuses on the fated connection between Catherine and Leighton that spanned continents all those years back, the near miss of a meeting that should have happened between them and how years later, finally, Catherine and Leighton find their way towards each other.

I felt a trifle bit disappointed with the steam factor of My Beautiful Enemy, perhaps the reason why I felt that Catherine and Leightons connection didnt touch me in the way it really should have. Especially, after having read the scrumptious scenes of passion that Ms. Thomas can weave in her romances; The Luckiest Lady in London will attest to this fact, needless to say I felt My Beautiful Enemy was a bit of a letdown in that sense. Point; I just didnt fall as hard and fast in love with either Leighton or Catherine as I should have.

Entertainment wise, My Beautiful Enemy hits the spots. Emotional wise, thought I felt a bit disconnected from Catherine and Leighton, I was still swept away by the sheer magic that is Sherry Thomas writing.

And oh yes, this bit in the novel that describes my country, the Maldives, blew me away!

There is a chain of tropical coral islands not far from the southern tip of India. And all around them the water is the exact color of the sky, and so clear you can see the fish swim. I want to take you there.

Id say Sherry Thomas has done a perfect job in describing a country renown for its beauty.

Recommended for those who love historical fiction and romance. Sherry Thomas is an author you ought not miss in this genre.

Rating = 3.75/5

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Sherry Thomas has become one of my favorite HR writers because of her prose, plots, depth of characters and the intensity of their passions. My Beautiful Enemy differs from her others. It’s not your usual (or post) Regency but rather a poignant tale of love, as well as duty and obligations to the lovers’ respective Chinese and British family and culture…which in turn is the basis for the mystery and suspense that pulls them apart and unites them. The writing is superb. The story is told in flashbacks and forwards and so builds tension. The Chinese cultural elements are exotic and intriguing. The action is reminiscent of Bruce Lee and the poignancy of their love reminded me of Jamie and Claire’s (Outlander). Oh, after I read it, I found out there was a prequel, next on my list. I wish I had read that first- or maybe not.

Really enjoyed this book. Was completely different from your standard regency romance – felt the author really did her research regarding Chinese Turkestan and really loved this side of the story – it gave the book a fascinating, almost magical, Arabian Nights flavour. My only small criticism was that, when Catherine and Leighton met again, their reunion seemed a bit too easy, especially when Miss Chase was so easily made into a villain and dismissed. Would have preferred more tension and emotion to this love triangle. However, I would still recommend this book. Sherry has now secured her position among my favourite authors.

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