Love in the China Sea

by Judith Baker

TO THE FARTHEST SHORES OF DESIRE....Kai Shanpei , mysterious Eurasian tycoon, was as much a part of Hong Kong as its crescent harbor, teeming streets and the jagged mountains looming above. From the moment she met him, Anne Hunter was lost in his spell, plucked from the prosaic reality of life as a foreign correspondent to learn, in his arms, the secrets of love. She was his "lotus beauty" now, lost in a dream of rapture forever.....

186 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Nightwitch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let's get right into it: the hero is described as a "striking Eurasian man," his skin as "almond," his eyes as "ebony," "black onyx," “coal black,” and "darkly inscrutable," and his scent as "sandalwood." He repeatedly calls the heroine his "Lotus beauty," and takes her out for poorly described Chinese food (they're in Hong Kong and all she can say is that she wants Szechuan?). They end up in bed together within like ten minutes of vapid conversation; it’s not particularly sexy, and it’s also faintly transactional - he’s promised to set up an interview for her with a reclusive tycoon. The next day, surprise! he is the reclusive tycoon.

Anyway, he then tells her that he has had a thorough background check run, she is the most unbiased reporter in the whole wide world, and he would like them to continue their affair - and yes, he is married, but his wife’s alcoholism “led her into a deep psychosis from which she will never recover.” They proceed to date - while Anne, the most unbiased reporter in the whole wide world, tries to compose an article on him. They discuss Kundalini yoga (Anne is a fan) and Tai Chi (Kai practices). After lunch the heroine announces that she is “stuffed as an egg roll.” I guess what I’m getting at here is, this book is not not racist.

Also, Anne is incredibly unprofessional and they don’t come much dumber; and Kai would be deeply manipulative were it not for the fact that he’s a pile of cliches (including racist ones) stuffed in a tailor-made suit. He speaks in aphorisms (also kind of racist, frankly!) and has no personality. His mother is "a descendant of Chinese nobility" and referred to throughout the text as "Lady Hua." I mean...

Anyway, as 1980s category romances go this is bland at best - the heroine does indeed give up a promotion to be with the hero, but she doesn't give up her job entirely, and he's controlling but not violent - but everything having to do with Hong Kong, China, or race is gross and poorly-researched, and the hero is married for like half the book while he and the heroine bang repeatedly. It's not so offensive I'm going to set my copy on fire, but I really would not bother trying to track this down.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not her best book. Although definitely a romance, I would still classify it as situational in nature.