Song Ling Xin is a young woman whose sheltered life is aimed at befitting her to be chosen as Empress of China. Any romantic thoughts must be kept for the Emperor in the Forbidden City. But a mischievous fox spirit is about to intervene. The VIXEN perhaps admires Ling Xin, who secretly walks on the walls around her garden.

One day the girl notices Zhi Hao, a keen young scholar, arriving to seek the tutor Master Gao next door. At night the fox spirit pushes them together to converse. Zhi Hao has heard the two girls, Ling Xin and her cousin Li Fei, talking and singing, but good manners mean he doesn’t intrude; he just works through his Shao-lin exercises in the garden. Now a beautiful silk-clad girl falls into his arms. This series called Forbidden Pleasures demonstrates how hard it is to ignore the call of love.

This lively historical romance looks at the contrasting roles of the emperor’s staff, from outside the walls of the Forbidden City. I’ve read a book about a girl who gets taken in to live at the palace; this isn’t that story. Jade Lee might be reminding us that although we recently had to endure a couple of years of lockdown, some women had to live that way their entire lives. If a young woman is rejected by the Emperor, her family may consider her disgraced. If young men like Zhi Hao can’t pass the three-day imperial exam, their prospects are basic, but success means a job in the bureaucracy. The Imperial City of Peking was a prison and a means of betterment for nineteenth-century Chinese people, even those like Ling Xin whose father was a bo jue or earl. Status was precarious and depended on family favour.

With sexy talk and activity, though strictly forbidden, the young people meet night after night. We know they are bound to get caught. I was also interested in Li Fei, and the few options open to her if she was not destined for the emperor’s service. The novella-length story includes some of the training young women gained to be strong and useful wives, folklore and culture. I will look forward to more in the series. VIXEN kept me engaged and hoping for a good outcome.