--- description: Find out why 'The Lotus Palace' made the list. title: 'The Lotus Palace' Is on TIME’s List of the 50 Best Romance Novels image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75862b5b34e1e95f/698a5948457a5228e7d6a934/The-Lotus-Palace-Jeannie-Lin.png?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 01, 2024 # The Lotus Palace by [Shannon Carlin](/author/shannon-carlin/) ## Shannon Carlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Carlin is a contributor for TIME.  The title of high-school teacher turned [award-winning author Jeannie Lin](https://www.rwa.org/Online/Online/Awards/Golden%5FHeart/Past%5FGolden%5FHeart%5FWinners.aspx "undefined")’s 2013 historical romance, _The Lotus Palace,_ refers to the home of the courtesans in Tang Dynasty China. Due to a red birthmark that covers most of her face, Maidservant Yue-ying is known more for her ingenuity than her beauty. It’s her intelligence that charms Lord Bai Huang, a frisky scholar and socialite. When one of Yue-yong’s co-workers is murdered, Bai agrees to help her investigate the crime. The two soon form a bond that defies their social ranks. But as they grow closer, Yue-ying worries that Bai will only ever see her as his concubine—a role she has sworn she will never play. _The Lotus Palace_, praised for its historical accuracy and detail, offers a suspenseful tale of lovers held captive by social conventions. **Buy Now:** _The Lotus Palace_ on [Amazon](https://amzn.to/3LlCD10 "undefined") These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996627/the-lotus-palace/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996627/the-lotus-palace/"},"headline":"The Lotus Palace","datePublished":"2024-08-01T12:16:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:34:15.106Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996627/the-lotus-palace/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list","Special Project"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75862b5b34e1e95f/698a5948457a5228e7d6a934/The-Lotus-Palace-Jeannie-Lin.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Shannon Carlin","jobTitle":"Carlin is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/shannon-carlin/"}],"creator":"Shannon Carlin","articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt75862b5b34e1e95f/698a5948457a5228e7d6a934/The-Lotus-Palace-Jeannie-Lin.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996627/the-lotus-palace/","name":"The Lotus Palace"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Romance Authors Share the Book That They Keep Returning To","description":"Romance authors share the book that they keep returning to","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/biTPcLi3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-07-30T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/biTPcLi3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996627/the-lotus-palace/","duration":"PT47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/best-romance-books/6996627/the-lotus-palace/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```