I wasn't sure what drew me to this book. I suppose I found the cover interesting, with its bright red and its Asian theme. Then reading the blurb on the kindle store and seeing it was about a Chinese princess, sent to live in Japan who turns spy. It certainly piqued my interest.

I haven't read that many historical novels, and this one, based on the real figure of Eastern Jewel (Dongzhen) (see [link=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshiko_Kawashima]wikipedia[/link])and set during the early part of last century in the build up and duration of the 1st and 2nd world wars. I was not that knowledgable about the Sino-Japanese wars, despite having studied the language. War is not something that interests me. This book might have changed that.

Eastern Jewel (or Yoshiko Kawashima as she was also known) is often nicknamed the Eastern Mata Hari for her role as a female soldier/spy.

The book reads well, told in first person through her journals. She skips chunks of her life though which confused me because I thought it would take more time describing her childhood however once I got used to the idea of missing out huge parts of her life, I quite enjoyed the book. It added an extra layer of mystery which was extended by the ambiguous ending.

There is a lot of sex here. Essentially the character of Yoshiko is a bit of a sex-obsessed, opium-loving woman with trust issues, daddy issues and an inability to express her feelings properly. Despite her unlikable traits, you can't help but like her - she is brutally honest. Weirdly enough for a spy.

The book seems well researched, with lots of beautiful description and detailed insight into life in Japan, China and Mongolia during that time.

I think people who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha and other such historical novels will certainly find this one a good read.