Yay, more Asian-based stories! Easy to read and didn't raise any of my anti-romance hackles. My main issue with this story deals more with the murder mystery subplot -- the characters just didn't feel like very effective investigators. Which is probably understandable, since the characters involved were a flamboyent-failed-student and a former-prostitute-now-maid. Still, I've read plenty of mysteries with "every man" main characters who methodically and super-effectively figure out the conspiracy, and shine at it while at the same time still appearing like a normal person. 
 Instead, these characters seem to spend a lot of time chasing speculative theories that don't pan out. A constable character actually states up front that the main heroine needs to stop fitting the evidence to the theory rather than letting the evidence form the theory. Too bad that constable wasn't too effective at his job either. 
 Still, it's fun and passes the time in a Chinese setting. I'll definitely keep reading this author's books.