The Tiger's Bride

*emphasized text*I wish there was a function that enabled me to give ironic four-star ratings, because that's essentially what this one is. The Tiger's Bride is a Harlequin historical romance novel passed on to me by my 95-year-old grandmother--not something I would ordinarily read, and littered with all kinds of misogyny, lame plot devices and jaw-dropping racism (the story is set in China and the male characters all work for the British East India Company and have plenty of problematic observations about the local population). But it arrived in my mailbox at the end of a draining, rainy day and I zipped through the whole thing in an evening and felt thoroughly relaxed afterwards. So if you need something light and ridiculous, I highly recommend it. Under ordinary circumstances, though, I'd give it one star.