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Sanematsu #1
The Seabird of Sanematsu
Aderyn Aquilla is stranded in Japan at the mercy of Lord Sanematsu Yoshihide. Spending her time with the young daimyo she forges a bond even death cannot break. Sanematsu, arising to power under the tutelage of others, has never governed his domain as he wished. Only with the strength and courage of Aderyn is he able to dream of becoming Shogun.
344 pages, Paperback
First published March 7, 2006
2 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Kei Swanson
8 books16 followersIt is my hope to share my love for Japan and its warrior class, the Samurai, with you.
I have written many stories with a Japanese hero since I began creating fanfiction for the original STAR TREK series, starring the character Lt. Sulu. This was in high school and as I aged I discovered other avenues to pursue in the world of writing, all involving an Asian hero. Getting them published was another thing.
Struggling to find a publisher, I began a work inspired by Hideo Nomo, the first Japanese National to pitch in the major leagues in 30 years. At the same time, I attended a ROMANTIC TIMES convention in San Antonio and spoke with Will Colom, who had just started his publishing house Genesis Press. He spoke of his desire to publish ethnic romances with an eye to the African-American, Hispanic, and Asian market. Within 18 months I had the work completed and ready for submission.
THE WORDS OF THE PITCHER sold and was on the shelf in 2000. (It’s still available, hint, hint!) The incredible ride of a published author was wonderful. In 2004, I sold my second work, SEABIRD OF SANEMATSU to Zumaya Publications which was released in September 2005. SEABIRD is the first volume of a three volume series set in 15th century Feudal Japan, the second book in the saga, SEASON OF SANEMATSU was released in Spring, 2009.
My goal in writing books with Japanese heroes is to show the erotic side of the samurai. Some say I’ve succeeded with Kentaro Ikuta and Sanematsu Yoshihide. See for yourself!
I also write contemporary romance with the standard non-ethnic hero. Hopefully, they’ll live up to the standards I have set for my Samurai.
Let me know what you think…about anything.
Sayonara,
Kei
I have written many stories with a Japanese hero since I began creating fanfiction for the original STAR TREK series, starring the character Lt. Sulu. This was in high school and as I aged I discovered other avenues to pursue in the world of writing, all involving an Asian hero. Getting them published was another thing.
Struggling to find a publisher, I began a work inspired by Hideo Nomo, the first Japanese National to pitch in the major leagues in 30 years. At the same time, I attended a ROMANTIC TIMES convention in San Antonio and spoke with Will Colom, who had just started his publishing house Genesis Press. He spoke of his desire to publish ethnic romances with an eye to the African-American, Hispanic, and Asian market. Within 18 months I had the work completed and ready for submission.
THE WORDS OF THE PITCHER sold and was on the shelf in 2000. (It’s still available, hint, hint!) The incredible ride of a published author was wonderful. In 2004, I sold my second work, SEABIRD OF SANEMATSU to Zumaya Publications which was released in September 2005. SEABIRD is the first volume of a three volume series set in 15th century Feudal Japan, the second book in the saga, SEASON OF SANEMATSU was released in Spring, 2009.
My goal in writing books with Japanese heroes is to show the erotic side of the samurai. Some say I’ve succeeded with Kentaro Ikuta and Sanematsu Yoshihide. See for yourself!
I also write contemporary romance with the standard non-ethnic hero. Hopefully, they’ll live up to the standards I have set for my Samurai.
Let me know what you think…about anything.
Sayonara,
Kei
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 6, 2008
As one of my "book review" books, this one was a pleasant surprise. Much in accord with my favorite book of all times by John Shors (Beneath A Marble Sky), it is a historical fiction; one of my favorite genres after reading John's book!
Here's my review:
A historical fiction based on the samurai warrior lifestyle of the Japanese it was an absolutely WONDERFUL book!!!! I really could not put it down.
It's about a Daimyo (king) who's warriors take over a trade ship that is run by a business man and his family. They kill all on board with the exception of one daughter who manages to pretend she is dead. Unfortunately they find her alive as the Daimyo comes on board and instead of killing the 'barbarian' instantly as expected, he decides to bring her to the castle for questioning. This 'barbarian' quickly connects with the Daimyo and not only does she throw his world upside down by being everything a woman is not allowed to be but takes his heart. The worse part of the book is the ending line.... To Be Continued!!!!! I about died thinking I have to wait for another book to be written!
Here's my review:
A historical fiction based on the samurai warrior lifestyle of the Japanese it was an absolutely WONDERFUL book!!!! I really could not put it down.
It's about a Daimyo (king) who's warriors take over a trade ship that is run by a business man and his family. They kill all on board with the exception of one daughter who manages to pretend she is dead. Unfortunately they find her alive as the Daimyo comes on board and instead of killing the 'barbarian' instantly as expected, he decides to bring her to the castle for questioning. This 'barbarian' quickly connects with the Daimyo and not only does she throw his world upside down by being everything a woman is not allowed to be but takes his heart. The worse part of the book is the ending line.... To Be Continued!!!!! I about died thinking I have to wait for another book to be written!
August 5, 2020
2.5 stars. This book was frustrating because it had promise, but felt like a first draft that needed the guidance of an experienced editor. I'm surprised at all the glowing reviews. The author obviously did her research, but the exposition was often inelegant and/or a dry info dump. Many of the early interactions between the couple were repetitive and redundant and could've been be trimmed; I wondered if anything was actually going to happen aside from this girl sitting in a castle all day. The overarching plot was very sparse, and the villain was two-dimensional and near-comically bad. As far as our hero and heroine go, Sanematsu had moments of compelling depth that were sadly never really expanded on. Aderyn behaved more like a modern woman and seemed Mary Sue-ish at times, and it icked me out that she's 15 years old - historical practices don't matter here, we're modern readers and the author could've easily made her a couple years older and it wouldn't have altered the story. Anyway, I can't be bothered to read the sequels.
December 15, 2018
For the most part I liked it, but I dont think I'll read the rest of the series. A bit dramatic for my taste.
January 3, 2021
Genre rating: 3.5/5.0
Overall rating: 2.5/5.0
After a very slow start the book did end up picking up the pace and actually establishing a plot about halfway through the book. I do need to say that the plot is not groundbreaking however. It's a romance novel, so I kind of expected that.
The book is very much build upon the idea that everything is set in Sengoku Japan and relies a lot on that setting. The historical aspect is done surprisingly well. To someone like me, who has a fairly good knowledge of Japanese history and culture, the very lengthy descriptions of the rooms, customs and clothes can be a bit much at times but I do see how that would be great for someone with very little or no knowledge.
As for the characters, the book focuses basically exclusively on our two protagonists, Aderyn/Tori and Sanematsu/Yoshihide/Yoshi and how they relate to each other, which is quite nicely done. Tori herself feels a bit lifeless at times sometimes she overthinks things completely and then there are moments when she just seems to have no emotions at all (like at the start when her entire family is basically killed in front of her and she is somehow coherent enough to notice and judge the clothes and facial expressions of the people around her very rationally).
I would have loved to get a bit more from the other characters, dive into their lives and have them be less one dimensional. We get to see a little bit of that at the very end of the book, which makes me hopeful that we might get a bit more of them in the second book.
The romance itself is a very, very, VERY slow burn and I actually appreciate that. It could have developed a bit further at the end but it did get me excited enough to pick up book 2.
Overall, the book is exactly what I was looking for, a romance set in feudal Japan, which there are definitely not enough of!
Overall rating: 2.5/5.0
After a very slow start the book did end up picking up the pace and actually establishing a plot about halfway through the book. I do need to say that the plot is not groundbreaking however. It's a romance novel, so I kind of expected that.
The book is very much build upon the idea that everything is set in Sengoku Japan and relies a lot on that setting. The historical aspect is done surprisingly well. To someone like me, who has a fairly good knowledge of Japanese history and culture, the very lengthy descriptions of the rooms, customs and clothes can be a bit much at times but I do see how that would be great for someone with very little or no knowledge.
As for the characters, the book focuses basically exclusively on our two protagonists, Aderyn/Tori and Sanematsu/Yoshihide/Yoshi and how they relate to each other, which is quite nicely done. Tori herself feels a bit lifeless at times sometimes she overthinks things completely and then there are moments when she just seems to have no emotions at all (like at the start when her entire family is basically killed in front of her and she is somehow coherent enough to notice and judge the clothes and facial expressions of the people around her very rationally).
I would have loved to get a bit more from the other characters, dive into their lives and have them be less one dimensional. We get to see a little bit of that at the very end of the book, which makes me hopeful that we might get a bit more of them in the second book.
The romance itself is a very, very, VERY slow burn and I actually appreciate that. It could have developed a bit further at the end but it did get me excited enough to pick up book 2.
Overall, the book is exactly what I was looking for, a romance set in feudal Japan, which there are definitely not enough of!
December 8, 2016
Recommended read. Rich, historical, with Asian hero and white heroine. It’s very sweet. Heavy on medieval Japanese politics. It’s the beginning of a series, so I’ll tell you right now it ends in a cliffhanger. The heroine is
appropriately im
mature (she’s, you know, 15 or something), yet sometimes
in
appropriately
mature
, but I let it pass because of the time period and the assumption that you had to be a lot more mature a lot faster.
April 11, 2010
My grandmother lent me this book, she reads all the time but has never lent me a book, she highly recommended it.
December 10, 2020
Great story
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews