A Red Silk Thread by Kennth Kunkel

An action-filled historical drama with a dash of romance, taking readers on a journey from Ancient China to Ancient Rome

Huang Hua is a princess of the Imperial Court of Chang’an. Having been given as an offering to her husband, Prince Qian, at fourteen years old so her father could win favor with the Han Dynasty, Hua brings her childhood best friend, Chyou, with her, both desperate to get out of their small village. 

Now ten years later, Hua finds royal life just as suffocating as her life before, with rules that moderate her every move, even forcing her to sit behind a screen so no one can see her. She’s also disappointed by the lack of romance between her and Qian and her inability to have a child. She finds solace in making small statues out of clay and playing with her husband’s son, Xiaosheng, in between her royal engagements. 

When the Imperial Majesty decides Hua and Qian must travel to Rome to negotiate a trade agreement with the Roman Emperor Augustus, Hua is both excited and daunted by the trip. After a long journey at sea, including attacks by pirates in which Hua must kill to survive and Qian is wounded, they finally arrive in Rome. 

In another point of view, Roman guard Alexander is still reeling from the loss of his family in a recent epidemic when he finds his girlfriend, Diana, murdered in an alleyway. He dedicates his time to finding her killer despite his leadership warning him to stay away, his relationship with her casting Alexander in a suspicious light. 

Then he’s assigned to guard the visiting Chinese envoys, Hua and Qian, assisting them with navigating the city and protecting them from more than one assassination attempt. As they spend more time together, Hua and Alexander find a connection with each other, one that could spell out dire consequences for them both.

Hua, as a character, is complex and often contradictory, but in a way that makes her feel realistic to the complicated nature of the real world. She loves the friendship she has with her husband, Qian, while still feeling disappointed by their lack of romance and her inability to produce an heir. She’s grateful for her status but also longs to experience more freedom than the walls of the imperial palace allow. 

This dichotomy is most present in her relationship with Chyou, her childhood best friend, whom she brought to the palace to be her handmaiden. After ten years, though, their friendship has fallen victim to the social dynamics dictated by their separate roles, forcing Chyou to be subservient to Hua and straining their previous closeness. Hua often catches herself thinking of herself as superior to those in lower roles after so long as a princess, but she also tries to push back against that thinking and reminds herself that Chyou or, later, Alexander, are just as deserving of anything as she is. Her conflicting emotions lend to her realism, reflecting the way that no decision or thought or life, however it may appear on the outside, is ever only one thing.

While the novel is advertised as a historical romance, the forbidden romance element does take quite a while to get to and ends up reading more like a side plot than being a main part of the story. Hua and Alexander don’t meet until about halfway through the novel and their relationship is strained for a while despite their instant attraction. An occasionally fragmented style can make dialogue or prose feel stiff, even if it is likely a characterization choice since it comes from Hua’s point of view rather than an outright error.

The atmosphere of the novel is fun with great detail put into the Roman and Chinese cultures, especially with their fashion choices. The descriptions of Hua’s outfits, especially along with those of the Roman leaders, add to the artistic aspects of the novel that are also seen through Hua’s statue making and Alexander’s painting. All of it adds a richness to the novel’s atmosphere, balancing out the rather dire assassination attempt scenes.

A Red Silk Thread is a compelling historical drama full of assassination attempts, cultural outings, and royal parties. The scenes between Hua and Alexander are sweet and their points of view reveal the grief and conflict both must reckon with to get what they really want.