Sometimes with a book you just need to read it at the right time. The first time I tried The Story of Saiunkoku I wasn't really invested and ended up reading only small bits at a time then put it down properly around half way through. Starting it again today I really enjoyed it and read the entire volume in one sitting. 

While the main character Shurei is likeable enough, the characters I am most interested in are the two main men - the emperor Saiunkoku and Shurei's retainer Seiran. Both of them clearly have more to their stories than is evident on first meeting. 

I had a good time with this and will hopefully in future get my hands on the next in the series.