Reviews - A Forgery of Fate

592 reviews for:

A Forgery of Fate

Elizabeth Lim

4.28 AVERAGE

suetruong's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Adventure, action, tension, fantasy, high stakes, slow burn romance. I really liked this book - I liked the plot, the story line, the characters, the twists and turns. I did get confused on some parts that weren’t clarified until the very end. It felt like they weren’t friends and then suddenly confessed their secrets and feelings and were in love. I’m confused on how Elang became human and remembered Tru, but I’m glad it had a happy ending.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I love Elizabeth’s Lim writing so I will definitely read more books by her.

tonayo's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

donnaslibrary's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous

here for the noodle content 🍜

smelliercake's review against another edition

3.5

it was so good like the story and the plot and the ending holy shit 10/10
but I think what ruined it for me was the romance

wtf was that romance dudeeee
like one day he's all cold and distant, then she thinks woah these noodles r familiar 😦😦 like bro that connection made no sense
and then all of a sudden he's saying flirty shit and being all cute like where did it come from?? there was no build up???? im so pissed
if there had been actual romance throughout the book and not just at the end it would've been so good because him dying and then coming back bro i would've cried at that shi
but i didn't because it made no sense
like it's not like her and gaari had that kinda relationship so when she found out he was actually him it was all ❤️
and he literally made her think her friend was dead
and gaari was old bro, she literally says he was like a mentor to her, its kind of a weird switch up
and then at the end when he's saying shit to tease her its like where was this personality for 300 pages????

veratree's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

I enjoyed the first half of the book, but the romance and magical world building lost me along the way.
There is another comment I saw below that had some of the same dislikes as me. Part of the book is in a magical undersea dimension/place/world/whatever. When Tru arrives there Elang explains that she would still be able to drink water and such, but it is never further elaborated upon. She is breathing in and existing in saltwater, how does her tea and/or water stay in the cup? When she is painting, why does Elang have to change her painting water? couldn't she swipe it through the water? Does this cause painting to bleed pigment? How does she eat soup? Would it float through the water?

I also wish Elang's more "dragon-style" form underwater was explained in detail. I recall it being described that when he was underwater, his dragon features came out more- enough so that she could ride on his back. What the hell would his face even look like? Does his jaw and snout extend outwards like a dragon, leaving his human face stretched or does he have a dragonesque body with a human shaped head? Being a combination of two very differently shaped bodies was confusing at times.

The "love reveal" wasn't compelling. He is practically forced to admit he indeed has feelings and she MELTS ON THE SPOT SOMEHOW???? I didn't feel like there was enough romantic tension prior. The romance after was alright, but I just didn't get how they fell in love under those conditions. Yes he was her friend prior, but emphasis on friend, who then LIED to her, and functionally used her. He barely comes to dinner with her. He grows a whole field of the flowers she likes and gives her some gifts and pigment, but I just didn't find it believable. I did like the reveal that he was Gaari, but the romance was off.

The Mother...
dude.... gambling and 50k in debt at the risk of her daughters pissed me OFF. I wish there were more consequences for her. Her minor children were forced to keep the whole family afloat, and Tru was pushed into crime...

On to his ~death~ and the ending....
She has a whirlwind 2 months Ai'landan / 6 months in real world with Elang then he dies fighting the boss and I am supposed to believe he just disappears but is alive??? Then he returns 3 YEARS later and doesn't remember shit but does when she reminds him? felt like a weak reunion.

Additionally- he sister- the 16 year old who wants fancy shoes becomes a cobbler??? Actually challenging, painful, skilled labor? It was surprising from how her character was described. Living years of discomfort and poverty, yearning to be able to afford these shoes and other physical luxuries and she becomes the one to make them, instead of enjoying peace and the high life? I guess not entirely out of left field, she was sewing at home before, but I found it a bit surprising.