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3.38 AVERAGE
3.38 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
The concept was this book was so interesting and unique, however I really did not enjoy the writing, its incredibly juvenile and to be a bit harsh cringe-worthy. The main character was written in an insufferable way instead of being a "sass-hole" she was simply childish and irritating. The random use of Chinese words without any glossary might be prove a further challenge for those who are not familiar with the language. Overall very disappointing. I think there is many more well written Chinese fantasy offerings making this book not worth your time.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely loved sassy, funny, Lady Jing and her found family.
The setting was unique, and I enjoyed spending time in both the mortal and immortal sides of historic Shanghai.
At 99 years young, Jing is just entering immortal adulthood and is still developing her personality and preferences and is just coming in to her powers. I throughly enjoyed learning about her magical heritage and I look forward to finding out even more in the next book!
The setting was unique, and I enjoyed spending time in both the mortal and immortal sides of historic Shanghai.
At 99 years young, Jing is just entering immortal adulthood and is still developing her personality and preferences and is just coming in to her powers. I throughly enjoyed learning about her magical heritage and I look forward to finding out even more in the next book!
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jing is the ever-sarcastic daughter of a fox-spirit and a vampire, and now she's the ward of the King of Hell. On his orders, she must protect a human tasked with setting up the first Bank of Hell, as she journeys through the Chinese Underworld and 1930s mortal Shanghai, encountering much of the Chinese pantheon on her way.
Initially, Jing's attitude really grated on me--she comes across as very immature with no self-preservation instinct whatsoever--however, she grew a bit as the story went on, and I really came to like her. The glimpses into Chinese myth and history were wonderful, and I can't resist a story with a found-family feel to them, The ending was full of heart. A good first read of 2024!
Initially, Jing's attitude really grated on me--she comes across as very immature with no self-preservation instinct whatsoever--however, she grew a bit as the story went on, and I really came to like her. The glimpses into Chinese myth and history were wonderful, and I can't resist a story with a found-family feel to them, The ending was full of heart. A good first read of 2024!
adventurous
fast-paced
Shanghai Immortal was an enjoyable fantasy with a romantic subplot. The pacing of the book was pretty good and I was entertained throughout the story. The characters had well fleshed out personalities and the humor was fun. I will say I think this story was more enjoyable for me than most because I have some knowledge of Asian culture and had a friend that could explain some of the unfamiliar slang. Some of the slang/insults didn't translate well to English, so that could be disruptive for the reader. I'll also say I'm not sure why this is categorized as a adult, as it read as more upper YA/coming of age tale.
Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC for my review.
Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this ARC for my review.
I'll c/p my first reading update for this book as an intro:
I wasn't going to add this to my tracker/challenge because I'm not enjoying it and skimming, but you know what? No, screw it, if I have to force myself to read this book for book club, it's sure as hell going to count for something.
Well, it was worth the frustration, because I finished it just in time for book club.
It's cutesy, and I feel like I would have eaten this up in my high school days, because even though it's technically not YA, boy does it read like it. And I have come to the ultimate conclusion that I am simply too old for it. Not that you have to stop reading YA at a certain age - if you love it, great! Read whatever you like - but personally I just feel dead inside when I read about straight kids pinning over each other and making up weird cringy swear words, especially if it's contemporary, dear god give me strength.
(Which this was not! And that's why I give it 1.5 stars for the cool setting/world building).
I wasn't going to add this to my tracker/challenge because I'm not enjoying it and skimming, but you know what? No, screw it, if I have to force myself to read this book for book club, it's sure as hell going to count for something.
Well, it was worth the frustration, because I finished it just in time for book club.
It's cutesy, and I feel like I would have eaten this up in my high school days, because even though it's technically not YA, boy does it read like it. And I have come to the ultimate conclusion that I am simply too old for it. Not that you have to stop reading YA at a certain age - if you love it, great! Read whatever you like - but personally I just feel dead inside when I read about straight kids pinning over each other and making up weird cringy swear words, especially if it's contemporary, dear god give me strength.
(Which this was not! And that's why I give it 1.5 stars for the cool setting/world building).
Shanghai Immortal is a Chinese-inspired historical fantasy set in 1930s Shanghai. Lady Jing is half-Celestial fox-spirit and half-vampire and belongs nowhere. A ward of the King of Hell in immortal Shanghai after being pawned off by her mother 90 years ago, Jing becomes the reluctant bodyguard/companion of human banker Tony Lee from mortal Shanghai. When Jing uncovers a plot to steal a powerful artifact, she drags Lee along on her clandestine mission to save face and finally defeat her Celestial nemesis.
I actually really enjoyed this book and found the central romance to be really cute. There was just an unfortunate juvenile quality to the writing and dialogue that may throw people off, especially for what is supposedly an adult fantasy. The language and word/insult choices read incredibly young, and both central characters (Jing who is turning 100 and Lee who is a man in his 30s) act like teenagers. Had this been a YA novel and the characters aged down, it probably would not have been an issue.
But looking past that, I actually had a lot of fun with this book. The banter and interactions between Jing and Lee were cute as can be and just made me smile. I especially loved Lee who is portrayed to be this cowardly but honorable and principled man who falls for Jing despite her abrasive personality. I would have actually liked to have seen his perspective as well in the book (which is entirely told from Jing’s perspective). Jing, meanwhile, can be divisive with her impulsivity and thoughtlessness that may (or may not) be explained by her history.
Shanghai Immortal is a fun historical fantasy with an interesting setting that would have word better as a YA novel in its current form.
I actually really enjoyed this book and found the central romance to be really cute. There was just an unfortunate juvenile quality to the writing and dialogue that may throw people off, especially for what is supposedly an adult fantasy. The language and word/insult choices read incredibly young, and both central characters (Jing who is turning 100 and Lee who is a man in his 30s) act like teenagers. Had this been a YA novel and the characters aged down, it probably would not have been an issue.
But looking past that, I actually had a lot of fun with this book. The banter and interactions between Jing and Lee were cute as can be and just made me smile. I especially loved Lee who is portrayed to be this cowardly but honorable and principled man who falls for Jing despite her abrasive personality. I would have actually liked to have seen his perspective as well in the book (which is entirely told from Jing’s perspective). Jing, meanwhile, can be divisive with her impulsivity and thoughtlessness that may (or may not) be explained by her history.
Shanghai Immortal is a fun historical fantasy with an interesting setting that would have word better as a YA novel in its current form.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sigh. I was so looking forward to reading this one - it sounded so fun, with a MC that was half vampire half fox spirit that was promised to have a strong, sassy MC. But... it was just okay. Honestly was feeling like a DNF for a while, but I really didn't want my first book of the year to be a DNF, so I stuck through it. (should've DNFed, in retrospect)
Pros: I did enjoy Mr. Lee, he was a pretty decent character. He was so polite and sweet, and had great 'Fantasy of Manners' manners, if that makes any sense. Though I really don't understand why he is into Jing AT ALL. They have?? no chemistry??
And Gigi, she was so lovely - Jing didn't deserve her at all as a friend. I also liked the mythology and cultural aspects of this book hinted at, but really wish we had more to sit in.
Cons: Jing. She was an absolutely abhorrent character. Supposedly 100 years old, yet we got a toddler who threw tantrums and launched into fight-bite-kick mode when she didn't get her way WAY too fast. Being in her head had me wanting to bang my head against the wall, and I can usually handle unlikeable characters, even if they get on my nerves and I much prefer reading from people who are nice to read from. I know the author tried to make her likeable/redeemable in some ways, making her very closed off and having good reason to be as she was, but holy sh*t, I'm sorry, why was she so immature??? She's A HUNDRED YEARS OLD and if she is supposed to be this kind of snarky badass character, make her more like that and less like a toddler.
The plot was also kind of lacklustre, and really didn't do much for me. From the description, I was expecting more of a quest type book or maybe a heist trying to stop the stealing of a dragon pearl, but that nugget of a supposed hook to the story was barely important. Instead, we got what felt like half a book of Jing complaining about her life, a third of a book where she, Gigi, Gigi's boyfriend (who was not memorable enough to remember his name, sorry), and Mr. Lee (also, just remembered his first name is Tony, which??? what a boring name okay) getting drunk and partying in mortal Shanghai. And then getting attacked for... no real reason? So the plot didn't feel super... put together, solid, or as fast paced as a lot of the blurbs on the attached to the book make it seem.
Eh. So, yeah. First book of the year was a flop. Sad!
Pros: I did enjoy Mr. Lee, he was a pretty decent character. He was so polite and sweet, and had great 'Fantasy of Manners' manners, if that makes any sense. Though I really don't understand why he is into Jing AT ALL. They have?? no chemistry??
And Gigi, she was so lovely - Jing didn't deserve her at all as a friend. I also liked the mythology and cultural aspects of this book hinted at, but really wish we had more to sit in.
Cons: Jing. She was an absolutely abhorrent character. Supposedly 100 years old, yet we got a toddler who threw tantrums and launched into fight-bite-kick mode when she didn't get her way WAY too fast. Being in her head had me wanting to bang my head against the wall, and I can usually handle unlikeable characters, even if they get on my nerves and I much prefer reading from people who are nice to read from. I know the author tried to make her likeable/redeemable in some ways, making her very closed off and having good reason to be as she was, but holy sh*t, I'm sorry, why was she so immature??? She's A HUNDRED YEARS OLD and if she is supposed to be this kind of snarky badass character, make her more like that and less like a toddler.
The plot was also kind of lacklustre, and really didn't do much for me. From the description, I was expecting more of a quest type book or maybe a heist trying to stop the stealing of a dragon pearl, but that nugget of a supposed hook to the story was barely important. Instead, we got what felt like half a book of Jing complaining about her life, a third of a book where she, Gigi, Gigi's boyfriend (who was not memorable enough to remember his name, sorry), and Mr. Lee (also, just remembered his first name is Tony, which??? what a boring name okay) getting drunk and partying in mortal Shanghai. And then getting attacked for... no real reason? So the plot didn't feel super... put together, solid, or as fast paced as a lot of the blurbs on the attached to the book make it seem.
Eh. So, yeah. First book of the year was a flop. Sad!