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A review by mitzee
Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this! As an Asian American I am always looking for Eastern inspired fantasy novels like this. It draws on a lot of the beliefs, lore, and superstitions that I grew up hearing about from my parents and seeing in Chinese movies. It was light and fun but with a dash of danger and darkness.
Summary for myself:
The story is about Jing who seems like she might be half vampire and half fox spirit? She lives in hell and is “owned” by Big Wang - who doesn’t treat her poorly, actually he does treat her as a daughter. She believes that her mother sold her to Big Wang for some jewel (pearl or diamond) and is generally a sour little tomboy in the beginning.
Wang tasks her with taking care of some mortal dude, Mr Lee, who came down to Hell. I think he is trying to serve Wang in exchange for his sister’s soul to not be committed to a life in servitude in Hell. They go up to the mortal realm and some shenanigans happen in 1920s Shanghai with them and someone that Jing knows, a Celestial named Gigi, and some kind of mission.
People are following Jing and when they finally apprehend her it sounds like it’s because of her grandmother who seems to have always hated her. Or maybe some other evil demon thing in Hell. She has status and power and wants the pearl that she thinks Lady Jing has. She doesn’t.
Towards the end it’s almost curtains for Jing but she is visited by a dragon of the lake and he bewstows the jade upon her. In the last chapter everything seems to go right. She learns she was not sold by her mother. Big Wang was always fond of her. She hold special powers because the pearl was gifted or bestowed upon her and everything is right in the world. 🤷🏻♀️
There’s also an Author’s note at the end that makes a nod to Joy Luck Club and Mulan.
Summary for myself:
The story is about Jing who seems like she might be half vampire and half fox spirit? She lives in hell and is “owned” by Big Wang - who doesn’t treat her poorly, actually he does treat her as a daughter. She believes that her mother sold her to Big Wang for some jewel (pearl or diamond) and is generally a sour little tomboy in the beginning.
Wang tasks her with taking care of some mortal dude, Mr Lee, who came down to Hell. I think he is trying to serve Wang in exchange for his sister’s soul to not be committed to a life in servitude in Hell. They go up to the mortal realm and some shenanigans happen in 1920s Shanghai with them and someone that Jing knows, a Celestial named Gigi, and some kind of mission.
People are following Jing and when they finally apprehend her it sounds like it’s because of her grandmother who seems to have always hated her. Or maybe some other evil demon thing in Hell. She has status and power and wants the pearl that she thinks Lady Jing has. She doesn’t.
Towards the end it’s almost curtains for Jing but she is visited by a dragon of the lake and he bewstows the jade upon her. In the last chapter everything seems to go right. She learns she was not sold by her mother. Big Wang was always fond of her. She hold special powers because the pearl was gifted or bestowed upon her and everything is right in the world. 🤷🏻♀️
There’s also an Author’s note at the end that makes a nod to Joy Luck Club and Mulan.