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A review by opalmars
A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
This is the type of book that I couldn’t really connect with, but could still recommend. I’m not a fan of the arranged marriage trope, but I don’t really mind the way it was done in this book. Tru and Elang’s allyship was well-done, at first… but then we get to the plot twist and I was like…. 🤨😬
So, Elang knew that Tru was his “soulmate” and met her when she was younger, then proceeded to pretend to be an old man and work with her for years because he lowkey immediately fell for her and didn’t want to kill her…… I understand that, on one hand, this makes their relationship a bit more developed – after all, Tru and Elang were already coworkers/friends for a while, even though she didn’t realize that had been Elang all along. HOWEVERRRRR I just couldn’t get over the fact that Elang had been stalking, lying and manipulating her for years 😭😭😭. Like, yeah, he wasn’t mean or anything, but it was just a weird dynamic, imo. I just didn’t really like that plot twist, and what it meant for their relationship dynamic. I also didn’t feel anything when they declared their love for each other. 🫤 The ending was sweet, though, albeit nonsensical (like, Elang just came back 3 years later with no memories of Tru and then in 1 page he gets all his memories back???? Okay, whatever……)
I enjoyed Tru’s relationship with her family and the love she had for them, though I kinda wish we’d spent a little longer with them. I also never really cared about the other side characters (the guards, the demon, even the Bad Guy…) – I just found them quite forgettable.
The setting was also a little underutilized. The underwater kingdom should’ve been a magical place, but I could barely envision it. I wish it’d been a bit more descriptive, or used in a more unique way. This story could’ve taken place anywhere, and not much would change, which is a shame. I often forgot we were underwater lol. I think it’s because they were always doing things that lowkey would be impossible underwater. Like, didn’t they make soup and boil noodles UNDER THE SEA, at some point?? Lmao 🥴
And why was Tru always saying “demon turds”? Girl, enough!!!! 😭
Overall, I can see why other people might like this, but I just never cared for anything that was happening, and will forget about this book in 2 days. The audiobook is great, though, and the US edition has an incredible cover!!
I enjoyed Tru’s relationship with her family and the love she had for them, though I kinda wish we’d spent a little longer with them. I also never really cared about the other side characters (the guards, the demon, even the Bad Guy…) – I just found them quite forgettable.
The setting was also a little underutilized. The underwater kingdom should’ve been a magical place, but I could barely envision it. I wish it’d been a bit more descriptive, or used in a more unique way. This story could’ve taken place anywhere, and not much would change, which is a shame. I often forgot we were underwater lol. I think it’s because they were always doing things that lowkey would be impossible underwater. Like, didn’t they make soup and boil noodles UNDER THE SEA, at some point?? Lmao 🥴
And why was Tru always saying “demon turds”? Girl, enough!!!! 😭
Overall, I can see why other people might like this, but I just never cared for anything that was happening, and will forget about this book in 2 days. The audiobook is great, though, and the US edition has an incredible cover!!