kieran_c 's review for:

Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao

1.75

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Came here for dragons and central banking, got teenage coded vampire and poorly executed court politics. The main character feels internally inconsistent, and not in the kind of way that makes for an even more believable and empathetic character. Instead, this character is simultaneously on a rebellion arc and all about being petty and quick to anger (which, on its own, fair enough), while also being desperate for belonging. Now that kind of contradiction could make for a good character arc, but that’s not what we get here. MC neither ever gets over resisting attachments/authority/her purpose, nor moves beyond the need for validation from others. She’s just nasty, manipulative, untrusting and sad about it. The dragon stuff at the very end was interesting and brought it up a bit, I just wished it was more centred on that from the start. 

The resolution was still rubbish though, and she has no real reason to change her behaviour so the sudden ‘I love everyone now’ vibes fell so flat. The narrator also makes Mr Lee sound like an old man while Lady Jing sounds like the teenager she acts like (but is 100 years old in the lore) - makes that whole dynamic feel gross. Also, her fear of water thing was dealt with so poorly it’s so silly.