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estapinto 's review for:
A Forgery of Fate
by Elizabeth Lim
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
I like most meals with a lot of spices and chilli.
So when A Forgery of Fate ambushed my senses with a bowl of hand-rolled noodles in broth simmering in cinnamon, ginger and chilli oil, plus a fantasy romance, fake marriage, a phoenix demon and talking turtles, I knew I’d found a comfort read. This book legitimately gave me butterflies and food cravings.
Now, if you read the blurb, you already know this is a Beauty and the Beast-inspired story imbued with Chinese culture that unfolds under the sea. Despite Elizabeth Lim’s background in Disney retellings, I didn’t get heavy-handed “Disney” from this.
On the surface, it's all very whimsical and fairy-tale-core with seahorses pulling clamshell carriages and magical serviettes that summon your favourite food (how very Grimm). But underneath there’s loss and the whimsy is barbed. Maybe Studio Ghibli meets The Godfather but with more noodles and curses.
At its core, the story carries the traditional Beauty and the Beast themes of inner beauty, transformation through love, and what it means to be monstrous but they’re also filtered through a more diasporic lens. What I appreciated most was how Lim uses fantasy to examine very real questions about identity, racism, and othering.
So yeah, instead of talking furniture, rose petals and ball gowns, it’s sea, ink and a cursed half-dragon half-human prince, named Elang, (the “beast”) whose literal pearl-heart is missing. FMC, Tru gets roped into a fake marriage of convenience with him, where once she fulfils her mission, she will part ways with him and go back to her family. It’s less locked in a castle, and more of a I signed a contract to help a dragon guy and in return he will save my family and help me find out what happened to my father who was lost at sea vibe.
If the pearl-heart dragon lore and setting rings a bell, I’ll give you a hint that Six Crimson Cranes fans are definitely going to have fun with the Easter eggs peppered in this one, it's set in the same world! (Although it’s definitely not necessary to read SCC to enjoy A Forgery of Fate). I thought the writing was well-suited for the YA target audience.
My advice is that this is one of those stories that’s best discovered without reading reviews that give away too much plot detail, so you can appreciate the C-drama, romantic beats, underwater worldbuilding, fantastical characters and moss yourself. (Yes, moss).
One more thing. Pocket appreciation. Okay I’m finished.
If you like your fantasies with flavour, your romance served slow and yearning, and using chilli oil as a weapon, this book is for you. But maybe don’t read it on an empty stomach.
A big thanks to Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape & NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
So when A Forgery of Fate ambushed my senses with a bowl of hand-rolled noodles in broth simmering in cinnamon, ginger and chilli oil, plus a fantasy romance, fake marriage, a phoenix demon and talking turtles, I knew I’d found a comfort read. This book legitimately gave me butterflies and food cravings.
Now, if you read the blurb, you already know this is a Beauty and the Beast-inspired story imbued with Chinese culture that unfolds under the sea. Despite Elizabeth Lim’s background in Disney retellings, I didn’t get heavy-handed “Disney” from this.
On the surface, it's all very whimsical and fairy-tale-core with seahorses pulling clamshell carriages and magical serviettes that summon your favourite food (how very Grimm). But underneath there’s loss and the whimsy is barbed. Maybe Studio Ghibli meets The Godfather but with more noodles and curses.
At its core, the story carries the traditional Beauty and the Beast themes of inner beauty, transformation through love, and what it means to be monstrous but they’re also filtered through a more diasporic lens. What I appreciated most was how Lim uses fantasy to examine very real questions about identity, racism, and othering.
So yeah, instead of talking furniture, rose petals and ball gowns, it’s sea, ink and a cursed half-dragon half-human prince, named Elang, (the “beast”) whose literal pearl-heart is missing. FMC, Tru gets roped into a fake marriage of convenience with him, where once she fulfils her mission, she will part ways with him and go back to her family. It’s less locked in a castle, and more of a I signed a contract to help a dragon guy and in return he will save my family and help me find out what happened to my father who was lost at sea vibe.
If the pearl-heart dragon lore and setting rings a bell, I’ll give you a hint that Six Crimson Cranes fans are definitely going to have fun with the Easter eggs peppered in this one, it's set in the same world! (Although it’s definitely not necessary to read SCC to enjoy A Forgery of Fate). I thought the writing was well-suited for the YA target audience.
My advice is that this is one of those stories that’s best discovered without reading reviews that give away too much plot detail, so you can appreciate the C-drama, romantic beats, underwater worldbuilding, fantastical characters and moss yourself. (Yes, moss).
One more thing. Pocket appreciation. Okay I’m finished.
If you like your fantasies with flavour, your romance served slow and yearning, and using chilli oil as a weapon, this book is for you. But maybe don’t read it on an empty stomach.
A big thanks to Hodder & Stoughton | Hodderscape & NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Classism