What do you think?
Rate this book
Daughter of Calamity
Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city. A position her grandmother is pressuring her to inherit…
When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted―the attacker stealing their faces―Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price.
Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers―women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends―Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones.
When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted―the attacker stealing their faces―Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price.
Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers―women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends―Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2024
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
July 10, 2024
Update July 2024: I will be withdrawing my review of this book in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott, please visit @readersforaccountability on Instagram for more information. My request of this ARC was made before the boycott, and in my haste, I forgot the withdrawal (many thanks to the commentor, "blank", for the reminder).
March 5, 2024
**ARC of this book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Hello reading slump, my old friend.
It's actually pretty difficult for me to decide if this book was underwritten or overwritten. On the one hand, the amount of similes and unnecessary adjectives was mind blowing and made the whole story difficult to get into but on the other hand there was not enough lore and world building to make sense of what was happening. Majority of the dialogs were weighted down by the descriptions of gestures and fidgeting but there was almost no explanation of the supernatural aspect of the story. Details were there but for some reason they were for the not important things.
Jingwen, aka Wilma, is a very frustrating character with an attention span of a goldfish. She witnesses a bloodbath? No big deal, next day she will go about her day as usual. She is shocked by the face-stealing act? She will get over it in few pages. She witnesses some magic? Oh, I guess magic exists, there is no need to ask questions or be curious about it. There is no gravity to the events in this book and its even more emphasized by Jingwens casual approach to everything that happens. What is even worse, her character traits will change couple times during the story, completely out of blue, so it felt like the story was going one direction but then the direction changed and MC had to be adjusted to fit the new trajectory. Sadly she is the only character that has any reason to exist in this story so everyone else feels disposable - the gangsters, main evil guys, grandma, other dancers or MC's mother. The worst was done to the love interest - the story would lost nothing if he was removed from it completely.
The magic and gods aspect was so chaotic and half-baked that it is hard for me to tell you how does it really work. I have the vague impression that it changed at least few times but I can't be sure since I feel I never understood it fully. How the reign of gods over Shanghai would be better that the reign of the gangsters is still a big question for me even after finishing this book.
It's a book. It's readable. But it gave me a major reading slump so I would not recommend it.
Hello reading slump, my old friend.
It's actually pretty difficult for me to decide if this book was underwritten or overwritten. On the one hand, the amount of similes and unnecessary adjectives was mind blowing and made the whole story difficult to get into but on the other hand there was not enough lore and world building to make sense of what was happening. Majority of the dialogs were weighted down by the descriptions of gestures and fidgeting but there was almost no explanation of the supernatural aspect of the story. Details were there but for some reason they were for the not important things.
Jingwen, aka Wilma, is a very frustrating character with an attention span of a goldfish. She witnesses a bloodbath? No big deal, next day she will go about her day as usual. She is shocked by the face-stealing act? She will get over it in few pages. She witnesses some magic? Oh, I guess magic exists, there is no need to ask questions or be curious about it. There is no gravity to the events in this book and its even more emphasized by Jingwens casual approach to everything that happens. What is even worse, her character traits will change couple times during the story, completely out of blue, so it felt like the story was going one direction but then the direction changed and MC had to be adjusted to fit the new trajectory. Sadly she is the only character that has any reason to exist in this story so everyone else feels disposable - the gangsters, main evil guys, grandma, other dancers or MC's mother. The worst was done to the love interest - the story would lost nothing if he was removed from it completely.
The magic and gods aspect was so chaotic and half-baked that it is hard for me to tell you how does it really work. I have the vague impression that it changed at least few times but I can't be sure since I feel I never understood it fully. How the reign of gods over Shanghai would be better that the reign of the gangsters is still a big question for me even after finishing this book.
It's a book. It's readable. But it gave me a major reading slump so I would not recommend it.
February 10, 2024
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Daughter of Calamity is one of those books where you start to form questions and can't stop forming them until everything has been revealed. At times, I didn't even know if what we were reading was really happening or if it was the characters imagination due to the drugs/alcohol. Throw all of this into a gigantic city with so much mystery that it's hard to figure out who you can really trust.
After meeting Jingwen, our main character, I didn't know what to think. Most of the time I knew she was pretty naive about the world she was living in. She wanted nothing to do with her grandmother's practice or the gang members she worked with. Then there's her mother and lack of relationship that doesn't really changed throughout the book. The one thing we knew she loved to do was dance.
Once the attacks started happening, we kind of get a few hints about possible romances. Not necessarily a love triangle because it's hard to figure out what's real and what isn't. For the longest time, it felt like she was a pawn, or I guess you could say a puppet. Someone somewhere was pulling the strings and I just wanted to know what was going to happen next.
The betrayals came and went. There's also a little fight scene that goes by very quickly. Heck, I'm still trying to digest the last few chapters. In the end, I'm intrigued by this new version of Shanghai being built and wonder how long it's going to last. Will there be another attack? Nobody knows.
Daughter of Calamity is one of those books where you start to form questions and can't stop forming them until everything has been revealed. At times, I didn't even know if what we were reading was really happening or if it was the characters imagination due to the drugs/alcohol. Throw all of this into a gigantic city with so much mystery that it's hard to figure out who you can really trust.
After meeting Jingwen, our main character, I didn't know what to think. Most of the time I knew she was pretty naive about the world she was living in. She wanted nothing to do with her grandmother's practice or the gang members she worked with. Then there's her mother and lack of relationship that doesn't really changed throughout the book. The one thing we knew she loved to do was dance.
Once the attacks started happening, we kind of get a few hints about possible romances. Not necessarily a love triangle because it's hard to figure out what's real and what isn't. For the longest time, it felt like she was a pawn, or I guess you could say a puppet. Someone somewhere was pulling the strings and I just wanted to know what was going to happen next.
The betrayals came and went. There's also a little fight scene that goes by very quickly. Heck, I'm still trying to digest the last few chapters. In the end, I'm intrigued by this new version of Shanghai being built and wonder how long it's going to last. Will there be another attack? Nobody knows.
Want to read
June 1, 2022an adult historical fantasy where a cabaret performer schemes against ancient gods and powerful gangs and set in Jazz Age Shanghai YES PLEASE
February 8, 2024
I received an ARC from St Martin's directly! thank you!
Shanghai gangster historical fantasy is weirdly popular these days. It feels like such a cool, magical time in history when China was the epicenter of world culture and there was a lot of buzz around the city in particular. People were writing song after song about it- even in the west. Shanghai was rightfully looked at as this crazy magical lawless adventureland where anything could happen and you met people from all over the world making their fortunes in what was often a "faraway land". It was also a time of colonialism and a lot of cultural mixing for China. Theres this complicated beauty in the history of the time period being presented here that still keeps readers coming back and begging for more. In these books, Shanghai is as much the character as the characters themselves.
Daughter of Calamity is one of these books. To dismiss the beauty of Shanghai in this book and how lovingly the author writes about the city would be missing a lot, and it was my favorite part of the book.
This a debut and it shows. Some clunky writing and weird transitions. It sometimes felt like the author really wanted you to get caught up in the adventure she was hoping to frame, but it also takes her a long time to get to the point. Scene transitions can be a little odd and the dialogue comes across as forced and awkward at times.
I just never really got into the story the way I wanted to and struggled to care about something that conceptually is really cool. It was a little boring and just didn't catch me. I do think that historical fantasy fans and people who are really passionate about Chinese historical fiction will probably find a lot of enjoyment in this. It may be a better book for historical fiction fans who are used to the flow of these stories. while there are fantasy elements, the vibe is heavily historical fiction.
Shanghai gangster historical fantasy is weirdly popular these days. It feels like such a cool, magical time in history when China was the epicenter of world culture and there was a lot of buzz around the city in particular. People were writing song after song about it- even in the west. Shanghai was rightfully looked at as this crazy magical lawless adventureland where anything could happen and you met people from all over the world making their fortunes in what was often a "faraway land". It was also a time of colonialism and a lot of cultural mixing for China. Theres this complicated beauty in the history of the time period being presented here that still keeps readers coming back and begging for more. In these books, Shanghai is as much the character as the characters themselves.
Daughter of Calamity is one of these books. To dismiss the beauty of Shanghai in this book and how lovingly the author writes about the city would be missing a lot, and it was my favorite part of the book.
This a debut and it shows. Some clunky writing and weird transitions. It sometimes felt like the author really wanted you to get caught up in the adventure she was hoping to frame, but it also takes her a long time to get to the point. Scene transitions can be a little odd and the dialogue comes across as forced and awkward at times.
I just never really got into the story the way I wanted to and struggled to care about something that conceptually is really cool. It was a little boring and just didn't catch me. I do think that historical fantasy fans and people who are really passionate about Chinese historical fiction will probably find a lot of enjoyment in this. It may be a better book for historical fiction fans who are used to the flow of these stories. while there are fantasy elements, the vibe is heavily historical fiction.
March 21, 2024
Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm the wealthy men in the 1930's filled with glamour, gangsters and wealth. This book is a historical fantasy and I had a hard time reading this book in the beginning that is why it took me so long to read it. I won this book from Goodreads giveaway and from the Author Rosalie M. Lin
May 28, 2024
There's no arguing the author's talent with words. She built the setting of Shanghai so viscerally and with great attention to detail. Unfortunately, that didn't translate to plot, world-building, or characters.
Jingwen is a showgirl by day and an errand girl by night. She has no desire to take over her grandmother's gang, but still helps out when needed. When dancers start having their faces stolen Jingwen is forced to confront the darker side of luxury.
As far as settings go, Daughter of Calamity did fantastic. Lin did a beautiful job of displaying the opposing sides of Shanghai: the good and the bad. She brought dimly lit alleys and opulent stages to life with detailed descriptions.
I thought I would love this book, but the further I read the more confused and bored I was. The magic system is half-baked, at best. It lacks solid guidelines and structures, so anything goes. The mechanics behind it were never explored so I just had to roll with it, which I hated. It was made worse since what the characters see/hear is not always true. I was constantly guessing what was true and false.
Jingwen is shallow and such a mechanical character. Her personality is...dancing? That's all I got. Her emotions of love, hate, and sadness, read like a programmed robot. Even then, she got over her emotions weirdly fast. She would experience something undeniably horrific and traumatizing, but continue living like it never happened. And this was the main character!
The problem with the side characters is they play vital roles, in theory. But because they are not fleshed out, they are caricatures of what their roles are supposed to be. For example, the villain? Never got an explanation for his motivations or his goals. The love interest/hero is even worse. The author info-dumped his background to explain his motivations, which explained nothing. I learned that he wants to be a hero because he likes heroes.
I'm always disappointed when you can see the potential on the page but it's never translated into the story. Daughter of Calamity would have easily been a five-star read if the characters and world had been properly developed. While this book was half-baked, I will read the author's future works. This a debut novel so hopefully she will continue to improve with time.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
Jingwen is a showgirl by day and an errand girl by night. She has no desire to take over her grandmother's gang, but still helps out when needed. When dancers start having their faces stolen Jingwen is forced to confront the darker side of luxury.
As far as settings go, Daughter of Calamity did fantastic. Lin did a beautiful job of displaying the opposing sides of Shanghai: the good and the bad. She brought dimly lit alleys and opulent stages to life with detailed descriptions.
I thought I would love this book, but the further I read the more confused and bored I was. The magic system is half-baked, at best. It lacks solid guidelines and structures, so anything goes. The mechanics behind it were never explored so I just had to roll with it, which I hated. It was made worse since what the characters see/hear is not always true. I was constantly guessing what was true and false.
Jingwen is shallow and such a mechanical character. Her personality is...dancing? That's all I got. Her emotions of love, hate, and sadness, read like a programmed robot. Even then, she got over her emotions weirdly fast. She would experience something undeniably horrific and traumatizing, but continue living like it never happened. And this was the main character!
The problem with the side characters is they play vital roles, in theory. But because they are not fleshed out, they are caricatures of what their roles are supposed to be. For example, the villain? Never got an explanation for his motivations or his goals. The love interest/hero is even worse. The author info-dumped his background to explain his motivations, which explained nothing. I learned that he wants to be a hero because he likes heroes.
I'm always disappointed when you can see the potential on the page but it's never translated into the story. Daughter of Calamity would have easily been a five-star read if the characters and world had been properly developed. While this book was half-baked, I will read the author's future works. This a debut novel so hopefully she will continue to improve with time.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
January 26, 2024
*review copy courtesy of the punlisher*
This was dreamy, poetic, and very Chinese in its essence. I really liked Daughter of Calamity.
Jingwen, the main character, is cold, abrasive, and standoffish, but deep down, she has a strong moral core and loyalty to those she holds dear.
Like Shanghai itself, she has multiple faces and personalities. Her Shanghai is kitchy and brimming with life, while at the same time dark, seedy, and dilapidated. Crystal palaces and French cafes are interspersed with abandoned temples with crumbling paint, underground gangs are fighting for power in dark alleys, and foreign powers are exploiting city riches for their own gain. This Shanghai is true to its historical memory despite very strong fantasy elements.
Another delightful part of this book is its portrayal of Guanyin, who is usually like Mother Teresa of Chinese pantheon. Here she is Mother of Calamity and Destruction, assassinations in the dark, true to her demonic origin.
At last, the best part of this book for me is how much it's suffused with a passion for dance.
The beginning of the twentieth century was absolutely revolutionary for the dance world, very experimental and exciting. Jingwen lives and breathes by it.
And the performance which is a centerpiece of the book made me think of its historical counterpart in the shock value, possibly The Rites of Spring which was performed by Dyagilev ballet troupe in Paris at that time (look it up, pretty avant-garde stuff for its time!)
Secondary characters to Jingwen are all excellent. Li Beibei, who was way too cool for a support cast, deserves her own story. Her grandmother and mother, the two opposing gang members, even the despicable villain with his typical white man exploiting Asia attitude, they all had layers.
What else? The atmosphere was top notch, and the plot was fast-paced and exciting. Overall, 4.5 stars. This was totally my jam.
This was dreamy, poetic, and very Chinese in its essence. I really liked Daughter of Calamity.
Jingwen, the main character, is cold, abrasive, and standoffish, but deep down, she has a strong moral core and loyalty to those she holds dear.
Like Shanghai itself, she has multiple faces and personalities. Her Shanghai is kitchy and brimming with life, while at the same time dark, seedy, and dilapidated. Crystal palaces and French cafes are interspersed with abandoned temples with crumbling paint, underground gangs are fighting for power in dark alleys, and foreign powers are exploiting city riches for their own gain. This Shanghai is true to its historical memory despite very strong fantasy elements.
Another delightful part of this book is its portrayal of Guanyin, who is usually like Mother Teresa of Chinese pantheon. Here she is Mother of Calamity and Destruction, assassinations in the dark, true to her demonic origin.
At last, the best part of this book for me is how much it's suffused with a passion for dance.
The beginning of the twentieth century was absolutely revolutionary for the dance world, very experimental and exciting. Jingwen lives and breathes by it.
And the performance which is a centerpiece of the book made me think of its historical counterpart in the shock value, possibly The Rites of Spring which was performed by Dyagilev ballet troupe in Paris at that time (look it up, pretty avant-garde stuff for its time!)
Secondary characters to Jingwen are all excellent. Li Beibei, who was way too cool for a support cast, deserves her own story. Her grandmother and mother, the two opposing gang members, even the despicable villain with his typical white man exploiting Asia attitude, they all had layers.
What else? The atmosphere was top notch, and the plot was fast-paced and exciting. Overall, 4.5 stars. This was totally my jam.
June 18, 2024
In Rosalie M. Lin’s Jazz-Age Shanghai, gods and demons mingle with cabaret dancers and absinthe cocktails. We follow Jingwen, an ambitious young dancer; her family deals with silver-armed gangsters and dubious medicine, but she spends her nights charming wealthy patrons at the Paramount Club until she witnesses a horrific event on the dance floor. Suddenly the city is full of ominous magic, and Jingwen has to untangle friend from foe to save those she loves.
There was a lot of potential in this story, which incorporates Chinese mythology and a fearless heroine. I was reminded of Nghi Vo’s “Siren Queen,” which had a similar setting and cutthroat supernatural atmosphere. There were some very exciting scenes in this book, and lots of surprises, but personally I felt it was missing some deeper characterization; for instance, Jingwen’s relationship with her grandmother was pretty central to the plot, but there was actually very little on-page interaction between the two of them.
The pacing was slow and thoughtful, the prose dense and lyrical, and overall I found the plot was satisfying in its conclusion. While it may not have been a perfect book for me, “Daughter of Calamity” is a promising debut novel with a unique voice.
3.5 stars
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
There was a lot of potential in this story, which incorporates Chinese mythology and a fearless heroine. I was reminded of Nghi Vo’s “Siren Queen,” which had a similar setting and cutthroat supernatural atmosphere. There were some very exciting scenes in this book, and lots of surprises, but personally I felt it was missing some deeper characterization; for instance, Jingwen’s relationship with her grandmother was pretty central to the plot, but there was actually very little on-page interaction between the two of them.
The pacing was slow and thoughtful, the prose dense and lyrical, and overall I found the plot was satisfying in its conclusion. While it may not have been a perfect book for me, “Daughter of Calamity” is a promising debut novel with a unique voice.
3.5 stars
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
February 4, 2024
This is a dazzling fantasy story of a young woman who is being called to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother and graft new metal parts onto the people of Shanghai. But this isn't the life she wants. In the mornings, she trains to dance and has dreams of performing on stage. At night, she dances with men, hoping to earn money in exchange for dance cards. In each of these 2, she is in competition to the other women around her and she pushes and pulls to get her wins.
But one night, in the midst of dancing and meeting rich men, one of the girls on the dancefloor is attacked. It's so fast, no one saw what happened or who did what, but the girl is forever maimed. That night changes the world for our main character, and she can no longer hang on the outskirts hoping for things to happen - she must make her own destiny.
I found the Shanghai the mc gives us to be fancy and mysterious. I liked the competition and the eventual comradery of the dancing girls. The smoke was used so much, I was unsure at times what was real and what wasn't. I didn't find much use for either love interest. They felt more like pretty arm candy than affection. I wish there had been more interaction and time between those who'd raised the mc, as I found their characters and storylines a little flat but I was interested to know more. The gods sounded as gods should - terrifying and awful. I loved the danger and horror of the events and the twists and turns. It did keep me entertained. I liked it!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
But one night, in the midst of dancing and meeting rich men, one of the girls on the dancefloor is attacked. It's so fast, no one saw what happened or who did what, but the girl is forever maimed. That night changes the world for our main character, and she can no longer hang on the outskirts hoping for things to happen - she must make her own destiny.
I found the Shanghai the mc gives us to be fancy and mysterious. I liked the competition and the eventual comradery of the dancing girls. The smoke was used so much, I was unsure at times what was real and what wasn't. I didn't find much use for either love interest. They felt more like pretty arm candy than affection. I wish there had been more interaction and time between those who'd raised the mc, as I found their characters and storylines a little flat but I was interested to know more. The gods sounded as gods should - terrifying and awful. I loved the danger and horror of the events and the twists and turns. It did keep me entertained. I liked it!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
October 11, 2023
3.5/5 rounded up
Historical fiction with a thrilling peek into 1930’s Shanghai’s corruption and greed. Jingwen is a showgirl with multiple jobs as a dancer, plus one as a Money runner for her grandmother, who is working with the Blue Dawn gang. There is another gang who wants control of Shanghai and will stop at nothing to get it. This book I would describe as a historical crime fantasy with a splash of gods and deities.
For fans of slow burn historical crime fantasy, if you like one of these genres, I’m sure you will enjoy this book.
Thanks to St Martins Press, NetGalley, and the author for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Historical fiction with a thrilling peek into 1930’s Shanghai’s corruption and greed. Jingwen is a showgirl with multiple jobs as a dancer, plus one as a Money runner for her grandmother, who is working with the Blue Dawn gang. There is another gang who wants control of Shanghai and will stop at nothing to get it. This book I would describe as a historical crime fantasy with a splash of gods and deities.
For fans of slow burn historical crime fantasy, if you like one of these genres, I’m sure you will enjoy this book.
Thanks to St Martins Press, NetGalley, and the author for the arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
July 13, 2024DNF @ 29% - Not bad, but not for me.
I think the concept is pretty interesting, girls being attacked while out in public and parts of them going missing but them somehow surviving, and a mystery as to why its all happening. The whimsical nature of what was going on was actually really cool and I imagine the book could explore that in interesting ways (which I did see a hint of before I put it down).
Now although I feel like I probably would have DNFd this anyway, I originally intended to read at least little bit further in, but it was hard to motivate me to pick it back up, and eventually my arc expired and I lost access to it. The truth though is I was relieved when it went away and I didn't have to push through anymore. Don't get me wrong the book wasn't bad, but I could NOT get into it and so the experience was kinda boring as I waited for the plot to progress.
I didn't care for all of the time spent with the main character just existing because I didn't connect with her at all so most of her scenes I was waiting for them to be over so that we could get into the mystery solving. I think if you like the character and the dancing side of things you'll probably enjoy this a lot more than I did cause it is a cool concept but for some reason I didn't care. Perhaps because I knew a bigger story was supposed to be happening, or perhaps I didn't enjoy the way she was written, I'm not sure, but it just didn't work for me.
I didn't dnf it because it was bad, I just couldn't get into it and am not in a mental state right now to push through a book I'm not enjoying. I do think other people can enjoy this and I am interested in reading more from the author in the future.
I think the concept is pretty interesting, girls being attacked while out in public and parts of them going missing but them somehow surviving, and a mystery as to why its all happening. The whimsical nature of what was going on was actually really cool and I imagine the book could explore that in interesting ways (which I did see a hint of before I put it down).
Now although I feel like I probably would have DNFd this anyway, I originally intended to read at least little bit further in, but it was hard to motivate me to pick it back up, and eventually my arc expired and I lost access to it. The truth though is I was relieved when it went away and I didn't have to push through anymore. Don't get me wrong the book wasn't bad, but I could NOT get into it and so the experience was kinda boring as I waited for the plot to progress.
I didn't care for all of the time spent with the main character just existing because I didn't connect with her at all so most of her scenes I was waiting for them to be over so that we could get into the mystery solving. I think if you like the character and the dancing side of things you'll probably enjoy this a lot more than I did cause it is a cool concept but for some reason I didn't care. Perhaps because I knew a bigger story was supposed to be happening, or perhaps I didn't enjoy the way she was written, I'm not sure, but it just didn't work for me.
I didn't dnf it because it was bad, I just couldn't get into it and am not in a mental state right now to push through a book I'm not enjoying. I do think other people can enjoy this and I am interested in reading more from the author in the future.
April 2, 2024
"Daughter of Calamity" is a historical fantasy written by Rosalie M. Lin, here at her debut. A novel that captivated me with its refined and evocative prose, its bewitching, dark and highly evocative setting, but which unfortunately did not convince me in terms of development of the story and characters. A book toward which I had high expectations, but which in the end left me rather lukewarm.
The story is set in 1930s Shanghai, amid glittering cabaret clubs, dark gods and dangerous gangsters. I was enchanted by the vivid descriptions of the various places and the attention paid to details. An attention that unfortunately, in my opinion, is absent at the level of world building and magic system. I don't know, I found everything decidedly confusing, nebulous and sometimes contradictory. And I'm sorry, because the basic idea intrigued me so much!
Jingwen, the protagonist with her only first person pov, conveyed only a lot of frustration to me. During the story she does nothing but ignore her surroundings, postpone any problems to an undefined future, set aside important events as if nothing happened, conveniently forget about upsetting situations, complain about everything and everyone, and basically behave as if she couldn't care less about the constant mysteries she finds herself in. An attitude that no, I cannot even attribute to her personality, since she seemed extremely shallow to me. The secondary characters, especially the male ones, follow the same example, appearing insubstantial at the highest levels. I was unable to bond with any of them, anyone, remaining indifferent to their vicissitudes.
All in all, "Daughter of Calamity" is a novel with an excellent premise, characterized by fantastic writing and an atmospheric setting, which unfortunately did not convince me in terms of development and characters.
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story is set in 1930s Shanghai, amid glittering cabaret clubs, dark gods and dangerous gangsters. I was enchanted by the vivid descriptions of the various places and the attention paid to details. An attention that unfortunately, in my opinion, is absent at the level of world building and magic system. I don't know, I found everything decidedly confusing, nebulous and sometimes contradictory. And I'm sorry, because the basic idea intrigued me so much!
Jingwen, the protagonist with her only first person pov, conveyed only a lot of frustration to me. During the story she does nothing but ignore her surroundings, postpone any problems to an undefined future, set aside important events as if nothing happened, conveniently forget about upsetting situations, complain about everything and everyone, and basically behave as if she couldn't care less about the constant mysteries she finds herself in. An attitude that no, I cannot even attribute to her personality, since she seemed extremely shallow to me. The secondary characters, especially the male ones, follow the same example, appearing insubstantial at the highest levels. I was unable to bond with any of them, anyone, remaining indifferent to their vicissitudes.
All in all, "Daughter of Calamity" is a novel with an excellent premise, characterized by fantastic writing and an atmospheric setting, which unfortunately did not convince me in terms of development and characters.
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
December 23, 2023
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgallery for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book has a great start. The writing is really beautiful and there are many quotable lines! I love how it’s set in Shanghai!
Despite having beautiful writing, I couldn’t get invested in the story and I got bored at points. It does have a great ending line.
Pick it up if you like the historical fiction genre.
Despite having beautiful writing, I couldn’t get invested in the story and I got bored at points. It does have a great ending line.
Pick it up if you like the historical fiction genre.
July 2, 2024
Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city.
When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted -the attacker stealing their faces-Jingwen fears she could be next.
And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price. Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers-women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends- Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld.
Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones.
This book for sure was a mixed bag in my opinion. Going into this book I was interested in the concept or 1930’s Shanghai and the idea of the many faces we put on when it comes to handling society. Including the dancing and how it can be its own language.
The main character was borderline plain with little sparks of interesting aspects including her relation to the gang and her search for the person who is mutilating dancers.
The storyline just wasn’t it for me. I kept losing interest and found myself constantly checking to see how much pages I had left to finish the book. Typically I’d end up dnfing a book that had me like this but I soldiered on.
Overall this book felt like honestly a complete waste of a book. It sounds mean I know. The author has promise to make amazing work but this book just wasn’t it. My rating was originally a 3 but it dropped to a 2.
I would not recommend this book.
Thanks for the folks at NetGalley for a copy of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings of my book.
When a series of cabaret dancers are targeted -the attacker stealing their faces-Jingwen fears she could be next.
And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price. Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers-women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends- Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld.
Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones.
This book for sure was a mixed bag in my opinion. Going into this book I was interested in the concept or 1930’s Shanghai and the idea of the many faces we put on when it comes to handling society. Including the dancing and how it can be its own language.
The main character was borderline plain with little sparks of interesting aspects including her relation to the gang and her search for the person who is mutilating dancers.
The storyline just wasn’t it for me. I kept losing interest and found myself constantly checking to see how much pages I had left to finish the book. Typically I’d end up dnfing a book that had me like this but I soldiered on.
Overall this book felt like honestly a complete waste of a book. It sounds mean I know. The author has promise to make amazing work but this book just wasn’t it. My rating was originally a 3 but it dropped to a 2.
I would not recommend this book.
Thanks for the folks at NetGalley for a copy of this book. My review is a honest reflection of my feelings of my book.
June 11, 2024
Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
🌟🌟🌟✨/5
This book hit just the right spots in terms of aesthetics, but overall left me waiting for more. Daughter of Calamity is a historical fantasy set in Jazz Age Shanghai with wonderful prose but a weak plot.
To begin with, the setting is one of the most immersive ones I've ever read. The prose was fantastic, especially for a debut. Lin makes the city come alive with rich and decadent detailing that is on a whole another level. The aesthetics deserve five stars. Unfortunately, for a story set in boisterous Shanghai, the plot was awfully uneventful. It felt the the author was trying to do too much but came short of the potential every time. I'm a fan of all things mythology (especially Asian), so the gods aspect was terribly disappointing. The portrayal of Guanyin/ Niang Niang was interesting but not well explained. I didn't really like Jingwen as the MC. She came off as annoying because of the questionable decisions she made, especially teaming up with Zikai not long after they met for the first time. Speaking of Zikai, I wish he hadn't been a part of this book. The whole romance storyline could've been scrapped and it wouldn't have affected the book much. It was not believable and nothing annoys me more than a forced romance plotline in a fantasy novel. Liqing and Beibei were characters teeming with potential but ended up being underutilised.
The climax could've been better with a few improvements in worldbuilding and character backstories. The ending was... interesting and had potential for a sequel. I came for the mythology, stayed for the vibes but was ultimately disappointed with the uneventful plot. However, the author has a lot of potential and I'll be checking out whatever she writes next because as far as the prose is concerned, I'm a fan.
🌟🌟🌟✨/5
This book hit just the right spots in terms of aesthetics, but overall left me waiting for more. Daughter of Calamity is a historical fantasy set in Jazz Age Shanghai with wonderful prose but a weak plot.
To begin with, the setting is one of the most immersive ones I've ever read. The prose was fantastic, especially for a debut. Lin makes the city come alive with rich and decadent detailing that is on a whole another level. The aesthetics deserve five stars. Unfortunately, for a story set in boisterous Shanghai, the plot was awfully uneventful. It felt the the author was trying to do too much but came short of the potential every time. I'm a fan of all things mythology (especially Asian), so the gods aspect was terribly disappointing. The portrayal of Guanyin/ Niang Niang was interesting but not well explained. I didn't really like Jingwen as the MC. She came off as annoying because of the questionable decisions she made, especially teaming up with Zikai not long after they met for the first time. Speaking of Zikai, I wish he hadn't been a part of this book. The whole romance storyline could've been scrapped and it wouldn't have affected the book much. It was not believable and nothing annoys me more than a forced romance plotline in a fantasy novel. Liqing and Beibei were characters teeming with potential but ended up being underutilised.
The climax could've been better with a few improvements in worldbuilding and character backstories. The ending was... interesting and had potential for a sequel. I came for the mythology, stayed for the vibes but was ultimately disappointed with the uneventful plot. However, the author has a lot of potential and I'll be checking out whatever she writes next because as far as the prose is concerned, I'm a fan.
June 9, 2024
LOVED the premise of this book, and really enjoyed reading it after getting past the first few chapters. Rosalie Lin writes about 1930s Shanghai with such lyricism and beauty that the city itself almost becomes a shifting a sly character alongside Jingwen. It was a bit disappointing to not see more of the other dancehall girls—but the more I sit with the book, the more I appreciate that the reader only sees what Jingwen knows of them. Women pulled together by circumstances, often competing with one another, and wearing mask upon mask to move through a(n often male) fantasy world.
I definitely understand the comparisons to Nghi Vo's SIREN QUEEN, though I think this will appeal more to readers who want a heavy dose of atmosphere and are willing to let their own minds fill in details about the book's characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for a review!
I definitely understand the comparisons to Nghi Vo's SIREN QUEEN, though I think this will appeal more to readers who want a heavy dose of atmosphere and are willing to let their own minds fill in details about the book's characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of this book in exchange for a review!
Read
June 13, 2024I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it is a DNF for me @ 27%
The book has a fascinating premise, and of course I want to support my AAPI girlies, so I had high hopes for this book. The writing was just not for me, and the characters were frustrating. I just wasn't in the mood to force myself to keep reading.
I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it is a DNF for me @ 27%
The book has a fascinating premise, and of course I want to support my AAPI girlies, so I had high hopes for this book. The writing was just not for me, and the characters were frustrating. I just wasn't in the mood to force myself to keep reading.
Shelved as 'gave-up-on'
December 21, 2023I like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this book.
It's hollow, and that's what is making me sad. It has a really good promise to *be* something, but there is no character, depth, or explanation behind anything I'm reading on paper. Which is upsetting. I usually give a book 15% to get me into the world, feeling, and understanding for the character.
This one kind of just shoves you right in and you feel as lost as to what the grandmother is exactly, why are there gods and or magic? in Shanghai, what is the character's hopes, ambitions, dreams? You know she is a dancer, what else do I know about her ... uh, her grandmother does illegal surgeries. Okay. What else? ... uh. I got nothing.
Out of respect for the author, I am choosing not to rate this on goodreads due to not finishing it.
It's hollow, and that's what is making me sad. It has a really good promise to *be* something, but there is no character, depth, or explanation behind anything I'm reading on paper. Which is upsetting. I usually give a book 15% to get me into the world, feeling, and understanding for the character.
This one kind of just shoves you right in and you feel as lost as to what the grandmother is exactly, why are there gods and or magic? in Shanghai, what is the character's hopes, ambitions, dreams? You know she is a dancer, what else do I know about her ... uh, her grandmother does illegal surgeries. Okay. What else? ... uh. I got nothing.
Out of respect for the author, I am choosing not to rate this on goodreads due to not finishing it.
January 13, 2024
I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes; this in no way influences my review.
Content notes:
Daughter of Calamity sounded so interesting, between the historical Shanghai setting and the mystery of the cabaret girl’s faces, I was really looking forward to reading it. This is such a strange book with so many threads and motivations at play. While at its core it is Jingwen’s story of claiming her own power and strength, it is also a story of different forces trying to create their idealized world and the corruption of people coming to steal the resources of the city. It’s such an interesting blend of Shanghai culture and beliefs being subsumed in some senses by the European forces coming into the city. I don’t know how I feel about choices though the story telling was compelling (though slow building in the beginning especially). I like how complex and imperfect all the characters are and that Jingwen isn’t trying to be a good person, per se, but is trying to be good for her community and the future she wants to see. In the end, this was a very intriguing read and I did love the blend of fantastical and normal; I think this is a story I’m going to have to sit with to full absorb and process.
Content notes:
Daughter of Calamity sounded so interesting, between the historical Shanghai setting and the mystery of the cabaret girl’s faces, I was really looking forward to reading it. This is such a strange book with so many threads and motivations at play. While at its core it is Jingwen’s story of claiming her own power and strength, it is also a story of different forces trying to create their idealized world and the corruption of people coming to steal the resources of the city. It’s such an interesting blend of Shanghai culture and beliefs being subsumed in some senses by the European forces coming into the city. I don’t know how I feel about choices though the story telling was compelling (though slow building in the beginning especially). I like how complex and imperfect all the characters are and that Jingwen isn’t trying to be a good person, per se, but is trying to be good for her community and the future she wants to see. In the end, this was a very intriguing read and I did love the blend of fantastical and normal; I think this is a story I’m going to have to sit with to full absorb and process.
Want to read
January 29, 2024I will, unfortunately, be abstaining from sharing my thoughts about this title until St. Martin's Press adequately addresses the current boycott and claims and questions.
June 27, 2024
Check out this review and more on The Quill to Live!
I want to sit in a dark, cabaret corner and slowly sip on the cocktail of chaos that is Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin. I absolutely loved this book. It’s a breathtaking story that proudly stands on its own like the most beautiful woman in the club, and it steals the attention of potential suitors and rival dancers alike.
The Shanghai night is alive with the sounds of jazz spilling from the city’s many dance clubs. At the Paramount, Jingwen charms and dances with wealthy patrons, hoping to win their favor and the gifts and access that come with it. Yet, her grandmother and the Blue Dawn gang are forever a shadow hovering outside the edges of her glamorous world. Both find Jingwen’s lifestyle distasteful and hope she will follow in her grandmother’s footsteps as the gang’s magical surgeon before Shanghai eats her alive. But Jingwen finds that she is good at courting danger and searches for power to protect the version of Shanghai she loves.
This story is overwhelming, in a good way, because it’s so outrageously and beautifully descriptive. Like Shanghai’s alluring dancing girls, Lin takes the reader by the hand and pulls us through the city while sparing no details. She makes us hear the wheel of a rickshaw moving on the street, see the hazy glow of neon signs, smell the pork belly cooking at an outdoor stall, and hear the stillness of a forgotten city temple. Calamity is a cacophony of senses that puts the readers in a Shangai dreamscape where the overflowing details warp reality. Lin’s writing is addictive and poetic, and she strung me along without so much as a glance back to see if I could keep up.
Shanghai in the 1930s is a kaleidoscope warping the old and new worlds into hypnotic patterns. Lin constantly showcases how foreign powers have influenced and smothered the culture. And Jingwen is a fantastic character to move through this changing world because she’s a woman embracing the modern era while still having roots in the old ways thanks to her grandmother. Calamity is a constant clash of old and new, and I love that the lines are so blurred. Monks honor forgotten gods in their run-down temples sandwiched between dancing clubs and French patisseries. Dancers wear qipaos and fringed dresses to dance the tango while traditional folk dances are lost. Lin even makes a point to show the evolution between Jingwen and her mother, both dancers who follow the styles and makeup trends of their era. The constant clash made it feel like the world was constantly shifting underneath my feet, and it enhanced the magical realism sprinkled throughout the plot.
So much emotion was removed from Calamity, and it was done well and purposefully. Lin does not allow emotions to cloud anything, and the events unfold in a matter-of-fact manner that feels eerie and cold. As someone who actively chases books that make me cry, believe me when I tell you this numb, dispassionate perspective was dope. This is not a story to question the morality of decisions or what is considered right or wrong. The story just is, and it allows for calamity to wreak havoc on Shanghai like a detached, immortal entity should.
This story will continue to reveal new wonders the longer I sit with it. I want to bottle the thoughts and feelings brought out by this book, but it’s impossible. The story is so layered thematically that as I start to unravel one, it gets tangled with another, and I end up starting at the beginning. It’s a glamorous and deadly fever dream whose haze I can’t quite shake, and I’m fine with nursing my headache in the morning if it means I get to keep dancing with the Daughter of Calamity.
Rating: Daughter of Calamity - 10/10
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
I want to sit in a dark, cabaret corner and slowly sip on the cocktail of chaos that is Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin. I absolutely loved this book. It’s a breathtaking story that proudly stands on its own like the most beautiful woman in the club, and it steals the attention of potential suitors and rival dancers alike.
The Shanghai night is alive with the sounds of jazz spilling from the city’s many dance clubs. At the Paramount, Jingwen charms and dances with wealthy patrons, hoping to win their favor and the gifts and access that come with it. Yet, her grandmother and the Blue Dawn gang are forever a shadow hovering outside the edges of her glamorous world. Both find Jingwen’s lifestyle distasteful and hope she will follow in her grandmother’s footsteps as the gang’s magical surgeon before Shanghai eats her alive. But Jingwen finds that she is good at courting danger and searches for power to protect the version of Shanghai she loves.
This story is overwhelming, in a good way, because it’s so outrageously and beautifully descriptive. Like Shanghai’s alluring dancing girls, Lin takes the reader by the hand and pulls us through the city while sparing no details. She makes us hear the wheel of a rickshaw moving on the street, see the hazy glow of neon signs, smell the pork belly cooking at an outdoor stall, and hear the stillness of a forgotten city temple. Calamity is a cacophony of senses that puts the readers in a Shangai dreamscape where the overflowing details warp reality. Lin’s writing is addictive and poetic, and she strung me along without so much as a glance back to see if I could keep up.
Shanghai in the 1930s is a kaleidoscope warping the old and new worlds into hypnotic patterns. Lin constantly showcases how foreign powers have influenced and smothered the culture. And Jingwen is a fantastic character to move through this changing world because she’s a woman embracing the modern era while still having roots in the old ways thanks to her grandmother. Calamity is a constant clash of old and new, and I love that the lines are so blurred. Monks honor forgotten gods in their run-down temples sandwiched between dancing clubs and French patisseries. Dancers wear qipaos and fringed dresses to dance the tango while traditional folk dances are lost. Lin even makes a point to show the evolution between Jingwen and her mother, both dancers who follow the styles and makeup trends of their era. The constant clash made it feel like the world was constantly shifting underneath my feet, and it enhanced the magical realism sprinkled throughout the plot.
So much emotion was removed from Calamity, and it was done well and purposefully. Lin does not allow emotions to cloud anything, and the events unfold in a matter-of-fact manner that feels eerie and cold. As someone who actively chases books that make me cry, believe me when I tell you this numb, dispassionate perspective was dope. This is not a story to question the morality of decisions or what is considered right or wrong. The story just is, and it allows for calamity to wreak havoc on Shanghai like a detached, immortal entity should.
This story will continue to reveal new wonders the longer I sit with it. I want to bottle the thoughts and feelings brought out by this book, but it’s impossible. The story is so layered thematically that as I start to unravel one, it gets tangled with another, and I end up starting at the beginning. It’s a glamorous and deadly fever dream whose haze I can’t quite shake, and I’m fine with nursing my headache in the morning if it means I get to keep dancing with the Daughter of Calamity.
Rating: Daughter of Calamity - 10/10
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
July 7, 2024
2 Stars rounded up. Audiobook ARC.
I was looking forward to the book as the book description sounded so interesting. I have never read a book that was so full of contrast. On one hand, the book had beautifully written, detailed descriptions of scenes full of rich imagery, to the point of being over-written. Yet this book is also so underwritten where the same care and attention to detail was not extended to the actual plot or characters. In fact, the imagery was so full of similes it became exhausting to listen to and made you lose focus on the rest of the story. This book would have been half the length if you removed half the imagery, and you still would have had a detailed world but with plenty of room to actually write a plot and flush out the characters. Jengwin's whole personality is dancing and getting attention from rich men. There is nothing else there. She sees traumatic and horrifying events happen to her "not friends", and is over it the next day. Nothing seems to bother her or affect her deeply at all, ever. She puts no thought or emotion into her life or her experiences. Oh, lets just casually do drugs with no consideration for the repercussions or effects because some rich man is giving me attention and wants me to. The character is another contracts in the writing, she somehow notices all these little fine details in how things look (again with the author's liberal use of imagery), yet the character is supposed to be naive despite working in a dance club catering to men. It is hard to believe she is naive as she is in the book. I find her character so flat and annoying, and frankly she is just TSTL. The other characters are equally flat and annoying. I had to force my way through this audiobook at 2x speed then started skipping 10 to 15 mins at a time and yet still didn't miss any plot points. The story was completely lost amongst the imagery and needlessly excessive description of the surroundings. I DNFed at 50% because the story (or lake of) was making me frustrated and I cannot bear listening to another second of it. The narrator was no help in keeping engaged either. There was just no effort there to make the book and dialogue more interesting. While she could pronounce all the Chinese words to some cool cultural items (that were never described or explained...in a book that over described every other detail), she put no effort into making her voice any different for any of the characters, You couldn't tell who was talking and had already zoned out after 10 minutes of describing the room and all the peoples clothes. 1930's Shanghai had a tease of being actually interesting if not simultaneously over and under written. The hint of a magic system was poorly focused on and could have really added an extra layer to this book if it had also been paid half as much attention as the descriptions given to another dancer's lipstick colour and how their earrings sparkled as they moved. Don't get me wrong, I do like some beautiful imagery in scenes but when you can listen to a 40 minute chapter and its 90% descriptions that a rope handing a cage from the roof twisted like a giant serpent with a coiling muscular body wrapping around its prey like a... it is just too much and only 10% maybe bland dialogue and a single plot point. I understand the author wanted to write a beautifully described book, but she overshot the mark and this was just too much.
Clearly the author has the ability to write beautiful detail and rich imagery, just take some of that focus from the scene descriptions and put it onto the plot and characters and this book could have been way better. This is a debut author and I do hope she works on her allocation of detail to provide more of that meticulous detail towards the more important plot and character aspects in her next book.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listen copy of this audiobook.
I was looking forward to the book as the book description sounded so interesting. I have never read a book that was so full of contrast. On one hand, the book had beautifully written, detailed descriptions of scenes full of rich imagery, to the point of being over-written. Yet this book is also so underwritten where the same care and attention to detail was not extended to the actual plot or characters. In fact, the imagery was so full of similes it became exhausting to listen to and made you lose focus on the rest of the story. This book would have been half the length if you removed half the imagery, and you still would have had a detailed world but with plenty of room to actually write a plot and flush out the characters. Jengwin's whole personality is dancing and getting attention from rich men. There is nothing else there. She sees traumatic and horrifying events happen to her "not friends", and is over it the next day. Nothing seems to bother her or affect her deeply at all, ever. She puts no thought or emotion into her life or her experiences. Oh, lets just casually do drugs with no consideration for the repercussions or effects because some rich man is giving me attention and wants me to. The character is another contracts in the writing, she somehow notices all these little fine details in how things look (again with the author's liberal use of imagery), yet the character is supposed to be naive despite working in a dance club catering to men. It is hard to believe she is naive as she is in the book. I find her character so flat and annoying, and frankly she is just TSTL. The other characters are equally flat and annoying. I had to force my way through this audiobook at 2x speed then started skipping 10 to 15 mins at a time and yet still didn't miss any plot points. The story was completely lost amongst the imagery and needlessly excessive description of the surroundings. I DNFed at 50% because the story (or lake of) was making me frustrated and I cannot bear listening to another second of it. The narrator was no help in keeping engaged either. There was just no effort there to make the book and dialogue more interesting. While she could pronounce all the Chinese words to some cool cultural items (that were never described or explained...in a book that over described every other detail), she put no effort into making her voice any different for any of the characters, You couldn't tell who was talking and had already zoned out after 10 minutes of describing the room and all the peoples clothes. 1930's Shanghai had a tease of being actually interesting if not simultaneously over and under written. The hint of a magic system was poorly focused on and could have really added an extra layer to this book if it had also been paid half as much attention as the descriptions given to another dancer's lipstick colour and how their earrings sparkled as they moved. Don't get me wrong, I do like some beautiful imagery in scenes but when you can listen to a 40 minute chapter and its 90% descriptions that a rope handing a cage from the roof twisted like a giant serpent with a coiling muscular body wrapping around its prey like a... it is just too much and only 10% maybe bland dialogue and a single plot point. I understand the author wanted to write a beautifully described book, but she overshot the mark and this was just too much.
Clearly the author has the ability to write beautiful detail and rich imagery, just take some of that focus from the scene descriptions and put it onto the plot and characters and this book could have been way better. This is a debut author and I do hope she works on her allocation of detail to provide more of that meticulous detail towards the more important plot and character aspects in her next book.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advance listen copy of this audiobook.
April 10, 2024
1.5 - rounded to 2
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of Daughter of Calamity! Some things may change from now to the final publication. All opinions are my own.
Against the backdrop of 1930's Shanghai, Jingwen is a cabaret dancer, showgirl, and the grand-daughter to the city's most prolific doctor/gangster. When a girl at her dancehall has her lips stolen and two mysterious men enter her life Jingwen must transform into all that she isn’t but must become.
Let me be clear, if my synopsis wasn't enticing or inspired then that's because the story is not and I wasn't. If you're a fan of tumblr level dialogue and watt-pad written "bad ass morally gray women", you will like this story. However, if you have a fully developed frontal lobe, you might be disappointed.
The premise held so much potential, but unfortunately the execution left much to be desired. The book really needed to be edited one or two more times. Confusing sentences littered paragraphs and two consecutive chapters started with the same sentence that felt out of place and not intentional. Lin's writing style here is inconsistent and either delves too deeply into similes or just barely scratches the surface. It felt like she was trying too hard to evoke the exact image of Shanghai she wanted us to see rather than allow us to envision it by ourselves. Afraid of misinterpretation, all of her thematic symbols were so on the nose I felt like she was talking to us as if we were children. Speaking of...until I read that the main character was twenty, I thought Jingwen was sixteen. I think this would have found a better audience within the YA genre even if it was a bit gory in some areas (but the gore lasted a paragraph or so each time, and never truly explicit).
I did not enjoy the romance even if that wasn't at the center of the story. The almost instant love hidden behind a thin veil of "enemies to lovers" made me roll my eyes and quite frankly I really hoped Jingwen would end up with one of the cabaret girls. Queerness isn't really discussed or written about in the book, but if you squint really hard you can see it in a few sentences. But you have to squint really hard.
I also hoped we would see greater bonding between the dance girls and explore all their different motivations. I wanted women helping women because if not them, then who? We get this a bit, but I wish it was developed and explored more with the nuance it deserves. What we get instead is random moments of laughter over a quirky event that bonds the dancers because "girlhood".
Other thoughts:
- Pacing was off the charts weird. Time didn't exist and neither did rest/rumination
- A perfect blue/black swan moment appeared just as quickly as it left and left me stunned in both good and bad ways
- The main twist was :/ it was pretty predictable in a lot of ways, and the secondary twist was cooler than the first but still not revolutionary
With all of this said, I will name a few pros to end this review:
- It ended in a way that definitely alludes to a sequel, so if you like the book there's probably more coming
- Some of the sentences did hit the way poetry is meant to hit
- The theme of colonial powers in China and the way foreign power pervades & forces assimilation was interesting and a large theme in the book which I appreciated
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of Daughter of Calamity! Some things may change from now to the final publication. All opinions are my own.
Against the backdrop of 1930's Shanghai, Jingwen is a cabaret dancer, showgirl, and the grand-daughter to the city's most prolific doctor/gangster. When a girl at her dancehall has her lips stolen and two mysterious men enter her life Jingwen must transform into all that she isn’t but must become.
Let me be clear, if my synopsis wasn't enticing or inspired then that's because the story is not and I wasn't. If you're a fan of tumblr level dialogue and watt-pad written "bad ass morally gray women", you will like this story. However, if you have a fully developed frontal lobe, you might be disappointed.
The premise held so much potential, but unfortunately the execution left much to be desired. The book really needed to be edited one or two more times. Confusing sentences littered paragraphs and two consecutive chapters started with the same sentence that felt out of place and not intentional. Lin's writing style here is inconsistent and either delves too deeply into similes or just barely scratches the surface. It felt like she was trying too hard to evoke the exact image of Shanghai she wanted us to see rather than allow us to envision it by ourselves. Afraid of misinterpretation, all of her thematic symbols were so on the nose I felt like she was talking to us as if we were children. Speaking of...until I read that the main character was twenty, I thought Jingwen was sixteen. I think this would have found a better audience within the YA genre even if it was a bit gory in some areas (but the gore lasted a paragraph or so each time, and never truly explicit).
I did not enjoy the romance even if that wasn't at the center of the story. The almost instant love hidden behind a thin veil of "enemies to lovers" made me roll my eyes and quite frankly I really hoped Jingwen would end up with one of the cabaret girls. Queerness isn't really discussed or written about in the book, but if you squint really hard you can see it in a few sentences. But you have to squint really hard.
I also hoped we would see greater bonding between the dance girls and explore all their different motivations. I wanted women helping women because if not them, then who? We get this a bit, but I wish it was developed and explored more with the nuance it deserves. What we get instead is random moments of laughter over a quirky event that bonds the dancers because "girlhood".
Other thoughts:
- Pacing was off the charts weird. Time didn't exist and neither did rest/rumination
- A perfect blue/black swan moment appeared just as quickly as it left and left me stunned in both good and bad ways
- The main twist was :/ it was pretty predictable in a lot of ways, and the secondary twist was cooler than the first but still not revolutionary
With all of this said, I will name a few pros to end this review:
- It ended in a way that definitely alludes to a sequel, so if you like the book there's probably more coming
- Some of the sentences did hit the way poetry is meant to hit
- The theme of colonial powers in China and the way foreign power pervades & forces assimilation was interesting and a large theme in the book which I appreciated
June 11, 2024
Wow! Daughter of Calamity is the real deal — an artful, skilfully crafted, dazzling tale of deceit and danger in 1930s Shanghai that blends fantasy, noir, and romance in a stunning debut. Keep your eyes on Rosalie M. Lin, because if her next books are half as good as this one, she’s going to have a glorious career.
I love the 1930s. There’s a glamour about the era that’s intoxicating. But there’s also a sadness beneath the sheen as society tries too hard to gloss over its cracks. In so many ways, Jingwen as a character perfectly resonates the 1930s as a product of her era.
She’s a dancing girl at the Paramount — the premier nightclub of Shanghai — who makes a living by hooking the fortunes of the ‘gentlemen elite’ by making them fall in love with her, ready to gift her the world for just one more dance. She’s all about the glitz and sparkle of this decadent lifestyle. But in her spare time, she delivers bones for the city’s most powerful mafia gang, and has grown up watching her grandmother carve out limbs of flesh and replace them with arms of silver.
All this would make an amazing book in itself, but for Daughter of Calamity, it’s just the backdrop to the story. This has more atmosphere and layers than the real life city of Shanghai! The book pulls you into this world so well, and carefully conceals its twists so that they can be unleashed with maximum impact. It delivers a particular kind of thrill that feels fresh, walking the line where criminality meets fantasy, and family meets morality, all of it blending together to addictive effect.
I devoured this in two sittings. That doesn’t happen all too often. But I absolutely adored Jingwen and her world and I couldn’t put it down. The way her dancing was described, and the symbolism is represented in different parts of the book, fully absorbed me. It adds so many layers to her complexity and her secrets. What begins as a rebellion against a mafia cohort soon grows into the epic grandeur of a powerful woman defying deities. The details littered through the narrative give such a feeling of authenticity that I really felt like I was there, living these things with Jingwen. I cannot stress enough how stunned I was by the way the book enveloped me in its underworld.
In terms of sub-plots, there’s the hint of a love triangle that holds enough classic tropes to make it enjoyable for readers who enjoy a hint of romance, but also enough subversion that it doesn’t feel overly familiar or result in any eye rolls. Jingwen is embroiled with both the classic benefactor and the roguish bad boy, and each are given their fair share of page-time. But the way these relationships unfold is actually quite brilliant, and totally upends the way you think it’s going to go.
Daughter of Calamity has everything. Action. Thrills. Heart. An amazing protagonist. An atmosphere that oozes so many layers — it can leave you breathless at times and horrify you at others. It boasts a world I could read a hundred books about. But above all, it’s got the perfect balance between all these different things. Like the jazz that Jingwen dances to, it contains such a broad fusion of so many different elements, but it’s entirely unique and sounds like something totally new. The writing is so solid, and the skill with which the story holds together is so expert and artisanal, that it genuinely leaves my jaw hanging open when I consider this is a debut book!
Come for 1930s fantasy Shanghai, stay for bone-carving intrigue and wolf-mist-summoning shamans. And I haven’t even mentioned the thief who’s stealing body parts or mafia assassination-conspiracies! Seriously, this book has so much to it, if I was to address it all, you’d be reading an essay instead of a review!
Daughter of Calamity is not just a brilliant story, it’s a brilliant everything. I can’t praise Rosalie M. Lin enough for what she’s managed to accomplish with her first novel, and I seriously can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
I love the 1930s. There’s a glamour about the era that’s intoxicating. But there’s also a sadness beneath the sheen as society tries too hard to gloss over its cracks. In so many ways, Jingwen as a character perfectly resonates the 1930s as a product of her era.
She’s a dancing girl at the Paramount — the premier nightclub of Shanghai — who makes a living by hooking the fortunes of the ‘gentlemen elite’ by making them fall in love with her, ready to gift her the world for just one more dance. She’s all about the glitz and sparkle of this decadent lifestyle. But in her spare time, she delivers bones for the city’s most powerful mafia gang, and has grown up watching her grandmother carve out limbs of flesh and replace them with arms of silver.
All this would make an amazing book in itself, but for Daughter of Calamity, it’s just the backdrop to the story. This has more atmosphere and layers than the real life city of Shanghai! The book pulls you into this world so well, and carefully conceals its twists so that they can be unleashed with maximum impact. It delivers a particular kind of thrill that feels fresh, walking the line where criminality meets fantasy, and family meets morality, all of it blending together to addictive effect.
I devoured this in two sittings. That doesn’t happen all too often. But I absolutely adored Jingwen and her world and I couldn’t put it down. The way her dancing was described, and the symbolism is represented in different parts of the book, fully absorbed me. It adds so many layers to her complexity and her secrets. What begins as a rebellion against a mafia cohort soon grows into the epic grandeur of a powerful woman defying deities. The details littered through the narrative give such a feeling of authenticity that I really felt like I was there, living these things with Jingwen. I cannot stress enough how stunned I was by the way the book enveloped me in its underworld.
In terms of sub-plots, there’s the hint of a love triangle that holds enough classic tropes to make it enjoyable for readers who enjoy a hint of romance, but also enough subversion that it doesn’t feel overly familiar or result in any eye rolls. Jingwen is embroiled with both the classic benefactor and the roguish bad boy, and each are given their fair share of page-time. But the way these relationships unfold is actually quite brilliant, and totally upends the way you think it’s going to go.
Daughter of Calamity has everything. Action. Thrills. Heart. An amazing protagonist. An atmosphere that oozes so many layers — it can leave you breathless at times and horrify you at others. It boasts a world I could read a hundred books about. But above all, it’s got the perfect balance between all these different things. Like the jazz that Jingwen dances to, it contains such a broad fusion of so many different elements, but it’s entirely unique and sounds like something totally new. The writing is so solid, and the skill with which the story holds together is so expert and artisanal, that it genuinely leaves my jaw hanging open when I consider this is a debut book!
Come for 1930s fantasy Shanghai, stay for bone-carving intrigue and wolf-mist-summoning shamans. And I haven’t even mentioned the thief who’s stealing body parts or mafia assassination-conspiracies! Seriously, this book has so much to it, if I was to address it all, you’d be reading an essay instead of a review!
Daughter of Calamity is not just a brilliant story, it’s a brilliant everything. I can’t praise Rosalie M. Lin enough for what she’s managed to accomplish with her first novel, and I seriously can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
July 18, 2024
Thank the Lord this is a standalone. I don’t know how much more of this I could take.
The concept of this was really interesting. A 1920s flapper, urban Shanghai fantasy standalone where the facial parts of cabaret dance girls are mysteriously disappearing. Immediately, color me intrigued. And now, having read the book, color me annoyed.
Jingwen as a character had no focus. Every action made and thought she had made no sense for her. She’s set up as like a slightly confident yet ignorant cabaret dancer who is kind of a loner by choice. Then suddenly, she’s completely knowledgeable on everything she does and becomes more of a wizened old soldier than the innocent little dancer she was set up to be.
Jingwen got easily sidetracked by guys which was annoying. One was someone who gave her expensive stuff, and she couldn’t track him down again for a while so he occupied a lot of her mind in the first half because she might honestly be a gold digger. Luckily, that phase ended fast through some revelations. The other was some mysterious and dangerous stranger she was (obviously) warned to stay away from, who also had some kind of nameless appeal that had her attracted to him “despite knowing she shouldn’t.” Give me a break. His threatening demeanor in the first moment they met had Jingwen thrilled with excitement, though she didn’t know why. Ugh. Also, he had a very long ponytail which was just super cringey, and she was constantly fixated on a mole by his left eye. Ew. Everything about their relationship felt random and forced (just like his ponytail).
Every other sentence slowly morphed into similes and outlandish adjectival descriptions. Honestly, most of them were cringey and didn’t even make sense. They made what was being described—physical things and emotional moments—lost in the shuffle. Like a thick smog hiding the sun that is the plot. As a diseased flower wilts among a flourishing field. Ooh, like tripping into an endless well that’s only two feet deep. If you’re confused, that’s what this plot was. Simile-infused confusion. Excuse me while I bang my head against a wall.
The inclusion of gods and religion was really interesting but over explained to the point of confusion. I’d be wrapping my head around one piece of world building to explain something, and the next moment there’d be new information that threw me off, and I was back to square one. The way gods were physically included in the story through drug-induced hallucinations was interesting, though. However, its execution in the long run was strange and, well, felt random. Let’s just safely assume that the one word to describe this book is “random.” Especially that ending. Oh my. I can safely say that while I understood what happened, at the same time, I have no idea what happened.
The concept of this was really interesting. A 1920s flapper, urban Shanghai fantasy standalone where the facial parts of cabaret dance girls are mysteriously disappearing. Immediately, color me intrigued. And now, having read the book, color me annoyed.
Jingwen as a character had no focus. Every action made and thought she had made no sense for her. She’s set up as like a slightly confident yet ignorant cabaret dancer who is kind of a loner by choice. Then suddenly, she’s completely knowledgeable on everything she does and becomes more of a wizened old soldier than the innocent little dancer she was set up to be.
Jingwen got easily sidetracked by guys which was annoying. One was someone who gave her expensive stuff, and she couldn’t track him down again for a while so he occupied a lot of her mind in the first half because she might honestly be a gold digger. Luckily, that phase ended fast through some revelations. The other was some mysterious and dangerous stranger she was (obviously) warned to stay away from, who also had some kind of nameless appeal that had her attracted to him “despite knowing she shouldn’t.” Give me a break. His threatening demeanor in the first moment they met had Jingwen thrilled with excitement, though she didn’t know why. Ugh. Also, he had a very long ponytail which was just super cringey, and she was constantly fixated on a mole by his left eye. Ew. Everything about their relationship felt random and forced (just like his ponytail).
Every other sentence slowly morphed into similes and outlandish adjectival descriptions. Honestly, most of them were cringey and didn’t even make sense. They made what was being described—physical things and emotional moments—lost in the shuffle. Like a thick smog hiding the sun that is the plot. As a diseased flower wilts among a flourishing field. Ooh, like tripping into an endless well that’s only two feet deep. If you’re confused, that’s what this plot was. Simile-infused confusion. Excuse me while I bang my head against a wall.
The inclusion of gods and religion was really interesting but over explained to the point of confusion. I’d be wrapping my head around one piece of world building to explain something, and the next moment there’d be new information that threw me off, and I was back to square one. The way gods were physically included in the story through drug-induced hallucinations was interesting, though. However, its execution in the long run was strange and, well, felt random. Let’s just safely assume that the one word to describe this book is “random.” Especially that ending. Oh my. I can safely say that while I understood what happened, at the same time, I have no idea what happened.
December 13, 2023
Selamlar selamlar! Size Ekim 2023’te okuduğum bir kitabın yorumunu getirdim. Kitabın bana hiç hitap etmediğini baştan söyleyerek birkaç yorum paylaşmak istiyorum.
Konusu şu şekilde, 1930’da Şangay’da geçen bu kurgu şehri yönetme hırsıyla savaşan iki çetenin arasında kalan bir kızın hikayesini anlatıyor. Ancak bu savaşlarda alışılmışın aksine tanrılar da rol alıyor.
Kısaca bir de spoilersız özet vereyim hemen…
Jingwen bir kabarede dansçılık yaparak hayatını kazanan bir kız. Büyükannesiyse şehrin korkulan ve saygı duyulan güçlü kadınlarından birisi olarak karanlık işler yapıyor.
Uzuvların çalınıp değiştirildiği, Şangay mitolojisindeki tanrıların yeryüzüne indiği bu kurguda Jingwen’e büyükannesi başta kötü gösterilerek ona karşı kurulacak bir tezgâhta rol alması bekleniyor.
Amacı karşı çetenin başındaki kişinin ölmesini sağlayarak suçu büyükannesine atmak. Başta bu fikri kabul etmese de arkadaşı olan dansçı kızların tek tek yüzlerininin, gözlerinin, dudaklarının çalınmaya başladığını görünce bunu yapanın büyükannesi olduğunu düşünerek bu oyuna dahil oluyor.
Ancak tanıştığı adamlar, bulunduğu farklı konumlar ona çok karanlık bir dünya olduğunu gösteriyor…
Klişeleri (Tropes):
• Fantastik
• Şangay
• Mitolojik tanrılar
• Tarihi kurgu
• Slow burn
• Şamanlar
Artıları:
• Kurguyu biraz Şiddetli Hazlar’a benzettim. O kitap bir Romeo & Juliet retellingiydi ama o da 1920’lerin Şangay’ında geçiyordu. Romantizmi çıkartırsak mafya gruplarının olmasıyla vs. benzerlikler olduğunu söylemek mümkün.
Eksileri:
• Bu kitapla ilgili söyleyecek pek güzel şeyim olmadığı için üzgünüm. Tarihi kurgular bana pek hitap etmiyor ve bu kitap da çok ağırdı. Hem diyalogları hem olayın giriş gelişme sonuç bölümleri çok yorucuydu benim için.
• Kitapta eğlence evlerinde erkeklerle dans ederek para kazanan kızlar, içkiler, uyuşturucu madde kullanımı bulunmakta ama cinsellik yok.
• Farklı bir kurgu, ilginç bir dünya ama ben Şangay kültürüne çok hâkim olamadığım için asla kitaba adapte olamadım. Detayları anlamakta çok zorlandım hatta anlam veremediğim; şimdi bile önümde sayfalarca not açık olduğu hâlde hatırlayamadığım çok fazla detay var.
• İngilizce olarak da terminolojisi bir hayli zor.
Çokça sevgiler!
Konusu şu şekilde, 1930’da Şangay’da geçen bu kurgu şehri yönetme hırsıyla savaşan iki çetenin arasında kalan bir kızın hikayesini anlatıyor. Ancak bu savaşlarda alışılmışın aksine tanrılar da rol alıyor.
Kısaca bir de spoilersız özet vereyim hemen…
Jingwen bir kabarede dansçılık yaparak hayatını kazanan bir kız. Büyükannesiyse şehrin korkulan ve saygı duyulan güçlü kadınlarından birisi olarak karanlık işler yapıyor.
Uzuvların çalınıp değiştirildiği, Şangay mitolojisindeki tanrıların yeryüzüne indiği bu kurguda Jingwen’e büyükannesi başta kötü gösterilerek ona karşı kurulacak bir tezgâhta rol alması bekleniyor.
Amacı karşı çetenin başındaki kişinin ölmesini sağlayarak suçu büyükannesine atmak. Başta bu fikri kabul etmese de arkadaşı olan dansçı kızların tek tek yüzlerininin, gözlerinin, dudaklarının çalınmaya başladığını görünce bunu yapanın büyükannesi olduğunu düşünerek bu oyuna dahil oluyor.
Ancak tanıştığı adamlar, bulunduğu farklı konumlar ona çok karanlık bir dünya olduğunu gösteriyor…
Klişeleri (Tropes):
• Fantastik
• Şangay
• Mitolojik tanrılar
• Tarihi kurgu
• Slow burn
• Şamanlar
Artıları:
• Kurguyu biraz Şiddetli Hazlar’a benzettim. O kitap bir Romeo & Juliet retellingiydi ama o da 1920’lerin Şangay’ında geçiyordu. Romantizmi çıkartırsak mafya gruplarının olmasıyla vs. benzerlikler olduğunu söylemek mümkün.
Eksileri:
• Bu kitapla ilgili söyleyecek pek güzel şeyim olmadığı için üzgünüm. Tarihi kurgular bana pek hitap etmiyor ve bu kitap da çok ağırdı. Hem diyalogları hem olayın giriş gelişme sonuç bölümleri çok yorucuydu benim için.
• Kitapta eğlence evlerinde erkeklerle dans ederek para kazanan kızlar, içkiler, uyuşturucu madde kullanımı bulunmakta ama cinsellik yok.
• Farklı bir kurgu, ilginç bir dünya ama ben Şangay kültürüne çok hâkim olamadığım için asla kitaba adapte olamadım. Detayları anlamakta çok zorlandım hatta anlam veremediğim; şimdi bile önümde sayfalarca not açık olduğu hâlde hatırlayamadığım çok fazla detay var.
• İngilizce olarak da terminolojisi bir hayli zor.
Çokça sevgiler!
June 30, 2024
3.5/5 ⭐️
Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC of Daughter of Calamity in exchange for this honest review.
🌸 Release Date: June 18 2024
🌸 Vibes:
- Roaring 20s in Shanghai
- Gangs, drugs, and gods
- Unreliable narrator
🌸 Quick Synopsis
Our protagonist, Jingwen (Vilma), is a cabaret dancer at the Paramount, and also the go between for her surgeon grandmother and the Society of the Blue Dawn (aka the ruling gang of Shanghai). Her grandmother wants Jingwen to apprentice in the illicit surgeries that she performs for the gang, replacing limbs with silver ones that give the owner unnatural speed and strength. Jingwen, however, is happier to dance the night away and fight the other girls for their best prospects.
After meeting a charming American doctor, who so happens to make Jingwen the lead dancer in the East Sea Follies newest production, Jingwen is immersed in the strange and mysterious happenings in Shanghai that involve the stealing of dancer's faces, drugs, and gods.
🌸 Review
Let me start by saying that the gods & magic at play in this world are so incredibly interesting and unique. The thing about it all is that you can't really know what happened or not since the characters are high out of their minds very often. Did that bother me? No, I think that made it all the more interesting and vivid so that yu could feel the paranoia.
I also really loved the focus on the dancers and how no one else really would have cared to protect them, because let's be real - that is 100% how women in SW are treated. Pretty objects and then ignored once their beauty is diminished.
So why not 5 stars? The focus on the stage production and Sui Feng's methods for teaching the dancers was very meh, and Jingwen was just so wishy-washy on sides between the Society of the Blue Dawn and The Court of Exiles. The ending also was very underwhelming. I would have LOVED to see those faceless girls be free to strike down all those men that hurt and used them.
Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for providing an eARC of Daughter of Calamity in exchange for this honest review.
🌸 Release Date: June 18 2024
🌸 Vibes:
- Roaring 20s in Shanghai
- Gangs, drugs, and gods
- Unreliable narrator
🌸 Quick Synopsis
Our protagonist, Jingwen (Vilma), is a cabaret dancer at the Paramount, and also the go between for her surgeon grandmother and the Society of the Blue Dawn (aka the ruling gang of Shanghai). Her grandmother wants Jingwen to apprentice in the illicit surgeries that she performs for the gang, replacing limbs with silver ones that give the owner unnatural speed and strength. Jingwen, however, is happier to dance the night away and fight the other girls for their best prospects.
After meeting a charming American doctor, who so happens to make Jingwen the lead dancer in the East Sea Follies newest production, Jingwen is immersed in the strange and mysterious happenings in Shanghai that involve the stealing of dancer's faces, drugs, and gods.
🌸 Review
Let me start by saying that the gods & magic at play in this world are so incredibly interesting and unique. The thing about it all is that you can't really know what happened or not since the characters are high out of their minds very often. Did that bother me? No, I think that made it all the more interesting and vivid so that yu could feel the paranoia.
I also really loved the focus on the dancers and how no one else really would have cared to protect them, because let's be real - that is 100% how women in SW are treated. Pretty objects and then ignored once their beauty is diminished.
So why not 5 stars? The focus on the stage production and Sui Feng's methods for teaching the dancers was very meh, and Jingwen was just so wishy-washy on sides between the Society of the Blue Dawn and The Court of Exiles. The ending also was very underwhelming. I would have LOVED to see those faceless girls be free to strike down all those men that hurt and used them.
October 17, 2023
I will never understand why authors do not ask appropriate, knowledgeable specialists for a read-through to make sure terminology is used correctly. In this case, the author is apparently a dancer, but her use of language about music is a big mess, and it pulled me right out of the story. Numerous other small things that made no sense (dancing barefoot on a stage used by tap dancers? um, no. Huge hazards there.) as well as uneven character development and world-building. The premise is good--a magical-realist Shanghai, full of angry gods and exploitation and gangs. Things happen a little too unbelievably fast at the beginning, and the pacing throughout is awkward and sometimes hard to follow. The characters don't have much depth, and they change their minds and loyalties with every cliche that comes from their mouths. There are characters who don't actually do much except smolder dramatically or are mysterious, but they have no charisma and are too often just filler--even those who are supposed to be important, such as the protagonist's mother and the protagonist's potential love interests. There's no spark. There's a very brief reference to queer sexuality, but everyone else lacks sex appeal, even when they're supposed to be making their livings off of it. The magic and power and technology of the world is revealed somewhat clunkily, and some of the metaphors involving those aspects are heavy-handed enough to make you bang your head on the wall. The geography of the city is unclear, and the city as an entity is uneven. There are continuity errors--one most noticeable one comes near the end, when a character holds up his hands in a surrender gesture, but then in the next sentence is just then pulling them out of his pockets. I feel like this needs one more really good developmental edit, to cut away the flotsam and jetsam, and it would be much better.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews