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snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Also on Snow White Hates Apples.
Set during the jazz age where both mortal and immortal realms of Shanghai coexist, Shanghai Immortal follows Jing, a half-fox spirit, half-vampire netherworld dweller whose latter half makes her the subject of scorn for an entire court of fox spirits, including her own maternal grandmother. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to live with them as the Big Wang, King of Hell has long made her his ward. Instead, when she’s not off doing her own thing, she does what Big Wang tells her to — albeit reluctantly and/or mulishly at times.
Thus, begins the story where Jing finds herself having to deliver the mortal Mr Lee to Big Wang. This mortal turns out to be a key figure for Big Wang’s planned, massive project that could make obsolete the power and standing of some beings in power. Of course, this upsets those beings and Jing finds herself entangled in an adventure where she grows, becoming a little more mature, a little more grounded in her identity, and a little more secure in regards to where she belongs. Along the way, she also discovers the value and importance of found family, friendship and love.
Personally, I didn’t find this book as funny or sassy as expected (since some of the earlier marketing touted this). Sure, Jing as the narrator does add sass and snark to the tone, plus her couldn’t-care-less attitude makes the story more fun to read. But, this also makes her come off as very immature and too much of a try-hard at being a feisty BAMF. There were many moments when all this felt especially forced too.
Nevertheless, I really liked the interspersed Chinese and literal translations in the narrative as they made everything feel more authentic (they’re funnier when you know the meaning too!). The imagery used to bring the story and its setting to life were delightful as well. I could picture mortal and immortal Shanghai vividly in my mind as I read the book. However, there were places where the plot gets eclipsed by context and expositions which then, dragged the pacing. I still enjoyed reading Shanghai Immortal , though, and look forward to the sequel.
Set during the jazz age where both mortal and immortal realms of Shanghai coexist, Shanghai Immortal follows Jing, a half-fox spirit, half-vampire netherworld dweller whose latter half makes her the subject of scorn for an entire court of fox spirits, including her own maternal grandmother. Fortunately, she doesn’t have to live with them as the Big Wang, King of Hell has long made her his ward. Instead, when she’s not off doing her own thing, she does what Big Wang tells her to — albeit reluctantly and/or mulishly at times.
Thus, begins the story where Jing finds herself having to deliver the mortal Mr Lee to Big Wang. This mortal turns out to be a key figure for Big Wang’s planned, massive project that could make obsolete the power and standing of some beings in power. Of course, this upsets those beings and Jing finds herself entangled in an adventure where she grows, becoming a little more mature, a little more grounded in her identity, and a little more secure in regards to where she belongs. Along the way, she also discovers the value and importance of found family, friendship and love.
Personally, I didn’t find this book as funny or sassy as expected (since some of the earlier marketing touted this). Sure, Jing as the narrator does add sass and snark to the tone, plus her couldn’t-care-less attitude makes the story more fun to read. But, this also makes her come off as very immature and too much of a try-hard at being a feisty BAMF. There were many moments when all this felt especially forced too.
Nevertheless, I really liked the interspersed Chinese and literal translations in the narrative as they made everything feel more authentic (they’re funnier when you know the meaning too!). The imagery used to bring the story and its setting to life were delightful as well. I could picture mortal and immortal Shanghai vividly in my mind as I read the book. However, there were places where the plot gets eclipsed by context and expositions which then, dragged the pacing. I still enjoyed reading Shanghai Immortal , though, and look forward to the sequel.
Thank you so much Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
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