The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
A review by mousegoddess
Never Match a Dragon by Rachael Slate
2.0
writing itself was okay, plot twist was ridiculously transparent, and was left with discomfort over cultural exploitation that wouldn't have been entirely out of place in the Victorian era. I can handle gimmicks to a certain degree, but I just don't like it when a culture is treated like a gimmick. Like, there didn't seem much of an attempt to even try and actually include the culture she's clearly using. If you're going to exploit someone at least put some effort in.
Before anyone asks, I'm familiar because I have friends from Hong Kong, central China, northern China, and Macau. My 姐姐 lives in southern China not too far from Hong Kong. It doesn't take being an expert to realize that there's no effort being made. Which is a shame because the writing and editing were both competent.
ETA
The one thing I do have to give props for is that at least THIS author knows the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin. *eyetwitch* Almost worth another half star from me because of bitterness towards authors who don't.
Before anyone asks, I'm familiar because I have friends from Hong Kong, central China, northern China, and Macau. My 姐姐 lives in southern China not too far from Hong Kong. It doesn't take being an expert to realize that there's no effort being made. Which is a shame because the writing and editing were both competent.
ETA
The one thing I do have to give props for is that at least THIS author knows the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin. *eyetwitch* Almost worth another half star from me because of bitterness towards authors who don't.