Shanghai Immortal

Shanghai Immortal #1

by A.Y. Chao

Steeped in Chinese history and mythos, Shanghai Immortal is a richly told adult fantasy debut set in 1930s Shanghai.

Pawned as a child by her absent fox-spirit mother to the King of Hell, Lady Jing is half-vampire, half-fox-spirit and all sasshole. As the King's ward, Jing has spent the past ninety years running errands and dodging - not always successfully - the bruising taunts of the fox-spirit courtiers. So when Jing overhears the courtiers plotting to steal the King's priceless pink dragon pearl, she seizes her chance to expose those vixens for once and for all . . .

With plenty of hork and attitude - and the help of a gentle mortal tasked with setting up the Central Bank of Hell - Lady Jing embarks on a wild chase for clues, first through Hell and then mortal Shanghai.

But when her hijinks put the mortal in danger, she must decide which is more avenging her loss of face, or letting go of her half-empty, always-hangry approach to life for a chance to experience tenderness - and maybe even love.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Historical Fiction, Romance, Adult, Vampires, Fiction

365 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2023

About the author

Alice is a Chinese Canadian fantasy author. She's fascinated by the interplay between self-perceived versus imposed identity and how this intersects with belonging and explores these spaces in her stories.

Pre-order her debut SHANGHAI IMMORTAL (1 June 2023, Hodderscape) here.

Reviews

[jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

theres a reason its taken me nearly 6 months to read this after the publishers sent it to me. every time i think about how the MC is purposefully described as a “sasshole” in the synopsis, i physically cringe. and i knew it was a sign of things to come.

this is meant to be an adult novel, but the immaturity of it all significantly deters the books target audience. the childish language/dialogue, as well as the whiny and unrelatable MC, not only prevented me from enjoying this, but it also hinders the world-building and any other redeeming aspect of this story.

which, surprisingly, there are a few. the entire concept is actually quite intriguing - its why i picked this up and finished it, even though the writing and MC annoyed me. i think the plot is a great idea, the historical setting is exciting, and the mythology is very interesting. which is why its such a shame all of this was held back by poor writing choices and characterisation, preventing the book from living up to its full potential.

however, younger readers who can relate to this particular kind of writing and humour may actually really enjoy this (which is why this should have been marketed as YA instead). but, for me, this definitely could have been so much more than what it is as an adult fantasy novel.

thanks for the ARC, hodder & stoughton.

↠ 2.5 stars

[Gigi Griffis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irreverent and hilarious, this book is coming to take you on a RIDE. I was lucky enough to read an early version and THE WORLD IS NOT READY.

The story follows Lady Jing - half vampire, half fox spirit under the care of the ruler of Hell (which is a mishmashed version of Shanghai). When the king of Hell requests she escort a human safely through Hell to meet with him (even though pretty much every creature in Hell wants to eat said human), hijinx ensue.

Get ready for a ROMP.

[Ashleigh (a frolic through fiction) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rated 3.5/5 stars!

[Alwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This debut novel by Chinese Canadian writer A.Y. Chao is the first in a projected trilogy. It unfolds in a version of the 1930s, set in a shadow world of immortals existing in parallel with mortal Shanghai. Shanghai, then known as the Paris of the East, was an open city, a place that would admit anyone without the need for passports or visas, a place of reinvention and excess, home to numerous refugee communities from aristocratic Russians to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. Known for its hard drinking and gambling culture, it also attracted artists and writers like Isherwood and Noel Coward. Chao’s immortal Shanghai reflects the decadence of its mortal counterpart but is even more given to danger and intrigue, populated by Yaojing demons and spirits who are able to see through the veil shrouding human Shanghai.

Chao’s novel focuses on Lady Jing part spirit fox and part vampire, she was apparently sold by her mother to the King of Hell to pay for her parent’s expensive habits. The story follows Lady Jing as she attempts to break free from her lowly position and solve an ancient mystery, one which will bring her into close proximity with a human, Tony Lee. It’s a fascinating premise and the background is beautifully researched, grounded in historical fact and Chinese mythologies, but the narrative itself never quite took off for me, it starts incredibly slowly with a ton of exposition, and the numerous attempts to establish Jing as feisty and iconoclastic felt a little forced. There are some marvellous descriptions and atmospheric elements, and the world-building has great potential, but the plot’s often drowned out by the details, scenes could seem overly drawn out and the pace never quite evened out. So, for me, promising but nowhere near as engaging or entertaining as I’d hoped, although I’ll be interested to see where the next instalment leads.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Hodder for an ARC

Rating: 2 to 2.5

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

In theory this sounded like something I'd love, but when I actually opened it, and was greeted with the word ta-tas in the first chapter (probably first page too, but it showed up as the second for me) I knew this would not be the case.

I'd be willing to overlook it, if it didn't keep showing up repeatedly among other, ill-fitting words. That really brought the book's rating down for me.

Then the main character, Lady Jing, she can be almost 100 all she wants, but she doesn't act like it at all. She acts like a kid, worse than, even.

And to be honest, I knew not to expect an adult-adult book from this, but I also wasn't expecting something that feels like middle grade either. If it was more like YA than middle grade, I probably would've liked it more.

I found it hard to get invested in the story and if it wasn't an arc I likely would've dnfed. There's just nothing there that would pull me in, even though I BADLY wanted to find something that would.

The romance was bland, but not the worst thing I've read. I think it could've used more development.

So yeah, I'm disappointed. I would read something else by this author in the future though, because I believe that her next book could be better.

If you liked Daughter of the Moon Goddess there's a chance you'll like this one too, they remind me of each other.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

[K.J. Charles]

Wonderful cover and concept but this really didn't work for me. It feels YA to me, or at least the 90-year-old narrator feels like a teenager of the worst kind: aggressively petulant and self-sabotaging. There's a terrific setup of Chinese Hell mirroring Jazz Age Shanghai and a mortal getting involved in Hell's banking system, but neither of those had been explored much by the point I stopped: the first third is very low on plot/action and very much focused on establishing the narrator's character, which will obviously work much better for those who like the character. (My response is doubtless informed by the fact that I have teenagers, so if I want aggressive petulance, I can just ask how their day at school was.)

This is probably a YMMV read: if you enjoy the MC, you'll love it. DNF at 30%

[Allie | alliesrecentreads]

An adult fantasy novel set in an immortal version of Shanghai where the FMC is half-vampire, half-hulijing fox-spirit? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this is where the positives ended.

The FMC is one of the most immature characters I've ever read (this includes YA books where the characters are still literal children) and the writing is absolutely atrocious. The term "piss-fart" shows up no fewer than 12 times, "turd" shows up 25 (turd-eggs, turd-brained bitches, etc), and ta-ta' 13 times. I don't know anyone who speaks like this - let alone a century-old badass immortal.

Overall, this book gave me "brain porridge" and I do not recommend.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[A.Y. Chao · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sharing its progress below!

[Mei ☽︎ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a review copy for free via NetGalley, but I am voluntarily leaving my honest review. Many thanks to the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, and the author for the opportunity!

You can read the first chapter of the book here: https://www.pastemagazine.com/books/a...

I really wanted to like this one, but from the get-go, it was kind of hard for me to enjoy following the POV of Lady Jing, the FMC. This felt more like a coming of age story, which is something I wasn't expecting with the premise. There's nothing wrong with that, but with the super strong sassines coupled with her personality, it just made it hard to connect with her. Again, nothing wrong with an emotional (and slightly immature) character, but it was just jarring to see her reactions to things compared to other characters, especially when the main plot, imo, didn't quite move forward until about 35-40% in.

I wish that we got more with tone and vibes in the environment and the setting, as I personally feel that's lacking as we follow the cast through hell and mortal Shanghai. I was kind of expecting a Baccano-esque jazzy vibes, but I didn't get it here in the tone nor the writing. While we get some worldbuilding and politics in the beginning, I also really wanted more exploration there that didn't just revolve around Lady Jing's past and her grievances around the characters there.

The humor and sass didn't quite work for me either since despite being 99 years old, she often throws tantrums and gets really emotional and angry when things don't go her way or when people aren't on her side. It can be relatable sometimes (like wanting to wear pants instead of a dress when needing to fight), but it's jarring when the entire rest of the cast are not really like her. There are some catty females, and it's funny to see how Chang'e is depicted here, but it would've been more nice to have more buildup. I don't mind an angry and immature character who goes through growth, but she has repeatedly been like "No one's on my side/believes me!!" and even stomped her foot, etc. and angry cried when she had to apologize to someone for almost half the book. The growth just came too late for me.

Regarding the romance with Mr. Lee, buildup seems slow (which isn't bad -- I LOVE slowburn), but it feels kind forced, and things are awkward and distant in a way as we don't really learn much about him until the latter half. It takes a while for him to be more fleshed out as a lead, and to me stayed one-dimensional for too long as he was very formal. There was also an early scene where MMC's face slapped against her ass when she threw him over her back, and I think that's supposed to build up tension and add humor. Didn't work for me though, lol. and I wanted more tension build-up rather than just jealousy.

Diction-wise, in the dialogue, it feels like it's super literal in translation from Chinese. I don't speak Mandarin/Cantonese, but there's definitely flowery words that is brought up very often that the characters straight up go like "please speak plainly", which is fine BUT characters say "speak plainly" SO often that I wish there would be different approaches to this. There's also literal translations of some insults which can be kind of jarring for some like "piss fart" or "turd-eggs". That part actually was more than fine for me because it added to the Shanghai vibes. It's just that she also then says "ta-tas", lol... which I expect was supposed to add to the sass and the time period, but just didn't work for me.

Overall, I really wanted to connect more with the writing and the characters, but unfortunately didn't even by the end, and felt that there could've been more expansion on the vampirism and magic throughout the book, as well as more worldbuilding with setting up the environment rather than the bits that we did get. I did like some scenes with Jing and Mr. Lee in Shanghai, but didn't feel invested in the characters to want to continue the story, assuming there is a sequel.

[Sherwood Smith]

Having been immersing myself in Asian (Chinese especially) historical media and literature for the past eight years, I was so excited to grab this vivid, cheerfully irreverent homage to Chinese mythology, especially the fantastical tales. This is A.Y. Chao's debut, first of a series, and I am so looking forward to more!

Our narrator is Lady Jing, ward of Big Wang, the King of Hell--who rules the mythic world that overlies thirties Shanghai. I've now seen enough series and films (including film clips from the actual period) set in thirties Shanghai, to salute the research that went into evoking an amazing period in China's very long history. Thirties Shanghai was a meeting and amalgam of different cultures, each gleefully borrowing from the others to try them on, resulting in an exhilarating period that, unfortunately was all too soon overshadowed by world war.

This is a perfect setting for a story that borders the mythic world with a trip across the river.

Lady Jing is nearly 100 years old, and, typical for Xianxia, that means she's a young thing teetering on the verge of adulthood. In Xianxia, a cosmos full of gods and demons and weird spirits, time measure is in centuries and millennia. She's a "mongrel," or so her horrible relations insist, which is why she's the ward of the King of Hell. She's half huli, or nine-tailed-fox, and half vampire. She's been raised by a couple of venerable mythic figures in Big Wang's Court. ("Wang" by the way, means "king") She's feisty and mischievous and burgeoning with nascent power, but like many adolescents on the verge of adulthood, she's too impatient to sit for lessons. Especially as it seems everyone in Hell's court hates her guts, and there are powerful figures related to her who go out of their way to be cruel. With the emotional fallout you'd expect.

Lady Jing is requested by Big Wang to meet a mortal who is proposing a bank for the undead. Big Wang is interested in modernizing Hell, which means creating a bank. So Jing meets Tony Lee, a mortal who is clearly (except to inexperienced Jing) smitten with her, pretty much from the start.

Adventures ensue, with plenty of earthy observations by Jing, as she painfully comes to terms with aspects of her birth and early years. Perhaps symbolic, she fights hard against wearing the qipao, the gorgeous silk gown of the period--skin-tight, it looks spectacular on the right body, at the cost of moving. Or even breathing freely. And Jing, trained in martial arts, needs to be able to move.

I won't say any more than that. I galloped through the book, delighting in Jing and her adventures, and her slow, wary approach to growing up and into her powers. Along the way we get a thorough grounding in Chinese myth; what I loved most, I think, was Mr. Lee's reason for coming to Big Wang in the first place. That resonated with so many of the Chinese stories I've been inhaling over these past few years. Likewise, I loved the scattering of Chinese vocabulary through the story, exulting in the fact that I recognized all these words.

The result was a satisfying immersion in a world I want to revisit, leaving me looking very much forward to Lady Jing's further adventures.

[Stevie]

Dnf at 53%

Extremely bummed about this because I had such high hopes and I was enjoying it from the first few chapters.

1- the MC is truly unbearable. I thought she was funny and crass in an entertaining way at first. But she just got so insufferable. She has absolutely zero self restraint, thinks she’s so much better and more clever than everyone, and blames everyone else for things she does. Does she have redemption or growth? Idk but truly could not care less.

2- the plot… what was it?? I had such a hard time getting engaged and focused on this audiobook that I seriously don’t understand a single plot point. Something about a dragons egg diamond? Maybe? Idk but nothing had really happened by the 50% mark other than Jing getting some tailored pants.

3- the writing and general development just needs work. Honestly the cursing was fine to a degree but it definitely got to be too much. I was really uncomfortable with Jing calling other women bitches. Also I am once again asking for writers to give their characters friends?? Nothing about Jing made me want to root for her and clearly no one else did either.

Like I said, really bummed about this one because jazz age Shanghai for immortals sounded so so cool

[lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

never again do i want to see the words “piss-fart”

these insults are torturous. for a mc that’s supposed to be 100 years old, she sure acts like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

i could not find it in myself to enjoy the story when the mc is absolutely unbearable. every chapter she’s literally SPITTING at someone and whining about her life to whoever is near.

i’m relieved it’s over.

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tanti polli e tanti ravioli di sangue ✨

Innanzitutto ringrazio Edizioni e/o per avermi omaggiata di una copia di questo libro.
Nella Shanghai anni ‘30, esistono due lati della stessa città: la Shanghai mortale e quella immortale, luogo in cui si muovono divinità, creature mitologiche, anime e polli. La protagonista, Lady Jing, vive nella Shanghai immortale, ma non è vista di buon occhio da chi la circonda, in quanto nata dall'unione di uno spirito volpe e un vampiro. Quando viene a sapere di un complotto segreto, Lady Jing deciderà di tentare di smascherare i traditori, con la speranza di asfaltare soprattutto Lady Soo, cortigiana
particolarmente simpatica. Ad accompagnarla ci penserà Tony Lee, un povero mortale che voleva solamente aiutare la Shanghai immortale ad aprire una banca e a fare i bonifici. Forse addirittura con lo spid.

Avendo letto altre recensioni, sapevo più o meno cosa aspettarmi: un tono scanzonato, una storia più Young che Adult, che si prende poco sul serio. Di conseguenza, leggere una “scoreggia” a pagina non mi ha scioccato particolarmente. Il problema è che, però, penso che questa storia avesse molto potenziale che non è stato sviluppato appieno. Per esempio, l’ambientazione: la Shanghai immortale mi è piaciuta, forse perché molto ‘nuova’ rispetto a tutto ciò che ho letto in precedenza, ma presto ci troviamo catapultati in una Shanghai mortale che non mi ha detto molto. Dovrebbe essere un libro ambientato negli anni ‘30, ma sinceramente avrebbe potuto essere ambientato in un qualunque altro periodo storico e non avrebbe fatto differenza.
Inizialmente stavo amando anche tantissimo Lady Jing e il suo rapporto con Mr. Lee. Lady Jing, quando la incontriamo, è un personaggio che potrebbe dividere: essendo stata vittima di ogni tipo di abusi e violenze per 100 anni, ha sviluppato una personalità molto abrasiva, antagonistica, sicuramente non la Signorina Dolcemiele. Per me ha perfettamente senso e come protagonista funzionava benissimo. Purtroppo, però, con il suo sviluppo mi è sembrato che perdesse ogni tipo di personalità. Arrivata alla fine mi è sembrato tutto un altro personaggio, piuttosto blando. A Mr. Lee dovrebbe essere fatta una statua. È paziente, buono e gentile, e mi piaceva tantissimo l’accostamento di personalità tra lui e Lady Jing. Il romance prende uno spazio abbastanza ampio, cosa che non mi aspettavo, ma si mantiene sempre dolce e leggero. Purtroppo però, alla lunga ho perso interesse anche Mr. Lee, che non ha mai abbastanza spazio per brillare ed evolversi.
Tutto ciò che riguarda la mitologia di questo mondo è super affascinante, speravo si scavasse di più anche sotto questo punto di vista.

In conclusione, l’ho trovato comunque un libro piacevole da leggere. Questo è un periodo piuttosto difficile per me, ma nonostante tutto, questo libro è riuscito a catturare la mia attenzione e a farmi passare qualche ora in leggerezza. Vi consiglio Shanghai Immortal soprattutto se siete più nuovi al fantasy, se non disdegnate un tono giovanile e molti polli.

[Malvael Malvael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mira nose 1,5 y siendo buena. Ha sido un total nope para mí, supongo que me esperaba otra cosa cuando todo el marketing se apoya en que la protagonista es muy divertida y faltona y eso se desinfla a los dos capítulos para colarte un novelón romántico con un tipo más plano que un sandwich cuando lo metes al fondo en la mochila del cole.

Nuestra protagonista es Lady Jing (por qué utilizan Lady y Lord si son todos chinos no lo sabe nadie), una señora que es medio diosa-zorro, medio vampira por parte de padre, que supuestamente tiene 100 años aunque se comporte como que tiene 13. Vive en el Shanghai infernal porque sus padres la abandonaron y la vendieron al rey del Infierno al que ella llama Big Wang (una amiga dijo que leyó Big Bang y de nuevo hubiese sido realmente más gracioso), o al menos eso te cuentan. El caso, que el libro empieza con que Big Bang le ha enviado a recoger un paquete al puerto, que resulta ser un mortal que es banquero porque Big Bang quiere montar un banco en el Infierno.


Si pensáis que voy a decir que es el padre os equivocáis, soy yo leyendo esto.

Lo menciono aquí porque esta trama no vuelve a ser relevante jamás de los jamases, de hecho no sé si atreverme a afirmar que este libro tiene trama porque van sacando las misiones como más conviene: resulta que este señor banquero aburrido viene con un amuleto protector falso así que los zombies infernales se lo tratan de comer, y de repente la trama es averiguar quién le dio ese talismán falso, pero entonces la protagonista se entera de que una cortesana quiere robar noseke perla de un dragón y entonces intenta acusarla y malmeterla pero luego ??? por una razón ???? tienen que ir al Shanghai mortal por?? los loles. Y luego rompe un gallo de papel y tiene que hacerle misiones al big bang ?? para que se lo repare (cuando es lo que lleva haciendo siempre).

El caso es que los primeros capítulos sirven para presentarte a la protagonista que se califica de "irreverente" pero consiste en: jaja soy un desastre, hago chistes de nivel cacaculopedopis miren que graciosa soy jaja, las doncellas de la corte son unas zorras (literal), no como yo, no soy como las demás chicas, me insultan porque soy mestiza, decir zurullo muchas veces y enfadarme cuando me hablan con lenguaje pomposo de la corte. Pero luego resulta que se tira de los pelos con otra doncella y se va a llorar de la vergüenza porque la obligan a disculparse, nadie la quiere porque es mestiza y su madre era una yonki de los diamantes y la cambió al rey del infierno por un diamante gordo y una perla de dragón porque no la quería.

Significado de nadie la quiere: literalmente la cuida el puto rey del infierno, tiene a sus dos guardias personales enseñándola cosas (a los que ella llama Caballuno y Cabeza de toro jajajaj es que es super gracioso), literalmente vive con el dios de la cocina que le hace baos especiales con sangre para ella, es amiguita de otra doncella celestial con la que supuestamente se llevan mal pero luego es su bf, literalmente lo único que tiene que hacer es evitar a las doncellas que la hacen bullying y que pertenecen a la corte de su abuela que es otra diosa-zorro super especial y poderosa pero que de nuevo la desprecia a ella por ser mestiza.


El trabajo B de cabeza de toro

El caso es que la abuela esta quiere la perla ?? del dragón ?? que ya desde el principio te dicen que no puede comprarse ni venderse, así que manda a sus doncellas a robársela al rey del infierno porque debería tenerla cuando la madre de la prota la cambió por un diamante random (del padre nunca más se supo, supongo que se instalaría en Forks) cuando supuestamente una perla de dragón es 4930193 millones de veces más valiosa que un diamante pero ok

y de pronto por nada en especial, sin que la trama realmente lo requiera, se va con este señor mortal aburrido al Shanghai mortal de los años 30 y empieza UNA PARTE QUE REALMENTE NO INTERESA A NADIE Y QUE ES COMO EL 60% DEL LIBRO que es la TRAMITA ROMÁNTICA DE LAS NARICES ENTRE ESTA SEÑORA Y EL SEÑOR SANDWICH en plan: se van de compras, se van de bailes, se van a tomar cócteles, se van a noseke local de música a escuchar jazz, esto con la doncella con la que se lleva mal pero luego son bfs + su novio y se van a disfrutar de estas cosas frívolas en plan parejitas donde la trama no avanza y a mi me provoca querer defenestrarme por la ventana más cercana. Se supone que esto es el grueso de la novela porque la autora se ha documentado mucho en el Shanghai de los años 30 pero mira, para mí no lo consiguió en absoluto, lo único que describe constantemente son los olores, que son tan rimbombantes que ni te quedas con ellos, y nombres de locales que serán históricos y lo que tú quieras pero a mí me la traen al pairo.

Por cierto, antes de irse del infierno, el big bang le da un colgante SUPERPODEROSO esto es una mickyherramienta para luego.



El caso que en este 60% del libro se afianza la relación romántica pero ya lo siento si tu no eres particularmente graciosa y tu interés amoroso es un BANQUERO chica, no sé qué decirte, se cuentan unos traumas mutuamente, van a acosar a una señora mortal que supuestamente le vendió el amuleto falso al señor (atención, aquí la prota desde el principio piensa que la culpa del amuleto falso es de las doncellas zorras (literal) de su abuela, sin prueba ninguna, digamos que es la magia de la narrativa), y en una noche que se van de cubatas LLUEVE y de repente a ella le dan los 589292 males porque resulta que tiene un trauma con el agua (es otaku) y se traumatiza, y la reacción del señor y de su amiga es METERLA EN UNA BAÑERA y encima ella te lo justifica con "es que el agua de la bañera puedo controlarla, puedo cerrar el grifo, la de la lluvia no"
??????????????

El caso que cuando esta señora se recupera, le da por irse a buscar unos nuggets (ah si, antes de esto hay una trama porque pese a ser vampira no se le ha ocurrido llevarse una botellita de sangre en la maleta entonces tiene ciertas situaciones "loca pero horny" para generar situaciones jijijaja con el banquero) y se da cuenta de que la están persiguiendo unos enmascarados, pero cuando vuelve al hotel, decide omitir ese detalle y se empiezan a dar el lote y tienen un malentendido ridículo porque de pronto él le acusa a ella de MENTIROSA (??? vamos a ver señor, que usted es BANQUERO COMO PARA ACUSAR A NADIE DE MENTIR) y de repente entran los enmascarados y catanplumpisplas la secuestran y a él supuestamente lo matan, pero ella rompe el colgante super poderoso que le regaló Bigbang en su cara justo antes de que se la lleven.



Aquí llegamos al 80% del libro donde por fin empiezan a pasar cosas pero atentos que se viene.
Resulta que quien la secuestra son los esbirros de su abuela que la odia por ??? ser mestiza y porque quiere la perla ?? del dragón (recordemos que esto no se ha mencionado durante toda la trama romántica) y supuestamente ella sabe dónde está y la llevan a los palacios celestiales a interrogarla. Entonces, cuando la prota supuestamente era un desastre e irreverente, resulta que se sabe todos los artículos de la constitución infernal así que empieza a recitarlos delante de su abuela para parlamentar, pero la encierran en un pabellón rodeada de agua donde entonces recuerda que su miedo al agua viene de que las doncellas zorras (literalmente) la encerraron en una jaula cuando era pequeña y la hundieron en ese lago para que se ahogase. En una especie de escena kármica o yo que sé, se construye un arma con los restos de la jaula que seguía allí (en casi 100 años a nadie le ha dado por recoger la jaula del lago, fascinante).

La rescata?? un señor dragón ?? que ha aparecido una unidad de vez al principio y le da la perla que busca su abuela ?? porque supuestamente era suya porque se la regaló la dragona en persona y resulta que la perla le da ultrapoderes de ver el futuro y teletransportarse entre los mundos, pero cuando vuelve a buscar a su novio el banquero (que no sabe si está vivo o muerto) resulta que también lo tiene la abuela y le hace un "o me das la perla o le mato"

ENTONCES se viene el plotwist señores: ella le da la perla pero claro, le pertenecía por derecho, así que me la sudan los tratos cual Daenerys que acaba de intercambiar un dragón por un ejército, aunque te haya dado la perla me la devuelves porque ha hecho daño al señor tan grueso como un nanómetro de carbono y HA ROTO EL TALISMAN MICKYHERRAMIENTA PARA ÉL así que la diosa superpoderosa del panteón chino le protege y de hecho se ha ofendido con la abuela zorra mayor porque le han hecho daño. Me pregunto qué hubiese ocurrido si el banquero en realidad hubiese sido un estudiante de arte austriaco que también vivió por esta época cuyo nombre empieza por Adolf y termina por Hitler, supongo que la diosa suprema china le hubiese protegido de todo solo porque rompieron noseke talismán que contenía su qi en su cara.

De pronto todo se vuelve loco y empieza a aparecer que si el Emperador de Jade, la dragona que le dio la perla, el apuntador, la vecina del quinto, para decir que efectivamente la prota tiene razón en todo y la abuela es malvadísima, pero no te creas que tampoco hacen nada, simplemente la abuela se enfurruña y desaparece.


Literalmente la prota en el centro y el resto del panteón chino aplaudiéndola diciendo "Enhorabuena, lady Jing"

Ya pasado el clímax vienen los capitulitos de explicaciones donde se aclara que el talismán falso se lo dio una de las doncellas sí, pero porque SABÍA QUE ELLA IBA A BUSCAR AL SEÑOR PLANO Y ESA PLATA IBA A HACERLE DAÑO POR SER VAMPIRA ASÍ QUE LE PUSO PLATA FALSA, que su madre no era yonki de los diamantes sino que LA QUERÍA Y MURIÓ POR ELLA Y LOS DIAMANTES EN REALIDAD ERAN JUGUETES PARA ELLA DE PEQUEÑA y que básicamente su madre le pidió ayuda a todo el panteón y el padre les hizo muchos favores así que ellos la regalaron cosas como la perla como si fuese el niño Jesús.
Ah y que NO LLUEVE EN EL SHANGHAI INFERNAL porque bigbang prohibió la lluvia porque le daba pánico a ella (a mi me tienen que explicar que desarrolles miedo al agua porque te hayan intentado ahogar y tengas miedo a la lluvia pero no a sumergirte en la bañera). Y acaba con una bonita escena donde demuestra que no tiene miedo al agua porque se va en una barquita junto al señor banquero grosor tortilla mexicana.

REALMENTE me da mucha rabia porque no conocía este libro y me lo compré en un arrebato (me dieron una galleta de la fortuna como promoción) y de verdad quería que me gustara y pintaba bien, EL PROBLEMA es cuando me presentas un entorno sobrenatural y a las pocas páginas me sacas de él para ponerme un entorno mundano y una trama amorosa con otro personaje que me interesa -399293 (por favor es que ni he mencionado como se llama el señor porque ni es necesario es literalmente el personaje más aburrido que me he echado en la cara los últimos meses), me dices que la protagonista es super guay y super graciosa y me encuentro con que lo graciosa es decir muchas veces "un zurullo y dos huevos" y lo especial que tiene (que no la quiere nadie y que ha desarrollado su particular humor como una armadura para sobrevivir// que es un desastre cuando en realidad sabe manejar la espada y los 4892492 artículos del código civil del infierno) es mentira y en realidad todo el mundo la adora y es la mejor en todo y es la gente que la hace bullying que es supermalvada y por supuesto la odia únicamente por ser medio vampira.

EN DEFINITIVA que si te gusta el romance así metido a cascoporro sin ton ni son, que es como el 60% del libro, puede que le encuentres la gracia pero lo siento yo no soy la persona.

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not what I thought it was going to be in a delightfully unexpected way. It is full of humor and mischief.

Our protagonist, Lady Jing, is a fiery, quick-tempered, half-vampire/demon and half-hulijing fox spirit. She was traded by her mother to the King of Hell when she was young and is now living in immortal Shanghai, running menial errands for the king.

The book centers around her journey to seeking the truth about a plot to steal a highly coveted dragon pearl from the king. Through her adventures, she finds friendships, love, and herself.

To me this book was a cozy fantasy with low stakes. You will love the story if you’re a fan of the found family troupe. I enjoyed reading Jing’s character journey and felt she had a lot of growth from the beginning to the end. She also has a unique voice and says a lot of quirky things that may not be for everyone’s tastes, but I liked it. The love story was unexpected and endearing, and I loved the friendship she formed with the character of Gigi.

I don’t have much to critique. If anything, I would say this book came off to me more in the YA genre, but this could be just Jing’s character quirks giving off that energy. I also thought the ending, while satisfying, felt a little abrupt, and I was left wanting more, so hopefully there is a sequel. Other than that, I didn’t have much to critique, and I enjoyed my reading experience.

[Laura Díaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido y divertido. Las conversaciones son la bomba. Sinceramente me ha parecido un poco decepcionante al final, con un cambio de ritmo y ambientación repentinos, pero por lo general entretiene y es muy muy diferente a lo habitual en la fantasía. Se parece mucho a la serie Hazbin Hotel y al tipo de fantasía de Terry Pratchett aunque con un toque moderno.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a really fun and magical debut.

Could be from all the CDramas that I've been watching, I see anything that sounds remotely like a Chinese drama I'm like 'gimme, gimme gimme'. So as I read I can picture it with all the current CDrama heartthrobs and girl crushes.

Shanghai Immortal has a really sassy, reluctant main character. Born of two worlds - vampire and nine tailed foxes - she is a bit of a unique one. That doesn't stop her or let any one else try to stop her. She has a mouth on her, a habit for eating (and eating blood) and likes to (or wishes to at first) to wear anything but the fashion set upon women in the 1920's.

She meets Mr. Lee, a man who is a mortal who is setting up banks for the undead / land of the dead. His client is our main character's master / boss. He is a bit of a timid thing but he has a heart of gold and you can see he is smitten with our main character pretty fast. Which leads them to some interesting run ins and crazy shenanigans.

The story is a bit of a mystery that focuses on a pearl that the main character's mother gave to her boss. Her grandmother is after it and is trying to steal it. Of course, our main character hates her grandmother (due to her being a disgrace to the family and that our main character has somewhat of a royal status that she has declined), and so she is looking to put a stop to this - but no one will believe her.

I liked the build up and I liked the world. For a debut book, I felt that the voice was strong enough, fun enough for me to follow. Her friends and people in her life are too. I liked Mr. Lee and his patience and kindness to her, followed by love and affection was nice to see. The ending gave me so many questions and a couple of new characters that I'd like to see more of. Chinese mythology and legends are so interesting and I hope the author continues to make use of them.

I liked this and I hope others like it too! I'm so glad it's gonna be a series.

[Raul Terhes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note to self: when the word “sasshole” is in the blurb and the quest revolves around “saving face” you dont buy the stupid book no matter how pretty the stupid cover is

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative concept, interesting world.

[jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

Thank you NetGalley for sending this book for review! All opinions are my own.

In A. Y. Chao's Shanghai Immortal, we are brought to a lush and beautiful Studio Ghibli-esque world reminiscent of Spirited Away, where instead we find a magical version of 1900s Shanghai filled with spirits and immortals. I adored this part of the premise from the get-go. The descriptions are wonderful and whimsical, the kind of otherworldly that I love to read about and packed with references to Chinese mythology. The setting is probably my favorite part of this book! Here, we follow a half-hulijing (fox spirit), half-vampire named Jing, who is outcasted by many of the other immortals. She's seen as too rash, uncivilized, and worthless despite the high rank she was born with, and her criticisms aren't completely unfounded. Jing is immature and impulsive, which often leads her straight into trouble for herself and the people around her who are trying to care for her (and she experienced her own share of heartache at her predicament, as much as she pretends it is fine.) Over the course of the story, Jing has to overcome her past trauma and learn both to love and to be loved.

As much as I enjoyed the ideas though, I was terribly bored for the first half. It took me a while to get settled into the story and its characters, which may have something to do with the pacing. I needed things to happen besides watching Jing blunder around for so long. Though I felt for Jing and her struggles, she came across so childish and irritating that it was hard for me to care about her at first. She's supposed to be over 100 years old! I know she's considered 'young' for an immortal, but surely she would act with a little more maturity than a five year old. However, I did notice that whenever the story delved into Jing's character, it became much more interesting. I loved seeing her grow, and it's in the second half that we really see that happen. Similarly, all the other characters came across exaggerated at times. I understand this might be the intent however, to be overly fantastical and unbelievable with most of them being immortals, which can be fun or irritating depend on your preferences. (Mr. Lee is a sweetheart though. The romance between him and Jing was very cute.)

Another gripe is that the writing is more juvenile than I expected. It's geared toward comedy, which I generally don't enjoy, so that was something else I had needed to adjust to.

In the end, I left the story more positively than I began and had my fun. Though I had my problems with it, I'm sure many would enjoy this novel!

[Sarah (berriesandbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like the word “fart”, you might like this book too.

Lady Jing hates her life. After being sold to the King of Hell to pay for her parent’s debts (thanks Mom), her life has been reduced to fulfilling random tasks for him for the past ninety years. While being tasked to “babysit” a mortal banker, Lady Jing picks up on a plot by some courtiers to steal a dragon pearl. Determined to prove her worth, Jing takes matters into her own hand, working with the mortal to take down the courtiers and win the respect she wants.

This book was a mixed bag for me. I went in expecting an adult novel and got something more YA with middle-grade humor. Jing sure has a lot of energy to waste on tantrums for being ninety years old. She routinely defies authority the way toddlers scream when their favorite toy is taken away. While her antics were humorous, they were also very childish. Among her favorite insults are the words “turd” and “fart.” I was thrown off by how openly disrespectful she was. I grew up in Asia, and nothing was more important than saving face. I cringed every time she pouted and whined when things didn’t go her way.

1930s Shanghai in Hell is so fascinating, but it was not well-executed. So many terms and different creatures are introduced without being explained. For the first thirty percent, I kept having to relook up different words and what mythological creatures they were. While the idea of a Jazzy Shanghai was fascinating, I never fully appreciated the world. It was built so quickly and without a lot of details. I was working with the bare minimum and cheated on the gorgeous world that could have been created.

Despite these qualities, I did enjoy the book. Maybe it’s because at my grown age, I still have a twelve-year-old boy’s sense of humor. I think the plot was interesting, and Lady Jing was a unique main character, even though it wasn’t always for the best of reasons.

If potty humor isn’t your thing, wipe this off your TBR.

I made myself laugh with that last line

Huge thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much fun & so funny, I loved the plot and the magic! I’m excited to see where the story goes even though I have my theories

[Tanvi Berwah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A love letter to Chinese mythology, Shanghai Immortal is a compulsive read that will have you laughing and gasping at once. Lady Jing is delightfully irreverent and charming as she takes us on a wicked, exciting adventure through hell.

With skillful worldbuilding and attentive prose, Chao has crafted the delectable fantasy feast you’ve been waiting for!

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a whole lot of fun and high jinks! I loved this romp through Shanghai despite feeling the plot got a bit lost in all the detail. I loved Lady Jing and her rebellious exploits and learning about the Chinese underworld and its inhabitants. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun story - I loved Jing as a main character as she was so flawed and funny, but also such a fierce and determined person.

The story follows Lady Jing, who is half Chinese fox spirit and half vampire, when she is given a task from her guardian, the king of hell (Big Wang), to collect a package. Except the package turns out to be a mortal called Tony Lee who is here to help with a banking project for Big Wang. Jing and Tony get into lots of trouble together as Jing also deals with the stigma of being half vampire and controlling her temper, but at its heart this is a story about found family and accepting yourself, which I loved.

I was at MCM comic con in London in May and I was lucky enough to interview AY Chao - she talked about her inspiration for the book: https://www.tiktok.com/@genevieve.rea...
as well as giving some books recs that if you will love, then you will love Shanghai Immortal:
https://www.tiktok.com/@genevieve.rea...

This was a great start to a trilogy and I am so looking forward to the next books in the series (and may or may not have gotten some hints about the sequel that I will be posting soon👀)!

Book review: https://www.tiktok.com/@genevieve.rea...

Thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Corin · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 Stars

Oh my, this was a fun one. I want to thank Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shanghai Immortal is a sarcastic, character-driven story about the half-fox spirit, half-vampire Lady Jing, who spent most of her almost hundred years of life in the spirit realm of Immortal Shanghai upset with the people and non-people around her. By chance, she hears of a plot by the court of fox spirits (or rather huljing) to steal the very dragon pearl that the King of Hell gave her mother to have Jing become his ward. Jing seizes this chance to expose the spiteful huljing who rejected her from their court due to her mixed heritage once and for all, and embarks on a journey from Immortal to Mortal Shanghai and, with the help of a charming mortal, sets out to reveal their plot.

It took me a while to get used to this narration. In first person, we get a very emotional and oftentimes sarcastic commentary by Lady Jing herself. It's fast-paced, easy to read, and the story and characters continue to be interesting and entertaining. We follow Jing through her ups and downs in this spectacular world that Chao has crafted and narrated with this book - from her thrillingly dark Immortal Shanghai, a mirror world based on real counterparts of historical Shanghai, to the actual Mortal Shanghai of the time. I truly enjoyed the influence of the author's culture: how much we learned through her Fantasy story alone, and how we actually felt the influence that the real history had on this fictional version.

What keeps me from giving this book 5 stars are the following aspects:
- The narration: while witty and later on enjoyable, is not going to be everybody's cup of tea. It's very sarcastic, deeply emotional and at times self-depricating, and conveys Jing's anger and fear in a way that is not always pleasant. It took me a good 20% of the book until I was able to enjoy it.
- The romance: I have to preface this by saying that I'm generally not a romance person, but the biggest issue I had with it was mostly that it felt like a third of the book was mostly only romance, and the rest was the actual plot. It felt oddly separate to the plot to me, almost as though it put a kind of halt to it. This might just be me personally, but it didn't feel as connected as it could have been.

All in all, I truly did love this, ESPECIALLY as a character-driven standalone. An intriguing world, unique narration, wholesome romance, and all the feelings!

[Alanis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vampiric fairytale that I’m obsessed with and am about to make my entire personality - sorry in advance!

A wonderful fantasy debut that takes Chinese mythology and mystical settings to all new heights. A vampire, a fox spirit, and a scattering of demons. A wholesome human with a heart of gold. A. Y. Chao masterfully tells the story of how their fates intertwine.

This book was emotional, unique, funny, romantic, and fantastical. I will be forever obsessed with Lady Jing and the compelling Mr Lee. Jing’s journey to friendship and finding her family is truly a special one and had me feeling each moment in her story much more deeply than I ever expected.

Hodderscape kindly gifted me an early copy and I owe them the biggest thank you for introducing me to one of my new favourite authors. Chao has become an instant go to author for me in the future and I cannot wait to see what she does next.

If you love: vampires, fox spirits, romance, unlikely friendships, dragons, magic, characters that eat sweets together, or cute furry creatures - this book is everything and so much more.

[Bec (Aussie Book Dragon) · Rating 4 out of 5]

See different versions of this review on TikTok and my Instagram.

It's hard writing a full review when I read this one MONTHS ago (I got slack with my reviews, okay). But I do remember I enjoyed it a lot.

The narration frequently made me laugh. The main character was hilarious and went through some great growth (I will admit she got on my nerves early on). The world is fascinating. And it had such a good forced proximity slowburn romance.

I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.

[TheCrazyFanvergent · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75
Un bacino gigante e un gigante ringraziamento a Edizioni e/o che mi ha inviato una copia del libro! <3

Avevo le aspettative molto alte per questo libro: la trama, l'idea di base, le fonti usate dalla scrittrice sembravano davvero interessanti (io poi adoro i fantasy ad impronta orientale). Purtroppo però, non sono stata soddisfatta del tutto.

L'idea della Shangai Immortale, la copia speculare della vera città di Shangai ma per gli spiriti (e quindi, appunto, gli Immortali), seppur un po' vista e rivista, era comunque in questo libro sviluppata in maniera diversa dal solito, ed è stato anche bello vederla da un punto di vista più 'adulto' e 'spericolato', con case da mahjong stile casinò e 'intrighi di corte' che con i loro scandali facevano anche molto ridere.
Proprio uno di questi intrighi di corte doveva essere il punto focale della storia, il vero 'mistero' che la protagonista avrebbe dovuto scoprire e risolvere. Niente di particolare o negativo in questa scelta di trama, peccato però che l'autrice abbia fatto capire quale fosse il problema alla protagonista già nel primo capitolo (*looks in the camera like she's in The Office*). Perché. Perché. Non dico di dirmelo a fine libro, ma neanche metterlo agli inizi è un'ottima scelta - è venuta a mancare quella che credo sia una delle componenti più importanti di un libro, soprattutto di un fantasy che prevede l'avventura e il mistero: il climax. Non ci sono stati puntini da collegare, tracce da seguire, idee ed ipotesi e poi la scoperta scioccante che si aveva ragione e bisognava fare in modo di fermare il 'nemico'. La protagonista ha semplicemente sentito qualcuno dire che persona X aveva intenzione di fare una cosa che avrebbe probabilmente corrotto l'ordine di Shangai Immortal e BAM pronti per fermarla. è stato tutto troppo veloce, troppo istantaneo, non l'ho quasi sentita come vera necessità, e più che altro mi è sembrato solo un modo per far partire subito la trama senza costruire davvero tutto il resto intorno.

Questo senso di... non dico superficialità, ma sicuramente frettolosità, l'ho sentito anche in quello che sarebbe dovuto essere il grande romance di questa storia. Anche qui, già dagli arbori del libro, la protagonista si incontra (e si scontra) con il love interest, ma in realtà sembra tutto sottotono. Forse anche a causa del fatto che il libro è narrato in prima persona dalla protagonista, non c'è stato modo di conoscere a fondo il protagonista maschile - protagonista che, tra l'altro, essendo un mortale finito a Shangai Immortal per lavoro, era già molto limitato nel suo semplice essere perché cercava di restare in vita e non farsi ammazzare dai demoni. E quindi Mr Lee già per principio sembrava un po' un androide che rispondeva a comando e si inchinava ogni volta che qualcuno era così magnanimo da non mangiarlo sul posto, e non essendoci vita qui immaginatevi nel rapporto con Jing che nel frattempo andava in modalità 'Error 404' ogni volta che lui era troppo gentile con lei (ma non servizievole, solo gentile, perché se si inginocchiava davanti a lei Jing iniziava a sbottare e parlare di scoregge, minacciando di lasciarlo indietro).

E forse sembrerà strano ma una cosa che però mi ha fatto comunque apprezzare questo libro è stata proprio la protagonista: nonostante i suoi modi un po' rozzi e la passione per la parola 'scoregge' usata come intercalare ovunque (e intendo veramente OVUNQUE), Jing si è fatta apprezzare sin da subito. Dava proprio l'aria di personaggio un po' escluso, come Balto "non è dea, non è vampira, sa soltanto quello che non è": venduta dalla madre per pagare i debiti e troppo diversa dal resto della corte del Grande Wong per poterne fare davvero parte, sin dalle prime pagine si capisce che si è costruita addosso una corazza, vivendo dentro un'armatura di indifferenza quando invece ne profondo è ancora una bambina, un po' innocente, sorpresa se qualcuno è gentile con lei, e che sogna soltanto di vedere le stelle. Se soltanto l'autrice avesse approfondito di più determinati aspetti invece di scene di contorno messe lì per fare scena o per far ridere, sicuramente questo libro avrebbe dato molto di più di quello che ha effettivamente dato (a volte i capitoli sembravano davvero estremamente lunghi per poi mostrare scene che venivano risolte nel giro di poche pagine).
Questo libro aveva bisogno di un editor bravo dietro. O quantomeno più bravo di quello con l'autrice si è ritrovata a lavorare.

Nonostante tutto, è stata proprio lei per me a salvare (il salvabile di) questo libro, a darle in alcuni punti un tono più 'serio' e a far capire che ci fossero davvero belle intenzioni dietro. Un lavoro che, però, purtroppo, non è stato fatto e sviluppato a dovere e toccava veramente la punta dell'iceberg, lasciando tanto, molto, al caso, con i contorni e i dintorni poco curati, un'evoluzione effettiva degli eventi e soprattutto dei personaggi molto sottotono, concentrandosi solo sulla storia che si voleva portare sulle pagine (nonostante anche quella, metà del tempo, lasciasse a desiderare). Mi piace pensare che sia solo a causa del fatto che è il primo libro di questa autrice e che, possibilmente, in futuro il livello non potrà far altro che salire. Lo spero davvero perché, come detto, delle idee di base belle c'erano, ma deve essersi perso un po' troppo nella 'messa in pagina'.
Non è però da tralasciare l'aspetto esilarante di questo libro, con scene e situazioni a volte così surreali che è impossibile non ridere, anche se semplicemente per la disperazione (avete presente Kingdom of the Wicked?? Ecco, non come quello ma ci siamo vicini) - quindi se prendete questo libro senza aspettative e solo per ridere di tanto in tanto, forse (*forse*) è il libro che fa per voi.

[Ireen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this and adored how unserious Lady Jing was (while also having depth and a juicy traumatic backstory). The jazz Shanghai vibes were immaculate and so atmospheric and the romance with Mr. Tony Lee was SO sweet (I can't be the only one imagining him as young Tony Leung lolol). I need book 2!!!