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Abalone and the Snake Goddess: A darkly poetic tale of love, courage, and a woman’s journey to reclaim her soul

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Once a promising magician, Abalone has lost her love, her voice, and her soul. For thirteen years, she hides behind the high walls of Jiankang, the imperial capital of ancient China, consumed by grief and silence. But one fateful new moon night, she crafts a forbidden love spell and calls upon the fiery magic of the dark Snake Goddess.

This powerful goddess, however, has plans of her own. Guided by ancient forces, Abalone must leave her sanctuary and journey into the wild swamps and treacherous mountains beyond the city. There, among the last rebellious heirs of shamanic tribes, she begins her true to reclaim her soul and fulfill her destiny.

When a young girl is stolen by ruthless hands, Abalone must decide whether to risk everything—again—and confront the shadows of a forgotten past.

Abalone and the Snake Goddess is a poetic and haunting tale of love, magic, and the dark, transformative journey of the soul. Perfect for readers of mythical fantasy, Chinese folklore, and stories of resilient heroines.

394 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2025

42 people are currently reading
78 people want to read

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Christine Li

28 books5 followers

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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
Profile Image for Ella.
125 reviews2 followers
January 9, 2025
*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

The concept of this book really intrigued me: I love books that blend fantasy with mythology, and there was a lot of that here. We follow Abalone, the daughter of a great mage, who is now mute and married to the Elder Master. She doesn’t feel that he wants her, so she sets out to weave a spell with the help of the Snake Goddess to make her husband want her again.

The positives first: the use of mythology was great, and the commentary on racism and bigotry was really well done. I enjoyed the back half of the book a lot more, where we get to really delve into the consequences of the spell Abalone has cast, and the truth of her past.

Unfortunately, therein lies my biggest issue. I felt that everything that happened in the last half could have - and maybe should have - been brought forward much earlier. The plot really doesn’t kick off until over halfway through, and it made it hard to want to keep reading.

I think the writing was broadly pretty good, and a lot of the secondary characters were fairly well-formed. However, our main character felt disjointed and I felt disconnected from her, despite this being in first person narrative. I understand that she seems to be suffering from some sort of amnesia, but I still felt a real difficulty understanding some of her motivations. I also had to keep reminding myself that she is most definitely an adult, when she honestly comes across as a teenager a lot of the time, which is the jarring when certain things are revealed.

Overall, I don’t think this was objectively terrible, but I do think it would benefit from some restructuring and a little more editing, particularly the first half.

2 stars 🌟
Profile Image for Sara.
334 reviews25 followers
January 21, 2025
Hmmm, not what I was expecting. Review to come! 🐍

(FINAL REVIEW:)

This was an interesting historical China inspired fantasy. While I loved the inclusion of wise women, shamans and the concept of immortals that was the primary focus, the execution of the novel just fell rather short for me and for good reason. 🙁

The story follows Abalone, a lonely wife who desires the affection and attentions of an absent husband. She never really evolves from her one track goal to regaining the love of said husband, but the adventures she goes on to gain it just felt random to me throughout the story. That and while it’s hinted at what her past was before her current situation, it was never expanded on nor explained why she had to go through what she did. I just wish we had gotten more insight on the otherworldly beings present here as well as the Snake Goddess of the Yue.🫙

I did see that there was another book called Abalone and the Silent Tiger but apparently it’s only in German and judging from the mediocre translation I could do of the synopsis, it looks like this is the origin story for her? Rather odd that this was offered first before the other one because her journey her might’ve made more sense if I had know what she was doing in the first book. 🤔

With that being said, my review here is kind of skewed because of the revelation of a previously unknown prequel. Before knowing this, I thought it was promising but needed a few tweaks to make the plot more understandable, but now that I know of the other book. . . . Maybe it’s okay? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’m gonna have to work on my German to see if I can understand ANYTHING of the first book, but for now thank you goes out to The Book Whisperer for recommending this to me! I’m a rather confused intrigued but more of in a positive way now. 😅

Publication date: January 22!

Overall: . . . . 3?/5 ⭐️
Profile Image for Richard Derus.
4,220 reviews2,273 followers
January 29, 2025
Real Rating: 3.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Once a promising magician, Abalone has lost everything: her love, her voice, and her soul. For thirteen years, she hides behind the high walls of Jiankang, the imperial capital of ancient China, consumed by grief and silence. But one fateful new moon night, she crafts a forbidden love spell and calls upon the fiery magic of the dark Snake Goddess.

This powerful goddess, however, has plans of her own. Guided by ancient forces, Abalone must leave her sanctuary and journey into the wild swamps and treacherous mountains beyond the city. There, among the last rebellious heirs of shamanic tribes, she begins her true path: to reclaim her soul and fulfill her destiny.

When a young girl is stolen by ruthless hands, Abalone must decide whether to risk everything—again—and confront the shadows of a forgotten past.

Abalone and the Snake Goddess is a poetic and haunting tale of love, magic, and the dark, transformative journey of the soul. Perfect for readers of mythical fantasy, Chinese folklore, and stories of resilient heroines.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review
: It's the Year of the Snake, and Satan only knows it's a very China-heavy news cycle with the AI-development wars going on. I'm always down for a history- and mythology-inflected story. Make all these things come together and voilà! The perfect time to review this book has arrived.

The first half of the story is about Abalone, our PoV, and her severely circumscribed world. The worldbuilding here is...patchy...it's not particularly cohesive as we come to know the people who hate Abalone, how the husband she loves loves her not, and how the resolution of that truly devastating problem comes to Abalone's attention. There are exactly no "why"s in this story.

That's when the conflicts kick off, the goddess who has the power to help her reveals the cost of asking for divine intervention, and what the stakes for the world are going to be no matter what she does.

Frankly this feels as though I'm reading part two of far longer story and I really need part one to get me to invest emotional energy into this character's worldview. The cultural stuff is very interesting, the ideas around divinity are fun to think through as events transpire, the atmospherics of the setting worked very well for me. If there's a part one, I'll gladly read it.

I think Abalone, as presented here, is not enough of a character to make me warble my fool lungs out about the read. It's okay, and has moments of genuine excitement; but it lacks that most helpful of things, a solidly investable main character, needed for me to shove it at you demanding you read it now.

Pity...it almost got all four stars.
Profile Image for Sav.
447 reviews8 followers
January 25, 2025
I was immediately drawn to this book because of its intriguing premise, but unfortunately, the execution left me struggling. The main character, Abalone, is mute and suffers from amnesia, which makes for a compelling setup. However, the lack of clarity around these aspects made the first half of the book extremely confusing. Without proper worldbuilding or context, it felt like I was wading through a fog, trying to grasp fragments of the plot.

The timeline and structure were difficult to follow, as it seemed parts of the narrative might be flashbacks—but that wasn’t clear either. This disorientation made it hard to stay engaged. Adding to the confusion, Abalone’s mindset and reactions often felt more like those of a child or pre-teen, which was jarring once it was revealed that she’d had children in the past.

The second half of the book picks up considerably, and I appreciated the inclusion of folklore and exploration of social dynamics. Those elements added richness and were highlights of the story. However, the slow and disjointed beginning made it hard to fully immerse myself in the narrative.

Overall, while there are some enjoyable aspects, the pacing and lack of clarity in the first half made this a difficult read for me. That's why I'm giving it 1 ⭐.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy!
Profile Image for Karen Cohn.
842 reviews13 followers
January 7, 2025
Abalone and the Snake Goddess is an entry into the growing sub-genre of fantasy based on mythology, and on that front, it performs well, mixing Chinese mythology into a fantasy novel set in pseudo-historical China. However, I found the story to be somewhat disjointed and hard to follow; I did feel that it got better as the book progressed. A large part of the plotline is based on the main character's inability to speak aloud, but that inability was unclear in the beginning of the novel, which caused some confusion. Plot points that were brought in early during the novel faded out without resolution, which made the overall plot difficult to discern; likewise, some later plot points were not well-supported at the beginning of the story, so seemed to appear out of nowhere. It's not a bad story, but it would benefit from an editor's review.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Adrianna Boyer.
32 reviews
January 8, 2025
Abalone and the Snake Goddess by @cchristine_l is the story of a woman with a powerful magic sealed away along with her voice and memories.
Abalone wants nothing more than to create a spell jar to make her husband truly love her but in doing so she winds up on a journey to save a birthing mother, a lost child and most importantly her true self. This book dives into the bigotry that is still prevalent even now between darker skin toned people and their more fair counterparts as well as the inequality between men and women. Christine also does an amazing job with the imagery used when describing a woman's cycle not as gross or taboo but of something that holds magic and power which was so striking to hear and really pulled me in to the story even more. Abalone and the Snake Goddess is available for purchase January 22nd of this year so add it to your goodreads tbr now!
Thank you to Christine Li as well as @netgalley and Inanna Media for sending me an eARC of this book!
Profile Image for Anastey.
527 reviews9 followers
January 12, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Inanna Media. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved the idea of this book from the blurb, but sadly it was hard to get through. Abalone is mute and has amnesia, and it takes you a while to figure that out. It makes the first half of the book very confusing, because we don't have the worldbuilding to explain things that are happening. I was completely lost, and it felt like part of it was flashbacks, but it wasn't clear at all. It felt like we were drifting through fog while grasping for bits of plot.

I thought she was a young woman for quite a while, until it started talking about her having children in the past. Her mindset, and reactions make her feel like she is a pre-teen or a child.

The first half is incredibly slow, but it does pick up a lot in the second half. I did enjoy the folklore, and learning about the social aspects as well.
Profile Image for Persephone.
189 reviews
January 29, 2025
The premise of this story held abundant promise but it’s execution was sorely lacking. The writing barely flowed and I felt like watching paint dry would be more entertaining. My rule is that if a book doesn’t grab me within the first 100 pages, it’s a DNF and sadly, with this one, it has been.. This story is VERY slow paced and there is nothing to grab and draw 5the reader in and keep them entertained. I fail to see how the story will pick up. For such a promising novel that seemed so interesting, it was lacking. The Chinese Mythology aspect has me hoping it would be a worthwhile read however the plot was barely there. I had to go and reread the blurb to make sure I was in fact reading the correct book because nothing was happening.

Thankyou to Netgalley and Inanna Media for an ARC of the story.
Profile Image for Chaos.
3,609 reviews117 followers
September 4, 2025
The cover is absolutely stunning!! It caught my eye and immediately had me wanting to read it. I adore Chinese folklore and love the ancient Chinese setting. It is beautiful. However, there are some serious issues with the story. A big thing is the world building. Its patchy at best. Theres no clear view on Abalone's surrounding and what it looked like. I couldn't even discern a clear view of Abalone herself. She was blurry almost. The other issue I had was with Abalone. She wasnt a strong main character. Not because her personality was weak but because she wasnt there. She wasnt fleshed out and had no true voice. There are some beautiful quotes in this book and beautiful scenery every once in a while. I do believe this series could be amazing with growth in the world building and characters. Love the cover and do hope to see more from this author.
Profile Image for Zoe.
50 reviews1 follower
January 25, 2025
Abalone and the Snake Goddess seemed like a fantastic book from the description. I was intrigued immediately by the blending of mythology and fantasy. Unfortunately, the novel itself fell a bit flat for me. The beginning of the novel was a chore to get through, especially since the lack of worldbuilding and explanation left me beyond confused. Our FMC, Abalone, also felt disconnected to the readers. I felt for a while that she was a young woman or teenager. When we found out about her having children in the past, it was like whiplash. The story picks up in the second half of the book. I enjoyed the Chinese Mythology but the rest of the story was not for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Fable.
75 reviews2 followers
August 17, 2025
The premise of this story had so much potential, but unfortunately the execution just didn’t deliver. The writing felt clunky and flat — honestly, watching paint dry might have been more engaging. I usually give a book 100 pages to hook me, and sadly this one failed that test. The pacing was unbearably slow, with little to draw the reader in or keep the momentum going.

I was especially excited about the Chinese mythology element, which could have been such a rich foundation, but the plot was so thin I found myself checking the blurb again to make sure I hadn’t picked up the wrong book. For a novel that sounded so promising, it ended up feeling empty, sluggish, and forgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review.
1,712 reviews
December 22, 2024
I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, for which I thank them.

“Abalone and the Snake Goddess” is by Christine Li. I will say that I’m not the audience for this book, but the summary sounded very interesting so I thought I’d give it a try. Ms. Li does a good job weaving the magical/fantasy and Chinese folklore together. I found myself mixing up a few of the characters, but that’s probably more on me, not the author. I think if you’re one who enjoys folklore mixed with fantasy, this book could be more to your liking. A generous four stars for me because while the book didn’t work for me, I can see others really enjoying it.
274 reviews11 followers
January 3, 2025
I don’t usually read fantasy novels but this one sounded interesting due to the Chinese mythology. I DNFed at around 30% as I was struggling to follow what was going on. Our heroine, Abalone, seems to have amnesia so she’s confused by reality. As she’s the narrator of the story, this in turn led me, as the reader, to be rather confused as to who she was, whether she was human or another creature, and generally what was happening. It took me a while to realise that Abalone couldn’t speak. There’s definitely a good story here but I just wonder whether another round of edits might bring it to full fruition. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
212 reviews1 follower
January 22, 2025
Thank you to Christine Li and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that interweave fantasy and mythology. Abalone and the Snake Goddess had a very strong premise and the use of fantasy was well thought out. Unfortunately the pacing was off and the first person narrative didn’t work well with the main character. I unfortunately had to dnf. Rating it two stars as it has great potential!
Profile Image for Darlene Golbitz.
551 reviews12 followers
February 1, 2025
Courtesy of The Book Whisperer and Netgalley, I received the ARC of Abalone and the Snake Goddess by Christine Li, perfect for commemorating the Lunar New Year! Not my usual choice of fiction, I was drawn to this story of ancient China and the realm of Abalone, her knowledge, strength, and desires. The traditions, customs, and rituals were reconstructed and beautifully described. Immersed in families, history, fragrances and herbs, I let this story of healing and self discovery carry me along!
Profile Image for Jo.
96 reviews2 followers
October 13, 2025
I was really intrigued by this premise. Unfortunately, I found the book difficult to get through.

The book is written from Abalone’s perspective. She is mute and has amnesia which you don't discover until later on in the book. It's very confusing to read.

The blend of fantasy and mythology was interesting though not explored very well. The worldbuilding was lacking which I think added to the general confusion when reading this.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC
Profile Image for ㅤmelli ꧔.
957 reviews5 followers
dnf
January 8, 2025
ᨳ᭬ dnf @25%࿐ྂ

„Lost spirits could be recalled. Lost hopes returned. Nothing left us forever. Everything now lay with me.“

I have to dnf this. I can't get into the Story and i don’t really understand what's going on here. I'm sad because when i heard that it was a Chinese mythology, i wanted to read it right away but as it turns out it's just not for me.


started: 6.01.25
stopped:9.01.25
4 reviews
Read
March 26, 2025
Such a beautifully crafted story that at times I was unable to put down. The characters were crafted wonderfully; their voice like poetry, with a sense of humor and sharp wit. Please bring me more Abalone!
Profile Image for Abagail Sturgeon.
76 reviews1 follower
April 29, 2025
I personally am not a fan. i was very confused and I couldn't finish it. I feel awful, but it just wasn't for me.

ARC review
Profile Image for Destiny.
Author 1 book3 followers
April 27, 2025
An interesting read filled with elements of Chinese mythology and historical fantasy. Pacing was a little slow at the start but picked up as the story went on.

This kind of story isn't for everyone but I enjoyed the way elements were slowly revealed as we got deeper into the plot, even if it left me with a few questions at the end!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews

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