Fishbone Cinderella

by Elizabeth Lim

A gorgeous, spellbinding East-Asian inspired fantasy novel about a family curse across generations from the bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes. Perfect for fans of Axie Oh, Sue Lynn Tan, and Samantha Shannon!

A bracelet. A curse. And golden fishbones to be returned to the sea. . .

Guangdong, 1940. When Ha Yut Ying narrowly escapes Japanese soldiers by turning invisible, she knows her new-found magic must be kept a secret. But her mother, whose dreams foretell the future, suspects her daughter has changed, and warns her of a curse upon their family. For her protection, she gives her a gold bracelet whose links are shaped like fishbones.​

After the war, Ha Yut Ying is sent to live with her father and his second wife, who have become wealthy factory owners in Hong Kong. Her stepmother, jealous of her beauty, forces her to work in the family's shoe factory.

But when Yut Ying collides with a boy on a bicycle on her way to work, she loses her bracelet. The boy is Tommy Yeung, scion of a local soymilk tycoon. And their encounter will change both of their destinies forever. . .

'EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN A BOOK' STACEY LEE
'ENTHRALLING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING, AND HEARTFELT' YANGSZE CHOO

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Magical Realism, Retellings, Romance

Audible Audio

First published July 23, 2026

About the author

Elizabeth Lim grew up on a hearty staple of fairy tales, myths, and songs. Her passion for storytelling began around age 10, when she started writing fanfics for Sailor Moon, Sweet Valley, and Star Wars, and posted them online to discover, "Wow, people actually read my stuff. And that's kinda cool!" But after one of her teachers told her she had "too much voice" in her essays, Elizabeth took a break from creative writing to focus on not flunking English.

Over the years, Elizabeth became a film and video game composer, and even went so far as to get a doctorate in music composition. But she always missed writing, and turned to penning stories when she needed a breather from grad school. One day, she decided to write and finish a novel -- for kicks, at first, then things became serious -- and she hasn't looked back since.

Elizabeth loves classic film scores, books with a good romance, food (she currently has a soft spot for arepas and Ethiopian food), the color turquoise, overcast skies, English muffins, cycling, and baking. She lives in New York City with her husband.

Reviews

[Saranya [returning!] · Rating 5 out of 5]

infinite stars!

It is easy to forget that the rights women hold today were not gifts freely given, but battles fought against centuries of resignation. When a mother tells her child that it is "common" for men to take more than one wife, what she is really saying is that women have been trained to endure indignity as ordinary. That quiet acceptance is precisely why feminism was and remains necessary. It insists that women’s pain is not inevitable and demands that dignity be non-negotiable. To take feminism for granted is to risk returning to a world where injustice is explained away as custom, where rage is silenced into resignation. Rage, in this context, is not destructive but it is this spark that reminds us that what is "common" should never be confused with what is just.

I have never felt such a deep connection to a story like this before. I could not stop shedding tears. Knowing the historical atrocities committed during World War II where simply existing as a woman could feel like a curse, made the whole story feel all the more haunting. It is a terrifying reminder of a cruelty that history must never be allowed to forget.

Beyond anything, this book was incredibly emotional. The story starts with Yut Ying as a child facing the dangers of the Japanese invasion. As we move forward, we see the hardships she faced in her childhood. It is absolutely devastating and I believe no one should ever go through something like that. Every page- every line made me cry so bad. This felt so realistic despite the theme of Magic Realism. The fantasy aspect felt so minimal that the whole story felt very real.

ᯓ★ 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 follows the parallel journeys of Helen(Yut Ying) and Marigold(her daughter) that knits their lives together. Shifting through time and memory, the story shows the grim realities of war and the crushing weight of traditions and gives an intimate look at how love and loss reshape the soul across decades of upheaval.

Yut Ying- the mc had such an emotional and heartbreaking background while growing up that I was crying my heart out throughout. Watching her navigate such cruelty was extremely heartbreaking.

.☘︎ ݁˖ The 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 is extremely beautiful & exquisite. It was so immersive that it was as if I was going through the same pain as the characters were.

The novel contains 4 parts and the first part was incredibly emotional- so devastating that it felt physically suffocating. The prose is so heavy with heartbreak that it left me breathless as if the air itself had been pulled from my lungs.

ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅
𑣲⋆｡˚There were a very few 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 I had grown to love while I hated most of them. This was crueller than the story of Cinderella. The Chinese have their own version of it and it made me want to learn more about Chinese Literature.

˚⟡˖ ࣪Nothing could have prepared me for the emotional weight of the sibling dynamics.
Lily and Helen's sisterly bond was so beautifully presented that I wanted to keep them with me forever. This novel excelled at finding the 'extraordinary in the ordinary.' Helen's regret over a simple, unreturned smile from her brother was somehow so devastating.

The bond between Yut Ying and this guy 'A' is portrayed with such tenderness that it makes the reality of her journey impossible to stomach. I was consumed by a sense of foreboding for them- a mental 'sear' that would not fade. It is a haunting realization that what we see on the page is likely only just the top of an iceberg.

𓂃۶ৎ I loved how this novel showed the relation and its complexity between a mother and daughter. Be it Yut Ying and her mom or she and her daughter, Marigold, it was really heartbreaking and touching.
ᡣ𐭩 •｡ꪆৎ ˚⋅

Despite the barriers between them, the connection between Helen and Marigold is deeply touching. Helen is a pillar of maternal strength and Marigold is a remarkably intuitive daughter. I hated how different Yut Ying had turned into after becoming a mother. She had turned into a ghost. But upon reading her perspective, I realized that it was far beyond that. At times, yes, I wanted her to be softer but then I realized how circumstances change a person. Their relationship proves that we do not need constant proximity to have a perfect, silent comprehension of one another’s hearts.

Kenji was such a sweet guy. I was so happy that in the middle of all the chaos, there was something to root for.

This is a book that will stay with me till the very day I take my last breath. This soul-stirring book is now my most favourite book of all time and I would just request everyone to read this masterpiece once in their lifetime.
────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────────୨ৎ────
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚★⋆｡˚ ⋆
┊ ┊ ┊ ⋆
┊ ┊ ★⋆
┊ ◦
★⋆ ┊ . ˚
˚★
𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝

"Why are you crying so much? It's just a book!"

Hello? JuSt A bOoK?!!"

ꫂ❁ ˖᯽ ݁˖𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: 🦋

OMG! I got the ARC!! Isn't the cover just stunning? This is my first time reading something by Elizabeth Lim. I'm so ready to get my heart ripped open!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: 28 July 2026

[levi (starboy) (s.ia)]

The cover is so pretty (let’s hope my arc req doesn’t get rejected)😭
I got rejected 😔

[jessica yeung · Rating 5 out of 5]

its such a unique reading experience when you live in the city a story takes place in. it was quite exciting seeing how ELs hong kong overlapped with mine. i loved the familiarity of the setting and it made an already immersive narrative even more engaging for me.

EL has a great track record at writing fantasy stories, but i particularly loved how she incorporated magic into the seemingly ordinary life of a girl. i enjoyed how the story portrayed 20th century china with some ancient mythology sprinkled in. it never felt out of place and was a great vehicle for driving the plot.

so im really quite pleased with this and can see myself picking this back up whenever i want to fall in love with hong kong just a little bit more.

↠ 4.5 stars

[Esta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who has experienced Elizabeth Lim’s past works such as Six Crimson Cranes and A Forgery of Fate won’t be a stranger to her whimsical, beautiful, achingly romantic and effortless YA storytelling abilities which occasionally comes with talking animals (or chatty paper cranes named Kiki) and a happily ever after (HEA).

However, Fishbone Cinderella swept the rug out from me with my expectations vs. reality.

To my whimsical fairytale-retelling enthusiasts, I’d recommend adjusting your expectations. There are no talking animals, paper cranes or shapeshifting dragons in Fishbone Cinderella. (I mean, technically there is a cat named Prince Cannonball, but he doesn’t talk. Still really endearing though).

Beautiful, bittersweet, melancholic, yep. Devastating, oh my goodness me, yes. Hopeful, thankfully yes. Whimsical? Fook no. Ol’ mate whimsy has left the building and disappeared into a deep dark void of nothingness. (iykyk)

In case you didn’t get the memo (like yours truly, I went into it without reading the blurb), Fishbone Cinderella is an epic multi-generational family saga embedded in a Cinderella-inspired historical fiction with a healthy dose of magical realism fantasy. It spans across Hong Kong and San Francisco from the 1940s to the 1980s, and is narrated from both Yut Ying and Marigold’s POVs in a non linear timeline format that eventually converges to bring together a bigger picture.

Had I known this beforehand, would I have requested an advanced copy to read? Nah, probably not. I usually steer away from historical fiction and family drama-trauma because I prefer escaping from reality. Do I regret reading it? Not in the slightest. I really loved and appreciated this, even though it gratuitously made me leak from my tear ducts. I'm still not okay.

For me, it was as stunning as it was heartbreaking AF, exploring how war, colonialism and immigration shape generations of people through grief, sisterhood, motherhood, love, intergenerational trauma, patriarchal oppression, racism, classism and ultimately healing.

Anyhow, I do think it’s important for any Lim fans to not expect romance to be the focal point of Fishbone Cinderella, nor to expect neat tidy HEA bows to wrap up this loosely-inspired retelling, unlike its folkloric fairytale counterpart. However, the open-ended ending did leave me with enough of a sense of peace, closure and hope, thankfully. In other words, expect your heart to be ripped out of your chest, stomped on and left bleeding on the floor, but then Lim will also patch it up tentatively with a couple of stitches and a bandaid. Uh, thanks I think?

I’m guessing if you like multigenerational family sagas + historical fiction, such as Pachinko by Min Jin Lee or The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (both fab books!), magical realism historical fantasy such as The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue, or even a certain Nicholas Sparks novel (not saying which to avoid spoilery territory) then you will like this too. Make no mistake, I’m not comparing Fishbone Cinderella to ANY of those books, it’s its own kettle of fish entirely, just that those are somewhat the genre vibes.

Anyway, you may or may not develop a craving for soy milk, ngau lam and egg tarts after reading this.

Thanks so much to Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC, highly recommend.

﹏﹏﹏﹏

From Six Crimson Cranes to A Forgery of Fate, Elizabeth Lim has a 2/2 five-star average with me. no pressure but will the trajectory continue 🔬

[yuvi • s.ia]

Dnf @20%
this is not what i'm looking for rn. maybe sometime in the future? But not now ugh. I was forcing myself to read this book and ngl, that generally takes the joy out of reading ugh. And I was afraid that it would put me in a reading slump. nuh uh🙅‍♀️ now that i'm FINALLY done w my exams, i rlly can't risk that hehe

━━━━━
❀pre-read❀
━━━━━
i got approved for the arc days ago. okayyy that's it. ig it's finally time for me to start it. sigh. it's now or never (lowk scared atm😭😭😭) not me being dramatic ash. but honestly, im scared lol
long story short basically everyone and their mother is losing their ever loving mind over it. i've only read 2 books by elizabeth lim and as far as i rmbr i really liked those. suffice to say, my expectations are sky high rn. this better deliver or i'll srsly cry

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do I even begin? This is my third Elizabeth Lim, and undoubtedly my favourite.

This book holds deep meaning for me, so my review might be a bit longer than usual. If you prefer, skip to the third section for just the book review, lol.

Pre-review + Thoughts
I’ve always been drawn to historical fiction, and even more so to stories laced with magic. Fishbone Cinderella, a remarkable blend of both, captured my interest from the moment I read the blurb. I’ve never felt such a deep connection to a story, and with its roots firmly planted in Chinese culture and history, it resonated deeply with me.

As a third-generation Chinese living abroad, I often travel to Hong Kong to visit my granduncle and other relatives (I visited them just weeks ago in January). They aren’t Cantonese, but rather people who settled there decades ago due to war and the political turmoil on the mainland. I say this because I found in these pages a story that resonated deeply with me—one that felt remarkably close to home. It reminded me of a story about my grandaunt, whose brother I visited last month: she had planned to take her life alongside two trusted friends, but ended up taking her own all alone while her friends were locked at home after their parents found out about their plan. All of this was in the desperate hope of escaping the terrors of the Japanese occupation. And as anyone aware of the era knows, being female and captive offered little mercy.

Review + Thoughts
Fishbone Cinderella is predominantly a character-driven story, shifting between the perspectives of a mother (Helen/Yut Ying) and her daughter (Marigold) across decades, as they navigate the harrowing, grim, and often cruel realities of war and societal expectations, while also exploring loss, love, and transformation. This is a story I hadn’t quite expected from Elizabeth Lim, whose previous works leaned more heavily on propulsive plots and high fantasy elements.

For the most part, Fishbone Cinderella was a deeply satisfying read, but beyond that, it was incredibly emotional. From the first chapter, we see Yut Ying as a child, facing the dangers of the Japanese invasion—a scene that resonated with me far more than I anticipated. Even the term ‘Japanese Devils’ is used in the story, and while it is blunt and undeniably straightforward, it holds significant meaning that I don’t think should be ignored.

Decades have passed, yet the pain lingers. No one can truly understand the tragedy of war without experiencing it firsthand. It is a devastation no one should endure, especially not children. This is where young Yut Ying re-enters the story. During the years of Japanese occupation, entire villages and crops were ransacked, leaving famine and suffering in their wake. She eventually arrives at her stepmother’s house, where she will live the rest of her teenage years, enduring more pain and mistreatment; this is where she will grow not only as a person but also develop a better understanding of how cruel people can be.

Complete review
The execution of the book held up to its premise. Fishbone Cinderella is a beautifully told story of both love and hate, excelling especially in its character development. The dynamic between the characters, the love they found and the conflicted feelings that came after were heartbreaking, tender, and illuminating all at once. Although Yut Ying’s story stayed with me most, Marigold feels like my other half. I relate to her so much, and seeing her on paper made the reading experience even better.

Elizabeth Lim’s prose is outstanding. It’s beautiful and occasionally humorous, but not overly adorned—which I appreciate, actually. With more descriptive imagery and poetic writing, it would’ve greatly affected the pace and momentum of the story (not in a good way).

The story weaves in a Chinese version of Cinderella—which includes Ye Xian in the original tale—and incorporates subtle magical elements that was in it. By the end, I kind of predicted what would happen, but it was satisfying nonetheless. The only thing that kept me from enjoying it even more was that I had hoped for a bit more of the magical elements throughout. In the first half of the story, it leaned more toward showing than explaining—the fantasy aspect remained largely obscured until the end, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it did leave me a little confused at first. And instead of feeling like it’s a crucial part of the book, it became a secondary element for half of the narrative.

With the story shifting between past and present, and through the changing perspectives of its characters, their intertwined lives and timelines eventually converge—and that is the most beautiful part of it all. I do wish one part of the ending had been different, but that’s entirely a me thing. I can’t help it when it comes to romance—I always need that final reassurance and resolve.

In the end, it is a profoundly emotional read that not only made me tear up but also raises questions about one’s moral compass and how social expectations can—more often than not—erode a person’s character. Many characters in the story have flaws, some are explored, while others aren’t. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Yut Ying’s story, as aching as it is. Her relentless resilience in a war-infested environment truly highlights the human capacity for endurance, and the lengths people are willing to go in pursuit of what they desire. It not only explores the harsher realities of life, but it also shows the breaking of generational trauma and curses that is essential to their story. I truly think Elizabeth Lim excelled here, and if she chooses to write more books like this, I’d undoubtedly be the first to pick them up.

TW: Opium addiction, gambling addiction, death.

4.6 stars

My thanks to NetGalley, Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

[emma · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

it seems like everyone on earth has already read and loved this book.

so it brings me no joy to say: it took me a month to get through it, and i am not a fan.

https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...

the story — both of a girl growing up in her stepmother's house in hong kong, and her daughter growing up in san francisco decades later — moved in fits and starts, covering weeks-long periods in intense detail only to skip months or years in a paragraph.

the present-day perspective was also used, confusingly and to my mind unnecessarily, as a frame story.

then the actual plot started with just 10% of a million pages left, and no time to wrap up 900 loose ends.

bottom line: i could barely get through this.

(review to come / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[ivy · Rating 3 out of 5]

✶ fishbone cinderella ౨ৎ 3 stars

“fishbone Cinderella” follows mother, yut ying (Helen), and daughter, marigold while they share a curse that has been passed down from ancestor to ancestor and, mainly, how they both go through the vicissitudes of life. elizabeth lim covers so many details of their lives, including romantic relationships, toxic family members, grief, misogyny, racism, immigration, fame, etc. and it is imperative to go into this book mindful of everything that is going to be thrown your way.
⤿ i feel so conflicted about this book because the last 20% was amazing, but the other 80% was a rollercoaster of “i’m bored” and “this is enchanting”. it also details so many sensitive topics, so it’s hard to give this book a low rating (the good was SO good, but the bad was bad, too).

the characters ꩜｡⋆.

⊹ yut ying (Helen) ᝰ⋆ authors need to collectively get together and decide to write more Sino-Japenese War representation, because this book covered yut ying’s life from (basically) beginning to end, and it was almost depressing to see how the war changed the course of her life & China forever. yut ying is an extremely complex character — when she becomes a parent to marigold, peony, and rosie, we see her become a completely different person than what we thought she was from the past, and I had to constantly remind myself of what she went through and what she sacrificed for her children. i loved her, though. she was compassionate, caring, giving, selflesss, and reasonable. she deserves so much more than what she got at the end.. the end was a resolution, but it was almost bittersweet. all the people who have read this already know i wanted her to meet a specific person again 🥲💔

⊹ marigold yuen ᝰ⋆ i will forever wish that we got to read more about her — we got cute tidbits of her and someone else in the second part of the book, but we never got to know marigold. it’s almost like the curse defined her; we constantly read about how the curse affected her social, personal, and romantic relationships, but we never got to read about what she is really like as a person. i did like her, though! she was sweet and and the epitome of an immigration daughter, and i’m sure many of us can relate to her.

⊹ kenji yamamoto ᝰ⋆ SDJFSDFJS THIS MAN!!!!! oh my gosh, he was so sweet <3 we only got a few chapters of him, but he was nothing short of endearing 😭💗

my issues with this book ⋆˚ꕤ࿔:
i. the pacing was alllll over the place. one second i would be completely emotionally invested, and the other, i would be wanting to put this book down because it was boring me. i don’t think this book needed to be this long, it could’ve definitely worked more if it was 50~75 pages shorter and focused more on the characters’ relationships and tribulations.
ii. the ending was SO unsatisfying. honestly, this was my main reason for not rating this book higher because i desperately wanted to see the reunion between two specific couples

𖧷˖ ── overall, despite my gripes with this book, i did mostly enjoy it, which is why i’m rating it 3 stars.

࿔₊ ࣪˖ ofc, the best part of reading this book was rating with my dear friend & ranting to her about absolutely everything 💐 ily my girl <3

⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹

✉️⌇pre-read ⊹
time to read more asian lit 🙂‍↕️ and this takes place in sf?!

⭒ꕤ࿔ buddy reading with the prettiest girl in the world, ananya 🩵

[Ricarda · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Elizabeth Lim is not only delivering a beautiful tale here, she is also breaking the curse of YA authors writing mediocre adult debuts and I'm so happy about that. Fishbone Cinderella is a blend of historical fiction and magical realism, and unlike the title suggests it reads less like a fairytale and more like a realistic immigrant story. We get to know the daughters of one family across multiple generations, but Ha Yut Ying, later known as Helen Ying Yuen, is the most important main character here. We follow her from her early childhood in occupied China during WWII to her adolescence in Hong Kong with a family that has no love for her, all the way to America and her life as a mother. There is a different amount of time spent on each era of her life and I wasn't always happy with the pacing. Because of that it was a slow read for me, even though the writing was not especially dense or the story incomprehensible. A big part of the story is set in Hong Kong where Yut Ying hopes to receive a good education but is only used for chores by her family instead. We do spend a lot of time on this Cinderella situation and it undoubtedly shaped Yut Ying as a character, but I wish that it hadn't taken up so many pages. Her situation is infuriating because almost everyone mistreats her, but the story wasn't progressing much during this time. She was still a young child with no way of escaping her situation and thus I felt as stuck as she was in the first half of the book. I do think that this part showed the growth of her character remarkably well, though. Her personality formed and she clearly was influenced greatly by her experiences as a young adult as is shown later during her life in America. The entire story is about generational trauma and how the past shapes the future. Yut Ying's relationship with her "evil stepmother" is later mirrored by her relationship with her own children, especially with her daughter Marigold. The two of them are further connected by a family curse that gives them unwanted powers and it was rather beautiful how everything came together in the end. The magical realism aspect of the story was interesting, but not as prominent as I thought it would be. There were long stretches when the curse wasn't mentioned at all and I had almost forgotten it existed at these parts if I'm honest. But later I really liked how it was included in the story and how it was connected to the Cinderella fairytale, or the Eastern version called "Yen Shen" to be exact. While there was a familiar tale at the core of this story, I didn't find it to be predictable or repetitive at all. Elizabeth Lim really transformed it into her own tale and so this was a very unique and captivating read.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Nancy •͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩ͯ (semi hiatus till 2027) · Rating 4 out of 5]

──⟡⋆˙✩ 4 stars ✩ ⋆˙⟡──

⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ 𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 ⊹ ࣪ ﹏𓊝﹏𓂁﹏⊹ ࣪ ˖

𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ𐀔 βօօҟͲąցʂ 𓍯𓂃

➽ multi-generational curse
➽ chinese cinderella inspired
➽ magical realism
➽ mother and daughter POV

Cσɳƚҽɳƚ Wαɾɳιɳɠʂ

➽ MEN (sorry I had to XD)

This was so depressing. If you enjoy ruining your mood for no reason whatsoever, I’d recommend giving this a try.

“𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙃𝙬𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙞, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤.”
“𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙪𝙥.”

ೃ⁀➷ The story follows the lives of two women, a mother and her daughter, Helen and Marigold, spanning 40 years. It’s about a generational curse that targets the women of the family. It explores war and its devastating consequences, how it is women who suffer the most. It brings to light how terribly shackled women were back then, how despite all their hopes and dreams, their talents and skills, in the end the world would wear them down and reduce them to nothing but a man’s possession.

     “𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧," 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙. “𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙢𝙖.”

The highlight of this book was the women.

ೃ⁀➷ Helen. My precious precious Helen. She went through every bad thing you can possibly think of. Watching the light in her eyes dim bit by bit, there was no greater torture. Yet I was helpless, a barrier of two worlds between us. I could only read on and hope for a better future for her.

     𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚.

She was so determined not to end up like her mother. She had her own plans. Her own dreams. Oh, if only the world wasn’t so hard on women. How many talented women were suppressed? Had their lights snuffed out? All because women weren’t considered human enough to have their own rights?

     𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚.

ೃ⁀➷ And her daughter, Marigold. Listen, if I mention every single woman in this book and talk about how much I loved them, we’d be here forever. But just know that she’s so precious to me. Marigold and Helen did not have the best relationship. Something between them was always strained.

     “𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚.”

Marigold’s mother and her grandmother, they all accepted their lot in life. Their curse. But she refused to. She knew she needed to find a way to fix whatever was wrong. She needed to fix her mother. Even when Helen was barely there, Marigold held on tight. She wanted to know more about her mother, about the demons that plagued her, but Helen wanted to shield her daughter from the same horrors that had befallen her.

ೃ⁀➷ On an unserious note, this is also the story of how men are the 𖥔OG TRASH𖥔. No, really. I can count on ONE hand the number of men who were actually somewhat useful in this book. Even then, I wouldn’t run out of fingers. Anytime a man appeared, I was side-eyeing him. I just KNEW he would be a bitch. Soon.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.



⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹
        Pre-Read
⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ᰔ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

I requested (and received) an ARC of this when I saw a fellow mutual of mine love it. Tears will be shed if I read this, apparently. Well I'm itching to shed some tears. Plus, it's a mother-daughter story! I love those!

[vxmpslibrary [hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

.5 stars.
⤿ 💌 ⌗ publishing date: 28 July 2026 i.e release date today! grab your copies now

.my thoughts.
Fishbone Cinderella is a story about love, loss, hope and curses. The sweet passing down generational curses. [And not the mental ones.]

After finishing this book I cried for an hour straight knowing I had school the very next but I had a hard time sleeping without thinking about this book. I became a cold hearted person because this book made me cry😔

This is what we call a masterpiece, a phenomenon, the intense emotions, everything was done beautifully. And I may just hate the author a little bit for that ending. [jk love you author]

I have always liked Elizabeth Lim books, whether it's Six Crimson Cranes or A Forgery of Fate, if she writes it, I would most definitely read it. I was hesitant to pick this book up because I was scared if I would be the same person afterwards or I would be a changed one.... I'm a depressed one now if you are wondering. I cannot stop thinking about this book.

The story is been told from dual perspectives following Helen in her younger years and Marigold who notices her mother disappearing every then and so. Sensing something is wrong, she tries to help her mother, and find the very shadow that she left behind.

Helen, has went through a lot, it makes me sad, it makes me angry so much that I want to throw things. It makes me want to cry a lot. A girl who just wanted to be a singer, and it kills me, it would always kill me that the younger Helen's photo when she fell in love, she would never able to depict that picture again. Whenever I think of the picture that was taken her looking at him, it makes me so emotional. And the results that happened made me cry even harder.

The writing was lyrically beautiful, the first perspective from Helen still drew me in, from the start there was something about this book that told me to keep going till the very end. And so I finished it in one setting.

The siblings bonding hit me hard. No one could have prepared me for the moment with different people. When Helen talks about how she saw his sick brother smile at her and how she wished she had smiled back because the connection was strayed. They never got to talk every again and never would.

But the other brother! I disliked him quite in the starting with the way he used to behave. But there was something quiet about him when he would do the bare minimum for her sister and I would just wish there was something more. And you are supposed to tell me they also don't meet again.

Lily, for a second I thought she was going to be rude all the time, but beneath all these layers of facade, was a girl insecure and wanting to get noticed by her mother just by being herself. It made me cry so much the way Helen would act as a real mother than the actual mother ever did. Am I supposed to be okay now Elizabeth Lim? Because my heart broke in multiple pieces.

I will just say this book broke me but forgot to put the pieces back together, they are now lying down somewhere far, hoping another story would heal them and they would move on.

Sometimes when we watch and read about love, a thought of a character doing loveless marriage after being in love with someone else sounds abnormal.

The reason I cried so much, was because of this. Am I supposed to start reading fanfictions about them meeting now? Am I to make the fake scenarios about it huh? Or am I supposed to take it like a woman matured.

No, I cannot. I rooted for them, and the idea of what would happen seared at the back of my head. I brushed it off, I wish. He waitedd!! A part of me desperate wanted her to meet him! I still wonder after those 20 years what he would be doing, or if he remarried someone else. Or if he stayed waiting for her. This made me stay awake at night for an hour straight.

Marigold was such an academic achiever, I loved her so much! The way she was focused on grades, the middle daughter of the family. And the way she saved her mother.

But maybe I loved Kenji more, he was such a great man!! He wrote letters for her! And he waited for her!! He had a crush on her back then and then when they were rivals like when she would be first and he would be second. But they would debate about topics like 'Romeo and Juliet' if selected in class or if it's about history. Or the way when they became best friends he taught her driving, and maybe when he drew her in secret. AHHH <33.

I hated some characters while I loved the others. I rooted for some and watched something happen the opposite. I watched and cried almost 6 times while reading. The what if's would always, make me drown.

Elizabeth Lim please:
1. Pay for my therapy bills.
2. Give Kenji as an compensation.
3. Maybe a few more scenes some day.

Sometimes I would wonder how Helen could actually hide the letters [maybe not hide but] the way it was done to her it was like it happened to Marigold too.

Overall, yes, do read this book! This will change your life tbh, atleast mine did, I wish I could go back to the person I was before I read the book. Now I am so solemn and sad that I wonder if I would be able to move on.

💌 Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for this beautiful arc in exchange for an honest review <3.

.preread.
I got the arc! I'm so excited for this book because the cover is genuinely so beautiful anddd I might read it after my exams or before my exams who knows sometimes temptation wins😔🫶 [bleh😝]

[Mai ༊*·˚ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 ★— Why does it feel like this book tore my heart to pieces, but in the most gentle and loving way possible?

I naively went into this expecting a more traditional Cinderella retelling, and while the story (specifically, the Chinese version called Ye-Shen) does play a role here, this book is about so much more, proceeding to rip me apart emotionally as its storytelling spans two generations, tracing a familial story of mothers and daughters, of women cursed by mysterious powers.

The novel begins by introducing its two main characters, the mother-daughter pair Ha Yut Ying and Marigold, and from there we follow chapters devoted to each of their lives.

I will say that Yut Ying’s story was the one that truly held me and stayed with me the longest. Lim does such a beautiful job portraying her beginnings as a girl from a rural Chinese village and depicting her experiences during Japan’s invasion of her country. The famine, the injuries, the death, and the long-lasting trauma ground this narrative so deeply that the war itself almost feels like an ever-present third character.

From the beginning through roughly the midpoint, I was completely absorbed, barely feeling like I was able to come up for air as I followed everything she endured on her path into adulthood.
There were so many moments where I wished I could simply linger longer within certain parts of her life, especially during her time as an adult in Hong Kong. Masterfully, Lim made me feel the full spectrum of human emotion, from quiet joy to bittersweet regret, along with painful loss and the aching sense of unrealised futures. I felt so much while reading.

Marigold, the story's other main character, is crafted with equal care, but I will freely admit that once the focus shifted more fully to her, the story lost a little momentum for me, making me miss Yut Ying’s life and voice.

After finishing this, I’m left feeling… a lot. A sense of peace and calm, but also a deep desire to go back and change how certain moments unfold, which speaks to one of the novel’s central themes and how intentionally it evokes that emotion.

This book explores so much: the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, generational trauma, immigration and the isolation it can create even within family, and the lasting ways war shapes people, all this while the atmosphere and writing are stunning throughout!

I just know that Fishbone Cinderella will stay with me for a long time.

_______________

Thank you to Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[DianaRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

infinite stars ♾️

i was eager to dive into fishbone cinderella, a magical realism historical fiction based on elizabeth lim's grandmother, and her time as a young woman during and after wwii.

i have seen a few videos on lim’s socials promoting fishbone cinderella, and i had very high expectations for this book. well, i was not disappointed: i devoured the audiobook in less than a day, not wanting to do anything besides listening to this magical and fictionalized story of ha yut ying’s (helen’s) life after being sent away to hong kong and living under her cruel stepmother’s roof, and how she manages to escape to the “beautiful country” — america.

this emotional story alternates between 1940s hong kong and 1960s california, but ultimately emphasizes the difficulties many chinese families and immigrants experienced regardless of if they emigrated within their own country or immigrated to america.

the narrator for the audiobook did a phenomenal job!

[Zoulfa Katouh · Rating 5 out of 5]

this might be the best book i've read all year. i stayed awake until 2 am in my bed listening to the audiobook and i cried. generational trauma and mother/daughter relationships throughout generations with a hint of magical realism is my bread and butter and i don't read them, i inhale them.

oh i loved this so so so much.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book did a great job of blending a multi-generational family saga with a touch of magical realism. Set in 1940s Hong Kong as well as 1960s San Francisco, one of my favorite parts of Fishbone Cinderella was how it was so unapologetically Asian. Nuanced characters dealing with trauma while trying to forge new, healthier connections, without any tired tropes of assimilation to whiteness within the U.S. Yay!

For such a long book, it overall kept my attention and made me want to read more. There were some sections with pacing issues in my opinion, though not to the extent that it distracted me or made me want to give up on the book entirely. I usually don’t like books with magical realism elements though Elizabeth Lim incorporated those aspects relatively seamlessly into the broader story. I was moved by her portrayal of characters fighting to repress harrowing pasts, with others striving to bring the past into the light to be dealt with. I’d recommend to those who enjoy retellings, historical fiction, and fantasy.

[elise ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡ (uni hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‧˚꒰🎐୭ ˚. fishbone cinderella ౿ 3.75 stars

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀°‧ 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 ·。


⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀જ⁀➴ ⌗ 🪭┆thoughts

this book hits you straight in the heart and leaves you feeling empty for days after. it encompassed so many important themes such as death, war, racism, abuse, motherhood, grief, immigration, and much more. at its core, it shows how war shapes and breaks apart families, how dreams get sacrificed under necessity, and how one can find meaning even in the bleakest of environments.

the book follows yut ying's life from childhood to old age, bringing us with her as she navigates a life defined by war, turmoil, and migration. you can tell elizabeth lim put so much time and care into these characters and the story, and how she put so much effort into making ying's struggles feel very realistic to the ones immigrants often face.

as the daughter of a chinese immigrant (from hong kong), i grew up hearing stories from my mother and grandparents about the struggles of leaving home and starting a new life, of trying to make a place feel like home when it's so far from it. these stories are incredibly similar to the ones detailed in ying's life throughout this book. that similarity had me very impressed and proud of the way nothing was sugarcoated or romanticized. it accurately depicted the struggle to make a livelihood, only finding community in pockets of cities, learning which parts of yourself to let go of in order to survive in a new place, figuring out how to not take up too much space, the sacrifices mothers make so their daughters can have the freedom of choice that they never did, and how love can ultimately manifest as distance.

this book would've worked even without the fantasy aspect, but having that added piece made the story have a magical touch, and added even more complexity to the characters and the relationships between them. i loved how it incorporated chinese folklore, the way it was interwoven with the story, and how the ending of it changed depending on which character you asked. however, i do wish the genres were better meshed together, as the first half was heavily historical fiction without much fantasy, and the latter half was almost strictly fantasy. the imbalance made the parts feel a bit disjointed.

the main issues i had lay in the pacing and the conclusion of the novel. i found the beginning to be veeerrry slow, and didn't hook me until around 40% in. after that point, the pace started to pick up a lot, but it wasn't consistent throughout the remaining parts of the book. there were highs and lulls, which made the book feel a bit tiresome to pick up. there would be some parts where i couldn't stop reading, and others where i was so bored that i almost fell asleep.

i also found the ending to be rather underwhelming. for all the buildup it had, i thought there would be more to it. mainly, i wish we got to see reunions between two couples.


⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀જ⁀➴ ⌗ 🚢┆characters ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀


₊ 𖦹﹕ha yut ying (helen) ₊˚꒰🎶꒱‧

she is one of the strongest female characters i have ever read about. as the book progresses, we see just how much her life has changed due to the war and the toxic family she's surrounded by. i felt so close to her after seeing how her life played out. we witnessed her first love, her first heartbreak, her first experience with grief and war. she is a character who became very near to my heart and felt so familiar to many of my relatives who have gone through similar experiences as she. it broke my heart to see her turn into someone she vowed to never be, but it just goes to show how dreams and ambition can all get sacrificed under the weight of necessity and survival. she's so different from the way she was back then, but she doesn't regret the way her life unfolded. it's powerful to see her persist throughout all the struggles she's gone through, whether that was in mainland china, hong kong, or the states. in the end, she deserved much better than she got, and i will always want more for her. i really wished she reunited with a certain someone, but i understand why the author chose not to include that.


₊ 𖦹﹕marigold yuen ₊˚꒰🩺꒱‧

we didn't see much of her until the last half of the book, so i didn't connect with her as much, but she was still such a lovely character to read about, and i found myself relating to her in a lot of ways. growing up, she was very shy and faced a lot of racism for being chinese, causing her to feel like an outsider and wishing to fit in. she was the quiet one, the overachiever, the least favorite. her relationship with helen illustrates how complex mother-daughter relationships can be, and how love isn't always shown through words and touch; it can also be through the sacrifices one makes to protect the other. unfortunately, when not combined with communication and understanding, that sacrifice gets misconstrued and causes pain and distance. overall, i really wish we got to see more of her because i deeply enjoyed her chapters. her relationship with kenji was SO precious!! i love that man so much.


⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀જ⁀➴ ⌗ 🏮┆overall

this story is not merely a work of fiction, but one that reflects the experiences of many immigrants. perhaps that's what makes this book so special—its ability to resonate with those who have a personal connection or history with the events that take place. it helped me understand that parents, especially mothers, have made sacrifices that we wouldn't even be able to comprehend. i truly believe anyone who is a child of immigrants will feel a deep connection to it.

although the book had its flaws, i still enjoyed it a lot, and will carry pieces of it in my heart forever.



⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀જ⁀➴ ⌗ ❝ ┆ quotes ❞⠀


ᰋ ˓ to be added after publication



— ୨୧₊˚ 💌 thank you to netgalley, del rey, random house worlds, and ink lore for this arc in exchange for an honest review!


— ˗ˏˋ ꒰ pre-read ꒱ ˎˊ˗ 🎐

AHHHH I GOT THE ARC!!! my first one!! i'm so happy 🥹🥹🥹 many of my relatives live in hong kong, so i'm extra excited knowing it takes place there 🙌🏼 💌 i’m about 20% in already and it’s moving a bit slow, but i have hope it’ll get better!!

[vaishnavi ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠* · Rating 4 out of 5]

book #2 of m(arc)h challenge, where I try to read ALL the arcs I have in the month of March!

reading this book hurt because it felt so real - the way mothers hide their hurt from their daughters to prevent passing down the regret or the hardships they faced. they bury their disappointments, lock away their memories, conceal the sharpest edges of the past so that their children might inherit something gentler, but pain has a way of travelling through generations regardless.

we are, in many ways, echoes of the people who raised us. no matter how insistently we claim independence, pieces of our parents live within us: sometimes it is our resilience and sometimes it is wounds we cannot quite trace to their origin.

I quite liked how the novel scattered small but unsettling reminders of patriarchal expectations throughout the story. the casual preference for sons, the untold assumptions about a girl’s place, the time when a girl child was treated as expendable, the way the matriarch becomes the most vigilant enforcer of those same structures, it all felt painfully real.

the atrocities committed by japanese soldiers during their occupation of many asian countries remain absent from mainstream historical narratives, it is often hidden away or softened in public discourse. yet the reality was horrific, particularly for women, and the violence and cruelty were so widespread that the incidents have been referred to as the "rape of asia". while this book does not show the war crimes to this effect, knowing it deepens our understanding of the characters, especially Philip's reaction towards Kenji.

I do wish we had spent more time with Marigold. Helen I could connect to easily, but Marigold remained slightly out of reach in comparison. and because of that distance, the ending felt somewhat restrained after such a long emotional buildup. I kept hoping for something larger, or at least a moment of reunion between certain characters. Marigold & Kenji, not Tommy & Helen. for these reasons, this wasn't a full five-star read for me.

I wish the book had included footnotes. I understand the intention behind leaving certain words in their original language, but having to pause just to google translations ended up breaking the flow of reading far more than a footnote would have.

── .✦ pre-read 𖹭.ᐟ
I applied for the arc on a whim and I got it!! I've been seeing so many reviews from you guys mentioning it made you cry, so naturally, I'm super excited to get into it 🤭
but I've learned my lesson with Never Ever After though! I'm not going in with high expectations 🫣

[Maeghan &#x1f98b; · Rating 5 out of 5]

HUGE thanks to NetGalley & the publishers for a chance to review this arc! You made a girl so happy 😭 one of my favourite authors

Elizabeth Lim has a way with words. Her ideas & writing always makes me deeply care for the characters and the storyline.

I expected a traditional Cinderella retelling ; what was served was a Historical Asian retelling that had a focal point on war, PTSD, hunger, poverty/social classes, racism, generational trauma, motherhood and how upbringing deeply shapes who we are.

« Things would go back to the way they were. But what did that even mean? »

We follow a mother (Yut Ying) and her daughter Marigold. The povs shifts between past & present in a way that is effortlessly fluent, and sometimes feel like a diary.
I started crying early on and couldn’t stop myself. It was raw and poignant. It was beautiful and somewhat saddening to see that love really does make a difference ; when all else feels lost. My heart was breaking for Yut Ying every step of the way… I have chills just thinking about it.
And I kept thinking… you went through all of this and still have to endure so much. It was heartbreaking. I just wanted her to be happy, safe and well taken care of.

« Heavens help me, I would get the two of us out of here. I just had to grow up first. »

When I was younger I also had a step mother who hated me. Thankfully, I only went there one weekend per month but she’d lock me in my room the whole time ; I wasn’t allowed to play or talk because it would annoy her. She would limit the things I could eat because I didn’t live there full time so I wasn’t allowed everything they bought. I was 5 years old and she’d tell me I looked too much like my mother but I didn’t understand why that made it okay for her to treat me this way.
Fishbone Cinderella reminded me of some of the things she put me through but also made me realize that none of it was okay.

« Anything tastes good when you have nothing. »

I highly recommend this story. In fact, I highly recommend everything that Elizabeth Lim writes.

« Give me all the books ever written, and my favourite line would still be the one between your lips, my favourite world the one where you exist next to me. »

Like every other book this author has written… Fishbone Cinderella will stay with me for a long time.

[molly lou]

pre-read ♡₊ ⊹

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎⤿ Eeeek I am so excited for this one (but also so disgustingly, embarrassingly, terrifyingly petrified 😀!!!). I’ve been wanting to read a book by Elizabeth Lim for a long time now and I feel so fortunate to have my first be an arc! 🥹 I may end up having to buy the physical copy too though because that cover is blessing my eyeballs.

Will be reading this asap <3

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

STUNNING. the perfect blend of history and fantasy🤌

full review to come.

Bookstagram | Blog

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A breathtaking masterpiece and SLAM DUNK for Elizabeth Lim’s adult debut.

I stayed up till 2:30am absolutely devouring the first 60% of this book in a single sitting, couldn’t stop thinking about it all day, then staying up till 2am again to finish.

Absolutely stunning imagery (duh it’s Elizabeth Lim), a multigenerational story of love, loss, and the complicated dynamics of family.

This was magical, but easy to consume if you’re not usually a fantasy reader. Think historical fiction with magical realism?

For fantasy fans, for historical fiction fans, for litfic fans, this is genre-bending in all the best ways.

Run, don’t walk, to read this book.

Wow. Perfection.

⭐️| IG | TikTok |

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.

[madi · Rating 3 out of 5]

⋆˙⟡ — 3 stars
⌗ ┆started: aug 13th ● finished: aug 15th
⤿ mini review with some spoilers

৻ꪆ thank you so much del rey, random house worlds, and inklore for the arc!!

thoughts ⋆˚࿔
even tho i finished this 2 weeks ago, i hate the fact that i didn't love this as much as everyone else ☹️ i started reading it one night when i couldn't sleep, and let me tell u, the first 5 chapters had me HOOKED. so i had really high hopes after that bc if a book can pull me in that fast, i already know it's going to be good 😭 i feel like my main issue with this book was the fact that as we got more into the story, one second i would be really into it and the next i was bored 😔 i feel like it was just a constant back and forth of me being so into what i was reading to then having to go and do something else bc i was bored.

now let me just say that i really enjoyed the characters!! certain characters i fell in love with, and others needed to be thrown out of the book (specifically the stepmother 👀). two of these characters had me sobbing in the middle of the book bc of everything they had to endure with their HORRIBLE mom/stepmom 😔 these characters, for the most part, were sooo likable, which is making me want to bump this up to 3 stars. one thing that i wish we could've gotten was the chance to know marigold a little more bc unfortunately, it felt like i barely knew her ☹️

⊹ ﹒ ♡ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ♡ ﹒ ⊹﹒ ♡ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ♡ ﹒ ⊹


˒˒ ⊹⌇ pre-read ᝰ
i’ve had this arc for a while and based on the reviews i’ve seen, i feel like i’m gonna have a fun time 😌 i read the first two chapters a few days ago and i’m already hooked 🤭

৻ꪆ thank you so much del rey, random house worlds, and inklore for the arc!!

[rina · Rating 4 out of 5]

‎ ‎ ੭୧‎ ‎ 4 stars‎ ‎ . ۫

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ “ I wanted to go home. But I didn't know where home was. ”

Ha Yut Ying discovers she can turn invisible while fleeing Japanese soldiers in 1940s Guangdong. After the war, Yut Ying is sent to Hong Kong to live with her father and stepmother, and we follow her story from there. The POV switches between Yut Ying and her daughter, Marigold.

overall thoughts — This is very much a quintessential Asian historical fiction diaspora novel. It is centered on war, migration, marriage, and motherhood. I really liked this book. It was emotional, sad, and profound. Thematically, it absolutely succeeds. Lim perfectly captures how war shapes family history. It fractures families. It relocates them. It forces children into adulthood. I also really enjoyed how she explores the cycle of trauma. Mothers wound daughters even when they love them. Daughters swear they will do better, and then life corners them into repeating the same patterns. I shed a tear or two multiple times ☹ I love Elizabeth Lim and her works dearly, and I can tell this story is very meaningful and personal to her ❤‍🩹

That being said, I do have a few gripes. Where the book struggles is in plot. It often reads like a diary, heavy on reflection and internal thought. There is a lot of showing rather than telling, which can be beautiful, but sometimes made me lose interest. I don't necessarily mind the storytelling, but I went in expecting something more fantastical (which it is marketed as), and instead, this reads more like historical fiction with light fantasy elements.

My biggest issue is that it does not fully feel like an adult novel. I have read all of Elizabeth Lim's previous novels and love her writing; however, I do not feel that her prose has significantly matured from her earlier novels. The style feels similar, even though the subject matter is heavier. There is one fade-to-black sexual scene and infrequent cursing - but beyond that, it does not feel markedly different from Lim's previous works in tone.

As an immigrant daughter myself, I connected with this story in ways that actually surprised me. Switching between Yut Ying's past life in China/Hong Kong and Marigold's life in California made me come to the unsettling realization that your parents were whole people before you existed. They survived things you will never fully understand, and those experiences shaped the version of them that raised you.

There's a specific kind of distance that comes from knowing your parent grew up somewhere else, in a different language, under different pressures. Fishbone Cinderella captures that feeling well. The romance also definitely got me 💔 I was bawling my eyes out.

‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ “ Give me all the books ever written, and my favorite line would still be the one between your lips, my favorite world the one where you exist next to me. ”

final thoughts — Despite my critiques, I did enjoy this book. It is moving, vulnerable, and touched all the deepest crevices of my heart. I think anyone who is a child of immigrant parents will really enjoy this story and feel connected and seen in many ways.

thank you to the author and publisher for the arc!

CW: death, war, child abuse, addiction, misogyny, xenophobia

────

finished: 02/20/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
this was beautiful 🥹

pre read: 02/15/26 𖥻𓈒 ꒱ ੭
was supposed to prioritize my arcs that are due next month, but i finally have some respite from school and don't know when i'll have time again to read this one 🤍 also...elizabeth lim's adult debut, i am beyond excited 🤗

[My.bookish.diaries · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Thank you Del Rey Books for the gifted copy!

This was definitely a Cinderella type story.. (Yeh Shen)….🧡 The story follows two women from the same family across different generations, and I was hooked right from the beginning. I just needed to know how they ended up where they were and what had happened to bring them to this point.

Most of the book follows Yut Ying (Helen), and her story completely broke my heart. Every time I thought things were finally going to get better, something else heartbreaking happened. I kept thinking, please... not again!! I was constantly hoping she'd finally catch a break and that all of her suffering would be worth it in the end...

This is historical fiction with touches of magical realism set during wartime, and it doesn't shy away from showing how difficult life was for women. It highlights the strength and resilience it took just to survive, while also serving as a reminder of the parts of history we should never forget.

I also really loved the magical realism. It tied the generations together so beautifully and made the connections between the women feel even more meaningful. One of my favourite parts was seeing the complicated mother daughter relationships, especially between Yut Ying and her mother, and later Marigold and Helen.
Those relationships felt, emotional, and incredibly real.

I also found myself relating to the way daughters were often treated as less important. Growing up in my own culture, I saw similar attitudes, so I could really empathize with what these women went through.

Women's rights have come such a long way, but this book is a powerful reminder of how many battles women have fought throughout history..even within their own families.

Overall, this was a heartbreaking, emotional, and beautifully written story that had me tearing up more than once.

I'm so grateful I had the chance to read it early, and I definitely recommend picking it up if you enjoy historical fiction with a touch of magical realism and stories centered around strong, resilient women. 🧡

SOY IS JOY ✨

[har. (catching up!!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

┆ ⤿ 🎏 ⌗ started: july 27, finished: august 5

4.5 stars 𓂃˖ ࣪⊹
⤿ review with SOME spoilers.

“give me all the books ever written, and my favourite line would still be the one between your lips, my favourite world, the one where you exist next to me"

⋆.˚ ★— thank you del rey, random house worlds, inklore & netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for a honest review

──★ ˙🌁 !! tropes/taglines
.ᐟ historical fantasy
.ᐟ cinderella retelling
.ᐟ multi-generational family saga
.ᐟ magical realism
.ᐟ mother & daughter relationship
.ᐟ family curse
.ᐟ forbidden love
.ᐟ evil stepmother
.ᐟ chinese mythology & folklore
.ᐟ wartime hong kong

summary:⋆˚࿔

fishbone cinderella follows three generations of women—ha yut ying (helen), her mother, and later her daughter, marigold—as they live under a family curse that has been passed down for generations. set between wartime guangdong and post-war hong kong, the story blends chinese folklore with historical fiction, following each woman's journey through love, loss, sacrifice, and the hardships of life. along the way, they face toxic family relationships, misogyny, racism, immigration, and the search for identity, all while discovering the strength to break free from the burdens they've inherited.

thoughts:⋆˚࿔

i went into this expecting a magical cinderella retelling, but it turned out to be so much more than that. elizabeth lim doesn't just focus on the family curse—she tells the stories of three generations of women, exploring themes of romance, grief, toxic family relationships, misogyny, racism, immigration, identity, and the pressures that come with chasing success. every generation faces their own struggles, yet they're all connected by the same curse and the sacrifices they have to make.

what i loved most was how the fantasy never took away from the emotional depth of the story. instead, it made every hardship and sacrifice feel even more meaningful. i especially enjoyed following ha yut ying's story. i could really feel her pain, heartbreak, and betrayal, and i found myself rooting for her throughout the book.

the only reason this wasn't a full 5 stars for me was because i occasionally found the timeline a little difficult to follow. with the story moving between different generations and points in time, there were moments where i felt a bit confused and had to stop to figure out where i was in the story. aside from that, this was such a beautifully written family saga that felt so much bigger than a simple fairy tale retelling.

──★ ˙🥠 !! characters

ha yut ying: ⋆˚࿔

i felt so heartbroken reading her story. from the very beginning, she was burdened with responsibilities that no child should have had to carry. she grew up listening to her grandmother's warnings, was taught that her only purpose was to become a good wife, and never even had the chance to go to school. when she moved to hong kong, she dreamed of a fresh start and a better life, but things only became worse because of her stepmother. every time it felt like she had finally found happiness, it was taken away from her. seeing her lose both lily and tommy completely broke my heart.

despite everything she went through, she continued to love deeply and kept moving forward, which made me admire her even more. her story, her curse, and everything that was passed down to marigold were so upsetting to read. i understood that she was terrified of the curse and believed distancing herself would protect her daughter, but the way she treated marigold at times was so difficult to read. you could feel that she loved her, yet her fear often got in the way, making their relationship one of the most heartbreaking parts of the book.

tommy yeung: ⋆˚࿔

i was rooting for him from the moment he met ha yut ying. i truly believed they were going to get their happy ending, so i was so upset when he chose to marry for the sake of the family business instead. as much as it broke my heart, i think it showed the reality of family expectations during that time. he was torn between following his heart and fulfilling his responsibilities to his parents and grandparents, and in the end, duty won. i was frustrated with his decision, but i also understood the pressure he was under, which made his character feel so realistic.

marigold yuen: ⋆˚࿔

i wish we had gotten more of her story because i felt like there was still so much left to explore. what we did learn about her life was incredibly heartbreaking. not knowing about the family curse, she threw herself into her studies instead of building friendships or letting people get close to her. she spent so much of her life trying to be perfect academically, only to realize there were things happening that she couldn't explain. i really felt for her because she was carrying so much without ever understanding why. i just wish we had more time with her and could have seen her story develop even further.

kenji yamamoto: ⋆˚࿔

even though we only had him for a few chapters, i knew he cared about marigold so deeply. their story felt so unfinished, and i couldn't help but wish we had gotten more of them together. i genuinely believe that if they had been given more time, they would've found their way back to each other somehow. the way he cared for her felt so genuine that i just can't imagine him ever truly forgetting marigold. i really wish we could have seen how their story continued because i wasn't ready to let them go.

[Aanziꪆৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ──★ !!

↳ ┆ .✦゛ 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚍 : february 3 ˎˊ˗
↳ ┆ .✦ ゛𝙵𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚍 : february 20 ˎˊ˗

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

⋮ 🪼┆ 𐔌 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ౨ৎ
⟢ In 1940s China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ha Yut Ying survives invasion in a way by being invisible. It saves her life. But what starts as magic becomes a pattern. After the war, she’s sent to Hong Kong, where her father is emotionally distant and her evil stepmother slowly erodes her identity. Her dream of becoming a singer is chipped away. She learns that being quiet keeps the peace. Hiding keeps you safe. Being invisible keeps you alive.Then we move to 1960s San Francisco.Marigold grows up sensing that her mother is carrying something unspoken,something heavy. But as a child, she experiences something shattering,she watches her mother vanish. The disappearance isn’t just physical. It becomes emotional. A fracture in their bond.As her mother’s health declines, Marigold starts digging into the past. What she uncovers isn’t just war history. It’s immigration trauma. It’s the emotional aftermath of displacement.And she is determined to help her.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

⋮ 🪼┆ 𐔌 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ౨ৎ
⟢ This review is gonna be a very unpopular opinion, because everyone is going feral about this book but I didn’t seem to like it. 80% of the book was building up the plot , so I was like okay the end is gonna be EPIC.But sadly it didn’t happen and the end felt rushed to me, and I was underwhelmed. The only thing I’m giving 3 star is for the beginning of the book. The biggest let down for me is this being more of a fantasy read than a historical fiction, and the historical fiction part of the book was chefs kiss. It should’ve stayed with that. I really like reading Helen’s time in Hong Kong and it kinda felt like The Thousand Splendid Sun. But then the focus shifted from historical fiction to more of a fantasy Fairytale. Maybe if Marigold’s story wouldve gotten more time it would’ve worked out. But I wasn’t able to connect with marigold’s character which made me not care about the ending or whatever but I’m happy for Helen! So here’s the things I liked: The writing was amazing. Helen as a character is really brave and I really liked her. Seeing her struggle in Hong Kong made me feel sad, and I’m happy for her in the ending. Kenji is also a really sweet guy and deserved to have more chapters about him. I loved seeing the character growth of the characters.


⟢ The relation and complexity of the relation between a mother and daughter portrayed in this book is very touching, be it Helen’s mom and Helen or Helen and marigold. Marigold was such a great and thoughtful daughter, and Helen is a wonderful mother. Even though they weren’t that close , they understood each other so well. Lily and Helen ‘s sisterly bond was actually so cute r.I’ve never really readabout the Japan and china war except for the Poppy war, so I think I’ll dive more into this genre. When I saw everyone crying about this book I was like YESYESYES IM SO READY TO BE TRAUMATISED, but maybe I missed the part where we were supposed to cry.. Not a SINGLE tear shed.


⟢ So in a nutshell, if you are a historical fiction enthusiast like me don’t read this book thinking it’ll all be about the war ( it was actually about the war but you won’t find the mention after half of the book) it’s is actually more of a light fantasy novel.

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

↳ ┆ .✦゛𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 : July 28 ˎˊ
⤷ Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey, Random House Worlds, Inklore for this arc in exchange for an honest review! 💓

[ananya ౨ৎ (ia-uni) · Rating 4 out of 5]

꣑ৎ⋆˙⟡⋮ 3.5 stars ☆ 🩵

mini review & no spoilers!
this book felt like a 20th-century fairytale, and it was so enchanting! the narrative was split between two different time periods—following ha yut ying in 1940s hong kong & her daughter marigold in 1980s san francisco—and it reminded me, in many ways, of the joy luck club. it was a complex exploration of love, of family ties, of intergenerational divides, of the sino-japanese war, of the experience of living as an immigrant and as a minority in america, and so much more.

compared to elizabeth lim’s other books, this was undoubtedly quite different, but i loved seeing how she tackled the historical fiction genre while retaining her vivid writing style and a touch of her signature magic (it is primarily a historical fiction novel, but there is a crucial fantasy element woven in!) i especially appreciated the representation of the sino-japanese war and the exploration of westernization in hong kong during that time period.

yut ying (helen) was such a complex character! in fact, it was difficult for me to reconcile young yut ying and present-day yut ying at first, but as the story progressed, i came to see why. this woman went through the most, i swear. she was so strong.

the book did feel a tad dull at times due to plot & pacing issues. i didn’t always know exactly where the plot was headed and the stakes were somewhat unclear at times, which was in large part due to the fact that it undertook the challenging task of trying to cover a huge swath of time (the novel pretty much spans yut ying’s entire life) and doing so within an alternating-timeline format. also, the narration style made it feel as though yut ying was recounting the events of her life far in the future (eg. from the perspective of her present-day/1980s self)—i do think this was another factor in me not being as invested as i’d have liked, because it felt like i wasn’t entirely in the moment with her during the story. i think some books can pull off this style, but i don’t think it was the most effective choice here.

i also have to say that the ending was so unsatisfying. there were a few natural directions for the story to go that i really wanted to see, and we just didn’t get those scenes :(

—but despite these few issues i had with it, this was overall an enchanting novel, and one that i would for sure recommend. go read it when it comes out on july 23rd!

thank you so much to del rey, random house worlds, inklore, netgalley, and elizabeth lim for the arc! + to my bff ivy for reading this with me! i had the best time ever getting to yap with you about this. our first br of many more to come, i love you endlessly 😚

꣑ৎ⋆˙⟡⋮ pre-read
one of my most anticipated releases for 2026 and fave authors ever so i couldn't be more excited to get the arc 🥹 and to make it even better, i'm reading this with my bff ivy! i'm soso excited for our first br and and i hope we adore this world and characters! i love you so much ⭐️

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars

Multigenerational immigrant sagas mixed with a touch of magical realism is slowly becoming one of my favorite subgenres. And I'm happy to add this novel to my small, but growing, list of novels.

Fishbone Cinderella started out with an intriguing premise about a family curse where one of the FMCs, Yut Ying/Helen, disappears in times of stress. Her daughter, Marigold, the second POV, also becomes afflicted with her own curse. It was hard for me to say no to this interesting premise. (Mostly because I'm basic and I love X-Men.)

The story went back and forth between Yut Ying's past and present, with the addition of Marigold's chapters. This was done really well because the chapters give you enough time to stay with one character and reflect on their life and their journey before the POV switches several chapters later. POV switches that happen every chapter is one of my huge pet peeves because it gives me mental whiplash. But it definitely wasn't an issue here.

As an immigrant myself, I'm a HUGE fan of immigrant stories. Yut Ying's immigrant story was written really well, stemming from her childhood immigrating from China to Hong Kong for a better life under Japanese occupation, to living under a cruel and jealous stepmother, falling in love with a boy and becoming the face of a popular ad, to marrying a Chinese American man and immigrating to the US. It all felt realistic, like I was reading about a real immigrant journey. Hell, she could've been one of my friend's grandmothers.

At first, I wasn't all that interested with Marigold's POV. But when it turned into a bit of a mystery as she tried to understand her mother's disappearing curse by tying it to her mother's past, I became a lot more invested. No spoilers, but if you're an immigrant with baggage back in your birth country, then this part of the story might be very familiar. It made for a really dramatic climax and I was seated for it.

Overall, what an impressive adult debut! I'm definitely looking forward to more adult releases by Elizabeth Lim.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for this arc.

[Stephanie · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

Fishbone Cinderella is a visceral, hauntingly beautiful story that holds your hand with warmth while simultaneously stabbing you in the heart. Structuring the narrative between two timelines, Elizabeth Lim weaves a poignant tapestry of generational trauma and the immigrant experience through the lives of Yut Ying and her daughter, Marigold. In post-war China and Hong Kong, Yut Ying survives a "Cinderella" existence and a loveless home while harboring a family curse that allows her to turn invisible by holding her breath. Decades later in America, Marigold, who is a first generation med student, struggles to understand her mother’s coldness while grappling with her own version of the curse: the ability to feel the raw emotions of people and objects through touch.

The novel transcends the fantasy genre, serving as a profound exploration of how the horrors of war and displacement shape a family’s future. Lim handles heavy themes of parental cruelty and sacrifice with a grace that never feels forced, showcasing how secrets intended to protect can often build walls of silence. The development of the relationship between Helen (Yut Ying) and Marigold is the soul of the book, culminating in a journey back to Hong Kong that allows for a cathartic, healing breakdown of their barriers. Beautifully written and deeply heartfelt, this perfect blend of history and legend is a stunning testament to the enduring, complex bonds between mothers and daughters.

While I am not a fantasy reader, the backbone of Fishbone Cinderella is rooted in family and the immigrant experience. What could have happened to Yut Ying and how her story could affect the generations that come after her, is a story that so many immigrants can relate to. I really loved this story and that COVER, is just beautiful.

Thank you Del Rey for the advanced copy!

[ashlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book put me THROUGH IT 😭 i genuinely went through all 5 stages of grief and then some. i was not prepared for how emotional this was going to make me.

i loved the cinderella retelling set in 1940s china. yut ying discovers she can turn invisible and gets a magical fishbone bracelet from her mother, but after losing it, she meets tommy yeung and their lives basically get flipped upside down from there.

the magic, romance, family drama and everything that happens along the way had me SO invested. some parts genuinely hurt me 😭 i was so invested in these characters and what was going to happen that i could not put it down. definitely one of those books where i finished it and just had to sit there for a minute.

thank you netgalley for the arc!