Shanghai Immortal is a gritty, glittering tale of gods and monsters in a reimagining of 1930s China. The fearsome half-vampire half-deity Lady Jing swaps anger management lessons for a crash course in the mortal realm and you can't help but root for her and the chaos she leaves in her wake. Full of fury, passion, and beauty, this is a debut that will grip you in its fangs and make you bleed-all the while wanting more I admire how A. Y. Chao combines sarcasm, humor, and a badass MC with poetry and politeness. It's a strange combination although it worked. I learned some new phrases and new words. As a non-native speaker, I sometimes struggled with words such as piss-fart and stink-eye. But it was fun. This book is a really good debut and I highly recommend it.

And of course, let’s not forget that I wanted to know if the plot against Big Wang would be stopped and the villains punished! When tasked with bringing a mortal, Mr Lee, into Hell, Jing spies on the courtiers' plotting. She overhears their plans to steal a dragon pearl from the King. Suddenly, Jing sees her opportunity to expose them as the liars they are. You had me at half vampire and half fox spirit. I was drawn in by the gorgeous cover and the title piqued my interest. I was not disappointed. I loved every word.

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This richly told adult fantasy debut teems with Chinese deities and demons cavorting in jazz age Shanghai. A wildly inventive and moving romp that goes through the mortal and immortal realms of China, with an endearing and tumultuous main character." - Aliette de Bodard u>Her inner voice is such a fun part of this book. She’s irreverent, hilarious, and completely badass. She’s 99 years old, however for an eternal life that’s not much. She’s immature, passionate, and impulsive. The author portraits her “teen years” perfectly. She’s also broken and a bit lost in her life, as many of us are too. However, if you are expecting a serious, fully developed adult character, this is not your book. But if you like unserious characters and you relate with her personality and mood, Lady Jing will be the perfect choice to make you laugh. Jing embarks on a journey to hunt for the pearl, first through Hell and then into 1930s mortal Shanghai, assisted by Mr Lee and her Celestial friend, Lady Gi. Jing explores the sights, sounds and tastes of Jazz-aged China.

The ancient Chinese myths and legends are integrated beautifully into the story and the little drops of historical and social history, made this book that much better and immersive. Determined to get revenge on the hulijing immortals who constantly belittle her, Jing tries to foil their plan to steal a dragon pearl from her guardian, the King of Hell. Alongside this, she is charged with protecting a mortal man. However, she soon finds herself distracted by the handsome Tony Lee as they travel across immortal then mortal Shanghai. Jing's inability to believe herself worthy of love and friendship is explored throughout the book and some of the revelations about her childhood abuse and trauma are devastating. I love that she's shown gradually realising her self-worth thanks to Tony Lee's outsider perspective. With the help of a gentle mortal tasked with setting up the Central Bank of Hell, Jing embarks on a wild chase for intel, first through Hell and then mortal Shanghai. But when her hijinks put the mortal in danger, she must decide which is more important: avenging her loss of face, or letting go of her half-empty approach to life for a chance to experience tenderness – and maybe even loveI voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A main character who's half vampire, half hulijing fox spirit, trying to uncover a plot to steal a dragon pearl from the king of Hell? If I hadn't already been sold on the stunning cover, the blurb would have definitely drawn me in. Speaking of her personality: I (greatly) enjoyed her distinctive character voice, but it will not be for everyone. Think Joan He's Zephyr and her overconfident personality from Strike the Zither. So reader, beware. The Chinese concept of saving face is no stranger to me so her motivation is completely valid, but might be for foreign audiences. So, to those readers: keep an open mind. Hua Mulan wore trousers.' I invoke one of my heroes, the girl who took on an army and proved herself the equal of any man.Said deities were also very quirky characters, with a dragon loving to talk cryptically, bodyguards dead set on teaching Jing some decency since her childhood, the conniving Lady Soo… every character had his own personality and painted a very colorful and vivid story. A brilliant, vibrant world with a joyous, irreverent and chaotic cast of characters. Absolutely rooting for Lady Jing forever." - Hannah Kaner I'm really fond of this story, it speaks about finding out where you belong and learning to love and be loved. The elements of chinese-mythology as well as the idea of both Mortal and Immortal Shanghai cohexisting are very entertaining, so if you're a fan of Chinese Mythology, you don't want to miss out on Shanghai Immortal!

If we talk about the pacing of the novel, it contains too much description that isn’t required in my opinion. This issue only happened to me in the first half of the novel. Later, i found myself lost in the Shanghai Immortals and couldn’t put it down. The slow burn romance between Jing and Mr Tony Lee, a human from Mortal Shanghai who was a balm to her fiery nature. He is the epitome of hope and was also brave in partaking certain responsibilities. The result was a satisfying immersion in a world I want to revisit, leaving me looking very much forward to Lady Jing's further adventures. I want to preface this review by saying that I know for a fact that this book will not be for everyone. If you have delicate sensibilities and are easily offended by words like "piss-fart" and "ta-tas," as a matter of fact, you might hate this book. I, however, have the mouth of a sailor and am not offended by profanities. In fact, I found them hilarious. You see, Lady Jing, our FMC, is an absolute sasshole, and I love her for this. I love that Chao didn't shy away from developing Lady Jing's sassiness because she felt colorful and full of life.This book has the perfect balance of romance and plot, of quiet fun and action and of irreverence and seriousness. First this novel is based on the unique Chinese mythology of yang and yin about the cosmos. It contains celestial bloodthirsty immortals, hell, fox and vampire concepts. I mean if you have watched a series like Tale of the Nine Tailed or Avatar then you might understand what I’m saying 😉. I'm sure if I took some more time and really put my head to it I could find a few little details that were less than perfect, but I don't even think that would detract much from the other success of Shanghai Immortal. Jing is curious and creative but with a strong dose of chaotic energy. I immediately felt myself cheering for her while begging for her to try and trust in the love and good nature of those that care for her. She may have been a little overly impetuous early on, but that just shows her growth through the novel.