Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was an okay story. Some of the characters I like and others I could barely stand. The story is written with COVID in mind. I guess I want a story that I don't have to relive the horrors of the beginning of COVID-19.

My first thought, reading this book, was how absolutely charmed I was by Moli and her relentless curiosity. She's a character that's very easy to like, even when she's taking a quieter role in the story. The narrative style had a very heavy, dreamlike quality, which felt right for the story being told, and which I did like quite a lot.
The pacing was a little odd, moving very slowly into the action at the beginning, and then becoming almost an entirely different story by the end. The later chapters of the book ended up feeling like a long prologue for the next book, rather than part of the story up to that point.

All in all, though it may not be my favorite book, it was a unique story and style with characters that were endearing enough that I will probably read what comes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and UK Book Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic, this story follows Moli, a young Chinese girl traveling to England for her father's funeral. Following a trip to see Chinese relics at the British Museum, she unexpectedly embarks on a time-traveling adventure, featuring dragons, shamans, and fantastical creatures she had only ever read about.

Though I was initially drawn in from the synopsis, like Moli I am a dragon-lover at heart, I struggled to really connect with this book. It does a great job of bringing a depressing reality to younger readers, that of the extreme anti-Asian sentiment that came with the peak of COVID. There's also a great deal of philosophical thought found within these pages, though I'm not sure if it'll entirely land with the desired audience.

But, ultimately, the writing style and story became too scattered and unfocused for me to fully engage with it. It seems to shift from an Alice in Wonderland-esque opening to something more action-packed and dramatic, an aspect that only threw me off even more.

I am glad to see more books discussing Chinese history and mythology for a Western audience, but I think this one needed a bit more polish to have more of a lasting effect on readers.

Thanks, Netgalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read and review!
The narrative style needs some polishing in order to make the reader totally engulfed into the story, but I loved it and felt connected with it. It's one really touching and inspiring fantasy story, set in our contemporary world full of hardships and suffering. You'll definitely feel close to this story!

Why is the dragon the only fantasy creature in the Chinese zodiac? Maybe it's because dragons aren't a fantasy after all...

What a fun little middle-grade fantasy! I love learning about mythology from other cultures and this taught me a lot about Chinese zodiac and fantasy. Well-written with engaging prose.

I tried to get into this book but it just didn't click with me. The subject matter and the story frankly depressed me. Not the books fault. Thanks #Netgalley and #UKPublishing for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

A young girl who loves dragons finds her life turned upside down after her father's death as she ventures into another realm while looking into her museum curator/historian father's research. The story centers around the modern-day events of COVID-19 and focuses on a young girl named Moli who is traveling from China to London to attend her father's funeral and see his last exhibition. She finds herself pulled into another realm, one that is filled with mythical creatures and she gets to experience first-hand the ongoing war and the lives of the Rouran's, which her father was looking into. Her involvement in the past time has a ripple effect when she returns to her own time. The story is a fantasy one but poses a lot of philosophical thoughts. It's an interesting read and definitely leaves room for a second book. My only big thing about this was that the writing style was all over the place and it was hard to get into the story when I felt like I was constantly being pulled out of it. I did enjoy that this book was trying to tackle a lot of things but it felt like I was being pulled back and forth between the fantasy realm with Moli and the modern pandemic times. The story just felt a bit all over the place but I can appreciate what it was trying to do.

*Thanks Netgalley and UK Book Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*