I can confidently call myself a big fan of Elizabeth Kim’s works. Her masterful world-building always takes me on incredible journeys, blending Eastern mythology with mesmerizing fantasy settings, heart-pounding action, and heartwarming epic love stories.

This book feels extra special, offering a creative twist on an Eastern "Beauty and the Beast" retelling while introducing a fresh, vivid take on an underwater world. The journey is painted in rich, colorful strokes, featuring phoenix demons, heroic turtles, treacherous sharks, dangerous jellyfish, and a vicious Dragon King determined to destroy his own kin rather than share his empire.

The story centers on Tru Saigas, a con artist and art forger trying to support her eccentric mother, who claims to be a fortune teller (though her "powers" never seem to help pay off mounting gambling debts), and her two younger sisters. Tru has carried the family burden ever since their father disappeared at sea years ago, leaving them to fend for themselves.

But Tru has a secret: she can paint the future whenever her fingers begin to tingle, and everything she paints eventually comes true. It’s through this power that she first envisions Gaari, her mentor and partner in crime, before they meet.

When her mother is threatened by the ruthless Madam Yargui to pay off her debts by midnight—or risk losing her daughters—Tru decides to use her gift to save her family. With Gaari's government connections, she hopes to find a solution, but a violent attack by Yargui’s men forces Tru to flee. This fateful escape brings her face-to-face with the enigmatic Dragon Lord, Elang, who saves her life—but at a price.

Elang is half-dragon, half-human, cold and calculating, and wholly focused on his mission. He presents Tru with a proposition: to pay her family's debts and secure their future, she must marry him and live in the underwater kingdom of A’landi to help him break the curse inflicted by the Dragon King. Tru hesitates, but when Elang reveals that her missing father may be held captive in A’landi, she realizes she has no choice but to accept. She ventures into this mysterious realm, prepared for a marriage of convenience with a monster.

Yet, as Tru begins her undersea adventure, she starts to wonder if Elang is as heartless and cruel as he appears. She feels an unexplainable connection to him and begins uncovering secrets about A’landi that will shake her world to its core. Amid the turmoil, she finds herself falling for the dragon lord hidden behind the monster’s façade.

Overall: I think this might be my favorite Elizabeth Kim novel yet. The clairvoyant painter heroine, the half-dragon hero, the enchanting underwater setting, the gripping twists, and the heartfelt ending all left me breathless. While it’s too soon to call, this book has already earned a spot among my top five fantasy reads of the year. It lives up to the hype and deserves all the praise—truly a marvel!

Five blazing dragon eyes, bluebells, and spicy noodle stars from me!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Knopf Books for Young Readers for providing this incredible fantasy as a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this.

A Forgery of Fate is a good mix of Chinese fantasy for modern / Western audiences, along with tons of Beauty and the Beast feels.

Of Elizabeth Lim's protagonists, I have to say her female lead in this is great. She is smart, headstrong, and thinks of others before herself. Working as a forger, she gets by with help of a mentor who teaches her how to swindle the public.

I love the male lead. I loved him, loved him, LOVED him. I loved his story and I loved how she mixed Chinese fantasy up with Beauty and the Beast ( know I already said that). His dragon face, along with his human face (and him wearing glasses) gave off feels. There is so much I want to say about him, but you gotta read it to truly feel the roller-coaster of emotions I got from him after the 50% mark.

The villain and the world building would be the true fault of the story. I wanted more depth, more reason behind it all besides from family hatred. Other gods are also mentioned but we really don't see them. For readers who may not be versed in Chinese mythos or cdramas, the lack of explanation or 'feel' of the non-western world is a bit of a let down.

It's a stand-alone, and if I had to give an Elizabeth Lim book to someone it would be this one.

How can I explain in words what this story meant to me? Well, I’ll try.

As a kid, one of my absolute favorite Disney movies was Beauty and the Beast. I loved our FMC Belle, and how she was so unique and didn’t conform to the standards of her fellow civilians. Belle would always read her books, love her family, and refuse the social norms. While, when we meet Beast- he would seem as one thing and slowly became almost human from inside with Belle.


Tru, probably to be a new favorite character, also had her unique personality, her unusual hair, and did what she could for her family. I could relate to both themed stories. In a way, although Elang was the “beast prince” in this story- he wasn’t alone in the outcast front. I related to this on such a personal level that I felt completely invested in this story.


Okay, my point is! That I undoubtedly adored the almost magical lyrical style of Elizabeth’s writing, and how so many similar tales could be woven in so well and still bring this story to life! I lived for the sassy banter, heartfelt moments between characters, the unexpected heartbreak and love, and well— noodles. I love them almost as much as Tru does!



Thank you Random House and Elizabeth Lim for an opportunity to read this in exchange of a review.

Beauty and the Beast meets Chinese folklore in this new adventure from Elizabeth Lim!

After the mysterious disappearance of her father, Tru Saugus takes on art forgery as a way to support her grieving mother and sisters. When trying to fence a painting to pay off her mother’s gambling debts, she finds herself in the mansion of the Demon Prince, Elang—half dragon, half human, and appropriately monstrous. Unable to turn down his generous offer, she enters a contract with him to stage a coup and get rid of the Dragon King, his grandfather. But there’s a catch: the prince can only return to Ai’long, realm of the dragons, if he falls in love and marries his Heavenly Match, his soulmate. Together they must pull off the ultimate con and forge a fate that benefits the both of them.

It was fun to be back in the realm of dragons after our last visit in The Dragon Prince, and indeed there are quite a lot of Easter eggs for those who had read it before this book, although it is unnecessary for readers to be familiar with it. Full of dragons, menfolk, talking turtles, and even a water demon, we get to experience the very thing through the eyes of spunky Tru as she becomes accustomed to her new home. As she falls in love with the beauty of the underwater world, so too does her feelings grow for Elang as they spend more time together under the guise of being a happily newly married couple.

Tru’s visions, shown through her paintings, make her a unique protagonist, but it is her sass and bravery that will really win you over. Her inability to give up on her missing father or her friends puts her in danger many times but Elang always swoops in for the rescue—despite betrayals and plots, the cruelty of the dragon king, and Elang’s own professed indifference. Her refusal to give up on Elang and his curse is just the beginning of their beautiful story. Though it is quite easy to recognize his feelings at once, it happens in the little moments for Tru: teasing over a bowl of noodles, planting a field of her favorite flowers in his barren gardens, standing up to anyone who threatens her, no matter how powerful.

Their adventure is full of action, daring, and tragedy but either on land or under the sea their love story is one that will prevail for the ages.

If you are unfamiliar with Chinese Folklore Elizabeth Lim’s books are an excellent place to start exploring a new genre, as she expertly weaves in fairy tale elements readers will already be familiar with and strong independent main characters to create enchanting and fun stories for us all. I only have one request after finishing this new one: please let Seryu finally find his happily ever after next!

There is a magical power in some stories, something that draws readers in and keeps them engaged, invested in the characters, and absorbed in the adventures. This magical story is definitely imbued with that power. It is, as the author promises, an amalgam of fairytales from Beauty and the Beast to Little Mermaid, to Chinese folklore; and yet, it is quite original. Told in first person from the female protagonist's view, there is adventure, a romantic note, some heartache, a dash of whimsey, and dragons. The main character is likeable and it was easy to get hooked by her tale. It flows nicely with a good pace and pleasant narration-style. Those who have read the author's prior stories may recognize the "world" and even some characters but this is a standalone and can be read and enjoyed independently. Anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings or sweet romantic tales of magic and adventure will likely find this a pleasure to read as much as I did.
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Children's - Knopf Books for Young Readers) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Thank you to Random House for the ARC!

4.25 stars. This is my favorite Elizabeth Lim book yet, by a mile! Romantic, mysterious, and whimsical, with some twists, turns, and feels along the way. Reading this book felt like reading a fairytale, in the best way possible. Our heroine had bravery, spunk, and a good heart: easy to root for. The main romance is tragic but sweet. And the storyline is complicated enough to be interesting, but simple enough to let the characters and world shine.

A lot of pretty common tropes are found in this book, and it is in some ways a (loose) retelling of beauty and the beast, but I found it to be a good balance of familiar and new. It certainly didn’t feel derivative or un-original, where many “retelling”-style books fail. It’s also not pacing completely new ground in terms of the storyline or characterizations, but I think the magic concept was fairly novel, and the plot is a fun path to follow, even if it has been walked before.

Definitely recommend, as a whimsical and fresh YA romantic fantasy.

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children's for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the concept of the protagonist being an art forger--that was something I hadn't seen before. Tru was a well-fleshed out protagonist and so was her eventual love interest. It was hard to put the book down, I just kept reading to see all the drama unfold...

My main complaint is that the book should have been longer--I wish we got more time in the palace that Tru lived in for most of the book. The worldbuilding was really compelling--but again, way too short to be fully expanded on.

Still, another excellent book from Elizabeth Lim!