This was such a great book! Li weaves Chinese mythology and lore so beautifully with the magic in this book

I loved reading the book it was a fun read. I loved the plot and it's very well written. I definitely recommend the book and also the author.

I love the premise but the execution lacked something for me. Maybe it was that the writing was not as flowable as i would've liked it to be. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Christine Li, and the publisher for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I DNFed this book at 24%. I know that the description said that the character was mute, but I felt that it took too long to be established in the book, making the first 2-3 chapters very odd to read. I also felt like the author expected the reader to know far more about Chinese mythology and culture than I did. I have a little experience with reading Chinese mythology, but I was still lost concerning why certain characters were acting in certain ways. I also felt like the main character was a little one-note and wooden. Her only desire was to make the Elder Master return to her. Took me a minute to realize that this was her husband. Also, she had children... this was such a minor detail and at the point I was at in the story, I couldn't tell how old they were, or where they were even at. I will admit that once I realized I was going to DNF, I skipped ahead and read the last chapter in the story. It really felt like no character development happened at all.

˗ˋˏ ♡Thank you Christine Li and NetGalley♡ ˎˊ˗

The writing was definitely something that pulled me in greatly, however at times i felt it was too much an that it took away from the true story. I felt that it kind of made the storyline hard to follow. However, as the story went along it got better and was easier to follow. It was not bad.

Courtesy of The Book Whisperer and Netgalley, I received the ARC of Abalone and the Snake Goddess by Christine Li, perfect for commemorating the Lunar New Year! Not my usual choice of fiction, I was drawn to this story of ancient China and the realm of Abalone, her knowledge, strength, and desires. The traditions, customs, and rituals were reconstructed and beautifully described. Immersed in families, history, fragrances and herbs, I let this story of healing and self discovery carry me along!

Rating: 3.75* of five

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

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

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

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

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

Pity...it almost got all four stars.

Stars: 2
Review Release: 28/01/25
Review Platform: Goodreads
Review: The premise of this story held abundant promise but it’s execution was sorely lacking. The writing barely flowed and I felt like watching paint dry would be more entertaining. My rule is that if a book doesn’t grab me within the first 100 pages, it’s a DNF and sadly, with this one, it has been.. This story is VERY slow paced and there is nothing to grab and draw 5the reader in and keep them entertained. I fail to see how the story will pick up. For such a promising novel that seemed so interesting, it was lacking. The Chinese Mythology aspect has me hoping it would be a worthwhile read however the plot was barely there. I had to go and reread the blurb to make sure I was in fact reading the correct book because nothing was happening.

An interesting read filled with elements of Chinese mythology and historical fantasy. Pacing was a little slow at the start but picked up as the story went on.

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

The cover art and premise drew me in. It captured my interest since I like reading magical realism and mythology. This wasn't what I expected and honestly, I wanted to like this more but unfortunately most of the time, it failed to capture my attention. I had a hard time connecting with the characters most especially the MC despite it only having one POV. The plot sometimes feels confusing and disjointed. It is not bad but I feel it can benefit more with better editing. The first half dragged but the last 3rd of the book was better because of the appearance of much intriguing characters.

Abalone and the Snake Goddess seemed like a fantastic book from the description. I was intrigued immediately by the blending of mythology and fantasy. Unfortunately, the novel itself fell a bit flat for me. The beginning of the novel was a chore to get through, especially since the lack of worldbuilding and explanation left me beyond confused. Our FMC, Abalone, also felt disconnected to the readers. I felt for a while that she was a young woman or teenager. When we found out about her having children in the past, it was like whiplash. The story picks up in the second half of the book. I enjoyed the Chinese Mythology but the rest of the story was not for me.

A wonderfully engaging and deeply thought out Asian fantasy steeped in mythology and folk traditions! Disturbing, rich, and utterly captivating, this one is a must read! Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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

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

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

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

Thank you to Christine Li and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love books that interweave fantasy and mythology. Abalone and the Snake Goddess had a very strong premise and the use of fantasy was well thought out. Unfortunately the pacing was off and the first person narrative didn’t work well with the main character. I unfortunately had to dnf. Rating it two stars as it has great potential!

Abalone and the Snake Goddess by Christine Li is a Chinese Romance Fantasy novel that follows the daughter of a great mage, Abalone, who feels unwanted and unloved by her husband, the Elder Master. Desiring her husband’s affections, she seeks out the Snake Goddess to invoke a spell that will give her what she desires.
This is a book that is frustrating to review because there is so much potential within these pages that would intrigue lots of fantasy readers, however, the storytelling falls victim to a severe lack of editing that would have polished everything into place.

The best traits of this novel include the use of Chinese mythology to create the fantasy atmosphere. I found myself super intrigued and eager to learn more about the world, and to even do my own research on some of the mythos mentioned. It was also really nice to witness magic as having a cost. It reminded me a little bit of alchemy and how nature always has to have a balance so that magic cannot be used strictly for personal gain. The consequences and the truth have their way of being known, sometimes like a strong fucking gale. Lastly, the look at racism and bigotry, especially with respect to disabilities, were curiously thought-provoking.

Even with these titbits, the writing ended up becoming the book’s biggest frailty. A large chunk of plot-building and necessary structure wadding occurs in the second half of the work. The majority of this information, if presented much earlier, would have provided improved context, narrative flow, and groundwork for things to come.

The introduction of the main character is also another point of frustration. While the snippet does provide us with basic information on the physical disabilities of our protagonist, it wasn’t described nearly as neatly as said snippet. If you’re someone who goes into the book without reading a full synopsis, which is what I do with most fantasy titles, then the beginning can cause plenty of confusion as her disabilities and physical challenges were not described or defined in a cohesive manner at all. This puts together a foggy and uncertain foundation for things to unfold upon.

Abalone and the Snake Goddess has an excellent concept and fun use of fantasy characteristics. It simply needed the right editor to help iron out the kinks and knots to make it a bit more fluid and tenacious. With that proper attention, this would have been a strong addition to the romance fantasy genre.

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

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

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

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

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

Publication date: January 22!

Overall: . . . . 3?/5 ⭐️

I was hooked from the cover and description and so glad I was able to read this. It had that mythical fantasy element that I wanted and enjoyed in this type of book. I was engaged with the magic of it and worked with the plot. The characters were everything that I wanted and enjoyed getting to read this. Christine Li wrote this perfectly and was glad I got to read this.

Thank you NetGalley and Inanna Media. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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

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

The first half is incredibly slow, but it does pick up a lot in the second half. I did enjoy the folklore, and learning about the social aspects as well.

*I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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

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

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

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

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

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