A. Y. Chao

This was fun!
Yeah, some jokes are a bit groan worthy, but for some odd reasons they work with the characters and makes them more endearing.
What I especially liked was that Ms Chao didn't shy back from embracing the overly colourful and over the top characterization of Chinese mythology.

The story itself is nicely paced, the characters are fun and have early on already a good development. A real page turner with some sweetness and a lot of sass (and roosters, don't forget about the roosters).… (mere)

I enjoyed this book and the concept behind it - Lady Jing is half vampire, half fox spirit and she got bought, or adopted, by the king of Hell. She lives in, well, Hell - which looks a lot like 1930s shanghai because the King wanted to.
The mythology and worldbuilding is rich, and the plot interesting, even though the pace could be a bit uneven at moments, and Lady Jing's character building and burgeoning relationship with a mortal felt sometimes forced, I have to say that I still enjoyed this story a lot and would like to pick up the next book!
This is definitely a strong debut.

I want to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest revidew.… (mere)