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. The MC Lady Jing is young, and inexperienced with the normal world and relationships, she is still finding herself. She uses sarcasm as her shield and doesn't trust anyone but in her heart, she is brave and strong. I love scenes when she gets tipsy and become walking sunshine. Her dialogues with Mr. Lee are interesting because we can see how she grows thanks to him. Shanghai Immortal includes many great quotes but this line cuts deep. And I think it describes this book quite well. Yes, we got vampires and hulijings, Chinese mythology, jazz-era Shanghai (the 30s to be accurate), the sassy main character, and humor, nevertheless, the story is mostly carried by dialog.

I won't say any more than that. I galloped through the book, delighting in Jing and her adventures, and her slow, wary approach to growing up and into her powers. Along the way we get a thorough grounding in Chinese myth; what I loved most, I think, was Mr. Lee's reason for coming to Big Wang in the first place. That resonated with so many of the Chinese stories I've been inhaling over these past few years. Likewise, I loved the scattering of Chinese vocabulary through the story, exulting in the fact that I recognized all these words. Lady Jing is half vampire, half fox spirit, and a ward of Hell. The book was full of hijinks and chaos in the best possible way, and I truly happened upon it at the best possible time, since I've been reading mostly dark, heavy, complex fantasy. And that's not to discount the world that Chao built, but giving credit to the levity that was baked into the story. It's rare that a book hits my mood just right, but this one definitely did. 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.The worldbuilding is amazing, both mortal and immortal Shanghai feel very vivid. No one ever thinks of hell as being better than earth, but I think the writer has made a very beautiful hell. I love c-dramas and reading about ancient Chinese culture and history. And I knew this book was the one for me when I read its summary, but I was also afraid that I wouldn't love it as much as I wanted to love it. Well, Little Jing came with her outspokenness, beguilingly witty and hilarious yet soft personality, and she made me fall in love with her and the book. u>My least favourite part was the mystery that moves the plot forward. I forgot about it often as I was more invested in Lady Jing’s journey. I think the mystery works well within the book and makes sense at the end, but sadly I was expecting a bigger plot twist at the end of the book. But honestly, I enjoyed, devoured and loved this book. Although I'm ashamed to say I was unable to read it in one sitting because of my schedule being too tight because of college, I do believe I had a chill, nothing-to-do day, I would have definitely sat on my couch and read this thing from start to finish in one sitting!!

Lady Jing is a young Chinese vampire in 1935 who was sold to the King of Hell Big Wang to pay her mother’s debts. As Big Wang’s ward she is expected to fulfill aThe narration: while witty and later on enjoyable, is not going to be everybody's cup of tea. It's very sarcastic, deeply emotional and at times self-depricating, and conveys Jing's anger and fear in a way that is not always pleasant. It took me a good 20% of the book until I was able to enjoy it. Wow. What a book. I know this doesn't release until June 6th, but this is such a perfect read both for AAPI month and for mental health awareness month. Lady Jing was such a good character. I didn't like her at all at first; I hated her, in fact. She was very childish and self-sabatoging. She had no control at all over herself and was verbally abusive to anyone who seemed to care about her even a little bit. But there's so much more to her than that.

The world building and mix of Chinese mythology in 1930s Shanghai with mandarin phrases Romanized throughout the book was a fantastic and funny move. I loved how funny Jing could be in her inner thoughts and insults. My favourite character was undoubtedly Lady Jing. Her bluntness was so entertaining, I kept laughing throughout the book. I loved the growth she experienced as a character.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 So we have Lady Jing, an immortal of soon to be hundred years and considered as a child not so long ago (the aging and adulting of immortals are different I guess). This richly told adult fantasy debut teems with Chinese deities and demons cavorting in jazz age Shanghai. As lady Jing gets into a lot of trouble, Big Wang sends her to mortal Shanghai with mr. Lee. Adventure ensues. The book I first read as an ebook, then listened to the audio version read by Mei Mei Macleod. She is a fantastic narrator and I was happy to hear the correct pronounciations of the Chinese. 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.