Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s for this ARC. I really wanted to get caught up in a fantasy/mystery tale set in 1930s Shanghai cabaret clubs but something about it - both in writing and plot - left me wanting. I struggled to pick it up regularly despite a really gripping idea, atmospheric setting and ALOT going on (Jingwen’s fellow cabaret dancers’ faces are increasingly stolen and sewn onto wealthy women, there are gods and a grandmother working with gangsters and more.) I usually love magical realism and historical fiction but neither genre was given the room needed to develop, so the narrative felt choppy. I’m keen to see what this author does next, just not sure this one hit home for me.

*ARC received from Netgalley - all opinions are my own*

TLDR: Hooked from the very beginning and could barely put this down! Be warned that there is very little information or explanation of the world and magic/ lore. In my opinion, it works from Jingwen’s POV and the only time I felt I needed more information to be satisfied was in the final chapter. I think this lack of explanation will put a lot of people off. So if you don’t mind sitting back and letting the book take you where it wants, I think it’s a fab read!

“Every Friday, I deliver the bones the way my grandmother taught me, with my shoulders down and my chin held high.”

With an opening like that, it was impossible to not get sucked in immediately!We have Jazz Age Shanghai, gangsters, Chinese folklore, black market deals and more. It hits a lot of points I’m interested in and love reading about so it’s no wonder I loved it as much as I did.

Lin does an amazing job of bringing Shanghai to life, she writes in a way that the city may as well be its own character and she really got you immersed into the world. I really enjoyed her style of writing and think she did a fab job considering this is (as far as I could see) her debut.

The biggest critique I have, and one that will affect many people's enjoyment of Daughter of Calamity, is the lack of information regarding the lore and magic of the world. I personally didn’t mind it for the most part as I felt like the lack of “knowing” how everything works is reflected well in Jingwen. She doesn’t care about many things past dancing and, as we were able to see when the story progressed, she wanted to stay out of any and all trouble and just focus on the cabaret.
So while I would have enjoyed learning more about Lin’s Shanghai as it was very interesting, I do think the lack of explanation suits here from Jingwens POV.
The only time this faltered was at the very end where I was confused as to how the cabaret is being run and how some people were able to gain the “powers” they did.

Lin’s female characters were really the star of the show here, which I believe was the goal. However, I would have liked the male characters to be fleshed out a little more, especially the male love interest as he is such an interesting character and just feels like he gets so watered down as the story continues. Plus the romance in general seemed a little too unrealistic and quite “instalove” which does not suit the characters at all, in my opinion.

Despite the few negatives above, I did really enjoy my time reading Daughter of Calamity and could barely put it down. Just be aware that you really just have to go with the flow of the story and be content not to have everything explained or elaborated.

𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲 | 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐌. 𝐋𝐢𝐧
★★★☆☆

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
Cabaret dancer, Jingwen, finds herself in the crossfire of multiple lethal mysteries: her dancer friends are having their faces taken and sewn onto wealthy foreign women. The enigmatic Dr Bailey Thompson reveals his plan to funnel an exotic fungus into Shanghai to incite possession of the gods. Her grandmother works with silver-armed gangsters and keeps secrets like some people collect stamps. And a shaman asks her to betray her family for his cause.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟
⟡ Historical fantasy
⟡ Magical realism
⟡ Horror & mystery elements
⟡ Powerful settings
⟡ Powerful women

𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝
This was such an intriguing and genre defying story with definite strong elements and unfortunate weak ones. The categorization of this book branches into multiple genres: historical fiction was the most prominent whilst there were elements of fantasy that sat on the blurred boundary between fantasy and magical realism, and a multilayered storyline that had elements of horror and mystery.

Theres no denying that this is beautifully written, and that the main character seems to follow a Black Swan arc. But, of course, set in the city of Shanghai which genuinely seemed like another fickle and immoral character in the book.

I also liked how this multilayered plot tied together at the end which I didn’t expect. The ending is climactic and powerful, giving the plot and the characters the ending they deserved.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝
There was so much going on! The storyline of this book was like trying to catch a warm stick of butter that kept slipping out of my hands. The concept was there but the delivery was confusing.

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬,” 𝘐 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮. “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘫𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.”

I love books like this: tales of lands I don't know much about, set in periods that I have only seen from a Western point of view. Between World Wars? OK, I have a rough idea of what 'the Orient' is, but that's pretty much entirely based on Hollywood movies.

And then I see that the plot features magic, old gods and literal faces being stolen.

I'm in!

First of all, the title of this book is deceptive, its meaning only becoming clear as the story unfolds. Our protagonist isn't 'calamitous' in terms of physically being clumsy or suchlike; this isn't a comedy. Jingwen is young woman struggling to find her place in Shanghai, a city both modern and ancient. She dances and drinks in lively clubs controlled by silver-handed gangsters, while living with her grandmother who performs impossible surgeries from their attic apartment. She's estranged from her mother and rebels against her family, eager to move into the exciting twentieth-century world she sees passing through the port... while at the same time feeling the pull of her ancestry, of the spirit of the land that is her home. Is it so easy to ignore the local gods? Can money or technology substitute for tradition?

This is a tale of growing up and exploring what it truly means to find your identity. Jingwen and her dancer friends are women in a world controlled by men, but many of the latter are indebted for their power to her own grandmother. Wheels turn within wheels, pieces are moved on a board made up of streets and bars, and what is the strength of one girl? When pushed to her limit: quite formidable.

The book doesn't balk from societal unpleasantness either. English and American businessmen are shown for what they are: charming and greedy, patronising and nodding back to colonialism. The anger bubbling under the surface of polite society is tangible, and Jiangwen's own perceived powerlessness is a huge source of frustration for her - but that powers her drive to win. If there is a game being played, she wants to come out on top.

This was a fast read that I didn't want to end. I do hope that the author explores more of this world, which is as enticing as its hallucinogenic liquor. Sultry and powerful as the hand of a goddess.

DNF at 25%.

I really struggled with this story. The premise made me think it was going to be a mix between Siren Queen and These Violent Delights, but instead we got lackluster worldbuilding and an MC that had zero personality. I enjoyed the writing style and felt the author did a brilliant job of describing her version of Shanghai but I just had no idea where the story was going or what the plot was meant to be.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in return for a review.

I struggled with this book. I read it through, but just didn't enjoy it. The writing is beautiful but I just didn't get into the story.

Historical fiction, magical realism and fantasy scifi set in Jazz-age Shanghai. This highly atmospheric book is filled with silver armed gangs, shamans, dancing girls and Gods. Beautiful, competitive Jingwen is a dancing girl, raised by her powerful, surgeon grandmother. Their relationship is complex and brittle and the brightly detached Jingwen moves between factions and loyalties trying to find where she fits in Shanghai. I didn't find it hard to follow the plot, but sections felt like streams of consciousness and reflected the drugged sensation of events happening simultaneously, with long sequences in a dreamlike state. Other side storylines began with mystery and intrigued me but I felt disappointed by the resolutions.

The characters were vividly drawn in their physicality but I found Jingwen really hard to connect with. I felt she lacked in depth when it came to connection with others, and I found her hard to understand. I saw that she was resilient in the face of peril, but she faced this again without any obvious depth of emotion. There was a lot of death and destruction that appeared not to be noticeable nor diminished Shanghai's bustling streets afterwards which I found baffling.

This has a grand, epic quality which reminded me of Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' and the darkly dystopian atmosphere was described with a visceral passion. This is a writer to watch.

This is one of the most atmospheric books I've read in a while, as we follow character Jingwen as they discover the seedy underworld she's thrust into and the decisions she's forced to make that run against all of her dreams. I found Jingwen an interesting character because of this as she's often very naive about what goes on, yet intuitive and resourceful. Nothing seems to phase her, regardless of how unfair and gritty this world is.

Speaking of world, I do think the world building is lacking here - often in favour of creating this atmosphere and character development. I'm very much a reader who enjoys every aspect of a fantasy world to be given to me, leaving nothing up for interpretation and here there's just too much left in the dark.

Interesting historical fantasy oozing with atmosphere and drama, but the world building needed a bit of work for me.

Mixed feelings about "Daughter of Calamity" by Rosalie M Lin. Things I liked about this book: the dancing and nightlife scenes. the description of 1930s Shanghai and the beginning of Jingwen's relationship with the rich doctor. Things I wasn't so keen on: the way the plot got quite complicated with rival gangs, the Gods and how Jingwen seemed to have many different roles in the book (dancer, trainee surgeon etc). With some more editing this book would be a lot slicker.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and honestly review an advanced reader’s copy of this book.

This… was frustrating. By the time I was 20% in, it felt like the story still hadn’t started and I knew nothing about what’s going on. (Just… weird pacing issues in this book.) I feel like maybe this needs a few more rounds of edits. The world building feels very weak to me, and under explained.

I really struggled with the main character. She’s a dancer, she works for her grandmother delivering bones to a fruit seller and she feels like she’s written a lot younger than she actually is. And at no point did she feel like a real person. Some terrible things happen to her, betrayals happen, and she’s over it very quickly. It rarely felt like there was a lasting impact.

2⭐️

Intriguing plot but the prose didn't work for me. As much as I loved These Violent Delights (I'm comparing these two as they gave the same vibes, for me at least) I just didn't really like this one.

A very dreamy, lucid and creative concept that unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to expectations.

I had high hopes for this book as it ticked a lot of boxes. Historical fiction with a twist, set in old Shanghai with a criminal underbelly. It delivered in a lot of ways but I couldn’t help but be let down by some bigger parts of it.

This book has some very lucid and magical descriptions which both make it enjoyable to read. I loved the setting and the way the author described it and the concept was unique enough to keep me intrigued. The close ties to Chinese history whilst having a magical realistic scifi spin was intriguing and where the writing shone in my opinion. However sometimes, they did feel long winded and confusing, and though scenes were vivid and well described, tying them together in a cohesive world was difficult.

My other struggle with this book was the characters. I couldn’t place the ages of characters at times and I found Jingwen really hard to connect with. I felt she lacked depth and conviction in her position in this world, strong in the face of the challenges she faced but without any emotion to connect her with them. All I could establish from her personality in the beginning was that she wanted to dance and didn’t want to work for her grandma but her overall personality and voice didn’t come through very strong. Because of this it sometimes felt she was being pulled into plot points rather than flowing with them. It also made it harder to root for any of the romances because I wasn’t overly convinced of any.

I also found it quite a slow beginning and then the action didn’t quite pay off for all the build up at the start. The struggle I had with connecting some of the visuals played through in the plot as well so I felt like strings weren’t being tied, left loose as the book developed.

That being said, I’m giving it three stars bc it is such a strong concept and I do love what I could tell the author was trying to achieve. My disappointment lies with the characters and plot not living up to such an amazing concept and some really beautiful writing at times.

There are a few things to enjoy about this historical fiction with supernatural and magic realism twists.

Jingwen (aka Vilma) is a feisty, ambitious character with a complicated dynamic with her grandmother and mother. Her flaws were interesting to read and see unfold in the forms of tension with her fellow cabaret girls and how she approached the conflict of parts of people's faces being stolen (so to speak). I appreciate the gritty characterisation of Shanghai, depicted as a city drenched in shadows and diamonds to hide its bleeding body, cut by foreigners robbing names, money and culture. The incorporation of supernatural elements enhances the story's chaotic 1930s timing, lending the story a hazy, dizzying feeling. Whether you attribute the happenings to the drugs and drinks flowing amok or otherworldly forces is up to you and gives the story merit for free interpretations.

However, the story isn't smooth sailing. Chunky paragraphs and muted scene closers muddy the pacing and fluidity of the story. The romance...the romance. It was intriguing at first but wanes more than waxes throughout the story. Those are my notes on that.

While this is an overall enjoyable read, I do wonder what a version of this story that achieves more depth through its theme of naming and names might look like. Well, I'm not going to dwell too deeply or much on a hypothetical. It is what is it.

If you're hungry for 20s/30s Shanghai novels, the detailed worldbuilding of DOC will satiate you.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor at Pan Macmillian for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

"Daughter of Calamity" is a historical fantasy written by Rosalie M. Lin, here at her debut. A novel that captivated me with its refined and evocative prose, its bewitching, dark and highly evocative setting, but which unfortunately did not convince me in terms of development of the story and characters. A book toward which I had high expectations, but which in the end left me rather lukewarm.

The story is set in 1930s Shanghai, amid glittering cabaret clubs, dark gods and dangerous gangsters. I was enchanted by the vivid descriptions of the various places and the attention paid to details. An attention that unfortunately, in my opinion, is absent at the level of world building and magic system. I don't know, I found everything decidedly confusing, nebulous and sometimes contradictory. And I'm sorry, because the basic idea intrigued me so much!

Jingwen, the protagonist with her only first person pov, conveyed only a lot of frustration to me. During the story she does nothing but ignore her surroundings, postpone any problems to an undefined future, set aside important events as if nothing happened, conveniently forget about upsetting situations, complain about everything and everyone, and basically behave as if she couldn't care less about the constant mysteries she finds herself in. An attitude that no, I cannot even attribute to her personality, since she seemed extremely shallow to me. The secondary characters, especially the male ones, follow the same example, appearing insubstantial at the highest levels. I was unable to bond with any of them, anyone, remaining indifferent to their vicissitudes.

All in all, "Daughter of Calamity" is a novel with an excellent premise, characterized by fantastic writing and an atmospheric setting, which unfortunately did not convince me in terms of development and characters.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The basic premise of Daughter of Calamity is that it's set in Jazz Age Shanghai, where our protagonist (Jingwen) works as a dancer in a cabaret club but also has a sideline working for her grandmother, who's a surgeon for the wealthy and wannabe gangsters, giving them magically-assisted prosthetics. When a number of her fellow dancers fall foul of magic and start losing various body parts, Jingwen decides enough is enough and vows to investigate, for the sake of herself and the other dancers.

This is a strongly-written story with a clear sense of place. A lot of well-written female characters turn up, including Jingwen's grandmother and her fellow dancers, but the male characters are a bit less fully-realised, and this particularly makes the (inevitable) romantic sub-plot for Jingwen a little unconvincing. While I appreciate the fact that this is apparently a standalone and the author clearly wanted to tie up all the lose ends, it feels a bit like there's a little bit too much emphasis put on that and this doesn't necessarily sit too comfortably in a historical fantasy book, where we know what happens to the real place just a decade or so later.

All in all, this was one of those books where if I hadn't been reading it, I'm not sure if I would have pressed on to the end. I'm interested in seeing what this author does next, as there's clearly some talent there, but this just wasn't quite a book that worked for me.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

I read and enjoyed this book - a historical novel set in Shanghai in the 1930s but with strong elements of magical realism. The prose is rich and full of imagery, conjuring up not only the atmosphere of Jazz Age Shanghai, but also making the fantastical elements believable.
Jingwen's glamorous-seeming world of dance is set against the shady world of gangsters fighting for control of Shanghai. Some disturbing elements in the story of the dance girls' stolen faces but ultimately a story with a satisfying resolution. The plot is fast moving and complex - I was kept turning the pages compulsively especially towards the end of the story.

I'd recommend it to readers of historical fiction, and to those enjoying magical realism. I'd certainly suggest it as a good read - and a brilliant example for my students who are writing fantasy - a masterclass in weaving fantasy and real world details together to create a credible background for the story.

I absolutely loved this book. The rich, intoxicating atmosphere was developed early on and just remained constant throughout. The plot twists kept you on your toes.

I really felt everything that Jingwen did - the disappointment after waiting hours for her new suitor, the suspicion and trepidation subsequently.

I struggled to put this book down. I don’t tend to choose ones set in the earlier 20th century but I am so glad that I did.

| ARC REVIEW | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 |

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt completely enveloped into the gritty glamour of the streets of Shanghai. The author wrote about Shanghai so lovingly, it was easy to care for it the same way Jingwen does.

The plot twisted and turned and chased Jingwen across the dance floor of the Paramount: the nightclub she loves so much. The crossover of mythology and Shanghai’s crime-filled underbelly was a lot of fun, if a little unclear at times.

Jingwen’s character was fully fleshed out and the exploration of her relationships with her grandmother and the other dancing girls was the best part of the book. I adored how the girls went from frienemies to friends, and how each girl had a personality that stood out. The love interest and the male characters fell a little flat, unfortunately, but were still an enjoyable part of the read.

For a debut novel, this was super enjoyable and set itself apart from novels which have a similar theme. I’m looking forward to seeing what else comes next!

If you enjoy chinese mythology with a sprinkle of jazz and gangsters thrown in, you’ll have a fun time with this one!

| thank you for my ARC via Netgalley |

Daughter of Calamity by Rosalie M. Lin is an opulent, high-paced adult historical fantasy set in Shanghai in the 1930s, a time when the city was absolutely booming and becoming one of the worlds largest, and busiest cities

Jingwen is a showgirl, whose grandmother is the primary surgeon for the Shanghai underworld. Jingwen is not following the path her grandmother wished for her and the pressure on her mounts as terrible acts begin to be committed against the showgirls as they battle each other for the affections of wealthy customers in their establishment

The dark energy behind the narrative is utterly compelling and as much as Lin brings to life Shanghai in a completely different era, the brutality of the underworld is (whilst being at once fantasy) is reflective of the cruelty and extensive reach of some of the prolific South East Asian criminal gangs throughout history

Daughter of Calamity is an intense, highly immersive novel that wil leave you absolutely reeling and as such, I will be looking forward to reading more from Rosalie M Lin

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan, Tor and the phenomenal author Rosalie M Lin for this incredible ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

#DaughterofCalamity #NetGalley

First of all the writing was really beautiful on this book, the author really brought the characters and the setting to life
The story was very intriguing and mysterious while feeling unique. The first half was great but by the second half I was struggling to feel fully immersed in the story

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc