The secondary characters are so complex and well-explored that I know the story wouldn't have been the same without them, their strengths and their unwavering love for Jing. The title ‘ Shanghai Immortal‘ still fits, but it’s the hell version of Shanghai we’re first introduced to. With a title like Lady Jing of Mount Kunlun and ancestry that includes that great goddess Queen Mother of the West, running errands at 3 a. There’s a wonderful found family aspect to Shanghai Immortal and if you’re a fan of those kinds of stories then this will definitely be a book for you! First I want to thank NetGalley and Hodderscape for allowing me access to an arc of this title in exchange for my honest review.

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. Not that Lady Jing doesn't deliver, she's all the sass promised by the blurb, but this book is so much more! Shanghai Immortal follows Lady Jing as she seeks to expose a plot to steal a dragon pearl from the king of Hell. Lady Jing is a great character, dripping in snark but in some ways still child-like and seeing the awe in the world, and I loved watching her worldview develop through her adventures. The world building and mix of Chinese mythology in 1930s Shanghai with mandarin phrases Romanized throughout the book was a fantastic and funny move.Accustomed to being lied to, being humiliated especially by her grandmother’s handmaiden , Jing didn’t know what to do with Mr Lee and his kindness. Lady Jing lives in Yin Shanghai, the glittering capital of Hell, and its mortal counterpart is set in 1930s Shanghai. And there's no better guide through worlds both mortal and immortal than Lady Jing-her razor-sharp wit and tongue is sure to captivate any reader, by force if necessary! The result was a satisfying immersion in a world I want to revisit, leaving me looking very much forward to Lady Jing's further adventures.

I won’t delve into this element, but I absolutely loved how roosters were used in the overall world. Of course, this has to do with her explosive temper which got her into hot waters multiple times, especially when it concerns the rest of the hulijing court. 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. And we’ll see that slowly but surely, Jing will mellow thanks to Mr Lee and other acquaintances that will prove being her friends, to Jing’s utter astonishment. She's fascinated by the interplay between self-perceived versus imposed identity and how this intersects with belonging and enjoys exploring these spaces in her stories.

All around, this book was a damn good time, but one where heading in you need to know you're reading for the ~vibes~ and those vibes are that you need something magical, and funny, and light-hearted.

We get to experience two really interesting settings- immortal Shanghai aka hell that is ruled by Lord Wang and abundant with mythology and real Shanghai in the 1930s. I was so distracted by the sassiness that I didn't take them seriously until they said hey hi, this story is also about us.Because of this, Jing is constantly bullied by her fellow fox relatives and shunned by the rest because she has to sustain on blood. Where Jing is a rule breaker who doesn’t really care for traditions, she’s tasked with taking care of a human in Hell, Tony Lee, who is pretty much the antithesis of Jing, at least for the most part. I loved that she was allowed to be herself on the page and wasn't constricted by how a "girl MC" is supposed to act.