An intriguing tale of 1930s Shanghai seen through the eyes of Jingwen, a dancer, Oddly, I found the magical realism/fantasy parts of this distracting- there's so much that could be said about the period and the people that I wanted to stick to reality. That said, Jingwen is an interesting character and I enjoyed being part of her world. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of DAUGHTER OF CALAMITY. This was a fantastic, lush, evocative story based in a fantastical version of historical Shanghai that will stay with me for a long time.

LOVED the premise of this book, and really enjoyed reading it after getting past the first few chapters. Rosalie Lin writes about 1930s Shanghai with such lyricism and beauty that the city itself almost becomes a shifting a sly character alongside Jingwen. It was a bit disappointing to not see more of the other dancehall girls—but the more I sit with the book, the more I appreciate that the reader only sees what Jingwen knows of them. Women pulled together by circumstances, often competing with one another, and wearing mask upon mask to move through a(n often male) fantasy world.

I definitely understand the comparisons to Nghi Vo's SIREN QUEEN, though I think this will appeal more to readers who want a heavy dose of atmosphere and are willing to let their own minds fill in details about the book's characters

I was not satisfied with this book. I felt there was an over explanation on things that didn't matter, and that there wasn't enough on things that did that would have progressed the storyline and made it more enjoyable. Characters were introduced and then nothing would happen regarding them. I was also annoyed by the overuse of similes and metaphors that seemed to start on the first page and never stopped.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Withholding my review in solidarity with the reader's strike on St. Martin's Press, led by Readers Want Accountability.

"Genres collide in this dark and atmospheric reimagining of 1930s Shanghai for fans of Nghi Vo and S. A. Chakraborty.

Jingwen spends her nights as a showgirl at the Paramount, one of the most lavish clubs in Shanghai, competing ruthlessly to charm wealthy patrons. To cap off her shifts, she runs money for her grandmother, the exclusive surgeon to the most powerful gang in the city. A position her grandmother is pressuring her to inherit...

When a series of dancers are targeted - the attacker stealing their faces - Jingwen fears she could be next. And as the faces of the dancers start appearing on wealthy foreign socialites, she realizes Shanghai's glittering mirage of carefree luxury comes at a terrible price.

Fighting not just for her own safety but that of the other dancers - women who have simultaneously been her bitterest rivals and only friends - Jingwen has no choice but to delve into the city's underworld. In this treacherous realm of tangled alliances and ancient grudges, silver-armed gangsters haunt every alley, foreign playboys broker deals in exclusive back rooms, and the power of gods is wielded and traded like yuan. Jingwen will have to become something far stranger and more dangerous than her grandmother ever imagined if she hopes to survive the forces waiting to sell Shanghai's bones."

Given the whole transplanting of flesh, it's odd that the elegant cover reminds me of a tattoo I saw recently.

This was a very unique story that kept me intrigued throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style of this.

This book was an intriguing blend of crime, historical fantasy, horror and with elements of Chinese mythology,

I wish there had been more character development for the side characters, however the development of Jingwan was a refreshing contrast to the darker plot.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC. I enjoyed the concept of the story, of rival gangs in Shanghai, cabaret dancers, old gods, girls with missing faces. However, while the story was interesting, most of the characters were pretty flat, and I did not really care much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This novel had GORGEOUS descriptions of literally everything and the ending gave me chills! I don't typically read historical fiction so this novel started a bit slow for me, but I am very glad I stuck through Jingwen's journey!

This book was very hard for my to get into. I feel like there was too much going on and it was over written, like there was words that didn’t need to be there. That being said, I don’t feel like I ever got into it which made it hard to care about the characters and plot. I wouldn’t recommend if you’re looking for an easy, quick read.

"In Shanghai, we are allowed to wear multiple skins, which we collect over our lifetimes and store away for when we need them."

The decadence of 1930's gangster-run Shanghai glitters in this fantasy novel starring a dancer with deep ties to the underworld.

Jingwen skirts the edges of trouble, delivering human bones for her surgeon grandmother who makes a living giving gangsters robotic parts in exchange for their human counterparts. As a cabaret dancer, she's trying to find the richest date to bring to the Christmas dance. But when she attracts the attention of one wealthy expat at the same time as dancer's faces start to get stolen, she finds that Shanghai's dangers are closer than she ever dreamed.

Decadent, dreamy prose shine through a complicated plot, where some of the main action occurs in drug-induced hazes. While villains and their role in bringing ferocious gods to life was not always clear, the book introduces the reader to a beautiful world. My favorite part was when Jingwen visits a secret, underground nightclub, where the flamboyance of the pageantry contrasts with the drug-induced experiences.

At the heart of this glitzy romp of a fantasy is a love story with a city: Shanghai as it was.

DNF'd at chapter two. I knew immediately it just wasn't a fit for me. The blurb and the title drew me in, but I just felt so unconnected with the story.

I think I ended up liking the concept more than the execution. So much time was spent on the Cabaret Girl lifestyle that when we did actually dig into gangs, gods, magic, and corruption, it felt a bit hollow because we didn’t have enough context for those things. Jingwen doesn’t interact with the gangsters and her grandmother nearly enough to give the ending the weight it needs. It also makes the story drag quite a bit in the middle.

In all honesty, Jingwen doesn’t feel present in her own story. And I think that works when she’s at the dance hall, but it does a disservice to the emotional impact and especially the ending.

However, the writing style is gorgeous - showing off the glitz and shadows in equal measure, giving us hints of magic and wonder as well as the grotesque.

The premise of this historical fantasy is very strong: a showgirl in gangster-riddled Shanghai comes of age. Unfortunately, the writing is uneven, somehow both overdone at times and underdone at others. I never got a great sense of Jingwen and who she was, and the magic and gods swirling about the city were not developed well. The setting of Shanghai itself was really well done, definitely the best part of the book, along with the descriptions of the clothing and costumes. Thank you to NetGalley St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy.

so i was unable to complete reading this book (i couldn't redownload the arc for some reason?) but it goes against my heart to not review this book so i will do my best to review with my current knowledge. if you read this review, take everything with a fat grain of salt; i stopped at 22%.

i liked the premise of this book, and it slotted neatly into some of my favorite things; female protagonists, china setting, fantasy. i liked the setting of the novel and i thought it felt quite real. the writing of shanghai was very alluring. however, i had a hard time connecting to the main character and the side characters, and was quite confused by the main character's interactions with the gang man( i forgot his name i'm sorry!). maybe it's just because i read so few of the novel though so it might be on me.

i'm gonna be real i haven't read enough to make a concrete judgement on this book and that is totally on me. i honestly think this book may not have been for me, but who's to say? i can't recommend it, but i can't not recommend it either. i would just recommend picking it up for yourself.

thanks to netgalley for the arc!

If you loved Chloe Gong’s These Violent Delights, you’ll enjoy the setting of Daughter of Calamity.

1920’s Shanghai full of tension between the Chinese and the foreigners after the concession. We follow Vilma (Jingwen) who is a cabaret dancer tangentially involved in gang activities.

I’m not sure how I feel about any of the characters in the book. I can’t say I really liked or felt connected to any of them. I also can’t get into their minds to understand how you can witness massacres one day and then just go on dancing. I know it’s survival, but the lack of connection to the characters just didn’t make it work for me.

I loved the premise and the blends of mythology and history, but overall it wasn’t the book for me.

I definitely think this could be a well loved book for other readers! The things that frustrated me are not common pet peeves, so definitely give it a go if the premise sounds interesting to you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance read of this book.

I had to DNF this book at around 30% because it was getting frustrating. It seemed to over-explain irrelevant things like the style of dress someone was wearing or how a specific shop came to be. But then it would under-explain elements that would've driven the plot forward. I also feel like too many side characters were introduced even though nothing was done with them and they didn't add anything to the story.

I think this book still has potential though so I will try to give it another chance.

This was a really interesting book. It was hard to put down. It was very atmospheric and really transported me.

There's no arguing the author's talent with words. She built the setting of Shanghai so viscerally and with great attention to detail. Unfortunately, that didn't translate to plot, world-building, or characters.

Jingwen is a showgirl by day and an errand girl by night. She has no desire to take over her grandmother's gang, but still helps out when needed. When dancers start having their faces stolen Jingwen is forced to confront the darker side of luxury.

As far as settings go, Daughter of Calamity did fantastic. Lin did a beautiful job of displaying the opposing sides of Shanghai: the good and the bad. She brought dimly lit alleys and opulent stages to life with detailed descriptions.

I thought I would love this book, but the further I read the more confused and bored I was. The magic system is half-baked, at best. It lacks solid guidelines and structures, so anything goes. The mechanics behind it were never explored so I just had to roll with it, which I hated. It was made worse since what the characters see/hear is not always true. I was constantly guessing what was true and false.

Jingwen is shallow and such a mechanical character. Her personality is...dancing? That's all I got. Her emotions of love, hate, and sadness, read like a programmed robot. Even then, she got over her emotions weirdly fast. She would experience something undeniably horrific and traumatizing, but continue living like it never happened. And this was the main character!

The problem with the side characters is they play vital roles, in theory. But because they are not fleshed out, they are caricatures of what their roles are supposed to be. For example, the villain? Never got an explanation for his motivations or his goals. The love interest/hero is even worse. The author info-dumped his background to explain his motivations, which explained nothing. I learned that he wants to be a hero because he likes heroes.

I'm always disappointed when you can see the potential on the page but it's never translated into the story. Daughter of Calamity would have easily been a five-star read if the characters and world had been properly developed. While this book was half-baked, I will read the author's future works. This a debut novel so hopefully she will continue to improve with time.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I don't know if the girl was a Calamity (which she was) or the book itself was a "calamity." In any event, I DNF this story as I couldn't even enjoy the few chapters I did read. Didn't care for the story, didn't care for the writing, I just didn't care. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.