In this fascinating and exciting fantasy novel inspired by Beauty and the Beast, readers follow Truyan Saigas, a con artist and gifted art forger who turns to crime to support her mother and two young sisters after her father disappears. Desperate to protect her family and keep the gangsters away from collecting on her mother’s gambling debts, Truyan agrees to a marriage contract with a dragon lord -- protection for her family and answers about her father’s disappearance in exchange for joining him in his undersea palace and infiltrating the Dragon King’s inner circle -- without knowing the scope of the plot she is now part of. As she takes on the Dragon King, Truyan grows into herself and comes to terms with her artistic gift and desire to protect the people she loves, and readers will love the details and fascinating elements of this brilliant new novel. The characters are definitely the stars of the book, and Truyan’s relationships with her mother, sisters, and the Dragon Lord really highlight her motivations and character traits. Entertaining, immersive, and fascinating, readers will love this brilliant, complex, and detailed new fantasy novel and the incredible realms, beings, and political players it brings to life.

A FORGERY OF FATE by Elizabeth Lim was a deeply engaging read with romance and fantasy wound so tight and written so well that I was breathless to see what the talented and resourceful art forger/painter of the future Truyan does when she agrees to an impossible marriage with a dragon lord. While I don't typically read romantasy, this story was satisfying, holding together and relating an entirely fresh and fascinating take on the Beauty and the Beast fable. Great fun, wonderfully immersive! I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, I loved this one.

Tru is my favorite kind of MC, the kind that may internally doubt herself and worry, but outwardly is made of pure spite and challenges literal gods and dragons despite being a human.

I also love the fact that art is her weapon. She wins these battles by painting and being willing to jump at any moment.

Her and Elang’s romance was so sweet, I KNEW that Elang was hiding feelings from her the whole time. He fell first AND he fell harder. But I liked that they were friends and they KNEW each other and would give themselves up for the other.

In terms of side characters, not many stood out except for Shani, who was the MVP and Tru’s begrudging guardian and friend. Sometimes the mean water demon will actually care about you as a person.

If you like fated romance and wonderful fantastical worlds and magical paintbrushes, pick this one up!

I didn’t know a book could make me hungry and break my heart at the same time, yet here we are!

A Forgery of Fate is a Beauty and the Beast retelling set in a world of undersea dragon courts, prophetic art, and East Asian–inspired myth. Seashell palaces, bioluminescent forests, divine conspiracies, and slow-burn romance blend into a story of betrayal, destiny, and magic.

Truyan Saigas (Tru), a gifted artist and forger, is forced into a marriage of convenience with a cursed dragon lord (Elang) to save her family, using her prophetic art to challenge a tyrannical undersea king.

I’ve gotta say, never before have I read a book that has made me physically hungry until now. The food descriptions aren’t just vivid, they’re meaningful and serve as an emotional anchor and symbol of home for Tru in an unfamiliar realm. Seashell carriages, magical napkins, and talking turtles add whimsical touches without ever tipping into children’s story territory.

The plot of the story was nothing short of riveting, with one big twist that I DID NOT see coming! I won’t lie, it kinda wrecked me. The pacing did slow down a bit in the middle, but the enchanting world-building kept me hooked.

This was my first Elizabeth Lim novel, and I’m officially a convert. I can’t wait to dive into her other novels (but first I’m going to need that noodle recipe).

Big thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the gifted eARC!

I love retold fairytales with a clever twist, so when I saw "A Forgery of Fate" described as a romantic fantasy inspired by "Beauty and the Beast" with glimmers of "The Little Mermaid," I was completely onboard!

Truyan Saigas (or Tru) is struggling to help provide for her family after her father is suddenly lost at sea. In a desperate attempt to save them, Tru agrees to a sham marriage with Elang, a half-man, half-dragon, who needs her help to break a curse placed on him by his dragon grandfather. In return, Tru is promised riches beyond her wildest dreams. But making the marriage seem real is no easy feat. Elang is barely tolerable, and Tru must also accompany him to a magical underwater realm where dragons and mermaids live. Once there, she has only 30 days to paint a flawless portrait of Elang’s grandfather to break the curse.

The storytelling and world-building in this book are absolutely phenomenal! I couldn’t put the book down because I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. While the story follows a familiar fairytale arc, it manages to feel fresh and unique, unfolding beautifully. After the big twist near the end, I even went back and reread some earlier chapters because I was so surprised, and it all came together into a masterful conclusion.

I did deduct half a star for a couple of things that pulled me out of the story. The turtle servants were a bit odd and hard to visualize, and I found it very difficult to picture what a "half-man, half-dragon" was supposed to look like. Even a small sketch or more detailed description would have helped with that.

Overall, I was completely immersed in this magical tale and would highly recommend it to fans of fairytale retellings. I’ll definitely be rereading this one and looking into more books by this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Knopf Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this book for an honest review.

The way I was so excited to realize this story is set in the same world as Six Crimson Cranes! That series is top 10 for me. Finding out that this one takes place in the same world and following the elusive Elang. While I didn't love this story as much as as the other series I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I instantly connected with Tru trying her best to keep her family together following her father's disappearance. She was caught up just trying to make sure her family could survive. I am on the fence about how I feel about the way that Elang deceived Tru in the beginning, but in the name of I love a morally grey mmc, I got over it fast. The added element of uncovering what really happened to Tru's dad made this feel like a well rounded story with a little bit for everyone. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was great to find out more about Elang and the dragon realm. I hope this is not the last time we are able to explore more of this world.

Pro's-
- Getting to discover more about the underwater dragon realm was such a treat. I really wanted more in the Six Crimson Cranes duology.
- The arranged-fake dating marriage was very entertaining
- Tru character arc was a journey, I was rooting for her the whole time and was glad that she was the hero of the story.

Cons-
-I wish Tru's family was incorporated more in the story at the very least she could have brought her sister underwater with her. I think it would have added to the climax and been great for Tru to see how Elang was with her family instead of hearing about it afterwards.
-THE ENDING!! Honestly I would have rather some ambiguous ending stating they would meet again than the weird 3 years later thing. It just felt off and unnecessary.

I loved this fresh ya take on Beauty and the Beast. The story was unique with nods to the original fairy tale. I read the book in one day because I needed to see how it ended

As with previous fairy tale retellings, Elizabeth Lim has another hit with A Forgery of Fate. The incorporation of the Beauty and the Beast story with mythologies of East Asian dragons was very well done. The characters drew me in, the plot was strong, and I love the way that Elizabeth Lim writes. All-in-all, a book that I'll be buying at least one copy of!

4 ⭐️

If you’re looking for a lush underwater fantasy/fantasy romance with a strong inspiration from Beauty and the Beast…look no further. I have such a weird love for underwater settings so having around 70% of this book set in the underwater kingdom of the dragons was giving me everything I wanted. My main gripes all centered around the romance of the story, I sometimes just found the dynamic between the love interests kind of tedious. By the end everything was satisfyingly explained for the motivations, but that didn’t negate some of the annoyance I felt during the reading experience. But if you are someone who are all enjoys a lovely romance in a very fantastical setting, and one that has almost no spice since this is a YA story, I would highly recommend this for you.

I can also highly recommend the audiobook, I quite enjoyed the cadence and performance of the audiobook narration and felt it added to the vices of the story.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy for review on NetGalley.

I started out strong I was enjoying the story, kept wanting to go back to it and remembered why I’ve enjoyed her books.

At some point the story slowed down for me. I don’t know if I wasn’t connecting to the characters or of the story just felt slow, but I was struggling to continue.

I grabbed the audio after the book released for the second half. This went much better for me. If there is more written in this world, I will likely continue with audio. Because I did end up enjoying it overall.

This was a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the beast, and it was so good. I just love Elizabeth Lim’s writing and characters and the way she tells a story. This was filled with mystery, high stakes, good world building, and just the right amount of romance. It all worked, and it was a great standalone.

This was so, so good. I loved Elang and Tru so much. They were funny together and positively perfect. This story was compared to Beauty and the Beast and sometimes when stories do that, the man is never really a monster but in this one, he was! I really enjoyed all the talk about painting too. Tru being able to trap a dragon in a scroll is legendary. I'm also wondering if the Lim is going to write a story about the Eight Immortals one day. All of her stories have been linked in some small way thus far and what the Queen of the merfolk said made it seem like there was going to be another story there but who knows!! Overall a truly fantastic read and I can't wait for her next one!

Elizabeth Lim has never missed in her life - I'm convinced! Six Crimson Cranes remains a favourite YA fantasy book for me. A Forgery of Fate is competing for that top spot now!

Lim has the amazing ability to write captivating fantasies mixed with east asian mythology and romance. I was on the edge of my seat with this entire book. I absolutely adored the characterization of Tru and the Dragon Prince. The chemistry, the mystery, and the allure between them is so well written. I love that they can stand strongly on their own but they really shine when they're together!

The concept of art and painting as a power that can save your loved ones and banish evil was so magical and strong. I loved learning this fable and seeing how Lim put her own twist on it! The way the story transcends from the real world to this mystical oceanic society was so incredible. I wish we got some more world building about the underwater kingdom. However, it was fun seeing the societal structure of these sentient turtles, dragons, sharks and other oceanic creatures in this grand setting. And I loved seeing some of my favourites from the characters from the Six Crimson Cranes show up on the pages again!

I will absolutely be adding a copy of this book to my shelves and cannot wait for Elizabeth Lim's next piece of work!

I loved this loose "Beauty and the Beast" retelling with an underwater, Chinese Folklore C-drama twist. Such a dreamy setting in the underwater dragon world with fantastical secondary characters and creatures. The first few chapters were a little slow, but once we make it through the setup of the plot, the story really takes off and becomes hard to put down.

A Forgery of Fate follows Tru, an eldest sister tasked with keeping her sisters and mother alive by whatever means necessary after her father's ship disappears 5 years prior. In order to help her family make ends meet, Tru becomes an art forger to earn a dishonest living. It "somewhat" pays the bills, and she got the closest thing to a friend out of it, an old man named Gaari. However, after one art rendering goes sour AND Tru's mom makes immature moves in a gambling den, Tru finds herself trampling through black roses, meeting a dragon prince, and agreeing to an arranged marriage of sorts. All Tru has to do is go back with Elang, said Dragon Prince, to the dragon realm and achieve her specific mission (involving dragons and painting and possibly help overturn a dictator).

Very well written and suited for the intended YA audience. I will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I know who loves fantastical and dark, whimsical fantasy reads!

A fun new standalone set in the world of Six Crimson Cranes. I hope we get to see more of this world from Lim. Her writing is very vivid- there were moments where I felt I was seeing the world Lim created. This story is a Beauty & the Beast retelling set primarily in an underseas world. The unique setting made this book standout among other B&B retellings. It draws key elements from the original fairytale but has enough of its own unique flair to not feel repetitive in this saturated market. This books has great characters, an engaging plot, and some interesting twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing a digital ARC of this book.

Flew through this one! I loved the characters and the humor written within this one. Described as Beauty and the Beast meets Six of Crows and I can definitely see it. But make no mistake, this one hold entirely on its own!

It’s Beauty and the Beast retelling that works as a lush fantasy. Lim's writing is just stunning – she paints such vivid pictures of this fantastical realm, and the magic feels ancient and powerful. The pacing is edge of seat, with twists and turns that make you constantly question what's real.

In this evocative romantic fantasy, Truyan Saigas is a heroine as sharp as her paintbrush—and just as dangerous. Gifted with the forbidden ability to paint the future, Tru’s talent has kept her family afloat in the shadowy world of forgeries and favors. But when her mother’s gambling debts catch up to them, Tru’s only salvation lies in a treacherous bargain: marriage to a mysterious dragon lord and exile to his eerie, opulent palace beneath the sea.

What follows is an intoxicating blend of courtly schemes, ancient secrets, and impossible choices. As Tru is drawn deeper into the dragon realms, her art becomes a weapon—and the truth about her father's fate threatens to shatter everything she thought she knew.

With echoes of The Little Mermaid and Six Crimson Cranes, this story is a darkly romantic descent into a world where magic is power, loyalty is currency, and destiny is written in ink and blood. Perfect for fans of treasonous fates, slow-burn tension, and morally gray heroines who refuse to drown.

I loved A Forgery of Fate. I'd previously read the duology and spin off before this, sent in the same world and didn't realize how much I'd missed Lim's writing. I loved this spin on a beauty and beast retelling, it was so atmospheric, and the stakes and characters so dynamic, that I had a hard time putting this book down. I enjoyed the exploration to beneath the sea and seeing even more of Lor'Yan and how not only this story, but her other ones as well all came full circle. I hope this is not the last story we have in the world, and the twist and ending were both absolutely beautiful.

I will read anything Elizabeth Lim writes. This Beauty and the Beast retelling set in the Crimson Cranes world is a cozy, adventurous story that had me gripped from the first page.