This is my third Elizabeth Lim novel, and it was just as enjoyable as the other two. The worldbuilding, characters, and story were all fairly well done and fun to read. This is definitely the standalone we needed from this author, and I can't wait to own this, cause it's so pretty. My only complaint is that this felt a little too similar to the other works that I've read from her, which were the Spin the Dawn duology. The character's personalities, siblings, general storyline, and love interest felt nearly identical, but it's been a few years so maybe my memory is faulty. Overall, entertaining and a quick read.

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING, THE CHARACTERS WRRE FLESHED OUT, THE PLOT WAS SO GOOD , AND THE TIE-INS FROM THE OTHER LEGENDS OF LORYAN BOOKS WERE SO CUTE , I WAS SCREAMING AT THE PLOT TWISTS ,THEY WERE SO UNEXPECTED. I NEED A SERYU BOOK NOW PLS WRITE ONE. Content was a few kisses. Age I would say 11 to 12 year olds.Overall I give the book 5 stars.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Absolutely stunning!Elizabeth Lim has done it again—A Forgery of Fate is an absolutely breathtaking story that weaves magic, fate, and emotion into something truly unforgettable. From the first page, I was completely lost in this world, feeling every hope, every heartbreak, and every triumph alongside the characters.

The storytelling is rich and immersive, with stakes that feel so real. The characters are beautifully complex, their struggles deeply moving, and their journey one that lingers in your heart long after you turn the last page. There are twists that took my breath away, moments of quiet heartbreak, and scenes so powerful they made my chest ache.

This book is more than just a fantasy—it’s about resilience, love, and the choices that define us. If you want a page-turner that will leave you utterly wrecked (in the best way), A Forgery of Fate is a must-read.

Any type of beauty and the beast retelling and I’m happy. Elizabeth Lim did remarkable on her world building and merging folklore in to the mix. I plan on finding more books from this author asap.

4.5

I swear Elizabeth Lim must weave magic into every single word she writes because her work is always just so incredibly enchanting.

Tru is an art forager who paints the future just trying to scrape by and take care of her family. By a twist of fate she is pulled into a marriage of convenience to the brooding half dragon prince who wants to use her talent to try and break the curse set upon him by the Dragon King.

As someone who loves the Six of Cranes duology I was so excited to see some familiar characters! Especially Elang, since I was so curious about him before. (you absolutely do not need to read the other books to read this one) His character ended up being so incredibly complex and my heart ACHED for him and his tragic back story.

Tru was an outstanding FMC. I thought she was stong, determined, and so easy to love. You couldn't help but want to root for her. The writing was fast paced and easy to follow. Lim knows how to world build in a way that it paints a vivid picture in your mind. The plot twists were executed brilliantly and had me on the edge of my seat and the magic system was so unique and whimsical! (bc what do you mean he enchanted pockets onto her dresses. POCKETS. I love him your honor) Now, don't get me started on that ending. It felt like it jumped straight out of a Cdrama and had me smiling while tears streamed down my face as emotional background music appeared out of nowhere.

Thank you to Knopf books for young readers/Random house & netgalley for the ARC

YAYY I FINISHED THE BOOK!!! IT IS JUST GOOD AS IT IS. BUT WAIT, IS THIS STANDALONE?????????? NO WAY I WANTED TO SEE ANOTHER CHARMING DRAGON PLEASE😭

Its fast-paced, light reading, and the most important is the trope **chef's kiss** MARRIAGE CONTRACT!!!!!! For people who love Seryu, then you should try this one too! I AM BEGGING YOU! AND I hope there is another book coming because SERYU is finally **hiding the spoiler,** hihi.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for this arc!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This is an beautiful retelling of Beauty and Beast with East Asian influences and dragons. I love the main character who is brave and strong. I also love how all of Elizabeth Lim's novels connect to each other in fun ways. If you enjoy fairytale retellings and epic storytelling, then you will enjoy this book.

I liked this book. I think the world building was good and I enjoyed the characters. I found myself struggling to get into the book in the beginning but I really liked it once it got started and the plot started the move

I was a huge fan of Six Crimson Cranes so when I saw this was available I didn't even read the summary. I simply hit request. I am so glad I did! I love a beauty and the beast retelling. I loved the twist of the mmc being half dragon.

Dragons, démons and half dragons! I love Elizabeth Lim she’s and automatic read/ buy for me and this didn’t disappoint. We got to see some old faces and some fun new faces. I remember liking Elang during his appearance ( seryu remains my favorite of Lim’s dragons) but this was a fun story. It was a unique retelling of beauty and the beast. I liked that Tru so not a complete badass and actually needed help and had this she could and could not do. She was very relatable and I liked her relationship with Gaari and Elang. Overall it’s a classic beauty and the beast story with a fun world and interesting take on the OG characters

Okay, that was so good. I loved the story, I loved the characters, and I even enjoyed the romance, which is surprising for me. I did want the setting to be a little more flushed out, but that's a rather tiny problem. I forgot just how good Elizabeth Lim's books and writing style were before I picked this book up, but I enjoyed it so much.

If you like retellings, loveable characters, a whimsical story, and slow-burn romances, this book is for you!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for this arc!

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for letting me read A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim! This author continues to blow me away with her stories, the imagery and sense of immersion in her books really is masterful, I recommend her to literally everyone, and this book in particular if you’re a reader who wants a standalone fantasy.

this might not be my fav Elizabeth Lim’s book, but Truyan is now my fav MC from the Legends of Lor’yan universe.

Truyan is an art forger, an eldest sibling, loves soup noodles, and that alone speaks deeply to me lol. she’s also determined, selfless, responsible, basically the exact opposite of Shiori’s personality (this isn’t a slander to Shiori, I love her too). then there’s Elang, an aloof and mysterious half-dragon who offered an arrangement that would benefit both of them if the goal is fulfilled.

this book was just as magical as the rest of Lor’yan books, this time it’s mostly from Ai’long’s perspective. i enjoyed the story, especially Truyan and Elang’s dynamics. the plot twists were layered, there’s some betrayals, but the food galore and light humor and sarcasm balanced the tension. there’s also a cameo of my second-favorite character of the Lor’yan books🥰

unfortunately for me the final action scene felt confusing and the ending felt like missing something. still had a great time reading this! since this is also Lim’s first standalone book that is completely separated from other Lor’yan books story-wise, i think she did well.

First of all, thank you so much Netgalley and Random House for an eARC of this book!

I was SO excited when I saw that Elizabeth Lim announced a new book for this year! As soon as she announced it, I put it on preorder because I enjoyed her other novels. My favorite of her novels thus far has been Six Crimson Cranes and I was really hoping this novel would be similar as it had an intriguing premise and was set in the Elizabeth Lim world (I think the only one of her books that wasn't was her When You Wish Upon A Star novel) AND it was marriage of convenience? I was BEYOND excited. Unfortunately, this just didn't quite hit the same way for me as some of her past books have.

The plot itself I think to have been very interesting. We have our FMC, Tru, who is a forger of art. We quickly learn that she has magic associated with this (I won't give spoilers) but it is due to this magic that she gets pulled into the world of dragons and falls into a marriage of convenience with a dragon prince that is half human half dragon. As I said, this plot felt very intriguing and was one that sounded right up my alley. However, I feel that it fell short for me personally because I wasn't able to connect to the characters enough.

Tru herself had so much potential. I loved learning of her personality and seeing how she cared for her dad/family but beyond that (and her love of noodles!) I struggled to connect with her. She trusted everyone she shouldn't and no one she should have. She often felt as though the story was pulling her along rather than her being an active participant which I might have enjoyed more if I felt more of a connection to Elang. For this book he was distant and cold and while he did random cute things, there wasn't enough communication for me to every truly believe they had fallen in love by the end of the story...similarly, there was very little evidence if any that Tru's family loved her. Her mother was constantly talking poorly to her, her sisters I wanted to love but they just didn't do much to be there for her let alone try to save her and by the end I was just left wanting more from the characters.

However, this was an Elizabeth Lim book and her writing is always BEAUTIFUL. I will continue reading her novels and love her story ideas.

I absolutely loved this book! Tru has made the list of my favorite female main characters. She was smart, funny, brave and strong. I also enjoyed the development of Elang and watching his grumpy and sometimes cruel demeanor be revealed as a tactic to protect Tru and just how in love with her he actually was. The world the author built was incredible and so immersive and beautiful. Although I loved the main characters, all of the characters were so well written that each of them manage to have a little peice of my heart. I was worried about the ending. I know that it does not always have to be a happy ending but after everything they went through I was really hoping for one for Tru and Elang and I'm so glad I got it. It had a bit of everything. It had romance, action, mystery, humor, drama.

DNF 30%. Just not really what I was hoping for. Too many references to demons which is a big no no for me. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lim returns to the world she created in Six Crimson Cranes where Tru, a proxy for Belle/Beauty of "Beauty and the Beast" must fake an arranged marriage with the beastly Elang, who is half-dragon and half-human. Tru has a lot of similarities to the protagonist, Shiori, from Six Crimson Cranes, her dedication to her family and a certain weakness for noodles instead of dumplings. There is slightly more of an edge to her, as Tru's only path to keeping her sisters and mother financially afloat is through art forgery. Then fate creates a lot of coincidences that has her landing into the rose bush of the so-called Demon Prince, a masked nobleman who gives her an offer she cannot turn down.

The resulting pact involves in a hot-and-cold dynamic for most of the book as they need to keep up affectionate appearances for others to believe Tru is Elang's Heavenly Match. The reader never has cause to doubt this, but Lim isn't trying too hard to lean into the unreliability, instead focusing on Tru's frustration with Elang's distance and mysterious curse. I found the switch from faking romance to true feelings to work coherently for the story although the part where it was revealed that he was disguised as her co-conspirator in forgery isn't my favorite kind of twist. But I cannot deny my personal approval of Elang shot up once I found he enchanted her robes to have pockets to keep her brushes. It's not Beast providing Belle with a library, but it is something that lends a personalized touch to the otherwise fated romance.

The pacing of the end seems to wobble, not quite sticking the landing even though the trade off has some emotional payoff. I would say overall it's much better than A Dragon's Promise, like the polished finished version of it, but still not as good as Six Crimson Cranes. Elizabeth Lim fans won't be disappointed by her usual writing quirks and strengths.

This is the first book I’ve ever read by Elizabeth Lim but it won’t be my last. This book was PHENOMENAL.

This book is a beauty and the beast retelling like you’ve never read before. The FMC is a fortune teller painter, which I thought was so unique and fun. She works to try and pay off her mother’s debt, but when that fails she accepts a marriage contract between a dragon lord. You can see the similarities between beauty and the beast and this, but this novel is still its own unique story which I love.

The overall story is so whimsical and full of yearning. And the romance is top tier. I would recommend this book to everyone!

Another brilliant and gorgeous fantasy from Elizabeth Lim! The story of Truyan, her magical gift, and the world and love it unlocks is filled with the same wit, charm, and beauty that has defined Lim's work since Spin the Dawn. Absolutely stunning from start to finish, and a must-read for any fans of Beauty and the Beast, fairy tale retellings, or just good fiction in general! Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

On one hand, this is a loose re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, full of dazzling imagery and a happily-ever-after ending. On the other hand, it's a story about a powerful man manipulating and grooming a girl almost from birth, watching her family fall onto devastatingly hard times, and then offering her a bargain she can't refuse to help save them. Elang, a half-dragon, half-human prince, is in exile from his kingdom and has to find his one true love to dispel a curse placed on him. In a variety of human guises, he cultivates Tru, a gifted artist who has visions of the future. After contributing to her desperation to save her sisters from forced sex work, he forces her into a deal: she has to marry him and help him return to his undersea world and lift his curse, and in exchange he'll protect her family. I think what happens next is supposed to be an "enemies to lovers"-type story, but it doesn't sit right with me. Elang is abusive towards Tru, whose feelings of dislike, hurt, and attraction towards him come and go. She begins to care about the people she meets in the undersea realms, and manages to complete her part of the deal, at which point she recognizes Elang has having been one of her closest friends and mentor while he was posing as human. But her reaction isn't horror, but affection and gentle ribbing, and when Elang apparently dies, she's devastated. Psychological and emotional abuse is a very real thing, and we see Elang engage in it towards Tru throughout the book, where it's presented as him being protective, conflicted, and tortured by his own circumstances. But we learn at the end of the book that while he's been cruel to Tru, he's also been grooming her mother and sisters to see him as a charming and caring husband, a wonderful son-in-law. It's a classic case of abuse, and there's no way I can read it otherwise. Do I recommend this to readers? Only those who want to read it very deeply and deconstruct it and use it to understand—or show to others—how abusers accomplish what they do.