by Elizabeth Lim
publisher’s synopsis
A breathtaking romantic fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast about a girl who paints the future and a cursed dragon lord, bound by love and deception in a plot to bring down the gods.
Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.
Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms. . . .
I thoroughly enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast motifs, but also appreciated the unique plot elements. It’s not an exact Beauty and the Beast retelling, so don’t go in expecting it to be.
I did struggle a little bit to visualize the setting at times. I don’t think it was necessarily from a lack of details–the characters weren’t existing on a blank canvas–rather, I think I struggled with making everything work underwater. I’ve read books set underwater before, so I don’t know why I had an issue with it this time. It didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book, but I did have less of a clear mental picture.
The characters were well done, and I loved Tru’s bond with her sisters. Their mother was a bit annoying at times, but honestly, that fit with her character.
I do want to make a quick side note about the fact that one of the side characters is a demon. I don’t know anything about the origins of demons in Asian mythology, but in a Forgery of Fate, the character doesn’t seem to have any connections to the supernatural in an overtly demonic way. Rather, it personally felt more like something that would be categorized as a fae, faerie, etc., in European folklore. Of course, use your own discernment in whether or not you’d be comfortable reading it.
A Forgery of Fate works perfectly well as a standalone, though those who have read Lim’s other works set in the same larger storyworld will enjoy the crossover references.
Cautions: twelve swear words; moderate romance; five kisses; brief, non-graphic violence; a side character is a demon (see thoughts above)
Hailey Huntington 
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