Books & Audiobooks
Truyan Saigas is left to support her two younger sisters and her mother when her father goes mysteriously missing at sea. She hustles to sell her forged art in order to pay for food, and to pay off gangsters who her mother becomes involved with when she gambles away her children’s lives.
Left with no choice, Tru agrees to marry a grumpy and secretive dragon prince, who promises to pay off all her debts and keep her family safe in exchange for a short-term marriage. It turns out that Elang is a half-human and half-dragon who has been banished to the human realm but needs Tru’s help to regain his kingdom in the dragon realm. Before she knows it, Tru is embroiled in a centuries-long dragon war that doesn’t just impact the dragon realm, but the human realm too.
Pegged as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, Elizabeth Lim’s new book, A Forgery of Fate is an Asian-inspired version of the story, set in the universe of her previous books. There are traces of locations and characters from her other books, but you don’t need to read them to appreciate the rich and evocative world that Lim creates, which is present in every book she writes.
Tru is a plucky and resourceful heroine who would do anything to save her family, including tie herself to a man she just meets in a moment of panic. But Tru has the Sight and when she sees a vision, her paintings predict the future. It’s that ability that draws her to Elang, who needs her to defeat his grandfather.
So, Tru bargains until she gets what she wants out of Elang and agrees to marry him, while pretending to be in love with him in his grandfather’s presence. But when she’s stuck in the underwater kingdom with her husband, it’s hard to distinguish what’s real and what’s fake when Elang quietly does things to take care of Tru and protect her, all while trying to maintain his cool and calculative nature. Their chemistry is quiet but undeniable; while there are no crazy declarations of undying love, there is no doubt that Tru and Elang are meant to be together. It’s even more clear to Elang’s grandfather, who doesn’t hesitate to use Tru against Elang when he makes that discovery, to make him do what he wants.
As always, Lim paints such captivating and magical pictures of her imaginative world with her words that it’s almost impossible to close the book and come back later. Full of heart-pounding action and a richly imaginative narrative that doesn’t require a sequel, A Forgery of Fate is an unforgettable tale of love, sacrifice, and a colourful mythology that will keep you turning pages until the grand and epic conclusion.