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.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes!
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. . . .
**A Forgery of Fate comes out June 3, 2025**
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
I haven’t read Six Crimson Cranes, but reading this synopsis, I knew I had to read this. I love any myth retelling, and fairytale retellings are a close second. Retellings are always a great chance to show off an author’s creativity, since the original story (or stories) have some level of restrictions before it’s not even close to the same story anymore. I have always enjoyed the same story from a different perspective, or a “side story” that is fully explored. I really enjoy the elements that the authors put in that makes you immediately think of the original story, and I definitely chase that feeling in these kinds of books.
And this book does not fail to deliver. Advertised as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, the author also puts in that there are many other elements of other stories that she weaves in, and I completely believe it. Every aspect of this story feels like a myth or a story from somewhere, and I really enjoyed that whimsical feeling. The protagonist was also a strong lead, and it didn’t feel like she was left to the whims of the story, but that rather she drove her own story—something you don’t find in most fairytales.
A Forgery of Fate revolves around our protagonist, Truyan, who is forced into art forgery to help her family survive when her father mysteriously disappears on an ill-fated boat voyage. Her forgery leads her to meeting a mysterious (and beastly) dragon lord, and unbeknownst to her, gets roped into a bigger plot that goes beyond just feeding her starving family. Slowly but surely, there’s something strange (. . . and almost kind . . . ) about this dragon lord that makes her think twice about the whole situation. Could there be something more than there was before?
I really enjoyed the Beauty and the Beast elements of this story. It’s not even my favorite fairytale but I certainly found myself smiling whenever I realized that an element of the fairytale was present. I almost started imagining “Be Our Guest” playing, and I certainly felt the elements of what Belle had to deal with in the original story. That said, there was so much more. Truyan is a character on her own, and not just some “outcast” in her town. She does anything and everything for her family (like Belle), but has much more agency in this story. She was a great main character and I enjoyed following her. She does make some rash decisions here and there, but they were understandable and none of them made me eye roll.
The “Beast” was also so well portrayed. This story really dove into the intricacies of being an outcast for being hideous and scary, and how that came to affect the Beast. Of course, the original story was about a prince cursed for his vanity, but the dragon lord was a very deep character, full of his own flaws and ambitions, and I think it was very easy to relate to both Truyan and the dragon lord, and the struggles they faced in their own stories and journeys.
There were also some important side characters, namely Shani, whom you will meet. I don’t really know if this was meant to be a reference to the original fairytale, but I certainly found Shani to be an interesting plot device at the very least. Side characters were well developed and meaningfully a part of the story, and it really had the whole fairytale feel.
The pacing was great. The story was very upbeat, and the story never stalled. Fairytales often are short and sweet, and this was no exception. I wouldn’t say this story was short, but there was certainly something happening every chapter, and the rhythm driving forward was strong. In that sense it read like a thriller page-turner, where you are just waiting to see what happens, even though you maybe-kind-of know where things are headed. Still it was nice to see the character (and relationship) development through the story, which was reminiscent of the original fairytale, including a few key moments I’ll leave for you to read and discover.
The ending was where I had to dock 0.5 points. It wasn’t bad at all, but there was a slight twist at the very end, which ultimately (I guess) does slightly mirror the original fairytale. However, I felt like it wasn’t necessary and it could’ve been tied off a bit differently. That being said this is a really really small fraction of the book, and it was just my personal taste that would’ve preferred a slightly different ending (I am truly talking the last 20-30 pages, so it really is just a tiny bit). The way it did end was still emotionally well done, and I really did feel for the characters after having traveled the whole journey with them.
Overall the world building was pretty good as well. This is not some high fantasy, and often fairytales don’t have ultra developed characters or settings. However, I felt that this story had an appropriate amount of character development and world-building to feel truly drawn in, and I was able to suspend my disbelief in general so that nothing distracted me from the story the author was trying to deliver. Again, really glad I picked this one up and I hope you all will too!
Down the Rabbit Hole 