This is an example of a book with an amazing concept that just didn't quite follow through for me personally.  Jingwen is such an interesting character, but I could not tell if she was supposed to be naïve or more mature because her personality, thoughts, and actions varied wildly between the two. I loved the magical-type aspects in the book, but the story was very slow in getting to the action and twists so that I was less invested when they eventually came. I also couldn't quite figure out the relationships she had with both friends (enemies?), family and romance.  The descriptions could be beautiful, but also vague.  I also enjoyed this version of Shanghai that the author altered just subtly enough to make you questions what is real and what is not. There are a lot of different things going on and the transition between them was (for me) confusing. I think this author has such interesting ideas and maybe with time can craft a dazzling book.