Natasha Ngan is part young-adult author, part yoga-teacher, part habitual nap-taker. She grew up between Malaysia and the UK, speaking Chinese with her mother mainly as a way to talk about people without them understanding. She studied Geography at the University of Cambridge and later worked as a fashion blogger, social media consultant and freelance writer. Natasha recently moved to Paris, where she likes to imagine she drifts stylishly from brasserie to brasserie, notepad in one hand and wineglass in the other. In reality, she mostly spends her time lost on the metro and offending locals with her French.
This gorgeous book is everything I want in a fantasy. Beautiful, lush, lyrical with fantastic world building and an epic forbidden romance, I devoured every word and was left desperately wanting more. Get ready to be pulled into a lush, magical world, where two concubines must hide their forbidden love if they want to survive the Demon King's treacherous court. A fiery, spellbinding read. Lei's story is gorgeously woven in Ngan's emotionally nuanced, crystalline prose. This book broke my heart, made me cry, and had me completely spellbound from the first page. Girls of Paper and Fire is as lush - and brutal - as the Demon King's own court. Ngan is a stunning new talent. A beautifully written, powerful story unique against all the current YA fantasy out there. You must read this.