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whatkireads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was so action packed, something I'm not used to reading but pleasantly surprised by the plot and the world building! It's one of those books that throws you in the story without explaining anything so you pick up clues as you go which is my favourite kind of story tbh. I'm kind of sad that Lan died because he was my favourite chatacter but I want to see more of Shae and Anden!
marissaciko's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
falsefangs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
gee9707's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
strawbabies's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
2.0
The main romantic relationship is unhealthy at best and this isn’t addressed in this book. The man in the relationship is possessive of his significant other and belittles and patronizes her as well as his sister. This was a big enough issue it completely turned me off the series despite the raving reviews I’ve heard from other people and online.
ndvdv's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m going to start with what I liked about this book. I thought the author wrote this book really well. The dialogue, the inner thoughts and the action scenes were well written. I loved the magic system and the enhancement of the body’s abilities while wearing jade. I felt like she did a great job with continually describing the magic of jade, especially during the fights.
I loved the relationships between the siblings and I thought her characters were fleshed out well. Their decision making was balanced with logic and emotion; and I rarely questioned why the characters made the choices they did. I like how the author incorporated the struggles the main characters went through, with many internal battles related to the family dynamics and the feuding gangs. Their choices had consequences and there was a burden they all carried and had to navigate.
Where I struggled with this story was how slow it was. I felt like as a reader, you would get a small taste of a climactic moment and then the high wouldn’t really lead anywhere. There seemed to be too much political conflict vs physical; especially when it came to the actions No Peak was taking. There was a lot of telling without showing and it unfortunately made the story feel anticlimactic (a lot of the warring happened off the scene and we’d just be told about it through the inner dialogue of the characters). I never really felt pulled to pick up the book, and the ending didn’t really give me a push to start the next book in the series.
I recognize the writing talent here and why many readers have loved this story. So that’s why this book is still a 4 star; despite it not really being the book for me. I haven’t decided if this will be a series I continue, but as of right now I don’t feel inclined to rush to see where the story takes these characters.
I loved the relationships between the siblings and I thought her characters were fleshed out well. Their decision making was balanced with logic and emotion; and I rarely questioned why the characters made the choices they did. I like how the author incorporated the struggles the main characters went through, with many internal battles related to the family dynamics and the feuding gangs. Their choices had consequences and there was a burden they all carried and had to navigate.
Where I struggled with this story was how slow it was. I felt like as a reader, you would get a small taste of a climactic moment and then the high wouldn’t really lead anywhere. There seemed to be too much political conflict vs physical; especially when it came to the actions No Peak was taking. There was a lot of telling without showing and it unfortunately made the story feel anticlimactic (a lot of the warring happened off the scene and we’d just be told about it through the inner dialogue of the characters). I never really felt pulled to pick up the book, and the ending didn’t really give me a push to start the next book in the series.
I recognize the writing talent here and why many readers have loved this story. So that’s why this book is still a 4 star; despite it not really being the book for me. I haven’t decided if this will be a series I continue, but as of right now I don’t feel inclined to rush to see where the story takes these characters.
goodgoshwhy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
r0wanmyb0at's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
zw00875's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
missemleigh's review against another edition
5.0
5/5 damn okay Fonda Lee. You know a book is going to be good when you meet 20 characters in the span of 5 pages. and what's better than socio-political tensions mixed with longstanding clan feuds and oddly relatable characters? not much. This book was complex, but in just the right ways. Great debut adult fantasy that doesn't feel like other urban fantasy stores (in a good way)! Can't wait to continue and im super grateful I'm reading this as the series will be completed :)
-
spoilery thoughts:
our cast & crew - Hilo, Shae, Lan, Du, Sen | Anden, Wen, Doru, Kehn, Tar | Bero, Matu, Gont, Ayt
No peak and mountain clan rivalries
- Anden's refusal of the jade at the END!! this shine drug is so much worse than we think
- The secret plan of Anden soaking in pure jade power to save hilo was... impeccable
- I want to see more of Bero and the smugglers since they seem like SUCH the villains currently; and the epilogue at lan's grave - IM STILL SHOCKED
- I love Shae's independence and Wen's secret job she gave her; wen and hilo at the beginning!! I would be. lying if I didn't want more romance
- Anden and Lott.... im here for it and ready
- The war has only been turned the other direction - how will no peak survive given mountains prominence and the foreign powers who want to harness jade? I think an alliance is just TOO easy, but the imperialist/colonizer mindset is a reason to ally
- background of the gods and the kekon/deists is really interesting, I want to see more of this in book 2!!
-
spoilery thoughts:
our cast & crew - Hilo, Shae, Lan, Du, Sen | Anden, Wen, Doru, Kehn, Tar | Bero, Matu, Gont, Ayt
No peak and mountain clan rivalries
- Anden's refusal of the jade at the END!! this shine drug is so much worse than we think
- The secret plan of Anden soaking in pure jade power to save hilo was... impeccable
- I want to see more of Bero and the smugglers since they seem like SUCH the villains currently; and the epilogue at lan's grave - IM STILL SHOCKED
- I love Shae's independence and Wen's secret job she gave her; wen and hilo at the beginning!! I would be. lying if I didn't want more romance
- Anden and Lott.... im here for it and ready
- The war has only been turned the other direction - how will no peak survive given mountains prominence and the foreign powers who want to harness jade? I think an alliance is just TOO easy, but the imperialist/colonizer mindset is a reason to ally
- background of the gods and the kekon/deists is really interesting, I want to see more of this in book 2!!