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risten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, War, Death, Death of parent, Abandonment, Torture, Genocide, Body horror, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Blood
lvjysunday's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gore and Violence
Minor: Torture and Death of parent
chrisljm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I also felt like this had the potential to be an epic novel, and along with all the other things it had the potential for, it could’ve easily been done with a much longer length. I know Jade Fire Gold is an homage to xianxia novels, but I think making it only 400~ pages does it a huge disservice because it truly could’ve been extraordinary — so much more rich, captivating, and epic.
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, War, Death, Grief, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Animal death and Vomit
rhm04's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Torture, Blood, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
abbyschalupa's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Grief, Blood, and Suicide
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Gore, Abandonment, Classism, and Death of parent
hello_lovely13's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Torture, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent, Blood, Gore, and War
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The story was great until the last quarter, in which things began to seem too easy. I saw one of the twists coming a mile away, and there was another event that, though it was emotional, didn’t have much of an effect on me because it was fixed two chapters later.
I was rooting for the romance for most of the second half of the story, because not only was it enemies to lovers but it was also an agonizing slow-burn, a.k.a. one of my favorite combinations. But not even that worked out. There was no drama or passion; the whole ordeal ended up being so nonchalant, which was a tad disappointing. It’s like when you’re making food and you turn the heat down too soon, so instead of the delicious meal you saw in the recipe photo, it’s an undercooked, only vaguely recognizable distant relative.
As for the epilogue, I’d heard from the group I was buddy reading this with that it was intense and unexpected, so I was very curious. Yet it evoked absolutely no reaction from me. Sure, it *was* unexpected, but it’s the sort of thing that sets you up for a sequel, and this is a stand-alone. So what was the point, honestly??
I know this hasn’t been the most stellar review, but I swear, I did enjoy this book. Tan’s ensemble cast was brilliant, and I especially loved Tang Wei. What an absolute icon. In broader terms, I liked multiple aspects—the story was intriguing and kept me on my toes even when there wasn’t much action, the world was well-developed, the banter was top tier, and Tan did an excellent job depicting grief and trauma in her protagonists. I’m just conflicted, for the multiple aforementioned reasons, and a bit disappointed as well because I really thought this would end up a new favorite.
This review is all over the place, but I don’t think I could do better if I tried because my feelings are also all over the place. I started out planning to give this book 4.25 stars, then lowered it to 4, and have now settled on 3.5 stars. It’s been less than an hour since I finished reading, but my mind is going a mile a minute and words are hard enough when it’s going at normal speeds. I’ll end by saying this: I don’t think Jade Fire Gold is a bad book by any means. Overall, it was pretty good, and I think Tan has a lot of potential. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.
Representation
- full Asian cast
- queer side characters (includes sapphic rep)
- sapphic side couple
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Body horror, Blood, and Gore
All things tagged graphic occurred prior to the story, but are mentioned frequently throughout.drakonreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Pace: medium
- the book covers a long timeline (so seems a bit slow paced)
- the book covers the more significant scenes (so kinda on the quick pace side)
Characters:
- Ahn wants to save her grandmother
- Atlan wants revenge (though at times it feels like it could be fleshed out better. For example, exploring why revenge as a societal concept exists. Such as is it expected of sons so he wonders if he really wants revenge or if it's just something expected of him...I might be overthinking this)
- the characters are lovable but at times I feel a bit distant from them
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*Just note on the diversity level. I meant for a Western audience, not in terms of the book. In terms of the book, the characters are not really diverse.
Also though it reminded me of Avatar the Last Airbender a bit, in some ways, it also oddly enough reminded me of Shadow and Bone.
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gore and Self harm
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Overall, there was pretty strong character development, and Tan did a good job making each of the voices disntinct. Do I think there needed to be a romance? Not really. There was enough going on without it. But there is promise in this YA fantasy debut, and I'm interested in seeing what else the author does in the future!
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Gore and Blood
jamesflint's review against another edition
4.0
Minor: Torture, Gore, and Blood