Reviews with content warning for Torture - Jade War

Genuinely the best series I've ever read, and I'm only two thirds of the way through. I wish I could give this more than five stars - Fonda Lee deserves the highest praise in the world.

Jade War took all that was fantastic about Jade City and elevated it to an extreme. The stakes, the family drama, the worldbuilding. Absolutely phenomenal. Middle book syndrome who?

The first book is a relatively contained story, focusing on the street war between the two major clans of Kekon. In contrast, this book was seeped in politics, manipulation and subterfuge. Not only were the stakes raised for those involved in the clan war, but for the world as a whole - as the book zoomed out to look at international politics, and similar turf wars taking place in other countries (all of which affected Kekon in very realistic and terrifying ways). The politics were complex, in the way that real-world politics are, but I could pretty easily follow what was happening and how its effects rippled out to the Kaul family. This touched on corruption and anti-foreigner sentiments, on framing things to influence public perception. Everything that you know and hate about real world politics were here, but done in such a powerful way that I couldn't help but feel immersed. And the final chapters set up a new thread that will likely escalate this even further.

Which leads me to the worldbuilding. Oh my GOD. Similarly, this book stepped it up a notch. First we got insight to Kekonese culture, history, values, and traditions. Here, we got insight into the countries surrounding Kekon. Not just their own culture and ways, but their attitudes towards the Kekonese (and vice versa). We got to see how different Green Bones navigated foreign places, and were perceived there as well. Particularly impactful was Anden's time in Espenia, where he felt trapped between two parts of his identity, but grew to love his new home, which was also caught between Kekon and Espenia.

Lastly, Jade War introduced a bunch of new characters, but still managed to flesh them out with backstories and motivations (and, in turn, make me have strong feelings about almost all of them). The family dynamics were, as always, such a strong focal point in this book. And I'm excited to see where the next one takes us, as several new Kaul family members were introduced. Maybe my one criticism is that I wasn't as invested in some of the new romantic relationships, but they were still well-done all the same.

All in all, though, this was an absolute masterpiece of the book. I tend to love books that make the 'enemy' not only threatening, but understandable as well, and I firmly believe that Lee could have written this entire series from the perspective of Ayt Madashi and the Mountain Clan and I'd be just as hooked. (Which feels like a betrayal to write, since I feel so emotionally bonded to the Kaul family). But mad props to Fonda Lee, that's no easy task! Equally impressive is the fact that I pulled my head out of this book and genuinely had to recalibrate myself into remembering that these are not real places or real people. I'm almost scared to start the next book, because I know how much is at stake and I know I'll lose people I love, but that won't stop me anyway.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In 'Jade War,' Fonda Lee continues the saga of the Kaul family as we deal with fallout from what happened in 'Jade City' and see how the political machinations, family dynamics, and the future of the clans continue to weave together.
The middle books in a series tend to not be as strong as the first or final installments but that is not true with 'Jade War.' Lee elevates the pieces that she introduced us to in 'Jade City' and the more time we spend with these characters, the further we get pulled into their lives. I won't touch on any specifics since this is the second book but I will say that we continue to follow the Kaul family and those involved with the different clans. There are high points and even more devastating low points.
I think the two parts of this story that are the strongest are the complex characters and the political machinations. Each of the characters are deeply flawed but Lee portrays them as so deeply human that it's hard not to care for them. I especially find Hilo a fascinating character. He may be my favorite character in the series but his flaws come out at many points of this book. There is a decision that he makes in this book that I absolutely did not agree with but Lee made me understand it and it didn't harm my care for him.
The twists and turns of this story are more dynamic and emotional than in the first book. I can't even begin to imagine what will happen in 'Jade Legacy' but I am sure that it will be a rollercoaster. I both cannot wait to pick up the final book and also want to put it off so that I always have more of these characters to return to.

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lolailons's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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aromarrie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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heartbrekker's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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

4.5

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stonebm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.25

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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

I enjoyed this more than Jade City. A gripe I had with the previous book was that I couldn't feel attached to any of the characters...while that's still partly true here, we've spent enough time with the main cast that I do care about them more (especially Anden; I'd let them all die for him TBH) but I guess that's obvious with a sequel. I know there's the looming threat of jade becoming more and more global and the consequences that can ensue, but it feels like an inevitable plot point for the third book, not a...palpable thing? It doesn't feel like there's a big, overarching plot, just us going through the motions with the Kauls and trying to kill off each new problem that arises. That's not to say that it isn't an enjoyable ride! I appreciated Anden's inner monologue about living in Espenia and its familiar-yet-not Kekonese community. And for all of Hilo's faults, it's nice to see him grow into his role as the Pillar.

The timeline kept throwing me off, though. I'll be assuming that a few weeks had passed since a certain event, but then Lee would hit me with a line like "a year had passed since [specific incident]" and I'm like...wait, what? I think it's because the multiple POVs aren't always in the same timeline; we'd be following Shae in the present day, then we'd switch to Anden who'll narrate his life in Espenia for the past x months before catching up to the present, and the next thing I know, Hilo's children have grown by another year. Lol. This might just be a problem with me not processing the passage of time, but I couldn't help but notice it every time it happened.

I knew Anden would have to wear jade again eventually, but I'm glad it happened in a way that let him save a life instead of ending one. Med school sounds like the perfect path for him, I'm so happy 💓 On the other hand, I can't believe we ended the book with a Bero chapter. That boy does not quit, lmao.

Anyway, looking forward to Jade Legacy!

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leahsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Just when I thought this series couldn’t possibly get better, and I couldn’t be more in awe of Fonda Lee’s talents as a writer, I realized quite how wrong I was. Since I did this as a buddy read with Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog, I know I’m not the only one who was blown away by this book and the series.

This book is much more expansive that the last book. I’m talking more POVs, more locations where the action takes place, and more storylines. But somehow, it never felt confusing or cluttered at any point. While Jade City was centered firmly in Janloon, Jade War brought the action out into more areas of the world, taking the characters to various countries where the action only intensifies.

The story picks up 16 months after the events of the last book, and the only time I ever got a little confused was when the timeline sped up unexpectedly. However, once I realized that, I was prepared and didn’t get confused when time sped up in future segments. The main characters from the last book still maintain POVs, with Hilo, Shae, and Anden giving us insight into various areas of clan dealings. But there’s a lot more that we learn from other characters. I don’t want to give away too much, but the story is so spread out that we learn a lot about what is happening, even as there is a war brewing and no shortage of difficulty faced by No Peak. With all of these issues, the clan war has been forced to a back burner.

“The world outside of Kekon was exerting forces that derailed even a blood feud between the Green Bone clans.”

Despite the fact that Hilo, Shae, and the rest of No Peak aren’t exactly “good guys,” I still wanted them to do well. They aren’t your typical heroes, but they’re also better than the Mountain clan, from the POVs that we were shown. They stick to their code of honor, and I found myself rooting for them no matter what. I was especially impressed with how much Hilo has grown into his role as Pillar.

“Hilo was the most hands-on Pillar anyone had ever known. He still left most of the business and political matters to her, but she’d seen him sitting at the kitchen table in the evenings, forcing his ways through industry reports and highlighting the parts he needed to ask her about.”

There’s plenty of violence, but also some romance, even an LGBT romance storyline that had me cheering! The characters were complex and well-developed, even the side characters. I understood their motivations and reasoning, making them feel even more realistic. The world-building and character development were just two of the aspects that made this one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The other was the incredibly engrossing plot. I couldn’t bear to stop reading, and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the book — just because I had to find out what happened. And the ending? It was completely satisfying, but also left me with the feeling that I need to get my hands on the next book right now. Which is a problem, since it doesn’t come out until September. I have no idea how I’m supposed to wait that long!

Half of the buddy read was Becky and I discussing the actual stuff happening in the book, and the other half was the two of us raving about this book, because yeah, it was seriously just that good. Plus, it never hurts to have someone who is just as excited about it as you to buddy read with. I know what the two of us will be doing when the third book is released … buddy reading it!

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