Reviews with content warning for War - Of Jade and Dragons

Reviews tagging 'War'

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

3 reviews

lastblossom's review

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

tl;dr
Secrets upon secrets power a fast-moving plot and some fanciful world building.

Thoughts
Ooh, this one's twisty. Ying dreams of joining the Engineer's Guild, a goal rather hampered by the fact that it's a boys only situation. When her father is murdered, seemingly in connection with the Guild, she disguises herself as a boy and joins to find his killer. But her deception is far from the only one. We've got political machinations, assassins, secret machines of war, and other hidden identities, all wrapped up in a power grab for the future of the kingdom. The plot moves from one twist to the next at a speedy pace that kept me turning pages, but never felt like it was overdoing it with the drama. Ying is a great lead - determined, capable, but also incredibly conflicted, especially as more secrets come to light and the reality of war unfolds. There's also a romance woven into this for fans who like it with... complications. World building is a bit steampunk and a lot of Chinese lore woven together in an original world that sparks the imagination, and by that I mean there's a mechanical dragon that flies and it's awesome.

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Books for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Content Warnings

sarahbearas's review

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I really, really wanted to love this book, but ultimately my feelings are that it’s just fine. It does nothing egregious but does nothing to stand out either. I really should’ve DNF’ed around the 50% mark but I pushed through because I liked the ideas that were presented.

Let’s start with the things I kinda liked:

This was my first introduction to silkpunk, and I think it was an excellent introduction to this genre.
This book reads very much like a C-drama, and that appealed to me.

What I didn’t like:

The writing felt clunky, and a little juvenile for the content itself.
The pacing was all over the place.
The execution of this concept/idea just simply wasn’t my cup of tea.

To be more specific about what I said above…

Amber Chen takes on the ambitious job of introducing a complex fantasy world that’s based in the silkpunk genre. I keep mentioning this because it’s important to make a distinction between steampunk and silkpunk, especially since it is so explicitly stated that this is what this book is. In the words of Lyndsie Manusos from the Book Riot article on silkpunk:

“It’s more organic than steampunk. With silkpunk, form is just as important as function [...] It’s not a big chunk of metal coughing steam. It is beautiful. It is art.

The “punk” part, however, is pretty classic to the other “punk” sub-genres. Resistance and rebellion against authority are key elements.”

Ying’s resistance is obvious at first; secretly entering a guild that has only ever exclusively recruited and taught men, and succeeding despite everything thrown at her. Her choice, at the end of the novel, feels very in tune with resistance and rebellion, to me.

I remember while I was reading having the exact thought “This totally feels like a C-drama.” And lo and behold! That was the point. Having grown up around C-dramas and watching a few myself, I loved having that exact vibe shine through. That was very entertaining.

This has the bones of a good story. However, I don’t love the writing half the time, and the dialogue was often the sore thumb sticking out. It felt awkward, stilted, and unnatural. This was often the problem between Ye-yang and Ying and it made their scenes a drag. And speaking of dragging…the pacing was never consistent. I got about 50% and really struggled with how slow everything felt, especially since the story started incredibly fast.

All of this, the things I disliked, stem from a middling execution of the story. This really could’ve used a second look before publication, just to clean up sections of the story that feel slow, and really focus in on the themes. I have a hard time figuring out who to recommend this to; the content is not too heavy, but there are violent moments that don’t necessarily match up tonally with the writing. I’d say this is appropriate for the middle-older end of YA, and for those who wanted to experience a different punk subgenre, with C-drama vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Viking Books for Young Readers for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings

folkofthebook's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

These seas can never trap those who are meant to fly.

"A lamp can light up the darkness around you, but a story lights up the darkness within."

a young engineer disguises herself as a boy to compete for a spot in the esteemed engineer guild while solving her father's murder, sponsored by one of the heirs amid a power struggle for succession.

steampunk x Mulan vibes, good pacing, no worldbuilding info dumps, & romance subplot. a little violence as war is a very central theme. i genuinely enjoyed the story and would continue the series (i'm curious to see what happens next).

mmc has a dimple hehe

"If I want to conquer the world, will you stand by my side?"

an honest arc review <3

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