Reviews

La Cité de Jade by Fonda Lee

marisnewman's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

beefgameplays's review against another edition

4.0

This is slower than a lot of books I read, but I actually enjoyed the pace a lot because proper attention was given to every character, and I can't wait to see more of them in the next book, especially Anden and Wen.

Lan was my favorite character before he died, so that really devastated me.

mngwa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.25

diecryread's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

veveveve0's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Interesting enough concept and strong enough plot, but there were some holes. My main issue is the hyper Americanness of the ultimate freedom dream of the nobility daughter being working as a mid level nobody in a multinational.

marlene061313's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No

2.75

inusays's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

alyssamae's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

mikazuki17's review against another edition

3.0

“Sometimes, Andy, the people you think you can count on, they let you down in a bad way, and that’s hard to take. But for the most part, you give a man something to live up to, you tell him he can be more than he is now, more than other people think he’ll ever be, and he’ll try his godsdamned best to make it true.”

I really tried to like this book but I just can’t. I feel so disconnected from the story and I thought it was because of the slow pacing but then I realized that drug-war, politics, and mafia-like clan story, doesn’t really interest me.

I struggled with understanding the Jade magic because it wasn’t really explained, or maybe I’m just used to a magic system with detailed explanations. The magic has potential but maybe the author just doesn’t want to focus on the Jade magic but on the clan revenge story instead.

The characters and their struggles aren’t relatable (for me). Anden, the character I like the most, didn’t even show up that much in the book. I would have loved to read more about his struggles and school life and understand the magic through him.

Spoiler

It really frustrated me when Lan started using Shine (an illegal drug) and died accidentally because of it. Plus Anden tried to tell Shae to lookout for Lan but she didn’t listen, they could have prevented his death. And Hilo seemed to know that the Shine contributed to Lan’s death when Anden wanted to tell him but he chose to ignore it and went to war with the other clan to blame them. I know that there wouldn’t be a story if all of that didn’t happen but it’s just frustrating.

I also agree with Anden's decision not to join the Green Bones in the end. Even if they're his family, he knows that having jade will have a terrible effect on him.

“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “When you’re born with them, you resent them, fight against them. When you’ve never been given any, you feel the lack of them your whole life.”

janewarnerrrr's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.75