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britheereader's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Racism, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Dementia, Torture, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Suicide, Infidelity, Homophobia, Rape, and Colonisation
kelsjargon's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Pedophilia
Moderate: Drug use and Addiction
thomasmikayla's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Animal cruelty
wordwilderness's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
This book got me out of a months-long reading slump so I cannot praise it enough. Jade City is one of the most exciting and immersive books I've ever read. I loved the mix of modern technology, tradition, and magic that made the world come to life. Even more fantastic than the worldbuilding were the characters. Fonda Lee might be my new favorite author for dynamic and interesting characters. Hilo was especially frustrating and loveable. I couldn't decide if I wanted to give him a hug or strangle him.
I can't wait to read the rest of this series!
I can't wait to read the rest of this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, War, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, and Addiction
Elaboration on the drug use content warning:plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This review is spoiler-free. Content warnings for the book are listed at the end.
@ everyone hyping this book up: y’all were right. This book is freaking fantastic, and it singlehandedly renewed my interest in adult fantasy.
Lee built an incredibly complex yet easy to understand world, and it was so easy to get lost in. Even though the pacing in the first half was a bit too slow for my tastes, the second half more than made up for it. Politics and war and family dynamics—I’m here for all of it. I also liked that Hilo and Wen were already together, and aside from their relationship, there was no romance. That allowed the focus to stay on the Kaul family and tension between the clans, and rightfully so.
The last fifty pages were so much more stressful than I expected and I don’t appreciate it. Anden is about my age, everyone else is older than me, but I’m attached to these characters and I DON’T WANT ANYTHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO THEM. I love Hilo, Shae, and Anden, and I WANT TO PROTECT THEM. But everyone talks about how devastating these books are and this is only the first, so..... to say I’m scared is an understatement.
Also, I legit can’t find the second book anywhere, at the library physically or digitally, and I am sad. I have so many other books I’m excited to read but I also lowkey only want to read Jade War.
If you’re on the fence about reading this, do it, and stick with the book even if you’re kind of bored at first. I was, and now I’ve got yet another book I’m obsessed and in love with.
Representation:
• One of the protagonists is queer
@ everyone hyping this book up: y’all were right. This book is freaking fantastic, and it singlehandedly renewed my interest in adult fantasy.
Lee built an incredibly complex yet easy to understand world, and it was so easy to get lost in. Even though the pacing in the first half was a bit too slow for my tastes, the second half more than made up for it. Politics and war and family dynamics—I’m here for all of it. I also liked that Hilo and Wen were already together, and aside from their relationship, there was no romance. That allowed the focus to stay on the Kaul family and tension between the clans, and rightfully so.
The last fifty pages were so much more stressful than I expected and I don’t appreciate it. Anden is about my age, everyone else is older than me, but I’m attached to these characters and I DON’T WANT ANYTHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO THEM. I love Hilo, Shae, and Anden, and I WANT TO PROTECT THEM. But everyone talks about how devastating these books are and this is only the first, so..... to say I’m scared is an understatement.
Also, I legit can’t find the second book anywhere, at the library physically or digitally, and I am sad. I have so many other books I’m excited to read but I also lowkey only want to read Jade War.
If you’re on the fence about reading this, do it, and stick with the book even if you’re kind of bored at first. I was, and now I’ve got yet another book I’m obsessed and in love with.
Representation:
• One of the protagonists is queer
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Sexual assault, Self harm, and Suicide
Regarding the three content warnings tagged as minor—sexual assault, self-harm, suicide—all three happen prior to the story, and are mentioned in passing multiple times during the story. None of it happens on page.booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fascinating and ruthless, Jade City is a slow-burning, deftly-politicking fantasy which brings you 'round to meet new friends, then coyly remarks that none of them are safe; the best you can hope for is that when your darling dies you'll bury them with their Jade.
I love this book, I love the characters, the setting is great... If you've read very many of my reviews you probably know I love interpersonal politics and heists... and this has all of that, all the time. Lots of discussions, weighing of actions, politicking, and then blades. There's betrayal and subterfuge, a few heists, some capers and a very high body count. Seriously, like, a lot of people die by the end of this (and I suspect even more will die in the sequel, Jade War). For me the two biggest strengths in this book are the world-building and characterization. There are a lot of named characters, but the book is very good at directing attention to minimize the number of names the reader really needs to retain, while still realistically portraying large networks run by a few powerful families. I thought I knew who my favorite character was, but then someone else started giving them a run for their money in my affections and I look forward to seeing how they get on in the sequel.
Sometimes stories introduce their readers to a new (to them) setting by including a character who is also new. Others just drop you in and expect you to keep up. This book had a wonderful blend of both, not by having a character who was wholly new to the setting, but one who was returning after an absence spent in a setting implied to be very much like the real modern world. It also included some who were continually present, but marginalized in different ways from each other. The combination of them meant that different people were naturally able to comment on or explain different parts of the setting and give different views on the principal players involved, without it ever feeling like an infodump. It took me a little bit to get into it because there was a lot of world to build, but once it got going I couldn't read anything else until I was done.
One of the very clever things this book did to center the reader fully in the world was to repurpose various phrases in English which normally have different (sometimes negative) meanings, by recontextualizing them in a fictional country which is organized around this highly prized and quasi-magical substance, Jade. Phrases related to being green are turned from being an indication of new-ness or weakness into expressions indicating strength, prowess, and power. To be "cut" has a new, Jade-specific and differently positive meaning, etc. Early on it made me pause to reconfigure my expectations of these words, but because the context was clear and these new meanings were unmistakable it hastened a kind of immersion into this new world, and that new world is fantastic.
I love this book, I love the characters, the setting is great... If you've read very many of my reviews you probably know I love interpersonal politics and heists... and this has all of that, all the time. Lots of discussions, weighing of actions, politicking, and then blades. There's betrayal and subterfuge, a few heists, some capers and a very high body count. Seriously, like, a lot of people die by the end of this (and I suspect even more will die in the sequel, Jade War). For me the two biggest strengths in this book are the world-building and characterization. There are a lot of named characters, but the book is very good at directing attention to minimize the number of names the reader really needs to retain, while still realistically portraying large networks run by a few powerful families. I thought I knew who my favorite character was, but then someone else started giving them a run for their money in my affections and I look forward to seeing how they get on in the sequel.
Sometimes stories introduce their readers to a new (to them) setting by including a character who is also new. Others just drop you in and expect you to keep up. This book had a wonderful blend of both, not by having a character who was wholly new to the setting, but one who was returning after an absence spent in a setting implied to be very much like the real modern world. It also included some who were continually present, but marginalized in different ways from each other. The combination of them meant that different people were naturally able to comment on or explain different parts of the setting and give different views on the principal players involved, without it ever feeling like an infodump. It took me a little bit to get into it because there was a lot of world to build, but once it got going I couldn't read anything else until I was done.
One of the very clever things this book did to center the reader fully in the world was to repurpose various phrases in English which normally have different (sometimes negative) meanings, by recontextualizing them in a fictional country which is organized around this highly prized and quasi-magical substance, Jade. Phrases related to being green are turned from being an indication of new-ness or weakness into expressions indicating strength, prowess, and power. To be "cut" has a new, Jade-specific and differently positive meaning, etc. Early on it made me pause to reconfigure my expectations of these words, but because the context was clear and these new meanings were unmistakable it hastened a kind of immersion into this new world, and that new world is fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Death
Moderate: Sexism, Drug use, Addiction, Mental illness, Self harm, Body horror, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Torture
CW for sexual abuse (brief mention), torture (brief mention), sexism, drug use, addiction, mental illness, self harm, body horror, sexual content, massacre, violence, major character death.
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