Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Jade City by Fonda Lee

100 reviews

lauralfp's review against another edition

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: War

lyleenright's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Gore, Addiction, Violence, and Gun violence

frogbone's review against another edition

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

4.5

this gets described as an urban fantasy series, but it's more of an eclectic genre bend, like if the Godfather was about the triads and was set on a post-colonial island that is sort of, but not exactly, a riff on Hong Kong. the characters are charming, but really it is the worldbuilding and thematic content that stood out to me. this series has a lot to say - about power and the responsibilities of people who wield it, about colonialism and the clash between the old and the new, and about family and what family means when you're born into an organized crime syndicate. it also poses the question, how much detail is too much detail when you're writing a sex scene (the answer? when you write the words, "she cupped her hands directly around his scrotum." that's too much)

anyway, much of that stuff is still sitting with me now, and if any of that sounds like it's of interest, i highly recommend you check this series out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia

kaylasbewks's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.0

DNFed at 65%

This was way too slow for me. The characters didn't feel fleshed out, I didn't care for any of them, the women were wrote as some kind of separate species (didn't pass the Bechdel test either, not a surprise there) and the MMC was quite literally just a brat. I didn't want to DNF this as it's been loved by so many, but I truly couldn't get myself to read another page. The 'heart-wrenching' moments had absolutely no impact on me either, so I wasn't interested in the plot or characters themselves and I didn't even feel emotionally impacted. Bleh! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Gun violence, Drug use, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail

evez's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Gore

Moderate: Sexual content and Drug use

Minor: Drug abuse

meggomyeggo28's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5/5 

“the clan is my blood, and the pillar is its master.” 

what a ride this book is. the characters are so rich and complex and imperfect that they come to life and really feel like family members. the politics and the worldbuilding is so immersive. and this book touches on so many important themes of spirituality, addiction, leadership, and ethical decisions in wartime in really profound ways without forgetting the plot. the magic system is truly so unique and the cost/benefit aspect to it adds another layer to the book and another challenge for the characters. im not giving this a full 5 stars bc ik fonda lee is just going to blow my mind even more in the next two books, but i really do think this is a masterpiece of modern fantasy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, War, Murder, Grief, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Misogyny, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

praaliine's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

i really had to fight to get through the first third of the book. i feel i should have gone into this book 100% blind and i had already seen the worst spoiler about a certain character’s death which massively ruined the enjoyment of this for me. it also wasn’t as ground-breaking and show-stopping as i heard it was. a solid read nonetheless, i did like it and the characters definitely have my attention and interest. will be committing to the rest of the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Drug use and Dementia

Minor: Torture and Sexual content

lunep's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Alcohol, Murder, Violence, Medical content, Sexual content, Blood, Cursing, Sexual violence, Gun violence, Body horror, Drug use, War, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

Moderate: Pedophilia, Vomit, Mental illness, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Addiction, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Infidelity, Suicide, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Dementia, Child abuse, and Racism

amaranth101's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

More of a gangster novel with light fantasy elements than a straight-up fantasy book, Jade City is a solid read with an engaging plot and multifaceted characters.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Sexual content

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Classism, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, Trafficking, War, Sexual content, Suicide, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Blood, Confinement, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Ableism, and Gaslighting

This is the first part of a fantasy tinged saga about a crime family. All the violence and tropes of mafia stories are present here. Certain things are also essentially superpowers. That said, it’s also very gritty with hard hitting violence. There’s mental illness, there’s drug addiction, there’s deteriorating health of the elderly old leader. There’s suggestions that one character is a sex offender and pervert. There’s essentially ableism surrounding certain figures born to Jade user families but can’t use Jade abilities, ableism suggestions. There’s vilification and racism toward certain outside nations albeit because they’re also colonizing forces. Also, certain characters’ relationships with foreign nationals are heavily talked about with racist suggestion. The connection between drug addiction and potential suicide is a major theme in the story because it’s framed within the context of jade ability performance enhancement drug usage. There’s a lot of heavy themes to suggest while reading through this mafia family novel.