Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Jade City by Fonda Lee

71 reviews

lejones1785's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

1.25

I had a tough time with this book, and I was really looking forward to reading it. It seemed like a lot of space in the story is just filler. Jade this, jade that, jade is worth ruining a city for. The characters are so smart, the characters have inner turmoil, on and on without much real substance. The main scenes in the book are over in a matter of moments, so there wasn't really any payoff for the filler material. It felt like this book was just for world and character building, so maybe the second book has more story?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Violence, War, Addiction, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, and Death

dreadspawn's review

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Gore, War, Gun violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Grief, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Body horror

mari_is_here's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Grief, Addiction, and Drug use

Minor: Self harm

moosta2112's review

emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Addiction, Suicide, and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia

trizk's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The world-building and magic systems were soooo amazing. Fonda Lee is able to introduce all these aspects while keeping the story interesting. Her characters were imperfect and fit well in this mafia-inspired world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Sexual content and Misogyny

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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: Injury/Injury detail, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Xenophobia, Drug use, War, and Gun violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Confinement, and Addiction

Minor: Racism

h4ppycupcake's review

dark sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Torture, Death, Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Dementia, Drug use, Murder, Addiction, Gore, and Violence

_dani's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Misogyny and Death

Minor: Dementia and Grief

planreadrepeat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective 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

Jade City starts off a little slow. We meet the Kauls and the city of Kekon. A special form of Jade is used that gives trained users enhanced abilities. And untrained users sickness. Two clans control the city. 

This is a character study. If you are looking for descriptive battle scenes and clear resolutions, this may not be the book for you. Political intrigue, characters agonizing over their decisions, betrayal, and to the victors go the spoils is a driving force in this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Drug use

lonelylooper's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Addiction, Grief, Murder, Death, Gore, Gun violence, War, Drug use, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, and Racism

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, Misogyny, and Homophobia