Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Jade War by Fonda Lee

26 reviews

lunep's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

I am...speechless, like Fonda Lee herself said in the aknowledgments, this was even bigger and more ambitious than Jade City, and Jade City was already very big and ambitious, it was a very tough act to follow, but Jade War did it amazingly. I had no idea what was going to happen in this book, after the events of the first one, considering
the first one is called Jade City but it shows all out clan war, and in Jade War the Pillars make a public truce lmao
, but it had me hooked from the first moment, so much so that I don't know when I'll be able to read Jade Legacy because I'm back at working on my thesis with a class-like schedule and my director gives me deadlines and I can't let myself get obssesed with a book and being incapable of working lmao (same reason why I haven't watched the atla live action)
Also because my last review was long but focused on what I didn't like, I want to give more depth to my positive reviews so I'm gonna make a couple positive comments about what stayed with me the most:
  • This book made me absolutely adore Wen. She didn't have too much screen time in the first, and her character at the beggining was clouded by Shae's view of her, so I loved getting to see more of her this book, and what we saw of her. I loved how she was there for Shae when Shae went trough rough patches, and how both of them helped each other and truly became friends and sisters. I loved how she wasn't scared of doing whatever she could to help her clan, and how she knew what her strenghts were and played to them. She's just amazing
    and I hope she gets better on book 3, I was seriously so scared at the end of the book when she, Anden, and Rohn Toro got attacked, I was literally screaming at my ipad
  • I also loved Anden's growth, he was already one of my favorite characters from book 1, and I felt so much for him at the end of it and at the beggining of this one, but I'm glad to see he grew onto himself more fully. He's my baby
I'm very intrigued to see what happens now in Jade Legacy, but I'm also terrified lmao. I want the Kauls to be happy but honestly this series gives me very big tragedy vibes, like, how are they going to be able to live happy and in peace after all the bloodshed that has happened? This all started bc of Lan's death, and so many more people have died so far, how can it be possible for one side to survive and have no enemies trying to get revenge without having to wipe the whole side of their enemies? And how could they live in peace afterwards knowing they killed so many people? I can't wait to see how Fonda Lee ties everything up

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billie_visible's review against another edition

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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

5.0


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laurenrrrrr1's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

3.75


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amburrella's review

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adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

5.0


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leanne_miron's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense 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


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unavezmas's review against another edition

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

5.0

 It feels like this series was written for me. Characters who'd do whatever it takes to protect their clan. Innocents getting caught in a crossfire. Everything is getting more serious. I don't know how I'll survive book 3. Jade war got me screaming and crying and I have a feeling no one will be okay ever again.

I enjoyed Eithan (please give us more dudes in dresses I beg you), Anden and Beru character arcs more than I thought I would.

I love Shae/Ayt relationship so much. They are all so similar and so different at the same time. 

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whatdoiknowjr's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

I love this series so far. If you have ever wondered what political intrigue would look like in an alternate world that is very much like our modern world, but where a handful of powerful clans control a substance that gives them superhuman powers related to their study and practice of martial arts, well, here you are!

Some aspects of this story play with the friction between the past, and the families that run society even when that command of society circumvents laws and local rulers, but at the same time, it also intersects with outside nations trying to force their way into the trade of a powerful resource and what needs to be done to resist or adapt to that outside pressure.

No character it this story escapes making hard moral decisions. There are assassinations, duels, criminal empires, and military contacts to deal with. But even some of the worst perpetrators are so human that it's hard to dislike them. I was extremely invested in everyone, even when I was looking at what they had just done and realizing what kind of repercussions have to be down the line for them.

Even the alienation between family members is well handled. Family members have strained relationships, but so far, there are very few times when that means that they cut each other off entirely, and you want them to repair their relationships even though you don't want them to get wrapped up in some of the worst of the family business. 

In between all of these, there are twists and turns, bullets, martial arts, and superpowers. Enough to keep things exciting and action-oriented, but not enough to overshadow the actual characters and the results of their decisions. 


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cardanrry's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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jessiereads98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.75

While this one doesn’t hit quite as hard for me as Jade City did, it’s close. If I could give this like a 4.85 or 4.90 it would be more accurate. Fonda Lee continues and expands her masterful world building here by interweaving international cultures and politics with that of Kekon. The crafting of politics and international relations here is truly an impressive feat. Unfortunately with the new politics, settings, and characters we end up losing some time with Kekon and the Kauls. The time jumping around and pacing in this book just felt messier and more inconsistent to me than the first book. The pacing doesn’t seem to pick up to where it was in the first book until the last 150-200 pages when the separate threads laid out throughout the story start to come together. Overall a strong follow up to Jade City but does seem to suffer somewhat from the second book syndrome of largely setting things up for the third book. 

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nofy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense slow-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

5.0


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