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Reviews tagging 'Death'

Jade City by Fonda Lee

247 reviews

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated

i can respect the hustle - this book was well written, deeply thought out and had strong, intriguing, original elements. i was expecting it to live up to the poppy war (which was my mistake) and felt as though there was an element absent that maintained an impersonal distance between me and the characters. the length of this novel is noticeable but felt very rewarding to finish it. would  recommend still, and look forward to continuing the series!

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book… holy shit… had me in tears at the end. The way it ended was frustrating not in a bad way just like I just wanted peace for the family. Can’t wait to get into the the next two books. 

Looking forward to the character development in the next two books. Hopeful at least because if specifically one person doesn’t change that will be the death of them. 


I really want to give it 5 stars and maybe I will but I will update that once I get off the high of the book.  I just finished it and I usually think books are better immediately after finishing them than they tend to be. That being said, this book genuinely is so well written and emotional. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don’t think there was a moment where I felt it was dragged on or that I wished for it to be over. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

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ehmannky's profile picture

ehmannky's review

5.0
adventurous dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I wish I could give this book more stars. It's so, so good. A gripping crime family drama with complex world-building and complicated characters and a fantastic plot. And it so well-paced and compelling. Not a single part of this dragged, which is amazing to say about a book that clocks in close to 500 pages. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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