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challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Complicated
*Potential Spoiler* THEY KILLED MY FAVORITE CHARACTER HALF WAY THROUGH THE FIRST BOOK!!!!! Are you kidding me!?!
Anyway, this was a really good book. Very political, bloodier than I expected, Fonda really didn't pull any punches. I love how the MCs have to navigate complicated family dynamics while knowing an all out gang war is looming in the horizon. Fonda's characters feel so real. I'm going to have to be in the right headspace to continue the series because I have a feeling it's going to be very game-of-thrones-esk with the killing off of characters lol.
Anyway, this was a really good book. Very political, bloodier than I expected, Fonda really didn't pull any punches. I love how the MCs have to navigate complicated family dynamics while knowing an all out gang war is looming in the horizon. Fonda's characters feel so real. I'm going to have to be in the right headspace to continue the series because I have a feeling it's going to be very game-of-thrones-esk with the killing off of characters lol.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Gore, Dementia, War
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
JADE CITY blends a unique magic system with complex mafia-esque clan rivalries & politics, reminiscent of other beloved works such as MISTBORN and SIX OF CROWS. One of my favorite aspects of the novel was the exploration of family and duty among the three Kaul siblings, each of whom were dynamic & flawed, believable in their individual perspectives & plights. The pacing and stakes were well executed, the action scenes well written. With so much having already taken place in the first book, I can only imagine how much bigger & bolder the trilogy as a whole will go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder
challenging
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Death
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
Excellent. A great balance of character and plot. I didn’t love the open door romance.
Plot: A unique magic system surrounding Jade. This book follows a family of characters with the unique ability to wield Jade. Their clan is the second largest and only time will tell if they stay on top.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5.
TW: violence, death, cursing, open door romance M/F
Plot: A unique magic system surrounding Jade. This book follows a family of characters with the unique ability to wield Jade. Their clan is the second largest and only time will tell if they stay on top.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5.
TW: violence, death, cursing, open door romance M/F
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, War
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book touches on themes of complicated family dynamics, and Greed and Power.
Can even the most well intentioned leaders be corrupted by money and power?
How much are you willing to risk for the reputation of your family?
How much are you willing to overlook for the sake of preserving family ties?
The only thing stopping me from giving the full 5 stars is because it felt like the book didn't commit to a full character study. Maybe Lee or their editor was concerned about the length but I much would have preferred the book be 200-300 pages longer in order to get both plot and character development to drive the story. I'd like to think that the average fantasy reader would also agree as we are accustomed to longer books, but then again I have seen reviews calling this an intro to fantasy. So having a smaller page count would appeal to most readers who are new to fantasy.
Overall I personally thoroughly enjoyed this one. The setting and themes reminded me of The Legend of Korra one of my favorite pieces of media. The characters are complicated and each one can feel relatable at times. Being that it is a first book I still have some little loose threads I am hoping will be tied up in the next book, but in conclusion the plot was like a gangster/mafia family drama, and I ate up every bit.
Honestly the writing is what kept me so engaged. Fonda Lee has a way of describing places, sounds, colors, and textures that make my poetic heart happy. Her writing is detailed but not dense which is a hard line to toe.
Can even the most well intentioned leaders be corrupted by money and power?
How much are you willing to risk for the reputation of your family?
How much are you willing to overlook for the sake of preserving family ties?
The only thing stopping me from giving the full 5 stars is because it felt like the book didn't commit to a full character study. Maybe Lee or their editor was concerned about the length but I much would have preferred the book be 200-300 pages longer in order to get both plot and character development to drive the story. I'd like to think that the average fantasy reader would also agree as we are accustomed to longer books, but then again I have seen reviews calling this an intro to fantasy. So having a smaller page count would appeal to most readers who are new to fantasy.
Overall I personally thoroughly enjoyed this one. The setting and themes reminded me of The Legend of Korra one of my favorite pieces of media. The characters are complicated and each one can feel relatable at times. Being that it is a first book I still have some little loose threads I am hoping will be tied up in the next book, but in conclusion the plot was like a gangster/mafia family drama, and I ate up every bit.
Honestly the writing is what kept me so engaged. Fonda Lee has a way of describing places, sounds, colors, and textures that make my poetic heart happy. Her writing is detailed but not dense which is a hard line to toe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
adventurous
challenging
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
One of the best books I've ever read so far. Intriguing and tense, the high stakes keep you at the edge of your seat waiting to see how everything unfolds. Lee's prose is deep and rich and descriptive when it needs to but very straightforward. The fight scene are so vivid and epic you almost see it play in your head, if I remember correctly the author knows martial arts and that’s why they’re so amazing.
The characters are so well written that seem tangible, with defects and strengths like every human being. Their feelings played an important part in the story and I believed every single one, because they were reasonable, they reacted like any person would do in their situation.
Finally, the world felt really well developed. I find it very cool!
The characters are so well written that seem tangible, with defects and strengths like every human being. Their feelings played an important part in the story and I believed every single one, because they were reasonable, they reacted like any person would do in their situation.
Finally, the world felt really well developed. I find it very cool!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Alcohol
Minor: Torture
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Dementia
challenging
emotional
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
Anden Emery my Shayla 🥺🥺🥺
Even though there were parts of the book that were slower than others, and the action does take time to ramp up, every detail is so important. Hilo took time to grow on me, but he's such an interesting character and I can't wait to see how Fonda Lee fleshes him out even more in the sequel. I loved Lan, Shae, and Anden (especially Shae and Anden!) right off the bat.
Spoilers for Shae and Anden.I can't wait to see how Shae and Anden play out as characters, especially with how Shae tried to give up her jade, but couldn't, and how Anden rejected it at the first opportunity. I feel like Anden is going to die though in the sequels . . . maybe Shae will idk
Als screw you Doru and Kaul Sen. There's no way Kaul Sen didn't know.
Even though there were parts of the book that were slower than others, and the action does take time to ramp up, every detail is so important. Hilo took time to grow on me, but he's such an interesting character and I can't wait to see how Fonda Lee fleshes him out even more in the sequel. I loved Lan, Shae, and Anden (especially Shae and Anden!) right off the bat.
Spoilers for Shae and Anden.
Als screw you Doru and Kaul Sen. There's no way Kaul Sen didn't know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Pedophilia
Minor: Drug abuse
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War
challenging
dark
emotional
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
i’ve been sitting on this bad boy for a couple of days because ive been tossing up whether i give this 3-stars or 4-stars, and honestly the fact im dying to continue the series and can’t get it out of my mind promotes it to a solid 4-stars.
first off i gotta yap about the characters:
lan… my baby boy. my pookie pie. i already miss him so bad. i gotta say i am super surprised fonda went for it and killed him off! i love when books have balls and actually have stakes that affect the main characters. i wish he lived a bit longer but his death made sense so im not mad at it from a writing perspective, im just sad as a reader who loved him 💔
shae was… a bit boring. i mean i loved her still but she kind of has no personality. she is a girlboss and i love her and if she is done dirty in this trilogy i will be swinging on someone. but i like the overall themes she exhibits in terms of overcoming misogyny in no peak, and the way she handles her revenge…. scrumptious.
hilo was… not my favourite but written well. he had depth, motivations, a soft spot, peaks and valleys, he had it all. i found him dislikable tbh, unsure if that was the intention or i was supposed to grow to love him. either way i do think he was written well, i just wasn’t the biggest fan, but his inner dialogue & his relationship with wen was great. as a reader i might’ve preferred if he died instead of lan, but as someone with a Brain i get why hilo survived. plus now he can have a redemption arc! i love lan but he was too “perfect” and clean in his leadership, whereas hilo is messy so im excited to see where the story takes him.
andy was a surprise to me. to begin with i found him a snooze fest, but his arc probably was one of the more interesting in this book. and hey gay people!!!! whooo gay people!!!! i really liked his ending as well, im super excited to see where it goes, but at times he did come off a bit flat.
the plot itself was great. there felt like there were just enough losses to balance out the story where one clan didn’t feel too overpowered or that who would “win” the war didn’t seem clear cut. i’ll be honest and say a lot of the politics did fly over my head unless there was an explicit explanation, but that’s a personal issue. hopefully now that i have a better grip on the universe though the rest of the series is a smoother read for me. but who knows! we shall see. either way i am dying to see my baby grills shae and wen again <3
oh and obligatory fuck doru
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, Alcohol