Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Jade City by Fonda Lee

89 reviews

vnderseelie's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

The overall setting of Jade City was amazing and the structures of the clans and Kekons society was intriguing. However, most if them were introduced too late in the story for my opinion and that made it difficult to understand them from time to time. As a reader you are treated as if you already know everything about the terms, phrases, gods, etc. that are mentioned in the book and I feel like some points have not been addressed at all and you are forced to accept them as they are.

The characters are really interesting and actually carry a lot of the story, since their flaws and decisions let the events progress and escalate further, which makes them feel alive and well merged with the world Fonda Lee built. Nevertheless, a lot of the actions that the characters took did not make a lot of sense in specific situations or were needlessly cruel, even given the topics the book deals with. Especially the grandfather gave the impression that he just appeared to talk the others down. Additionally, I really disagreed with some scenes and the behavior in them, which made it hard for me to continue the book sometimes.

Some scenes felt a bit too long or they were repeated in almost the same way too often, which made them repetitive to read and it seemed to just add to the page count of the book, without providing a real impact on anything.

All in all the idea of Jade City was really interesting to me, but I think the actual translation into the story was lacking in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Addiction, Child abuse, War, Violence, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Racism, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Cursing, and Death

h4ppycupcake's review against another edition

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

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

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

tarralmurphy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Self harm

Moderate: Pedophilia

rubybastille's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

Epic, beautiful, incredible. Elements of anime, 80s Hong Kong action flicks, and Eastern religion blended expertly with The Godfather. For a story where I didn't necessarily like or approve of all the leads (Hilo is charismatic and brave, but short-tempered and lowkey sexist), it certainly kept my attention in a way I didn't expect. I'd say this is a slow-burn, chess game of a book for someone comfortable with nuanced, sometimes unlikable protagonists.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Murder, and War

Minor: Homophobia

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

mirrorstorm_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark

• Loveable characters? No

3.5

Pros: Well written. Interesting and unique world building and magic system. 
Cons: Lack of fully developed female characters. There was an attempt but it felt shallow. Not a fan of multiple female characters being called slut as an insult. Lots of unfinished plot points. It is book one in a series but I prefer a book that can stand on its own. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: War, Gun violence, and Addiction

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Suicide

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

daydreamhaze's review against another edition

I think the book is objectively good, unfortunately I just couldn't get invested enough to see it through to the end. There were a couple of character perspectives that I was interested in, such as Shae and Anden, but I found it hard to relate to or get invested in some of the other characters. I think many people would love this book, it's just not for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and War

Moderate: Addiction