Scan barcode
gus717's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Gun violence, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape, Torture, Alcohol, Racism, and Xenophobia
bubbly_lara's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was phenomenal! After starting it last year in summer and just not getting into the story, I picked this up again this year and good thing I did. This is very intriguing story about the island of Kekon, where Jade has been used by the Green Bones, an elite warrior people, to enhance their skills in ordee to protect the people from foreign rule. Two main clans emerged from a previous war and split the island between them. As tensions rise once more between the clans, we get to know the main players and uncover their plans and political intrigues. I'm super excited to continue the series see how everything unfolds. One last info: this is very adult in themes and plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Cursing, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug abuse
Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Infidelity
takarakei's review
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
4.5
- Warring mafia/mob families
- Political intrigue to the max
- Kung fu/martial arts inspired
- Complex lovable characters
- Multiple POV
I struggled in parts of this book because of the amount of political intrigue related to the clans/families was a lot and I'm not really interested in mafias in general. But those parts were also the typical sorts of things I figure you'd find in books about a mob family and being used as a kind of structure/base (I haven't read any others, so I personally don't have anything to compare it to besides The Sopranos). However the things that make this book unique, mainly the jade and THE CHARACTERS which are all so complex and interesting, were thoroughly enjoyable. I found myself towards the end really getting invested because I loved these characters so much.
Since this is the first book in a series it did feel like it was a lot of set up for the subsequent books, but I am interested to keep reading and see where things go from here.
Also I drew a lot of parallels between this book and The Poppy War, even though they are VERY different series. But interestingly the first books were published a year apart, so I wonder if Fonda Lee and R.F. Kuang have any similar influences.
3/5 🌶️ (there is explicit sex but it’s very sporadic)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Death, Drug use, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Addiction, and Dementia
Minor: Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Rape, and Animal death
serena_hien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny and War
Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, Death of parent, and Suicide
jakepasseri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
4.25
Amazing start to the series!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Self harm, Drug abuse, Addiction, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Dementia, Death of parent, Gore, Drug use, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, and Homophobia
ofbooksandechos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Drug use and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape and Pedophilia
sarah984's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
"She felt, strangely, that it all made sense in a perfect and terrible way. It only confirmed in her mind that the will of the gods was a conspiracy of many things; people laid the tracks of their fate yet were helpless at the same time. They’d all played their part in this—them and their enemies."
This book really just blew me away. It's a family saga, and a gangster novel, and a story about a formerly isolated nation forced to confront the wider world and figure out how to live alongside it. The world (especially the advantages and drawbacks of jade magic and how that is integrated) is fascinating, and all of the characters feel like real people. This book is long but not a single word feels wasted - everything that comes up even once matters.
This book really just blew me away. It's a family saga, and a gangster novel, and a story about a formerly isolated nation forced to confront the wider world and figure out how to live alongside it. The world (especially the advantages and drawbacks of jade magic and how that is integrated) is fascinating, and all of the characters feel like real people. This book is long but not a single word feels wasted - everything that comes up even once matters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Animal death, Medical content, Murder, Xenophobia, Addiction, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: War, Bullying, Homophobia, Slavery, Ableism, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, and Torture
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Racism, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Dementia, Torture, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Child abuse, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Suicide, Infidelity, Homophobia, Rape, and Colonisation
abigails_books's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
CW: mention of suicide, rape, violent death of a parent, child abuse, general violence throughout, and a graphic sex scene
Rating: 3.5 stars
Summary: Jade City takes place in the city of Janloon on the island Kekon, a place on the verge of war breaking out among fragile peace between the two Green Bone clans, the Jade warriors, that protect Jade from outsiders and generally keeps life in Janloon moving forward. The two clans, The Mountain and No Peak used to be one under the joint leadership of Kaul Sen (now of No Peak) and Ayt Yugontin (Yu) (of The Mountain at time of death). It's been several years since the two clans separated and began a tentative peace, particularly when Ayt Yu died and his adopted daughter, Ayt Madashi (Mada) killed his former advisors and her own adopted brother in order to take control The Mountain.
Now, Ayt Mada rules The Mountain as Pillar while the eldest grandson of Kaul Sen, Kaul Lan, rules No Peak as Pillar, with his younger brother Kaul Hilo as his Fist, or leader and enforcer of his fighters or Fingers. Kaul Sen is elderly and losing his grip on reality, but he's still sure he is the one who should be in charge. At the start of the story, Kaul Shae, the final and youngest sibling of Lan and Hilo, returns from foreign Espenia, after being away for two years to her grandda's dissapointment.
A fourth important family member of the Kaul's lineage is Emery Anden, an adopted grandson of Kaul Sen, particularly at the behest of Kaul Lan, who originally took Anden in when his mother died a horrific death due to Jade sensitivity, a disease called the Itches that affects those with higher Jade sensitivity causing them to lose their sanity and destroy themselves.
The story really begins as a war between the two clans bubbles to surface in Janloon. Lan struggles to moderate peace while his younger brother Hilo is outward in his rebuke of The Mountain's attempt to take over certain No Peak territories. Through Shae's return and Anden's soon-to-be-graduated from the No Peak training academy, the plot picks up with the loss of one of the Kaul's own, causing Shae, and Anden, to step up in the clan in different ways.
Thoughts:
I gotta say this was a ride. This was not a page-turner for me, in fact, it was very hard to get into. I chose to read this because of a recommendation from a friend who had heard great things about it. After winning the World Fantasy Award I thought I had to try it out — the concept of Asian lore of Jade mixed with gang politics seemed interesting. For the first honestly 300 pages I really struggled to get the draw. I must admit I'm new to adult fantasy, having previously mostly read YA fantasy or sci-fi, but this book didn't feel like fantasy to me — it felt like a modern gang story with a little bit of super-powered elements. The mention of the gods and the allure/disease/addiction of jade and the Itches was interesting to me and is probably the reason I kept reading aside from the development of Shae.
Shae was an incredible character and I loved reading her development from first returning to Janloon determined to remain independent, even to the point of almost ruining her relationship with her brother Hilo, until she simply could no longer deny who she was — a Kaul, and puts her jade back on and returns to the fight.
The major downfall of this book for me was how little of Shae I got, and that's definitely why I preferred the last 200 pages the most because she was finally a dominant pov.
The book ranged from several perspectives — at times we saw what affected a main character like Lan, Hilo, Shae, or Anden, but we also got snippets from characters that we were not attached to at all. I saw the point of doing this — expanding what we understand the story to be and the world in general — but it was so boring to read!
I did enjoy the way traditional eastern Asian culture and lore were woven into this story, I really appreciated it as someone who is familiar with some of it due to the background of my partner. But it was so slow to get into that I can't give it any higher than 3.5 stars.
The ending, however, did win me over. I wasn't sure I would keep reading to find out what happens in the rest of the trilogy, but by the last 100 pages, I was ordering Jade War to pick up the rest of the story. And by the last 30 pages, I was gasping audibly, not expecting some of the turns that came.
I will say this is not an easy read, but it is an interesting read and I believe it was worthwhile. I wouldn't recommend this to someone in a reading slump, and I would recommend it to someone willing to work for the story.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Summary: Jade City takes place in the city of Janloon on the island Kekon, a place on the verge of war breaking out among fragile peace between the two Green Bone clans, the Jade warriors, that protect Jade from outsiders and generally keeps life in Janloon moving forward. The two clans, The Mountain and No Peak used to be one under the joint leadership of Kaul Sen (now of No Peak) and Ayt Yugontin (Yu) (of The Mountain at time of death). It's been several years since the two clans separated and began a tentative peace, particularly when Ayt Yu died and his adopted daughter, Ayt Madashi (Mada) killed his former advisors and her own adopted brother in order to take control The Mountain.
Now, Ayt Mada rules The Mountain as Pillar while the eldest grandson of Kaul Sen, Kaul Lan, rules No Peak as Pillar, with his younger brother Kaul Hilo as his Fist, or leader and enforcer of his fighters or Fingers. Kaul Sen is elderly and losing his grip on reality, but he's still sure he is the one who should be in charge. At the start of the story, Kaul Shae, the final and youngest sibling of Lan and Hilo, returns from foreign Espenia, after being away for two years to her grandda's dissapointment.
A fourth important family member of the Kaul's lineage is Emery Anden, an adopted grandson of Kaul Sen, particularly at the behest of Kaul Lan, who originally took Anden in when his mother died a horrific death due to Jade sensitivity, a disease called the Itches that affects those with higher Jade sensitivity causing them to lose their sanity and destroy themselves.
The story really begins as a war between the two clans bubbles to surface in Janloon. Lan struggles to moderate peace while his younger brother Hilo is outward in his rebuke of The Mountain's attempt to take over certain No Peak territories. Through Shae's return and Anden's soon-to-be-graduated from the No Peak training academy, the plot picks up with the loss of one of the Kaul's own, causing Shae, and Anden, to step up in the clan in different ways.
Thoughts:
I gotta say this was a ride. This was not a page-turner for me, in fact, it was very hard to get into. I chose to read this because of a recommendation from a friend who had heard great things about it. After winning the World Fantasy Award I thought I had to try it out — the concept of Asian lore of Jade mixed with gang politics seemed interesting. For the first honestly 300 pages I really struggled to get the draw. I must admit I'm new to adult fantasy, having previously mostly read YA fantasy or sci-fi, but this book didn't feel like fantasy to me — it felt like a modern gang story with a little bit of super-powered elements. The mention of the gods and the allure/disease/addiction of jade and the Itches was interesting to me and is probably the reason I kept reading aside from the development of Shae.
Shae was an incredible character and I loved reading her development from first returning to Janloon determined to remain independent, even to the point of almost ruining her relationship with her brother Hilo, until she simply could no longer deny who she was — a Kaul, and puts her jade back on and returns to the fight.
The major downfall of this book for me was how little of Shae I got, and that's definitely why I preferred the last 200 pages the most because she was finally a dominant pov.
The book ranged from several perspectives — at times we saw what affected a main character like Lan, Hilo, Shae, or Anden, but we also got snippets from characters that we were not attached to at all. I saw the point of doing this — expanding what we understand the story to be and the world in general — but it was so boring to read!
I did enjoy the way traditional eastern Asian culture and lore were woven into this story, I really appreciated it as someone who is familiar with some of it due to the background of my partner. But it was so slow to get into that I can't give it any higher than 3.5 stars.
The ending, however, did win me over. I wasn't sure I would keep reading to find out what happens in the rest of the trilogy, but by the last 100 pages, I was ordering Jade War to pick up the rest of the story. And by the last 30 pages, I was gasping audibly, not expecting some of the turns that came.
I will say this is not an easy read, but it is an interesting read and I believe it was worthwhile. I wouldn't recommend this to someone in a reading slump, and I would recommend it to someone willing to work for the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, Death, Violence, and Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, Xenophobia, War, Torture, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia and Rape
miak2's review against another edition
adventurous
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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The clan is my blood, and the pillar is its master.
This book was everything. It had me laughing out loud, almost in tears, and curled up under my blanket with my heart racing as I raced through pages to make sure everyone I loved was okay. (They weren't always).
Lee created such a masterpiece here (and I've heard the series gets better with each book?! What??) The worldbuilding was exquisite. Everything was so well thought out - from small details like unique sports to bigger pictures like growing tensions between countries. The story was delightfully draped in the culture, religion, and traditions of those from Kekon. It all felt very real, which isn't always the case in the fantasy genre, and that made the stakes and the consequences that much more dire.
Which - by the way - holy hell Fonda Lee. I know we've just been introduced but you can't play with my emotions like that. Every loss, every setback incurred by the No Peak clan made me feel personally affronted. While I escaped into this book, the Kauls were my family and, as such, every event in the book became deeply personal. Again, very rude of you Fonda Lee, I was having a good day before this. I freaking adored her characters, they were so fleshed out and human, and all of their insecurities and personal conflicts really helped make this book stand out.
I'm not sure that I'm emotionally prepared for the next book, but I'll still be eagerly refreshing my Libby holds until it's ready.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, and Drug use
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Rape