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adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
tense
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
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
adventurous
dark
funny
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
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm kind of at a loss for words on this one. I loved it. It captured me from the start. The world-building left a little to be desired, but I think we got there. I can't wait to dive deeper into the family drama in the next one. I think maybe what I was missing was more from the bad guys? Like, they're basically the same as the good guys, so why did they become the bad guys? A few chapters from one of their perspectives would have made it interesting. I also need the old men to die. Eff both of those guys. Big time. I get that they can't just kill them cuz of honor or whatever, but they're just a straight up problem. Looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series!
adventurous
hopeful
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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:
Complicated
This book starts off quite difficult to follow as there’s a lot of characters and places to get used to and understanding the magic system in the world, but after a bit it becomes easy and after the half way mark the stakes start to heighten. There was a major plot point around half way that I was not expecting, at least so early and the last half of the book is crazy.
The green bone/jade magic system is really interesting and intricately crafted. The fight scenes are cinematic, it felt like I was watching a kung fu/mafia/superhero film. Think something like Shang-Chi but more violent. I really love such cinematic action scares in books, it really captures your attention and I feel like this book would adapt into a movie so well.
There is also very interesting family dynamics. Honour, legacy and loyalty are essential and betrayal is deadly. Not all of the family dynamics are perfect, actually far from it. There’s also moral ambiguity and questioning of morals and important themes such as sexism, mental health and the influence of tourists. Multiple POVs are a favourite of mine as usual.
Overall an impactful book and I can’t wait to get to the next one because I’ve heard it gets better so very excited.
The green bone/jade magic system is really interesting and intricately crafted. The fight scenes are cinematic, it felt like I was watching a kung fu/mafia/superhero film. Think something like Shang-Chi but more violent. I really love such cinematic action scares in books, it really captures your attention and I feel like this book would adapt into a movie so well.
There is also very interesting family dynamics. Honour, legacy and loyalty are essential and betrayal is deadly. Not all of the family dynamics are perfect, actually far from it. There’s also moral ambiguity and questioning of morals and important themes such as sexism, mental health and the influence of tourists. Multiple POVs are a favourite of mine as usual.
Overall an impactful book and I can’t wait to get to the next one because I’ve heard it gets better so very excited.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence