Reviews - Jade City | The StoryGraph

13.6k reviews for:

Jade City

Fonda Lee

4.13 AVERAGE

steveagain's review against another edition

3.5

emotional tense slow-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

aystia's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was a re-read for me, and I knew from my previous read that I would enjoy this book. And I did! But I think in this read I was hindered by the fact that I'd just come off a separate series that sucked me in hard, and this one...did not do that in the same way.

This is still a fantastic read, but it's more plot focused and there's a subtle level of distance in the writing, so that it was harder to form an emotional connection with the characters. The first half was also a lot of build up, which did not help for me personally. I enjoyed it, but the characters really came into their own when the main conflict finally broke out and they had to step up or die, essentially.

That's where I finally got hooked.

It took a little patience, but that patience was worth it. And beyond the characters, the world is so well developed and interesting, a perfect blend of modern and fantasy. While the majority of the story takes place in a single city, it's clear that events will soon pull in the rest of the world--which makes the setting feel so much more real, because local actions will have (potentially) international consequences.

In short: The plot is compelling, the worldbuilding is fantastic, and while the characters take a little while to really connect to, they're all interesting and multidimensional and their struggles feel real and relatable. Jade City didn't hook me quite as strongly as I had hoped, but the slower build up was worth the wait.