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adventurous
dark
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
I enjoyed this; it was very readable and the setting was easy to fall into. Even though most of the story was set only in the city of Janloon, the worldbuilding was rich, with just enough history and a glimpse of the world outside Kekon. For a mob story, this wasn't fast-paced; the action sequences were brutal, but they took up less of the story than I anticipated. Instead, nearly the whole book felt like a set-up for the sequel - lots of political maneuvering, shifting of power, planting plot devices whose consequences are to be revealed later on.... All enjoyable and well-written, but I was ~80% into the book before I got truly excited. Even now I'm still not that invested in the characters. I'm interested to see where their paths take them and I care about No Peak as a whole, but would I cry if any of the main characters died? Probably not. Will I still read Jade War right away? Yes, actually! I have a feeling it'll be a lot more exciting now that the chess pieces are in place (fingers crossed).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Pedophilia, Torture, Grief
Minor: Rape, Suicide, Death of parent
Jade acts like a drug, pretty much, with all the consequences of withdrawal or addiction. There's also SN1, a synthetic drug designed to decrease sensitivity to jade.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Representation:
- queer boy/man MC
- Asian-inspired cast/world
I....I honestly don't know what to say. The characters? Amazing. The world-building? Impeccable. The writing? A masterpiece. I am. Flabbergasted. I need my hands on Jade War yesterday, omg.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Self harm
Additional triggers include: child sexual assault/child porn (mentioned)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief
Moderate: Pedophilia
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This review is spoiler-free. Content warnings for the book are listed at the end.
@ everyone hyping this book up: y’all were right. This book is freaking fantastic, and it singlehandedly renewed my interest in adult fantasy.
Lee built an incredibly complex yet easy to understand world, and it was so easy to get lost in. Even though the pacing in the first half was a bit too slow for my tastes, the second half more than made up for it. Politics and war and family dynamics—I’m here for all of it. I also liked that Hilo and Wen were already together, and aside from their relationship, there was no romance. That allowed the focus to stay on the Kaul family and tension between the clans, and rightfully so.
The last fifty pages were so much more stressful than I expected and I don’t appreciate it. Anden is about my age, everyone else is older than me, but I’m attached to these characters and I DON’T WANT ANYTHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO THEM. I love Hilo, Shae, and Anden, and I WANT TO PROTECT THEM. But everyone talks about how devastating these books are and this is only the first, so..... to say I’m scared is an understatement.
Also, I legit can’t find the second book anywhere, at the library physically or digitally, and I am sad. I have so many other books I’m excited to read but I also lowkey only want to read Jade War.
If you’re on the fence about reading this, do it, and stick with the book even if you’re kind of bored at first. I was, and now I’ve got yet another book I’m obsessed and in love with.
Representation:
• One of the protagonists is queer
@ everyone hyping this book up: y’all were right. This book is freaking fantastic, and it singlehandedly renewed my interest in adult fantasy.
Lee built an incredibly complex yet easy to understand world, and it was so easy to get lost in. Even though the pacing in the first half was a bit too slow for my tastes, the second half more than made up for it. Politics and war and family dynamics—I’m here for all of it. I also liked that Hilo and Wen were already together, and aside from their relationship, there was no romance. That allowed the focus to stay on the Kaul family and tension between the clans, and rightfully so.
The last fifty pages were so much more stressful than I expected and I don’t appreciate it. Anden is about my age, everyone else is older than me, but I’m attached to these characters and I DON’T WANT ANYTHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO THEM. I love Hilo, Shae, and Anden, and I WANT TO PROTECT THEM. But everyone talks about how devastating these books are and this is only the first, so..... to say I’m scared is an understatement.
Also, I legit can’t find the second book anywhere, at the library physically or digitally, and I am sad. I have so many other books I’m excited to read but I also lowkey only want to read Jade War.
If you’re on the fence about reading this, do it, and stick with the book even if you’re kind of bored at first. I was, and now I’ve got yet another book I’m obsessed and in love with.
Representation:
• One of the protagonists is queer
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Death
Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide
Regarding the three content warnings tagged as minor—sexual assault, self-harm, suicide—all three happen prior to the story, and are mentioned in passing multiple times during the story. None of it happens on page.