A review by praaliine
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i have a lot more to say about this but i need to let my thoughts stew for a while before i can properly express myself. however, i will say this: this was a truly unique read. and looking back on everything, i think i get it now.

*added March 12*
after letting my thoughts stew for weeks i’m finally ready to review this properly. well, as properly as i can articulate myself right now because i wanna cry just remembering this book. this was wildly immersive and and unexpected new favourite of mine. the beginning of the series was pretty good but there were a lot of parts that i had to really power through, but from jade war, the payoff starts almost  immediately. and then this. this saga was incredibly masterful, like i had to just sit back and really look over the whole picture and oh my gosh, wow. the overarching plot was a movie, every end was so neatly tied up throughout that it left no room for plot holes or confusion. this story had not only social and political intrigue but history and lore about Kekon, jade, and green bone warriors. the world building…oh my gosh, THE WORLD BUILDING. even minuscule details like the names of car models were so well thought out. 
the characterization is truly unique, these characters were so realistic and felt so alive to me, their emotions and pain were all so raw and did i mention how alive they felt to me? every character (whether they appeared just once or on every page) had a distinct role that had to be played to drive the story forward. there were several moments where seemingly insignificant thoughts and actions of these characters changed the entire trajectory of LIVES. the characters also grew and developed physically and psychologically, i’m talking GENERATIONS of growth and change. plus family was at the core of this story, i’m such a sucker for found family so you can imagine what a story about biological family would do to me. and i believe it’s because of this very reason that it hurt so bad when some of these characters died, devastating i tell you. this was my first taste of urban fantasy and this story was an interesting blend of older/historical things (objects and practices) and modernity, for example how moon blades (which if i’m not mistaken, resemble katanas in some way) exist alongside firearms and are often used interchangeably. 
the greenbone saga ripped some guttural and ugly sobs from my chest, it had me smiling, screaming, and sometimes having a whole argument with the the words on the page. definitely deserving of every literary award. shoutout to my twitter girlies for forcing this one down my throat (you know who you are).
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