A review by mystralstorm
Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious 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

3.5

Thank you for the eARC NetGalley and Penguin Group. All opinions provided are my own.

Of Jade and Dragon is about Aihui Ying, an eighteen year-old girl, and her journey of uncovering the mystery of who murder her father and obtaining her dreams of entering the Engineering Guild. While trying to find clues of who murder her father, she has to avoid being discovered as a girl (only men can enter the guild, pass the three tests that determines if she can enter the guild, and figure out her feelings for Aogiya Ye-yang. 

Between the title, summary, and cover of the book, I was really excited to read Of Jade and Dragon. I have always loved Mulan and I liked Iron Widow so I was curious to see how the story would go. Sadly it didn't take long for disappointment to set in. In the very beginning of the book, Ying's father asked her to do 3 things: do not look at the journal, burn the journal, and do not investigate/ avenge his death. As soon as he was buried, she immediately disregarded his requests. Look, I get it. There would be no story if she did not investigate her father's murder but it felt like she was using his death to go live the dream she always wanted. It felt like she had to constantly remind herself why she was taking the guild test. She was investigating and taking the tests for selfish reasons. Nothing similar to Mulan in that regard. I had to force myself to finish the book. 

There was a lot I did not like about this story but I did enjoy the world building and side characters. It was pretty cool how the steampunk elements were intertwined into the world.

Overall I did not care for the book. I gave it 3.5 stars with a round up to 4. I usually enjoy Asian fantasy: YA or adult, so I'm not sure I was not vibing with this story. Hopefully others will enjoy it.