A review by readwithmekt
Jade City by Fonda Lee

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Jade is a powerful object in Kekon and people will do just about anything to get their hands on it. There are powerful families that want to protect the Jade and what it can do, the Kaul family. Then there are families that want to profit from the selling and trading of Jade, the Ayt family. Things are somewhat peaceful until they aren’t. A war is on the horizon and the two families will stop at nothing to get what they desire. Which family will win and how many will be lost along the way?

This book was recommended to me a couple of years ago by a friend and it has taken me a while to get around to reading it. I enjoyed this book. It was a different type of fantasy book than what I generally read. I found it extremely interesting but kind of wished that I had read the physical book instead of listening to the audio version. While it was nice to hear how all the names were pronounced, because there are so many characters I found that listening to the story made it challenging for me to remember who everyone was. 

This is the first book in a trilogy and there was a lot of world building and history that needed to be presented. I enjoyed how the world was created and the importance of Jade as well as getting an understanding of the drug that was supposed to help with Jade overload. I am curious to see how it will continue to play out in the other 2 books. 

I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters and the different relationships that were presented throughout. I found that while listening it was challenging to figure out which characters I should be trusting. I am still left somewhat unsure of who can fully be trusted. This feeling is interesting because a lot of family dynamics come into play in this book. I like the idea of the family members not fully trusting one another because power is at risk. 

While I enjoyed this book I did not love it and I will be honest and say I don’t know if it is because I listened to it over reading it. The narrator was incredible and I enjoyed the time I spent listening. While I am interested in finishing the trilogy I am not running out to get the next 2 books. I am invested in the Kaul family and I want to see what the future holds for them but I think I will be taking a little break. 

Have you read Jade City? What did you think?