I’m finishing this series before the end of that year. A friend told me to pick this up and I’m glad I did!

In awe of how good this book is - the world building, character development, magic system, gut wrenching plot - I’m not sure I have a single criticism.

Certainly understand the hype surrounding this novel and series! Very well-written, excellent characters, and a story that moves at a great pace (neither rushed, nor drawn-out). Definitely recommended.

An absolutely brilliant book, but not at all my usual read (and after finishing it I had to immediately fling myself into three subsequent romance novels to cheer myself up). Fonda Lee’s worldbuilding is phenomenal, and her immaculate plotting had me on tenterhooks waiting to see how the No Peak clan could escape their seemingly inevitable demise! I struggled a little bit with the POV characters— I think it’s a slightly unusual choice to have NO protagonists that you can trust 100% to do either the right thing or the smart thing, and it’s stressful! I do want to keep going with the series, but I’m also kind of glad that I don’t have Jade War with me so I have to jump into a bunch of lighter reads first.

I'd just like to start out by saying that this ARC has been hanging over my head, haunting me, since 2017. I a l w a y s read my ARCs. But this one was due around the time of an epic slump and once I crawled out of it I was intimidated by both the page count and of starting a new, unfinished, complicated series. Eventually I just told myself I would wait until the series ended. And here we are.

This has been a long time coming. Was it worth the wait? Well, it wasn't <b>not</b> worth the wait. If that makes sense.

Listen, you've probably heard all you need to know about this series. You've either picked it up already or determined it's not for you. You are aware it's an Asian-inspired fantasy about multigenerational feuding clans, pitched as comparable to The Godfather, with magical jade. And yes, it's literally all of that. I actually have nothing more to add, really.

The stand-out here is the writing. I've read Lee before and while it was ages ago this still feels like a step apart. It's well done. The complexities of the world, the history of it's people, the politics, the families, it's all well done. For all that it required some brainpower, and the page length was long, I found it very easy to not only stay engaged but it was hard to put this down. But did I like it? I don't know. I definitely didn't dislike it. And again I'm in awe of what the author crafted together. I also did like the characters in the sense that I was interested in them as opposed to, like, enjoying them.

Yeah, this is a tough one to explain.

Maybe it's easier to say that for all that I was pulled into the story, I wasn't invested. But maybe that'll change. Book two has the word "war" in the title and let me tell you that there was a lot of war in book one. So I think (no, I know) the stakes are going to be much higher in the coming instalment. All in all I'm curious to see where things go and do hope that somewhere along the line I get emotionally invested in the characters.

3.5 stars

Amazing. I adore Lee's writing and the world she has created. this is what fantasy is supposed to be and this series is truly something special. readers rave about this book for good reason, do yourself a favor and check it out.

I’ve been so excited about reading this recommendation. It was pitched to me as The Godfather urban fantasy and it certainly delivers on that! So if that sounded interesting to you too, then you’ll love this book!

In this world, jade can grant someone superhuman magical abilities but not everyone reacts the same to jade. Some can become addicted, for some it can be fatal. And there are two crime families that control the distribution of jade, which of course leads to territory disputes, blood feuds, knife duels, assassination attempts. At the core, politics and family along with one of the most compelling worlds I’ve read in urban fantasy in a while.

Fonda Lee’s writing style is superb. This book was subtle where it needed to be, but also quite action packed. I loved the way mystery is mixed into this story. Of course, all good crime syndicates have to deliver on the family drama and I loved that about this story as well.

If I had to pick a favorite character it would be Shae. She wears no jade by choice even though she was trained in The Academy. She wanted to have a career outside of the family business and expectations they had for her. Her struggle with what she wants and her sense of duty and loyalty is palpable in this book and I loved that she’s badass and steps up to the plate when needed. I can’t wait to see her character developed more.

JADE CITY plays out like a movie as you read, it’s immersive and intense. And I can’t wait to see this on the screen come to life as this is being developed into a TV series for Peacock. It’s going to be amazing! If there’s a book that would be perfect on TV, this is it!

Jade City by Fonda Lee is an intriguing organized crime, fantasy thriller with diverse characters and a dynamic world. The magic system in this world is like no other, with heightened abilities given to those who wear and control jade items. After Green Bones used jade harnessed abilities to overthrow Shotarian rule on Kekon a century ago, and now two family lead crime syndicates are on the brink of clan war. Jade City is told from multiple POVs, mainly from characters within the Kaul family who run the No Peak clan, as well as a common Kekonese boy who lusts after the power jade can bestow. The novel centers on themes of family, loyalty, honor, and greed.

Unlike the other titles on this list Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is set in a more modern world, where submachine guns and magic are equally dangerous. Kekonese jade allows those who wear it to unlock amazing enhanced abilities—but without training, a jade addict quickly burns out. The Kekonese who wear Jade are divided into clans, which operate like organized crime families, giving the series a mixed fantasy, crime, and noir feel that stretches across over 1800 pages and three novels, the final of which, Jade Legacy, hits bookshelves on November 30, 2021.

[Series featured in a roundup]

Jade City // written by Fonda Lee

I have to say that I struggled a little to get my thoughts together for this review. I should probably say that my rating is closer to a 3.5 but I still didn't feel strongly enough about it to round up to 4 stars. I've had this dilemma before where I didn't necessarily fall in love with a book but I am still super thrilled to be reading the next one in the series soon and Jade City is definitely one of those. I had extremely high expectations for this one and perhaps that was a problem in the end. I much prefer starting out with neutral feelings about something because then it can surprise me the entire way through.

I am struggling to pinpoint exactly what wasn't working for me. In general, I love the focus on culture, on characters, on traditions, and political intrigue. In theory, this really should have been the perfect read for me, But despite these positives, I still struggled to stay engaged and invested several times and found myself spacing out. I did like that I had such mixed feelings about some of the characters, such as Kaul Hilo, who wasn't just a single-minded murderer, but in fact, had such deeply running and often complicated emotions about the people he cared about. WHile Im not super thrilled about the ending, kudos to Lee for leaving me with such strong emotions there, I am very curious to see how that influences the actions of the other character in the next book, which I will be picking up very soon!

Thank you to the author and publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Incredible, the multiple nominees and awards this book has won are all well deserved.

Jade City is the first book in The Green Bone Saga, and it is also Fonda Lee’s adult fantasy debut. Ever since I knew about the existence of this novel, it has always been a book I wanted to read. As usual, the unbeatable TBR pile delayed me, and I was so sure that I won’t be getting into this one until next year. However, after seeing the non-stop praises that Fonda Lee and the book constantly received, as an Asian and avid adult fantasy reader, I knew that I couldn’t delay this any longer. I’m really happy that I gave this a read now, I’ve been craving a fantastic Asian-inspired fantasy lately, and Jade City delivered a spectacular Asian-inspired urban fantasy debut.

“Any old horse will run when it's whipped, but only fast enough to avoid the whipping," Hilo said. "Racehorses, though, they run because they look at the horse on their left, they look at the one on their right, and they think, No way am I second to these fuckers.”

If you want to know what the general plot of the book is about, read the synopsis on Goodreads or Amazon; it’s completely spoiler-free, and I won’t be bothering you with my unnecessary paraphrasing of the plot description. Jade City is a brilliantly imagined urban high fantasy. Growing up as an Asian in a Chinese household, it’s practically impossible to not watch Asian gangster or martial arts movies with the family. This novel reminded me a lot of my love for those movies, in an even superior way. On my first read, it did take me a while before I was fully engaged with the narrative. If you’re reading the book for the first time, and at first you feel the same as I did, be patient. Trust me, it’s worth it. The first 31% of the book was the calm before the storm. Once the story went past the first interlude, the storm of blood and tension compelled me to continue reading non-stop. I immensely enjoyed reading Jade City. It was a fantastic read; the themes of honor, loyalty, wealth, power, greed, and family took the center stage in the narrative, and I can’t get enough of them.

“Sometimes even the most loyal and devoted men make mistakes when they’re forced to make decisions under terrible circumstances.”

There were some parts of the story that did feel slightly predictable, but predictability doesn’t immediately mean it’s a bad thing. A certain level of familiarity in storytelling structure can be a good thing, and it has been achieved here. Jade City has an immersive world-building that’s so distinct in the current fantasy market. Accompanied by a terrific combination of magic and martial arts, Lee’s engaging prose shine; the pacing and momentum building was constantly wonderful. And most importantly, Lee’s characterizations and dialogues were excellent.

“Sometimes, Andy, the people you think you can count on, they let you down in a bad way, and that’s hard to take. But for the most part, you give a man something to live up to, you tell him he can be more than he is now, more than other people think he’ll ever be, and he’ll try his godsdamned best to make it true.”

Fonda Lee’s characterizations were so masterful, and to think this is only the first book of the trilogy. Lan, Hilo, Shae, and Anden are the four main characters, and they’re all flawed, realistic, and easily relatable. Honestly, it’s not just the main characters, ALL the characters felt extremely well-written. During my time of reading Jade City, I didn’t realize when it occurred, but I was so immersed with the book that my perception of reality felt clouded; I forgot I was reading a book. Seriously, the characterizations and prose were that good; everything just clicked with me. Lee did an outstanding job in utilizing her characters to show the importance of honor. The character’s determination to put their family at the top of their priority—setting aside their differences—was admirable. Plus, I have to say that the interactions and relationships that the main characters have with each other were glowing brilliantly. Empathizing characters to care for will always be my utmost priority in my reading experience, and the characterizations in Jade City were simply stupendous.

“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “When you’re born with them, you resent them, fight against them. When you’ve never been given any, you feel the lack of them your whole life.”

Jade City deflected the notion I had that somehow the book won’t live up to my high expectation, but it managed to not only live up to it but exceeded it. Fonda Lee channeled palpable tensions into the deadly political machinations, the descent into the bloody conflicts, the typhoon of battles, and the dynamic interactions between characters; they were a sheer joy to read. With Jade City, Fonda Lee has created an adult fantasy debut that is up there with The Lies of Locke Lamora in quality and magnificence, and that’s not praises I easily hand out. I absolutely look forward to reading Jade War next year!

You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)

You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel

I have FINALLY picked up this book!! I have seen so much hype about this book and I’ve had it on my TBR for way too long. I’m happy to report that the hype is real!

This is my first book by Fonda Lee and I think it took me a little bit to get a grasp of her writing style. While her world-building was good but it did take some time for me to figure it out. I do appreciate that she didn’t have a lot of “info dumps” throughout. There’s a lot of history and complex aspects to this world that I hope gets a bit more fleshed out in the next book.

“The clan is my blood, and the Pillar is its master.
On my honor, my life, and my jade.”

The characters in this book are so good. We have quite the mix in the siblings alone. Lan is the more pragmatic and peaceful sibling with a lot on his shoulders. Shae is trying to do things on her own, is very educated and smart. She’s also really funny and may even be stronger than the boys. We then have Hilo, who is very passionate but has a lot of anger issues. Lastly, there is Anden, who is trying to figure out who and where he belongs in this world. I have my favorites and I am a lot more excited about some of their journeys than others. There are several other great characters that I’m sure will have much bigger parts in the following books. I will say, Lee does not hold back with the violence. It’s quite amazing how quickly I became attached to all of these characters.

“Screw you, Hilo,” she snapped. “I can kill my ex-boyfriends myself.”

The pacing of this book started rather slow for me. I do understand that this was a very complicated world and I also had trouble with all the different names at first. Halfway through the book, the plot picked up quickly and it was a much faster pace for me. I think it was a mix of the writing style and my struggles figuring things out. I was pleasantly surprised that I had no idea what was going to happen.

“Sometimes, Andy, the people you think you can count on, they let you down in a bad way, and that’s hard to take. But for the most part, you give a man something to live up to, you tell him he can be more than he is now, more than other people think he’ll ever be, and he’ll try his godsdamned best to make it true.”

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I couldn’t put it down by the end. The story is really gripping and surprising and I cannot wait to jump into the next book. I am going in with my emotions a bit guarded because Fonda Lee did manage to hurt the heck out of me in this one!

I want to thank Orbit for providing me with a galley of this book. My opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. The magic system was unique, and the world building was phenomenal. I loved the character work, and the plot was well paced.

A man who wears the crown of a king can’t wear the jade of a warrior. Gold and jade, never together.”
Trigger Warning : substance abuse, decapitation, gore, death, violence, sex

***SPOILER ALERT***

A must read book for all fantasy fans. “I swear on my honor, my life, and my jade.”

Jade City is a multi award nominated adult fantasy debut and first book to The Green Bone Saga trilogy by Fonda Lee. Since I started reading adult fantasy books Jade City has been on top of my TBR list. I wanted to relish the experience of reading the book by buying the physical copy. Obtaining the physical copy wasn’t that easy. It took me 3-4 months to finally lay my hands on a copy. For all of you readers that live in South East Asia or places where English books are limited in choice, you know how expensive and how hard to obtain a book like Jade City. When my copy finally arrived I devoured it immediately I could not delay reading it anymore. For those who are interested, the sequel, Jade War, is already released and the last book, Jade Legacy, will be released in September 2021.

The story is set on the island of Kekon, the only place on earth that produces the worlds rarest resource, jade. On this island there are two crime syndicates that maintains control over the jade, the No Peaks and the Mountain. In Jade City, the story focuses on the Kaul family, the family that is the core of the No Peak clan. After many incidents of minor disputes between the No Peak and the Mountain tensions run high between the two clans. As the tension erupts on the streets of Kekon blood is shed, lives are lost, and jade is won; the Kaul family’s and the No Peak clan’s fate are determined by the outcome of this clan war.

Heaven help us. My clan, all Green Bones, all of Kekon.

Jade City is set in the modern urban landscape of Kekon, with a mixture of nature and modern developments, the island itself reminds me so much of Hong Kong and Taiwan. The whole world is reminiscent of the old gangster movies I used to watch such as the Godfather, A Better Tomorrow, and Kung Fu Hustle. The atmospheric world building sets the tone and mood of the story which made the experience of reading much more immersive. I specifically love the places in Janloon that become the main battle ground for the two opposing clans such as : Twice Lucky, The Armpit, and the three betting houses on Poor Man’s Road. The magic system, jade, plays a big part in the story, as it is used as the main plot tool and enhances the powers of Green Bones, someone that wears jade. The life of the Kekonese revolves around jade, it is deeply rooted in the culture and economy of Kekon as jade is the main resource for the Kekonese. Economically the clans benefit from jade but only two dominant clans receives the biggest benefits from it. This monopoly created a government that is easily influenced and swayed even though there is a saying that “Gold and Jade never together”.

Jade also created rifts amongst jade warriors and normal people. To hone the powers of jade one must go through a training process from a young age in the two most prestigious academies on the island. To enroll one must have a certain connection to the two clans or come from a family of jade users. The Kekonese takes the purity of their blood line very seriously, mocking anyone with mixed ancestry viewing it as something shameful. It is safe to say that not anyone can be a green bone. In Kekon someone that has more jade on their person is considered of higher status and holds more privilege than any normal man. Not to mention the power jade offers to those who wear them. This can easily blur the views of people that puts jade on a pedestal, corrupting their minds and senses with greed just to get a taste of it’s power, sometimes more of it. There is a hierarchy in the society of Kekon that is prominent as you read the book. With the existence of a powerful weapon like jade, Fonda Lee added consequences for the users. Only Kekonese people can use jade but not all of them, some of them are born not being able to hone the powers of jade. Non Kekonese can use jade but not with consequences, they are more prone to being addicted or die. The checks and balances in the magic system is done really well and its packaged to be easily understood by anyone. Readers can grasp the concept within two to three chapters into the book. I can go on and on about how brilliant the world building and the magic system is. It is very complex yet simple without it being too dragged out.

“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “When you’re born with them, you resent them, fight against them. When you’ve never been given any, you feel the lack of them your whole life.”

One factor about Jade City that became the main force of the story is the characters. Fonda Lee has written characters that are well fleshed out, relatable, and realistic. There is grandeur and other worldliness when it comes to characters in fantasy but the characters in Jade City is human and flawed. Reading the book I was taken aback when Fonda reminded me how human the characters are. At that moment I realized no one is invincible in this story. The attachment I have developed to the characters blurred the lines of reality for me, when a bad thing happened to a character I felt all the emotions hitting me like a rogue wave. The character dynamics and interactions with one another is written in a way that each of them have their own distinct voice. Their personality bleeds out of the page that I keep forgetting I’m reading a book. All of the members of the Kaul family prioritize family over everything, setting aside their differences to stand with the family through grief and tragedy. The side characters also contributed to the chaos of the story lighting those sparks that build up into a house fire that will only get bigger as the story progress. Mind you this is just the first book to a trilogy, it will only pick up from her to an even larger scheme as the world and the story expands.

“All he knew now was that remorse had a natural limit. After a certain amount of time, it finished eating a person hollow and had to alchemize into anger that could be turned outward lest it consume its host entirely”

It is not often that I feel a lot of emotion while reading a book so intensely that it haunts me constantly throughout my day. Fonda Lee blew me away, when people told me that Jade City is a good book I did not expect it to be a book that contains everything I love in stories. It is truly a masterful story about a powerful family with inter generational blood feuds, politics, territorial disputes, sabotage, and honor. Weaving magic and martial arts into the story resulting in multiple jaw dropping-powerful-explosive combat scenes. The author did not hold back with the suspense and build up of the story. With each chapter I read it, I get more and more invested that I was ‘itching’ for more.

“The clan is my blood, and the pillar is its master.”

Fonda Lee has written one of the best books in modern fantasy; the originality in the world building and magic system, the utmost highest quality prose, the addictively-gripping story and plot, and last but not least is the amazing impactful characters. I highly recommend for everyone to read this book, pick up this book and prepare yourself to be transported to Kekon.

Jade City is the first volume of the Green Bone saga, and it drew me in immediately with its opening scenes of an attempted robbery. What the thieves were trying to steal was just a few studs of jade, but possession of even these confers great powers, but only if you have the training and discipline to control its effects. Fonda Lee has built a detailed, deeply imagined world in the city of Janloon, and she brings you into the reality of it through one powerful scene after another. Ruled by families that were hailed as heroes during the colonial wars, the city is now in the grip of these rival clans that used their power and control of jade to establish themselves as crime syndicates. The two great rivals have their intricate hierarchies, codes of loyalty and rituals of training, life and death. This opening volume dramatizes the rise to power of the new generation of leaders and the outbreak of war between the clans. I found it irresistible and kept going immediately into the second volume, Jade War.

“I’ll make an offer you can’t refuse”; those are the words echoed and mocked in so many movies. But they originated in a little book called “The Godfather” by Mario Puzzo in the late 60s and became a movie phenomenon. When I read “Jade City”, those words came to mind as this book is very much an organized crime novel. And if you add the touch of magic included in the story, from the Jade driven powers the characters have, it feels very much like gangster Urban fantasy.

As part of a trilogy (Jade War & Jade Legacy), Jade City feels like the book in the series setting up the world, the magic and the overall structure of the clans/rivalries. For some, this could be a negative since we’re spending a large chunk of the book in setup mode, but the world Lee build is so rich in culture. Just understanding the consequences and possibilities of Jade powers is so crucial to enjoy the rest of the ride. I haven’t read yet the following tomes, but I have a feeling we’ll be spending more time in the conflicts and action of the Green Bone Saga world, since we’ve already experience the world building aspect of the series. The story is solid as it supports all this setting up through conflicts and meaningful dialogue versus exposing us to all this through dull exposition.

And where Jade City shines is in the organized crime exploration. This is such an unexplored genre. Just search for organized crime fiction on Amazon or Goodreads and you’ll find a fraction of any other subgenres (popular in the 60-70s but dwindled since then) — or Godfather and The Sicilian suggested as top reads. And Fonda Lee does such an amazing job in sinking us into a vibrant world of gangsters and institutions responsible for doing legit (or not so legit) business with the so-called Jade import/exports. If I had to put an exact date on how the book felt, it feels very 70s.

Finally, in this book it felt the fantasy part—or the Jade powered individuals and martial arts derived from using Jade—took a backseat in service of the war in between clans and characterization. Ultimately, it was necessary and an amazing approach to a fantasy book. We’re exposed to tons of magic systems in the genre and sometimes at the detriment of drama, but it was the opposite in Jade City. The fantasy served the story VS the other way around. Loved it.

If you’re a fan of Urban fantasy deeply set into a world of crime, gangsters and Jade-powered martial arts, Jade City and the following books of the trilogy will fall right into your TBR. Take Mario Puzzo, a dab of Jet Li and sprinkle it with magic and you’ll get exactly what this book is about.I am excited to continue the Jade journey through the following two books of the trilogy.

A book for the magic lovers who want the abilities tied to a tangible system, Jade City is a book for all the readers who love fight first ask questions sometimes readers. As I am more a proponent of the magical thinkers, I am holding my full opinion on this book until I've read the rest of the series. Looking forward to the final book's release this year.

-What happens when you cross a goat and a tiger? Something strange and terrifying-.

In a somewhat united Kekon, the clans of No Peak and the Mountain enjoy wealth and power. A peace has existed between the clans since defeating those who would conquer and subjugate them. But a scheme has been brewing to secure power for one clan and only the stronger will remain.

Every character is deliberately introduced and their importance to the story-line gradually unveiled. Lee takes the time to craft her story and as such it is well-paced and executed. Her world building is a slow burn, so everything that is to be revealed, every fight, every secret and realization is accomplished with faultless timing.

With characters that are practical, steadfast, ruthless, cunning, hotheaded, impulsive, sly, greedy, and murderous; Jade City is a novel for readers who like great world-building, complex character interplay, cold-blooded leaders and family loyalty above all else. It doesn't hurt that we have powers conferred by jade either.

The nitty-gritty: A nuanced, brutal, epic saga of clan rivalry, loyalty, betrayal and revenge, set in a vivid Asian inspired fantasy world.

I was determined to read a backlist fantasy book for #Wyrdandwonder, and I’m so glad I made time for Jade City, a book that’s been on my TBR since it was released in 2017. With the approach of the series finale later this year—Jade Legacy—I thought it was time to catch up. Many bloggers and reviewers have already praised this book in every way possible, and I’m not sure what else I can add to the mix. But you can tell from my rating that I loved Jade City, and I’m impressed by just about every element Fonda Lee brought to the table. This is my first book by this author and it was masterfully done!

Because this is an older book, I won’t do an in depth story recap, but here are the basics. The story is set in an Asian inspired fantasy world on the island of Kekon, ruled over by two powerful clans whose highest ranking members use a special form of jade magic. No Peak clan and The Mountain have an uneasy alliance, but that’s about to change. When an assassination attempt is made on the Weather Man of No Peak—one of the Pillar’s right hand men—a turf war seems imminent, and the future of Kekon and its two warring clans could be decided by a single act of violence.

This is a complex plot with intricately drawn characters and relationships. Lots of readers have compared Jade City to The Godfather, which is a good comparison. I also got Game of Thrones vibes, simply because of the complicated family dynamics and tension among various characters. Lee is so good at creating subtle but powerful moments: exciting political maneuvering, tested loyalties, family betrayals, revenge and honor. Green Bones swear allegiance to the death when they join a clan, and every day offers another possibility that they might be called upon to sacrifice themselves for the good of the clan. The plot is fairly slow overall—of course there are pulse-pounding action and fight scenes—but Lee takes her time laying down the groundwork, carefully adding layer after layer to her story until the reader is trapped in the middle of this group of volatile characters. I found myself helpless as the story unfolded, unable to look away, even as I knew bad bad things were about to happen. It’s this kind of storytelling that I find irresistible, and the further into the story you get, the more you realize how skillfully the plot has been handled.

I also have to mention the brilliant world building and magic system that the author has created. If this weren’t a secondary fantasy world, I would call Jade City urban fantasy. The time period seems to be sometime around the 1970s. People use typewriters, pay phones, guns and cars, and yet everything else about this world is unfamiliar. I love the idea of being sensitive to jade and gaining powers by wearing it. There are all sorts of rules surrounding jade. You have to be trained before you can have your own jade because it’s so powerful and can literally drive a person crazy. Most jade is earned by taking it off the dead bodies of rivals killed in fights and duels, and many Green Bones actually embed small pieces of jade in their skin so that it will always be there when they need it. But too much jade is very dangerous and can kill you, and a drug called SN1 or “shine” has been developed to counteract some of these extreme reactions to the stone. Then there are those who have no sensitivity to jade at all called “stone-eyes,” people who will never become Green Bones but who make up the many citizens of Janloon who work for the clans as civilians. Lee has developed every aspect of her world, and it’s simply stunning. I believe there is a TV show in development, which doesn’t surprise me at all, since the story and characters practically leap off the page.

This is a testosterone heavy cast of characters, and at first I was worried that there wouldn’t be any interesting female characters in the story. But luckily, there are several, despite the fact that yes, Green Bones are mostly men. Shae was the most prominent female character and my favorite. The sister of Hilo and Lan, she left Janloon to go to school and in doing so left behind the clan way of life. She even removed all her jade before she left, which is unheard of. But Shae gets dragged back into the family business due to circumstances that I can’t discuss, and I loved her level headedness and strength and the way she can handle just about everything she runs up against. I also grew to love a prostitute named Wen, who proved to be extremely smart and opportunistic. And then there is Ayt, the Pillar of the Mountain, a fierce and deadly leader who isn’t completely developed in this first installment and is more of a caricature of a villain, but definitely has potential to be very interesting.

Jade City gets better and better as you read it. At first it takes some time to untangle the many characters and figure out how they are related to each other, but it’s worth the effort, and I had a hard time putting the book down once I reached a certain point. Fonda Lee surprised me at just about every turn. I thought I knew where things were going and then she did something completely different, something that was much better than what I had imagined! I loved the way she wrapped up the book, not on a cliffhanger, but rather with a few hints of what’s to come in the next book. I can hardly wait to get started on Jade War!

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Mob-like families use magic powered by jade to wage war on one another. Some clarity issues in the writing (especially action scenes), mixed with an interesting magic system, but the characters are distant.