Honestly, I kept putting off reading this one because I wasn't ready for it to be all over and because I knew it was going to rip my heart out. (Also because I just couldn't get a copy of the first two books to reread, but mostly the first two reasons.) Then I kept putting off writing this review because I had a lot of incoherent feelings, and, again, I wasn't ready for it to be all over ... but here we are at last.

First things first: the ending made me cry. Not just a few tears shed at one point, but the full sniffles-and-snot ordeal, recurring every few pages for the last few chapters. And I don't consider myself a crier when it comes to books! I can only say that I was not at all prepared, despite my anticipation and speculation about this book, especially since initially I wasn't quite sure how the climax and falling action could possibly rise to the level of sky-high stakes: escalation after escalation after escalation.

But man, oh man, did Jade Legacy deliver. This is a series conclusion to remember.

As with the second installment, Jade War, the scope is epic — in timespan covered, themes explored, and thickness (page count) embodied by the book itself. This is where I think rereading the previous books would've helped me out, since so much has already happened and it all builds throughout the length of the trilogy; it would also have saved me some time in getting re-immersed in the Kauls' world. But it definitely wasn't necessary.

The ambitious narrative does mean that there are a fair few slower scenes among the intermediate peaks, though I wouldn't label any of it as "fluff" in the pejorative sense. For me the political and socio/economic machinations were the least exciting (but, again, necessary to the story), while the domestic family moments were the highlights.

Even saying that seems like an oversimplification, though, because every element of this series is inextricably intertwined with the others. At its heart I maintain that this series is largely character-driven, but the plot and worldbuilding are also integral to the whole experience. (The clan is my blood and the Pillar is its master.) Seriously, I'm in awe of how much Fonda Lee packs in, somehow without rushing or cramming or losing sight of how important even the little moments can be.

This book was perfect.

I am someone who had more issues with Jade War than the average reader, I did not like that it wasn't as tight as Jade City. That said Jade Legacy covers even more ground and I had no issues with that. I have so many scenes that will stick with me from this book and I cannot wait to re-read it one day and get everyone in my family who I think might like it to read it so I can hear their thoughts as each dramatic moment happens for them. Also the quiet moments were top tier and also the highlights for me. I finished the last 250 pages of this book in basically one sitting and it was the best feeling. Its been a long time since a series ender stuck the landing so perfectly in my opinion.

I will just be honest, I can’t review this book. It’s too brilliant and spectacular and expansive that I can’t condense my feelings into a few paragraphs, I will only say that this is one of the best fantasy trilogies I’ve ever read in my life and I wish everyone picks it up.

Thank you so much to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

The first two books in this series were all-consuming. The world-building, the characters, the story. I became so invested in what would happen next, and Jade Legacy does not disappoint in tying things up neatly for us.

Jade Legacy expands on the clan wars, showing us the real differences between the Mountain and No Peak clans, and why they're so important in the end. This isn't a simple who can kill who first. The machinations of each, including politics and foreign interests and even a break into the entertainment industry, throws us into the deep with how each step is maneuvered just so.

The entirety of this book spans over two decades, meaning we see each character as they age and mature and realize with no little grief how much this war has taken from them. It allows the story to be fully formed, for our characters to grow and realize the how's and why's of clan life, and what it means to hold power, and what it means to love your family, even if they choose a different path. Even if they're not here anymore. It's emotional, and by the end of the book, I was completely wrung out. I loved every second of this journey, and this will definitely be a series I revisit over and over.

I can't wait to see what Fonda Lee does next.

This book was incredible! I had high expectations because I love Jade City and Jade War so much, and Fonda Lee did not disappoint me. I think she handled the time span required by the plot expertly and seamlessly, and I found it easy to follow the time jumps. This book was meticulously crafted, and I was hooked from the first page. These characters are so realistic and fleshed out, and I love them so much, despite their flaws. I ran through the gamut of emotions while reading this, and as soon as I finished, I wanted to reread the entire trilogy. I cannot recommend this series enough. Jade Legacy is one of the most epic and satisfying conclusions to a series that I have ever read!

What an incredible ending to an incredible series. All these characters grew on us and we see them growing up not only in their personality, but literally growing up because there are a lot of time jumps. The story spans decades and it takes us through so much that I'm in awe about just how much world and character building went into creating this trilogy. I applaude Fonda Lee for making me care so much about everything, and I applaude sadly for all the heartbreak that I went through. It was hard. There were tears, My heart? In a million pieces. My hope? Often shattered. Gasps? Galore.
I loved how everything was connected even when the characters were far away from each other. I just simply loved everything and everything brought me all the feelings.
I will certainly read everything Fonda Lee writes from now on!

I'm sure I'm not the only person with a sort of internal taxonomy when it comes to categorizing books. This, the third of Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga, comes squarely under the heading of what I think of as the Shostakovich's 11th Symphony heading: books that develop theme after theme, character after character, building and building until it the climactic supernova that nearly catapults you out of your reading chair from tension and emotional overdrive.

I don't want to explain Janloon or its two contending families, and the power of jade, for any new readers who might cruise this review because it would not do justice to these terrific books to begin here.

This is the concluding volume of a three-book series that Lee, a martial artist, created as an homage to her favorite kung fu movies. In those, the magical blends with real life in a way that won't surprise anyone who's read the Four Great Classics of Chinese literature, through which dragons and ghosts drift alongside people who actually lived--whose tombs can be found--as well as the very long tradition of Jianghu tales.

This could easily have been four, even five books. Some readers might complain that this third volume compresses the storyline pretty tightly, introducing an entirely new generation. But Lee does a terrific job of bringing her characters, and her setting to life, building to powerful poignancy of that ending.

I might expand this review after a second, more leisurely reading: the takeaway here is that I was so enthralled I had to read in one sitting, as I could not put this book down. A satisfying finish to the series, which could not have ended any other way.

A stunning conclusion to a complex, intriguing trilogy with unique world-building. I’ve been talking up this book in some of the other urban fantasy book groups I’m a member of because it appeals to fans of Brandon Sanderson and George R.R. Martin and also has elements of Kung Fu and gangster movies from Asia. So many great entry points for fans. It’s hard to wrap up a series with so many characters, but Lee does a great job wrapping everything up in a satisfying conclusion. Highly recommended.

I've been sitting on this review for a few days because I wasn't even sure how to put my feelings down into words. Because wow. Just wow. Fonda Lee stuck the landing of this series with a perfect 10.

This book covers about 20 years, and I'm very impressed with how Fonda Lee was able to pull that writing feat off. It felt like so much was put into this book, and yet it never felt like there was too much happening. She managed to write the time jumps in a way that I was never left wishing we had spent more time in the previous time span, it was perfectly balanced and paced.

The characters in this book were immaculate. Seeing how Hilo and Shae and Anden and everyone we've been following has evolved as they aged was incredibly well done. And seeing the kids growing up and becoming the next generation of the clans was so good.

I truly don't have anything negative to say about this book. In the previous books I had a little bit of an issue with the pacing as I found it almost too slow for my taste, but despite it still being a slow burn story I really didn't have that issue with Jade Legacy.

I absolutely recommend this book and series to any fantasy fan looking for an epic scale saga in a trilogy length book series.

If you have made it this far in the series, then you are clearly a fan. This was a near flawless conclusion to the series. I could go on about the great characters, the fast pacing, the overall plot...but I think it is something that you will have to experience for yourself.

The saga continues (and ends)! This entire trilogy could be a single book. I feel like everything I've said in my reviews for the first two could also be said for this one.

The world building is absolutely incredible. It is colorful, stylized, and has strong vibes. It is easy to imagine and become immersed in. It is wildly expansive and detailed. Literally an entire globe has been imagined with a variety of countries, cultures, religions, values, etc.

The characters feel authentic and are very complicated. They are morally gray and sometimes evil, but manage to still maintain the reader's sympathy and support. They are varied and have distinct voices and motivations.

The "magic" system is super cool. I would love to see this as a tv series because it looked amazing in my head.

Fonda Lee explained in an interview I saw that she set out to write the story of a single generation of the Kaul family. And she does. This entire saga feels like a birds eye view of this family and I found the ending to be satisfying.

Sexual violence? Yes. Other content warnings? Violence, drug use, suicide, religion, death, grief.

Fonda Lee’s talent is just out of this world. I’m still so shocked at how easily her story pulled me in with Jade City, and now with Jade Legacy.

I am so impressed and in awed of the way she built her world and wove the story around it. I absolutely adore her characters. Each has their individual struggles and their own unique personalities. What fascinates me the most is how she managed to have me so emotionally attached to the characters.

I have rarely seen a story where we follow the characters over decades, and Fonda Lee did it in such a seamless way.

The political intrigue is also one of the strongest aspects of her novel. The political maneuvering the Kaul family has to do is out of this world, and it was masterfully executed.

This story is immaculate. I have no words. Jade Legacy is a very powerful final installment that deeply marked me. I’m really looking forward to anything the author puts out in the future, whether that be in the same world or a completely different story.

Wow. All I can say is wow. This one is hard to review without spoiling, and anyone reading the third book of a series will be super sensitive to this. That said, Imagine a Bruce lee movie, but with magic. Or something like the HBO max show of warrior, with warring gangs, but mix in some fantasy elements, and you can imagine the cool that Fonda Lee has brewed up here. This is a book that makes me wish I had better words because this is amazing. People should start with the first book, however...and the payoff is completely worthwhile.

I was given a free copy of Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee (author), Orbit (publisher), and Net Galley. Jade Legacy is the final book in the Green Bone Saga. I did not read Jade City (2017) and Jade War (2019) which are the first two in the series.

As I read Jade Legacy, I did not feel lost or confused because I did not read the previous two novels in the Green Bone Saga. I did think, though, that I may have not appreciated the emotional significance of events from previous books that are mentioned in Jade Legacy because I did not read them.

This review will be spoiler free.

I would characterize Jade Legacy as a novel about a generational family that are involved in crime and has some fantastical elements.

The story takes place in a few countries that are equivalent to Asian countries in the late twentieth century of our world. Ms. Lee does a very commendable job in featuring each country to be unique from the other countries in this world. She does the same in featuring the people and how diverse they are in a country and how they are different from people living in the other countries.

In Jade Legacy, the magic system is in the form of jade. Only some people can use jade and enables them to enhance their physical abilities. When people with jade duel, and that is prominently featured in this story, the winner can claim the jade of the loser and could make the winner more powerful, and the winner’s reputation is burnished and enhance as well.

Jade Legacy is shown through several characters’ perspectives including major, significant minor, and minor characters. The way the story unfolds through these perspectives is very organic and I was immersed and enthralled from start to finish. Each character is fully developed, engaging, interesting, and had an important role in the story. I was emotionally invested in the trials and tribulations of each of the characters including the antagonists.

I believed one of the inspirations Ms. Lee had in writing this series is the Godfather. There is more than one instance when I was reading Jade Legacy that I thought about Godfather, especially the part of the story pertaining to the movie business. Another instance is regarding a significant minor character who reminded me of Tom Hagen.

As much as I enjoyed the characters, I really enjoyed the story. Ms. Lee has weaved a tale that is not only emotional and immersive, but I really cared about what was happening. The story employs time jumps that are very organic and did not take me out of the story. The story flows at steady pace but still enabled scenes to breath and to understand the characters and their motivations.

I enjoyed Jade Legacy as much as I did that I bought Jade City and Jade War. I am really looking forward to reading them.

I am looking forward to Ms. Lee’s next book.

I rate Jade Legacy 5 stars.

I would like to thank Ms. Lee, Orbit, and Net Galley for the free E-ARC.

Fonda Lee has truly outdone herself with this book. This whole series is amazing, but Jade Legacy has solidified itself as my favorite of the three and The Green Bone Saga as my favorite series. Jade City and Jade War both gave me the feeling of having binged a season of a tv series after reading them. Jade Legacy, however felt like 2-3 seasons in one book with a masterful series finale to conclude our time in Janloon. I am going to miss this world and these characters so much, but I definitely will revisit them real soon upon reread.

This is going down as an all time favorite. Everything I have been through with this books is invaluable. I will always cherish this series deeply and is sad that it's finished but is blessed that NetGalley gave me this wonderful opportunity to read the eARC before the book is published on the 30th. Thank you so much!
I shall go cry and possibly reread this saga again, because now I don't think I can ever read anything that would top this.

thanks to Netgalley for giving me a free eARC for this review!

Wow wow what a ride! Enjoyed this a lot, a good conclusion to the whole series. The plot of this book is kind of bam-bam-bam fast paced action as in the first two, but Jade Legacy does an interesting narrative choice imo. The first books took place over maybe, 3-4 years each-- neither was like, one of those books where the whole story takes place over a week-- but Jade War is like, the book where Andon is in Port Massy for a couple years. Jade Legacy however covers, like, the WHOLE latter part of all our main characters' careers-- this is like a 30 year long book? and honestly I respect that. Certainly preferable to like, a 30 year time skip where nothing has changed.

Really enjoyed a lot of the characters and narratives of this book. Since it's over such a time span the characters have a lot of chance to act one way, and then grow and change, act another way, change again, and that kind of gives the character interactions a very dynamic feeling. There were a LOT of events in this, and I think that even kind of made the book feel longer than it was, but not in a "this is dragging" way, rather in like, the way of a long exciting day where you think about getting up in the morning and are surprised that's the same day. same here. also I really enjoyed the continuing recurrence of Bato through every major time skip. poetic.

In general: big ride, long story arc, wild in the same manner as the rest of the series, 5/5 definitely recommend if you too want to read about crime families who do magic martial arts

WOW!!! I swear if I could give this book even higher rating I would.
If you read the previous books I suggest you go read this book NOW!! It's a chunky book but it is so good .

Every time I read a Fonda Lee book; I’m always blown away at how talented she is. The way she can connect so many characters and tie so many plot threads together is insanely impressive. This book is her best work yet. Its over 700 pages long yet not once was I bored. I love seeing how far these characters have come, and adore the entire Kaul family, especially the kids. I adored all of them and seeing how alike they are to their family members was both fun and heartbreaking. Niko’s is by far my favourite character. His entire character arc BROKE ME. He’s so much like his dad and having seen him go through everything he does after... a certain event, was too much for me to handle. Seriously, I cried my way through the last few chapters and most of it is because the events were going to affect Niko. ITS LIKE THE FAMILY DOESN’T EVEN SEE HOW MUCH THIS IS EATING HIM FROM THE INSIDE OUT AND HE DOESN’T HAVE ANYONE HE CAN CONFIDE HIS TRUE FEELINGS TOO. I HATE IT. The scene with Ato where Hilo’s says that a man’s heart is his own and he just says that he says his heart is more sensible than others?? I can’t even mention it without wanting to cry. He’s just like Lan and is going to put his responsibilities and the Clan above his own feelings and wants and it destroys me. Someone please check in on him and give him a well-deserved hug.
My only complaint is that I felt like Jaya and some of the other female characters were under-utilized. And I felt like unnecessarily brutalized. Is it realistic and make sense to the world? Yeah, it does, but it felt excessive sometimes? One specific line that Lula says felt so unnecessarily crude and still upsets me to think about even days after I’ve read it. I had gotten what was going on with her without the inclusion of that line.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book and thought it was a solid conclusion.

This series will live in my head rent free for a while now. This finale destroyed me in the best way possible. The writing is impeccable and the plot line and characters will keep you engaged. As long as you like fantasy, you would like this book I'd think. It's hard to say much without spoiling this finale, but it is well worth the read. And also worth the money. I received an arc for this, but I own two different editions of this series: the paperback version and the Illumicrate version which I hope to receive soon. I regret nothing. It was money well spent.