aihui ying dreams of following in her father’s footsteps by becoming an engineer, but after he’s murdered, her life falls apart. she disguises herself as her brother to infiltrate the male-only engineers guild apprenticeship, sure she’ll find her answers there.

so, i actually didn’t know what “silkpunk” was before reading this, but now i really want to find more books that fit the bill! i enjoyed the blending of chinese mythology with ying’s drive for justice and the engineering aspects. we love a woman in STEM😌

overall, this was a wonderful story that blended science with fantasy. i highly recommend this and can’t wait for book two!

So thankful for receiving this arc from the publisher. First off, I have to say I saw Mulan vibes in the synopsis and that immediately sold me on this one. I'm so glad I requested and received this arc because it didn't let me down. The Mulan vibes were present in this book and so amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the immersive writing, the characters, and the setting. The romance was beautiful and so well done. There's not much negatives I could say about this book. First time reading this author and I will continue to buy. Highly recommend. 5 stars.

「 ✦ 3.75 ✦ 」

⋆.˚“If he chooses you, he will lose everything.”

The murder mystery was interesting and I did have a little inkling about who was involved but it still came as a surprise and utter betrayal.

⋆.˚“It’s only a matter of time, Ying.” I’m still stuck here by the way.

The romance was the main thing keeping me interested. Like Yeyang the man that you are 😮‍💨. When he wasn’t there I was low key bored. He’s such a simp. But also men ☕️. While Ying didn’t always agree with his views, he is truly just “trapped as a victim of his circumstances.” If you love pretty princes that internally struggle with what they think is right vs what they need to do, you’ll love him. As much as I’m rooting for them to be endgame, I totally understand why Ying took a step back and was like that’s not really the life I want to live. I even did cry a bit during the “third act breakup” that happened, like sick to my stomach.

Love all the friendships Ying has, especially with Yekan who was an annoying little twerp in the beginning but became one of her closest friends. I really hope he’ll be able to become an engineer now that he doesn’t have anyone holding him back.

⋆.˚“I was your sword, but you were never mine.” Why must you leave me with this heartbreak Amber Chen

While I was a little disappointed with the ending that made my heart ache (because it didn’t really go how I expected), it’s clearly set up for the sequel. Which I’m not sure if I’ll be reading or not. I’ll probably forget about the entire plot by the time it comes out to be fair.

⋆.˚“If I want to conquer the world, will you stand by my side?” um immediately yes

The political issues weren’t the main concern of the book but I think the next book will expand on it more.

⋆.˚He was the one who opened this door for her— and then held her hand through it all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this 🏯

Dnfed at 20%

I’m sad to say, but the writing is stilted, the dialogue clunky. So much has happened in the first 20% of the book, but it feels as though nothing has happened. The emotions are muted and don’t have much depth to it: her grief when her father died, her anger at her brother, Wen, for dismissing her, and her fear of being chased down by the maybe-assassin and his chimera. It all feels disconnected from the storyline, even though everything else in this book is done nicely.

The setting is vivid, from her village to the tavern, to the palace in Fei. The plot also has some good bare bones, it is interesting, the concept of disguising herself as her brother to go to the engineer guild and find who killed her father and why he was targeted. However, the writing style itself is distracting, especially when it comes to Ying’s emotions and lack of internal dialogue. Things happen to her. She responds in turn. But she never really pauses and spends time to reflect.

This was clear when her father died, and she spent almost no time thinking or grieving about him. He died, she looked at his notebook, found some calculations and formulas, then she went to Wen to advocate for finding the assassin. In all happens methodically with no space to breath. It was just go go go. This style would appeal to those who constantly want action, so it want terrible, but I feel like this isn’t for me and if I continue on, I would just not enjoy it as it is.

I would definitely recommend this to someone who cares less about stylistic writing and more about plot and characters, especially since Ying is cleaver and takes no bs from anyone. I absolutely love the engineering aspect of this book, and I wish I could love this more, since it seemed right up my alley.

I ended up loving this even though it started off a little slow for me. Around 20-50% I felt like the pace hit a bit of a lull, but I’m glad I stuck with it! It definitely started to pick up and I cannot wait for the next one after that ending!

I really enjoyed all of the characters in this book and that doesn’t happen often. Usually there’s a character who does something that annoys me or another character who just isn’t written out well. That is not the case for any of these characters and a lot of what kept my interest, even in the lull, was because of them. You’ve got a couple of great main characters and a good amount of side characters who all bring something unique to the table.

There’s a lot of fantasy in this book, but it’s not overwhelming at all. I found the world easy to understand, but also different from my typical reads. The mystery in the book kept me guessing too. I wouldn’t say I was shocked by the reveal, but even so there were parts of the reveal that did surprise me.

I cannot wait to read the next book and will definitely be keeping an eye on Amber’s future works as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC.

I was so excited when I got approved for this book and rushed to start it! I always look the books inspired by stories we already know and love. In, Of Jade and Dragons there are so many things to love. The main character, Ying, is driven to fulfill her dreams of becoming an engineer, and from the first page down to the last this book is very well written. The plot is fast and there's never a dull moment, the world is described beautifully and draws the reader in wanting more. All the characters are well-rounded, relatable, and I hope further readers fall in love with them like I did. This is such an awesome debut from Amber Chen and I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Publishing for giving me the privilege of receiving this ARC!

I am so grateful to have received this arc from netgalley.

I really enjoyed this story. I will always read anything that resembles a Mulan like story. Ying is amazing she is so strong and determined. Her beliefs never wavered and I love that about her. The story with the steam punk elements was so different and I really enjoyed them.

The ending breaks my heart but I'm so proud of Ying for sticking to her morals and beliefs. Ye-yang is gonna have to gorvel really hard to get her back. I hope he can find himself again and not fall into the same trap as his father. Overall I really enjoyed this read!

My only critique is that the pacing in the middle was a little off.

Thanks to Penguin Teen for giving me an ARC on NetGalley!
This was such an amazing book! I finished it in two days, and I literally stayed up late on a Sunday just to read it. A Sunday! A school night!
The ending destroyed me.. but the book was just so good! I’m just choosing to never acknowledge that ending 🤩
That’s it for today! Bye!

A steampunk YA Asian fantasy, this is inventive and will should appeal to the many romantasy readers out there these days, though I think it will mostly attract YA readers. The writing is nice and light.

adored this with all my heart!!! the rep made my heart melt and the fantasy aspect was SO well done, i applaud the author. stunning. definitely would recommend!

tl;dr
Secrets upon secrets power a fast-moving plot and some fanciful world building.

Thoughts
Ooh, this one's twisty. Ying dreams of joining the Engineer's Guild, a goal rather hampered by the fact that it's a boys only situation. When her father is murdered, seemingly in connection with the Guild, she disguises herself as a boy and joins to find his killer. But her deception is far from the only one. We've got political machinations, assassins, secret machines of war, and other hidden identities, all wrapped up in a power grab for the future of the kingdom. The plot moves from one twist to the next at a speedy pace that kept me turning pages, but never felt like it was overdoing it with the drama. Ying is a great lead - determined, capable, but also incredibly conflicted, especially as more secrets come to light and the reality of war unfolds. There's also a romance woven into this for fans who like it with... complications. World building is a bit steampunk and a lot of Chinese lore woven together in an original world that sparks the imagination, and by that I mean there's a mechanical dragon that flies and it's awesome.

Unfortunately I found the book difficult to read due to how the book is presented. Even with reading a little bit of the book, I found that this book was not for me.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for providing me with a copy of this lovely book. I rarely ever give a book five out of five stars, but this is so beautifully written that I had to give it a perfect score. I love the worldbuilding, the well-fleshed characters, and the mystique of the guild. Amber Chen, well done! I very much look forward to reading more of your work! I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy for my personal library!

This was honestly just so fun! The vibe was 100% giving Mulan meets like… avatar the last airbender? And weirdly.. she’s the man? But.. make it fantasy haha
I love a more political fantasy with a SUBplot romance so genuinely this was right up my alley.

Honestly just such a good debut novel and excited to see what happens next after that little cliffhanger!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a wonderful representation of the tough choices we face in life. I absolutely love all the engineering marvels and the STEM emphasis throughout the book. The airships, gliders, and fighting fans gave me strong AtLA vibes, and I am here for it.

Ying, while frustrating at first, became the lovable protagonist I crave. She is flawed and stubborn but grows so much!

I can’t say that any of the plot points or tropes were completely original or groundbreaking. But those included are classic for a reason and we’re executed well. There were parts of the story that felt slow and parts that felt rushed, but apart from the pacing, I loved everything about this story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eArc copy of this book to read. I definitely recommend it to those who love YA fantasy.

CW: I literally cannot believe that this is my CW for this review, but CW for discussions of body types. (I'm not going into any particular detail because it's just not necessary, but talking about the book's approach to these themes. CW is just to be on the cautious side because! of course people who want to read a book about an engineer scheming in the heart of the Jade Empire are not anticipating running into that! Completely fairly!)

The pacing here is odd, seemingly based around romantic plot points with the love interest. There are several characters we do not end up knowing very much about, despite their introduction to the story. As is frequently my complaint with similar books (particularly ones in the YA-ish category), I don't understand why it is Ying cannot think generally or conceptually -- she is upset about her father's death, and completely stops wondering about anything after that feeling. She has no grander sense of injustice/oppression, she has no real *opinions*. I was not clear on the political relationships between the territories until the very end of the book. To this end, there is one particular plot point (if you've read, maybe you'll know which I mean) that is so astonishing, and has the potential to alter the balance of power, that is forgotten about in mere paragraphs. In general, just a lot of odd story decisions where it seems broader development of themes/characters/places cast aside in favor of telling the central love story, which is (in my opinion) not always convincing. It lacks tension since you already know more or less who is going to end up with who.

One last thing: every character in this book, literally every single one, is described by their body type. There is one character in particular who receives such a startlingly mean introduction that maybe on this reason alone, I don't think the book is suited for a YA audience. Aside from being repetitive and boring, the author seems to be using body type as a signifier for character traits. I really did not like this element of the book and was astonished to see just how many characters were described in this way. Of course, I'm not saying that it never makes sense to describe what someone looks like -- but the way the book is structured positions these descriptions as introductions, wherein body type somehow always plays a factor.

I understand this is a YA book, but if it is, I don't know why more attention wasn't paid to the language used to describe peoples' bodies. For the next one, this will hopefully not be as prominent.

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really solid debut novel!

A Steam Punk-y Mulan-style story bursting with fun, loveable characters and imaginative engineering. Every time I thought "eh, the story is probably going to be pretty straightforward from here on out", I was wrong! I was delightfully surprised by the way this tale was weaved, the way the mystery resolves, and Ying's relationships with the various characters in this novel. I am already looking forward to the next installment in this series.

I will say, it does feel like Ying overcomes all of her obstacles with relative ease, but I think there was a reason for that, I'm curious to see if this will change in the sequel (and curious to know others thoughts on it!). The writing was good, but a little too explain-y at times. I do understand this is a YA novel but I do believe in young readers being able to put two and two together when things start lining up plot-wise.

Overall though, I was surprised with how often I wanted to return back to this story, I would recommend to those who liked Iron Widow and Tamora Pierce novels!

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

This book was perfection, from the start till the end.
Ying was written very well, she was smart, she was not annoying, she wasn't those female characters that are "bad-asses"( I hate bad ass sword wielding female characters).
I also loved every character, I liked the relationships they had and how they argued sometimes.
Ye-Kan was my favorite, I he was a good friend , and and sweet. ( can't wait to see what happens with him in the next book)
Ye-yang and and Ying relationship...I'm scared for them.
Great writing, great story, great characters.
Also if you like C-dramas or K-drama I would recommend this book!

I absolutely loved the premise of this story! Unfortunately I could not get connected to the protagonist. The way the story opened felt very jarring and almost impossible to connect to.

Thank you PenguinTeen for approving my e-ARC!

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen is a captivating fantasy tale filled with action, mystery, and intricate world-building.

The story follows a main female character who navigates a world of danger and intrigue, disguised as a boy while unraveling the mystery of her father's murder.

One of the highlights of this book is its vibrant Mulan aspect, which adds depth to the protagonist's journey as she balances her dual identity and quest for justice. Chen's skillful world-building creates a rich and immersive setting, though at times, the abundance of information felt overwhelming to me.

However, as the story progresses, readers will find themselves drawn deeper into the intricacies of the world, gaining a newfound appreciation for its depth and complexity. If you're a fan of action-packed fantasy with elements of war, romance, and mystery, this book is sure to delight.

I'm grateful to NetGalley for providing the opportunity to delve into this enthralling tale. While I ultimately settled on a four-star rating due to the initial information overload, I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the story, eagerly awaiting the next installment. Reminiscent of 'Iron Widow,' this YA fantasy leaves readers on the edge of their seats with a tantalizing cliffhanger that leaves them yearning for more.