In this captivating read, the author masterfully weaves a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking. Through a blend of richly developed characters and a meticulously crafted plot, the book offers a unique exploration of its central themes, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the story's depth and complexity. The narrative is paced perfectly, balancing moments of intense action with thoughtful reflection, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page to the last. The author's ability to evoke emotion and create a vivid, immersive world is truly remarkable, making this book a must-read for anyone looking for an exceptional literary experience.

Beyond its compelling storyline, the book stands out for its insightful commentary on the human condition, weaving philosophical questions into the fabric of its narrative. The author's skillful use of language not only enriches the text but also elevates the reader's experience, offering new perspectives on familiar themes. Whether it's the intricate dynamics of relationships, the exploration of identity, or the confrontation with ethical dilemmas, this book tackles complex issues with sensitivity and intelligence. It's a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate the nuances of life, making it a valuable addition to any book lover's collection. Regardless of genre, this is a work that resonates on multiple levels, affirming the enduring impact of well-crafted literature.

I loved OJAD so much! Such a wonderful sci-fantasy that completely transported me to the world Amber Chen created. I loved the characters and the intrigue, but my favourite part was definitely the mechas!

I applied for the ARC to this book because it reminded me so much of Mulan, I was so impressed and awestruck at this fantasy world. There was angst and mystery. It was so easy to read and get lost in. Amber Chen’s words. The politics in this story were cut throat and full of heart pounding moments. Put aside your current TBR and pick up this.

Such a beautiful journey this book gives. I'm so attached to the badass characters I didn't want to put the book down.

Thank you so much to Penguin Group and NetGalley, who provided an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I LOVED this book!! It was full of adventure, danger, mystery, love, friendship, and fun characters. At first, I found the main character to be acting much younger than her age, but that concern didn't last long. I quickly felt that she was acting appropriately per her lived experiences, and she seemed to mature quickly once exposed to the city and new people. I found the challenge of the Engineers Guild competition to be realistic and engaging, especially her skills and progression in the program. The friendships she makes are heartwarming, and I just overall truly enjoyed all the characters and setting of the book. 

The only thing I didn't love was the ending. No spoilers! I just seem to want a nicely wrapped happy bow at the end of a book, and since this is a series, that didn't happen. That being said, im very excited about the next book and look forward to a hopefully cute and happy ending!! 

Overall, I love the book so much and highly recommend it. This was an easy 5 stars for me, and I will absolutely want a physical copy for my library!

This just wasn't for me. The pacing was off and the ending wasn't satisfying. As far as a debut author, I think this book is fine but I'm not rushing out to recommend it to anyone.

The positives:
The world building was fun.

The negatives:
Weird pacing, Characters you don't get a chance to bond with. Lack luster ending.

This book was really good. I loved the story and the characters were really good as well. The end actually surprised me which doesn’t happen often. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you PenguinTeen for the eARC! OF JADE AND DRAGONS was one of !my most anticipated books of the year and it did NOT disappoint. The book masterfully weaves together a high-stakes, heart-pounding narrative with characters you just can’t help but fall in love with. I absolutely adored Ying, the book’s main character, as she was such a strong-willed and witty character, and I immediately connected with her from the start. ALSO THE ROMANCE?? This was chef’s kiss I was screaming for them to get together 50 pages in and it was just so CUTE. I kid you not I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air.

I highly recommend you all check out this book and it releases june 18th 2024! 4/5 stars!

I was so excited for this book, just based off premise and cover alone. Mulan, but make it silkpunk? Sign me up!

First up, I liked Ying as a main character. Sure, she’s a teenager and makes teenage mistakes, but I like she has strong morals and rarely compromises them. I did have an issue with her ending, but I will wait until the sequel to see what happens to her.

The author’s descriptive writing helped me immerse in the setting, but I wish there was a little more world building, especially because of the political conflict. A lot of the conflict happed off page, so we only have characters talking about it.

In addition, I wish other characters were built up a little more. We spend a lot of time on Ying so the side characters don’t really shine. I wish we spent a little more time with Ye-Yang, the MMC, to build him up outside of being noble and her love interest. He has some interesting plot points, I just wish to know more.

The pacing wasn’t consistent- there were points that it slowed down a lot and other parts felt rushed in comparison. I wish the ending had an extra chapter or two to build it out a little better.

I know this was sort of a murder mystery but it wasn’t terribly hard to guess. It wasn’t a huge focus (though Ying says herself she hasn’t been able to make much headway). It becomes a B-plot, which is fine, but if you were hoping for more of a mystery, you may be disappointed.

My biggest gripe is with the ending. It made me question some of Ying’s motives, and I wish it was built up a little more. I’ll avoid saying more as it would all be spoilers.

Overall, this was an enjoyable debut and I will definitely read the sequel. I would love to see this world built out more and need to know what happens next!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Teen for this ARC for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

When I read the synopsis of the book, I was immensely looking forward to getting the chance to read it. Unfortunately, Of Jade and Dragons wasn’t for me. I did end up DNF’ing it at the 37% mark.

We start the story off strong as our main character Ying discovers that her father has been murdered. I will say, Chen wastes no time getting to the inciting incident. Although, after that point I did find myself bored and having a hard time getting immersed into the story.

One of my favorite things is the incredible world that she has created. The concept of the Engineers Guild was truly one of a kind. With that being said, I felt as if the the wold building was a bit rushed, making it challenging to be able to fully grasp everything that was happening.

Lastly, as much as I appreciated Yings fun and vibrant personality, I wasn’t able to form any type of attachment to the characters.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Viking Books for Young Readers for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This was a little disappointing, not going to lie. There are multiple reasons for this, but I do want to say that I think the story had real promise. A large part of that was due to the world-building. I thought the world was really cool and interesting. I loved the steampunk/silkpunk elements (I'd love if this were more common in books, but I recognize that it's not all that popular) and I thought the base story "Girl disguises herself to join prestigious inventors' guild to solve her father's murder" is interesting. Unfortunately, nothing else about this story really hit the mark for me.

Firstly, the pacing felt... off. This is a pretty chunky book and while right off the bat, Ying sees her father being murdered, the bulk of the book felt a bit of a slog at times. The ending, too, felt far too rushed for all of the build-up up to that point. There's another issue I have with the pacing that ties into the ending, but I'll get there (because it is a bit of a spoiler).

As the main character, I feel like Ying could've been really interesting. I never really connected with her, though. Part of that was because there was a lot of telling rather than showing in regards to Ying's thoughts and emotions. That, and it seemed like her character was stretched into too many different paths and never really committed too hard to any of them. At least, not in a way that felt satisfying to me.

As for the characters, they all had some of the same problem that Ying did, in that they were largely just imprints of characters rather than people I rooted for or hated. I feel like where it struggled the most was with Ye-yang (Ying's "love interest") and her father. Considering her father is such a looming presence over the entirety of the book, I thought he didn't play enough into the story in a way that felt like it mattered. And Ye-yang was... there. Again, he felt like a mirage of a character. His "romance" with Ying felt forced and boring to me. I couldn't figure out what, exactly, he saw in her and vice-versa. Plus, there's the fact that some of the power dynamics there were a little off from the beginning, which meant that I never really rooted for them. Point is, I never fully cared about Ying or Ye-yang as individuals, so trying to put them together was essentially pointless in my head.

Now, for the spoilers. I usually try to avoid doing this, but unfortunately, the ending really soured the entire book for me and I don't think I can explain why without spoiling just a little bit. So please avoid this part of the review if you don't want that.

The ending felt a bit like a slap in the face. This really ties into the pacing issue, mostly, because I feel like in another book this ending could have been very poignant and bittersweet. If the book had, honestly, avoided the Trials portion of the Guild stuff and relegated that to the background and focused more on Ying's father and her attempting to solve his murder, I think this could've worked. But a lot of the book was focused on the intricacies of the Guild, the other Trial-goers she makes friends with, her relationship with Ye-yang.... By the time the ending rolled around, it turned out that none of that stuff mattered. Her goal of being a Guildmaster as a woman and continuing her father's research was just thrown out the window. Again, this would've been a good reason, if we hadn't spent the majority of the book getting to know her competitors, having her make friends with them, getting to know the other Guildmasters... like, it all just felt pointless, in the end. And that frustrated me. I feel like it just could have been done so much better than it was.

I recognize that this is probably going to work for a lot of people. It does read like a C-drama and it has cool world-building. It just didn't work for me and left me frustrated at the end of it.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for a review

I am having very mixed feeling about this read. Knowing the story was about a girl trying to solve her father’s murder, I expected the plot to be heavily filled with putting clues together. Instead it was mentioned a lot as to why Ying was traveling to Fei but when it came to actually solving the murder I felt like that was lacking.

I think if the book was marketed about a girl wanting to follow her fathers footsteps and join the Engineers Guild and then stumbled on everything regarding her fathers murder that would have been more appropriate.

As for the characters, I felt like it was written in a way we were supposed to have a strong connection but the relationship building throughout the book just wasn’t there for me. Ying and Ye-Yang seen each other on a handful of occasions and I’m supposed to believe they fell in love and that there was such a deep betrayal at the end. Also why weren’t any of the others in the engineers guild questioning where she was running off to or an even bigger less serious topic, why didn’t she ever take baths when they did.

I did enjoy Yings strong and determined personality. She has a good moral compass and never let that sway. I also enjoyed at the end she stuck to her beliefs on letting Ye-Yang go when I feel like most of the time it would have been written in a way the girl would go running into the guys open arms.

Despite it not being my particular cup of tea, I can certainly see this book being popular. The writing style was not for me, though I know similar styles have been trending lately with the emergence of “TikTok readers”. I think this book has a neat story to tell, and is fairly strong for a debut novel. A good murder mystery coupled with a strong capable female main character are both good selling points. Personally I feel there’s a lot of room for improvement within the writing itself, and I hope we see more from this author as she grows and develops as a writer.

3.5⭐️

For my first fantasy I very much enjoyed this book.

But also for it being my first fantasy there is a lot that I didn’t understand, world building and things like that.

I was attracted to this book because of the dragon on the cover and in the title, and I'm sure that some dragon enthusiasts will cry bait-n-switch since there are no dragon riders or even live dragons or wyverns, but I for one, quite enjoyed the book regardless. What I did find was a young woman looking to avenge her beloved father and make her way in a world where women aren't allowed. I like the spotlight on girls in STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) because even in our non-fictional world girls and women are often pushed aside and must be better for a fraction of the recognition of their male counterparts in these fields. I also enjoy the nice flow of the story, acquainting the reader with the world and characters through the eyes of the protagonist, thereby making the worldbuilding and character development more seamless and less info deposits. There is a bit of palace politics, some light romance (zero spice, YA appropriate), some mystery/who-dun-it, a spunky female main character, and a lot of steampunk--or is it silkpunk since it is Asian culture inspired, and there are dragons, just not exactly the ones some readers expected. The amalgamation of all of these things made Of Jade and Dragons an enjoyable complete story but also the first part in a series of stories of some very interesting characters that I am looking forward to reading soon.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

This book was so fun, and I’m at a somewhat in between rating. If I had to settle on it, I’d say 3.75. It had some flaws for me (mostly pacing in the middle), but it also has so many fresh ideas, as well as a strong writing style for YA, and a great cliffhanger that will definitely have me picking up book two. And I know I will absolutely be reading more from Amber Chen if this is her debut!

First, I have to say the writing style really worked for me here and that’s huge. It’s such solid story writing that moves the plot forward and describes enough without going fully purple prose.

I also really enjoyed the plot. The “Mulan” of it all is I assume from the publishers perspective, a nod to aging disgusting herself as a boy in order to enter the engineer’s guild and find out her father’s secrets. The rest of the plot doesn’t necessarily resemble Mulan, but I was also fine with this. The story is well constructed. My only criticism is just that the pacing drags a tiny bit in the middle as the players move toward the climax of the story, which started to feel inevitable at a certain point.

Finally, I appreciated the characters. Their arcs are complex and engaging and left me wanting more at the end of the book.

This book was such a pleasant surprise because I hadn’t seen it advertised yet and I really enjoyed it.

This book is an auto-read for me based on the cover and the tropes alone. I love the trope where a girl disguises herself as a boy, so I knew I'd really enjoy Of Jade and Dragons and I was right. This book was so much fun! I loved following Ying and the fact that our female MC was an engineer. It felt fresh and exciting, which is something I look for when I'm picking up young adult fantasy novels. I think the thing I liked best about the book was the characters (Ye-Kan!) and I'm dying to see where they will end up in the sequel.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was drawn to this book because of the cover and dragons in the title. While there were no real dragons in the book I am still go had that I received an arc! I enjoyed the story although there were moments where it felt like it lagged in the middle, but it quickly picked up again for me!

This book was PHENOMENAL!
I was grabbed just by the first chapter and I didn’t want to stop reading.

*This review is spoiler free*

Typically a harsh reader but this is 5/5⭐️ book. Every about this book is amazing. The characters, the guilds, the plot twists and those crushing moments between characters.
The book just have some grammar and issues when converting over to kindle, but other than that amazing!

If you like mulan, you will definitely love this book. You follow the main character called Ying. She doesn’t really fit along the other females in her village. All the girls are supposed to marry and build a loving family and that’s it. Well, Ying is just like her father and likes to build gadgets. She was so proud of her experiment and she wanted to tell her father, only to find him dying. She instantly once revenge.

With the Mulan aspect, she disguise herself as a male to go to the guild her father use to go and find who murdered her father.

During this adventure to find the murder, she faces many trials, heartbreaks, and punishments.

The start of OF JADE AND DRAGONS made me feel nostalgic. It reminded me of Mulan (I know this comparison gets made a lot but it fits) with a girl disguising herself as a boy to enter the Engineer's Guild and seek revenge for the death of her father. I appreciated that while our heroine was headstrong and stubborn she was never obnoxious. The world was interesting and I enjoyed what I saw of it, though I'd be curious to see more of it. But that's what sequels are for. I definitely plan on continuing this series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.