This book was... fine.
It tows the line of younger YA for sure. The "romance" felt a little "insta-love" and the world felt a little under developed.
I did enjoy that engineering took the place of magic. I wish that concept was leaned into even more.
The flying ships and inventions were some of the best parts of the book.
I really liked the world, I think it could be developed more and made into a more interesting story.
An eldest daughter being told by her dying father not to revenge her is no original plot and this story didn't bring much of a new take to the table.
Overall it was a little half baked, I'm interested to see if the author can develop this would a little more. (I would still give a 2nd book a chance)

I enjoyed Of Jade and Dragons. While it follows a predictable format, there is a reason this is a plotting that works. The main character must assume the identity of her brother in order to go to a prestigious engineering academy to find out why her father was murdered. Think Mulan, but make it about building weapons and you have the right idea. But mute all the potential sexual confusion by making sure the male love interest knows she is a woman from early on and introduce a possible third in the triangle that also knows. While there were some unique aspects to the story, especially as I got into the second half and approaching the ending, Ib found this one hard to fully invest in as I read. Still the conclusion raises some interesting questions and I will likely read the next book in the series to see what happens.

Let's be honest, the beautiful cover was the first thing that drew me in. Then the summary mentioned a girl who wanted to become an engineer and I grew more interested.

Upon receiving it, I was hesitant (a children's book ?) but ended up loving it !
Ying was a bold, smart and lovely character that spoke straight to my heart. Ye-Yang and Ye-Kang were both engaging and not exactly who they seemed to be at first. I didn't expect the steampunk feel of this universe, I had assumed this would be more traditional so it was exciting !

To sum it up, this is a solid beginning to an enthralling series and I can't wait to read the next !

I loved this book. I loved everything about it. We have a strong FMC who knows what she is about, and is striving for a goal. We have a morally gray MMC who is the love interest. I love that Ying (Fmc) is an engineer and goes on to prove herself, and while it’s a big part of her experience, it’s not the main reason she enters the contest.

It was a fun read and it had an ending that DEFINITELY made me want to pick up the second one right away! Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC. I can’t wait for #2!

This book was originally described as a Mulan retelling, which is loosely accurate. It felt like Mulan meets Steampunk. The story felt unique. It was a fast read that had me engaged through the entire story. Aihui Ying strives to be an engineer like her father, but the Engineers' Guild only accepts male students. It was never a possibility for Ying to enter the guild until one day she witnesses the murder of her father. Now she must disguise herself as a boy to enter the guild and discover the truth behind her father's death. Along her journey, we are introduced to many wonderful characters that we can easily fall in love with.

The character development was wonderful. The MC goes on a hero's journey that allows growth within her self, but influences growth to those around her.

I would have enjoyed more world building. I feel with the setting, the possibilities for world building are endless. I want to truly feel like I'm within this story watching all the creations the engineers have created going by. I want to fall deeply in love with the Nine Isles so when they describe conflict between the Nine Isles and the Empire, my heart aches for the land as well as the characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed Of Jade and Dragons and would recommend it to anyone that wants a thrilling story with little to no spice.

Thank you NetGalley, the Penguin group, and Amber Chen for the ARC!!

I originally was drawn to this book because it's described as a Mulan retelling. Although I guess it loosely is, I personally wouldn't really categorize it that way. The main character, Ying, disguises herself as a boy, and that's about as far as the similarities with Mulan go. However, that is not a negative observation. I loved this book. It was fast-paced and interesting the entire way through. Sometimes it was predictable, but other times I thought I for sure knew what was going to happen just to be completely wrong. Ying is fantastic. She pretends to be a boy to travel to the capital city and join the Engineer's guild to avenge her father's death. I don't know how to talk more about the book without giving much away, so I won't, but I do recommend picking this one up and I will definitely be continuing the series. I'm very excited to see where Chen takes the story in the next book.

4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for sending an arc, "Of Jade and Dragons". Amazing! This is a beautiful book and I was upset when it ended. I can not wait for Amber Chen to write more of this saga.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Of Jade and Dragons is an excellent start to a new series. I recommend this book to fans of fantasy, good worldbuilding, and strong female characters.

*Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I wanted more from this book. I loved the cover, the general plot, and the Mulan-esque elements. An engineering competition is just up my alley! I just felt like the stakes were glossed over and we didn't get much character depth. Like, yes we get that Ying is trying to solve her dad's murder... but it felt like so much TELLING and less showing us that. I'd be interested in reading book 2, but hopefully the writing evolves a bit.

Such a beautiful story! I was hooked from beginning to end. I definitely wasn’t expecting the ending but it was absolutely amazing!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Penguin Publishing for letting me read it early!

What can I say, I love a book with secret identities and political intrigue. Of Jade and Dragons has all of that and more. I grew up with. a deep love for Mulan and this is exactly what I wanted out of a retelling. I'm already so excited for its sequel!

Ying always wanted to go to the Engineer Guild and become one of the best following her father's footsteps. But since she is a woman, she is not allowed to. Until one day her father is murdered. Swearing revenge, her only option is going to the Engineer Guild, going through the trials, and finding her father's killer. To do that, she'll have to disguise herself as her brother and armed with only her father's notebook, she goes.

One thing that I found lacking in the book was the world building. I didn't really get a sense of the world that the characters were in. The author didn't really explore the land, nor the culture. What was so different between the Nine Isles and the Empire? What exactly was this Empire? Why was there war and animosity between them? I felt the Empire wanted to conquer everything, maybe?! But I didn't really sse that on the page. There was also talk of dissent amongst the people of the Isles. Why? The world is not established. I didn't get to understand and see the world.

The character of Ying I liked. I liked specially when she was in "engineer" mode. I liked seeing her building and understanding technology and constructs. But, even if this is the premise of the book, this isn't really the focus of the story. The author grants more time to the mistery of her father's murder (which wasn't really a mistery - it was pretty obvious) and to the romance between her and Ye-yang. I feel that Ying has promise to grow to be a really good character and, with the ending, I feel that there is a chance she will be. Ye-yang was up until the end of the book a really common romantic interest in YA novels. But I really liked what was done with his character at the end. The romance was kind of insta love-y specially on his side. She is interested on him pretty early on as he is but the book takes its time to develop the romance. But not because we see the romance developing, but actually because they spend a lot of time apart from one another. So they really have few scenes between them.

It felt like an ok book with some really great moments (again, the ones when she is developing something, the actual trials - specially the one eith the airship) up until the end. The end made me like the book and made me curious for the sequel. <spoiler>I liked how she really killed the High Commandant with what she built and that Ye-yang is kind of following his father's footsteps - it made for an interesting dynamic. I liked that she left just like her's.</spoiler>

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

I was very excited about this book, and I love the cover. Ultimately, it fell a little short of my expectations and felt a little underdeveloped and young for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

Took me a bit to get into this book but it picked up eventually. It's an interesting blend of modern and the past but I do always enjoy when the main girl is way smarter than all the boys. There were a few twists that made me go wow! Not bad for a debut, curious to see what happens in the next book.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin group for the ARC!!

i cannot believe i have put this book off for so long because hello? this was amazing! such a stunning debut book by amber chen, with a gorgeoys cover too. the engineer, the mystery, mulan inspired. absolutely spectacular! the main thing that is so precious and dear to me though is the bond between ying and ye-kan, they're everything!!!! i adore them so much i look forward to more of ying and ye-kan siblingism in, hopefully, book two! aaaaaa!

a big thank you to Amber Chen and the team for providing an ARC.

Aihui Ying wants nothing more than to become a world-class engineer, like her father, who left behind his place in the Engineers Guild for a quiet life with his family, but who continued to build and design, and to teach Ying everything he knows. Ying’s life is changed forever when she interrupts an assassin in her father’s workshop, and her father, with his dying breath, directs her to a dangerous document. Going off of a clue left behind b the assassin, Ying disguises herself as a boy and travels to the city of Fei, hoping to pass the Engineers Guild’s rigorous trial, decipher the importance of the document, and discover her father’s killer. On her way to Fei, Ying meets and receives the sponsorship of Aogiya Ye-yang, a son of the High Commander, who helps her enter the trial, where her father’s name and reputation gain her both supporters and enemies among the Guild masters. A silkpunk fantasy with excellent worldbuilding, Of Jade and Dragons will appeal to teen fans of daring girls, dangerous schools, and intrigue.

This Mulan retelling grabbed my attention in the very first chapter and left me longing for more at the end. Of Jade and Dragons is a story of revenge, courage, friendship, growth, perseverance, loyalty, and love. At times, I was so wrapped up in the story I was yelling at the characters in my book as if they could hear me. I'm not typically a fan of YA, but this was done very well with enough entertainment and suspenseful moments to keep me interested. I give this book a good solid 4 star rating. I enjoyed this book and recommend it. Thank you, netgalley, for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

*I enjoyed this title so much that I did purchase a beautiful copy of the book through illumicrate.

This book was enjoyable but it took me until 70% of the way through to actually get to that point. It was very slow-paced as the main character competes in a guild tournament to become an engineer under the disguise of a boy. Which no offense was boring. Overall, I did enjoy the story and I liked the characters a lot. I just felt it could’ve been more exciting. I also don’t think it intrigued me enough to continue on with the series.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was really fascinating! I absolutely loved the setting and lore. The pacing was very even and kept me hooked.

I absolutely ADORED this book! this is a Mulan retelling with a lot of interesting twists: Ying, our MC, is trying to sneak her way into her country's Engineering Guild, both because she is a great engineer but also because she want's to avenge her father's death. She meets Ye-Yang early on in her journey and he sees through her disguise right away, but offers not only to play along with her ruse, but to sponsor her entry. Ying then enters the incredibly dangerous, competitive and intriguing world of the apprenticeship trials, where her male disguise is possibly the only thing that is protecting her from being charged with treason and put to death.

This has an academy setting, which I always adore, with the addition of deadly trials, which is another favorite aspect for me. The friendships we're so incredibly fun to read about, especially the unexpected ones that begin with animosity but grow into something complex and powerful. I LOVED Ying and Ye-Yang's romantic chemistry, their tension was so believable but the author also does an amazing job of finding ways they connect on deeper levels, despite their wildly different upbringing. The charades Ying has to play in order to keep her disguise are the perfect balance of hilarious in some moments as well as heart-poundiogly threatening in others. the end of this tale took me completely and totally by surprise, in that it not only led Ying to make decisions I simply never expected from her (but made a TON of sense nonetheless,) but also in that it was prompted by betrayal I never would have seen coming.

I'm super excited for this series to continue. It leaves off in a very precarious place, and paints some incredibly interesting parallels between Ying and Ye-Yang and their predecessors. The realm is in the thick of what has become a brutal war, and I am excited to see what Ying's role in it may be after the events of book one!

Thank you so much to Penguin, Viking, and NetGalley for this eArc!