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A review by diannaherondale
Jade City by Fonda Lee
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Hilo, you are the worst but I'm still with you.
It has been a while since I read an urban fantasy book and I've been craving it. I am glad that I pick this one up.
The set up is probably the thing that sold it to me from the start. Two rival families, martial arts, guns but also magical habilities, political intrigue, clan vibes etc etc. Its not something that I had read before and I was really intrigued by the concept. And fortunately, It delivered on that front because I was SO immersed in the world.
But what ended up carrying the book for me, surprisingly (or not really since I am a character driven reader) was the family dynamics between the Kaul family.
I loved them and hated them at times. It was great.
Lan, the older of the three siblings was such a strong character. We learn hi sinsecurities and backstory almost immediatly and so I emphatize with him as well. He is the one that keeps his family stable and has gaind the respect of the clan.
Hilo on the other hand, is the complete opposite of stable. He is aggresive and impulsive in his decisions and is always giving trouble to Lan. However, he is loyal to the core to his family and has a sweet side to him that honestly made me like him a lot. Something about the duality I don't know.
And then Shae. The black sheep of the family almost by choice. Even though as a young girl she was a prodigy, and the favorite of her grandfather, as an adventurus woman, she never felt like her place was in joining her family empire and stay in th city forever so she left to study abroad and her family never really forgive her. really enjoyed reading her character developement journey out of all the Kauls.
And Anden! He is their adopted cousin and so he has never feel that he truly belonged to them so has spend all his live trying to live up to his potential. I suspect that we will see more about him later in the books but for now, I just like his character a regular amount.
And yeah, all of them are traumatized and lashed out at each other all the time but at the end of the day they are family and will kill for each other.
So yeah, there are good characters, really interesting political intrigue and a vast world to explore. It almost felt like a story that could happen in the real world, only they have magical martial arts habilities.
It has been a while since I read an urban fantasy book and I've been craving it. I am glad that I pick this one up.
The set up is probably the thing that sold it to me from the start. Two rival families, martial arts, guns but also magical habilities, political intrigue, clan vibes etc etc. Its not something that I had read before and I was really intrigued by the concept. And fortunately, It delivered on that front because I was SO immersed in the world.
But what ended up carrying the book for me, surprisingly (or not really since I am a character driven reader) was the family dynamics between the Kaul family.
I loved them and hated them at times. It was great.
Lan, the older of the three siblings was such a strong character. We learn hi sinsecurities and backstory almost immediatly and so I emphatize with him as well. He is the one that keeps his family stable and has gaind the respect of the clan.
Hilo on the other hand, is the complete opposite of stable. He is aggresive and impulsive in his decisions and is always giving trouble to Lan. However, he is loyal to the core to his family and has a sweet side to him that honestly made me like him a lot. Something about the duality I don't know.
And then Shae. The black sheep of the family almost by choice. Even though as a young girl she was a prodigy, and the favorite of her grandfather, as an adventurus woman, she never felt like her place was in joining her family empire and stay in th city forever so she left to study abroad and her family never really forgive her. really enjoyed reading her character developement journey out of all the Kauls.
And Anden! He is their adopted cousin and so he has never feel that he truly belonged to them so has spend all his live trying to live up to his potential. I suspect that we will see more about him later in the books but for now, I just like his character a regular amount.
And yeah, all of them are traumatized and lashed out at each other all the time but at the end of the day they are family and will kill for each other.
So yeah, there are good characters, really interesting political intrigue and a vast world to explore. It almost felt like a story that could happen in the real world, only they have magical martial arts habilities.