Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Jade War

This was ....wow!!
The only words that I can say is that if the first book was a snack this is the main freaking corse .
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The author picks up the story lines we left in book one and builds them to an incredible crescendo , the stakes are higher than ever, the tension tauter than ever , my sleepin schedule gone forever owo .
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What the author does in this book is expand the world buildin , and we get to see more than just Kekon and meet people from all around ( friends and enemies ✨) . The world building is simple enough to understand but like it's so intricately built and the attention to detail is evident.
(P.s : the depiction of "non kekonese" isn't in the nicest light but I'll refrain from commenting further on it until I read the last book)
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They also dive deeper into the characters than I think book one did . like we have genuinely the most 3D human characters in this book , You love them ,you hate them , you fear for them and you laugh and cry with them .
It was such a joy to be with the Kauls but they also caused me actual stress that if I wasn't reading this on ebook the book would be out of the window :D.
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Now I'm going to gently push this book your way while reminding you that it is violent and intense and does mention triggering subjects so I always advise checking the trigger warning to see what you can and can't put up with 🖤.
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*whisper* pick this series up ya won't regret ;) .

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nhg's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

I have so much to say right now. But I need time to process it.

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whatevertheysay's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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calicot's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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stonebm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.25

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.0

I enjoyed this more than Jade City. A gripe I had with the previous book was that I couldn't feel attached to any of the characters...while that's still partly true here, we've spent enough time with the main cast that I do care about them more (especially Anden; I'd let them all die for him TBH) but I guess that's obvious with a sequel. I know there's the looming threat of jade becoming more and more global and the consequences that can ensue, but it feels like an inevitable plot point for the third book, not a...palpable thing? It doesn't feel like there's a big, overarching plot, just us going through the motions with the Kauls and trying to kill off each new problem that arises. That's not to say that it isn't an enjoyable ride! I appreciated Anden's inner monologue about living in Espenia and its familiar-yet-not Kekonese community. And for all of Hilo's faults, it's nice to see him grow into his role as the Pillar.

The timeline kept throwing me off, though. I'll be assuming that a few weeks had passed since a certain event, but then Lee would hit me with a line like "a year had passed since [specific incident]" and I'm like...wait, what? I think it's because the multiple POVs aren't always in the same timeline; we'd be following Shae in the present day, then we'd switch to Anden who'll narrate his life in Espenia for the past x months before catching up to the present, and the next thing I know, Hilo's children have grown by another year. Lol. This might just be a problem with me not processing the passage of time, but I couldn't help but notice it every time it happened.

I knew Anden would have to wear jade again eventually, but I'm glad it happened in a way that let him save a life instead of ending one. Med school sounds like the perfect path for him, I'm so happy 💓 On the other hand, I can't believe we ended the book with a Bero chapter. That boy does not quit, lmao.

Anyway, looking forward to Jade Legacy!

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perditorian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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