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A review by mandalynreads
The Jealousy of Jalice by Jesse Nolan Bailey
4.5
Book Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tfmBt58U-s&list=PLy9tQQoBL4XI-qQRvPMv-LwgTSQiJiySS&index=5
The Jealousy of Jalice is a dark fantasy/sci-fi book.
"The Realms have split apart, the Stones of Elation have been hidden, and warnings of dokojin drift among the tribes. The land and its people are corrupted. The Sachem, chief of the Unified Tribes, is to blame."
Firstly, I loved this book. From the moment I read the first line until the ending. Not only was the writing easy to read, but it had a flow that kept the story moving. It balanced on a fine line between telling my what I needed to know and not telling me enough in order to peak my curiosity.
The next thing that pulled me into the story was the representation. Not only were the people diverse representing different sexualities and genders but also the cultures. This is not your average fantasy story that is based off of Medieval Europe. The book enthralled me into learning about all of the customs in this story that I could have ignored the plot entirely and enjoyed it.
And yet... the plot held up too. I felt like I couldn't predict what was coming next, but was not surprised to the point of disinterest. The story mostly follows two females as one kidnaps the other, who just so happens to be the "queen" of this land (the quotes are because she is never referred to as a queen but instead the Tecalica). They used to be friends as children, but something happened and now one is a ruler and the other an assassin. Shortly you learn that one of them has lost many of their memories, and the story turns to helping them solve their pasts in order to protect the kingdom's future.
I didn't necessarily like these woman, but I never felt like I should. The idea that I could read a book about two woman and not love either of them but not be annoyed by them is a breath of fresh air. They were well rounded with faults and strengths, allowing them to feel more real than many other characters I get to read about today.
The ONLY thing keeping this book from being a five star review is the ending. I was loving the twists and turns of the plot up until the last 5%. At that point I felt a though I should have known more about the world than I did. Since the author blessedly never did an info dump, I had to learn about the culture as the characters interacted with it. This opened up a great way for my to be slowly introduced to new things, but also meant that right up until the end I was still learning. So not a necessarily bad thing, just a small matter of preference on my part.
Also I didn't realize this was going to be a series until the last page... All I can say now is, sign me up for the sequel!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Jealousy of Jalice is a dark fantasy/sci-fi book.
"The Realms have split apart, the Stones of Elation have been hidden, and warnings of dokojin drift among the tribes. The land and its people are corrupted. The Sachem, chief of the Unified Tribes, is to blame."
Firstly, I loved this book. From the moment I read the first line until the ending. Not only was the writing easy to read, but it had a flow that kept the story moving. It balanced on a fine line between telling my what I needed to know and not telling me enough in order to peak my curiosity.
The next thing that pulled me into the story was the representation. Not only were the people diverse representing different sexualities and genders but also the cultures. This is not your average fantasy story that is based off of Medieval Europe. The book enthralled me into learning about all of the customs in this story that I could have ignored the plot entirely and enjoyed it.
And yet... the plot held up too. I felt like I couldn't predict what was coming next, but was not surprised to the point of disinterest. The story mostly follows two females as one kidnaps the other, who just so happens to be the "queen" of this land (the quotes are because she is never referred to as a queen but instead the Tecalica). They used to be friends as children, but something happened and now one is a ruler and the other an assassin. Shortly you learn that one of them has lost many of their memories, and the story turns to helping them solve their pasts in order to protect the kingdom's future.
I didn't necessarily like these woman, but I never felt like I should. The idea that I could read a book about two woman and not love either of them but not be annoyed by them is a breath of fresh air. They were well rounded with faults and strengths, allowing them to feel more real than many other characters I get to read about today.
The ONLY thing keeping this book from being a five star review is the ending. I was loving the twists and turns of the plot up until the last 5%. At that point I felt a though I should have known more about the world than I did. Since the author blessedly never did an info dump, I had to learn about the culture as the characters interacted with it. This opened up a great way for my to be slowly introduced to new things, but also meant that right up until the end I was still learning. So not a necessarily bad thing, just a small matter of preference on my part.
Also I didn't realize this was going to be a series until the last page... All I can say now is, sign me up for the sequel!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.