Disclaimer: I received a finished proof of Jade War in exchange for an honest review and my participation in a blog tour. I have to give a round of applause to the duel featured in this installment; it was pulse-pounding, full of energy, menace, and ominous atmosphere.

Jade War earned a starred review and weekly pick status from Publishers Weekly, stating "Lee’s story is sweeping, leisurely, and epic, and combines political intrigue with sharply choreographed action scenes, but it’s a character-driven family drama at its heart.He’s changed from his days running the streets for the clan but he still shows elements of his merciless and stone-hearted former self when he has to. I also enjoyed the direction that Anden (the adopted brother) went with his character arc in a different country.

I honestly find it very intriguing and it creates a multi-layered feeling to the setting, especially since the perspectives we read from most of the time are from those at the top of the social hierarchy. There’s a difference between a dog that picks garbage outside your house, and one that jumps through your window to still from your table. If it wasn’t clear in the first book, it will be evident in this: the characters in Jade War are all morally-gray. Jade War is a 2019 fantasy novel by Fonda Lee published by Orbit [1] and is the sequel to Jade City. The writing style and the short chapters made it easy to fly through the book especially since new events unfolded throughout the book.Also, I just finished Succession and Anden could absolutely do Cousin Greg but Cousin Greg could not pull off Anden. I'm saddened that my journey with these characters is nearing an end, and that's always a sign of a highly enjoyable series. I also need to mention that within the cast of characters, the female characters—Shae and Wen—of this series were hands down some of the best female characters I’ve ever read in fantasy. I loved how Lee empowered those two women, how they stood their ground facing a male-dominated society.

My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Hunter, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, ReignBro, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe. Yet what gives this book an extra something is that it doesn’t lose sight of how all this political and military bargaining affects real people.The Pillar Hilo, his sister the Weather Man Shae, their cousin Anden who moves abroad to study, and Hilo’s wife the stone-eye Wen. In 2020, it was announced that a TV series based on the first novel in The Green Bone Saga, Jade City, was being developed at Peacock, with Lee serving as a consulting producer. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. I think since I was used to lots of action, those stagnant chapters didn't last long and something interesting always came up.

On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years.

The central conflict seemed to be resolved (even though as a reader we know that it won't stay resolved forever), so the tension in most of this book comes from newer conflicts and internal character driven drama. Knowing that he would most likely be hiding out in the Mountain Clan uses her cunning ways and finds out where he is. I liked the characters in Jade City, but Jade War made me love them – the characters’ stories are incredible, well-paced, and true to their developments. There were many great highlights in this novel, from the badass fight/action scenes (again, so reminiscent of Mistborn, especially of the later era) to the poignant and heartbreaking, and a shockingly contentious one; like prime-time drama skillfully rendered in prose form.