Of Jade and Dragons

Fall of the Dragon #1

by Amber Chen

Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming a brilliant engineer just like her beloved father - but her life is torn apart when she arrives a moment too late to stop his murder, and worse, lets the killer slip out of reach. Left with only a journal containing his greatest engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, Ying vows to take revenge into her own hands.

Disguised as her brother, Ying heads to the capital city, and discovers that the answer to finding who killed her father lies behind the walls of the prestigious Engineers Guild - the home of a past her father never wanted to talk about. With the help of an unlikely ally - Aogiya Ye-yang, a taciturn (but very handsome) young prince - Ying must navigate a world fraught with rules, challenges and politics she can barely grasp, let alone understand.

But to survive, she must fight to stay one step ahead of everyone. And when faced with the choice between doing what's right and what's necessary, Ying will have to decide if her revenge is truly worthwhile, if it means going against everything her father stood for . . .

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Dragons, Mythology, Young Adult Fantasy, Fiction

480 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2024

About the author

Amber Chen is the UK #1 bestselling author of the YA silkpunk fantasy novel, Of Jade and Dragons.

She is currently based in sweltering Singapore and spends much of her free time living within Chinese fantasy novels and dramas. She also drinks one too many cups of bubble tea. One of her webnovels, The Cutting Edge, has been adapted for television.

This GR account is managed by a friend. If you would like to interact with Amber directly, head over to IG or Tiktok @amberwrites88 !

Reviews

[Sarah (berriesandbooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jade and Dragons tried to be a take of revenge in a steampunk-inspired world, but its execution leaves much to be desired. Instead of being action-packed, it’s boring, flat, and often forgets the plot’s purpose.

Aihui Ying, who aspires to be a brilliant engineer like her father, is devastated when she arrives too late to prevent his murder and loses the killer. Determined to find her father’s killer and learn about his past, Ying sneaks into the Engineers Guild, disguised as her brother. As she navigates politics and challenges, Ying must grapple with her quest for revenge and decide if her vengeance is worth the cost.

I did enjoy the slight taste of world-building. Steam-punk-inspired fantasy should be a mainstream genre. Unfortunately (for all the reasons listed below) the world-building is sparse and couldn’t make up for the meandering plot and lackluster characters

Ahui is hard to read about. Her reactions to mundane things or slight offenses are childish and go against the “strong female surviving in a man’s world”. I was told she's intelligent, but it’s not shown on the page. Her wit and cleverness are only mentioned and seem implausible when displayed. Her lack of focus on her father’s death is so odd considering it’s supposed to be the overarching plot in the book, yet it’s rarely mentioned and she seems to recover from the trauma completely off-page. I could have handled the lack of focus if the book had Ahui struggling with bigger problems than a crush (more on that later). For example, most of the story is set in the Royal Court and Engineer’s Guild. Yet, she never actively has to fight against gender roles or societal oppression that exist in these environments. Yes, she is disguised as a boy, but the themes are rarely brought up, or at least discussed somewhat thoroughly. It felt like a Disney movie the way societal barriers and sexism are underplayed.

The romance (which took up more page time than the actual plot) was cliche and trope. Ahui seems to find a very feminist Prince despite being raised in an environment where the patriarchy is standard. It’s never explained why he accepts women's empowerment. Their relationship is built on tropes and shallow interactions. The repeated instances where the Ahui “trips” and falls into the prince’s arms had me fighting several eye rolls. These moments and other quirky interactions highlighted the lack of anything meaningful between her and the prince, which made the love declarations even more silly.

The pacing suffers due to significant periods passing off which could have been used to build the world, develop characters, or advance the actual plot. Combining this with the problems above makes for an incredibly boring read.

Overall, Jade and Dragons is a book with an intriguing premise undermined by cringey dialogue, shallow character development, and a lack of meaningful engagement with its themes.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

[sakurablossom95 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first laid eyes on the cover, I was immediately captivated by its stunning design! As soon as I read the synopsis, I was hooked. A girl disguising herself as a man to enter an engineer’s guild trial and solve her father’s murder? My mind screamed, "Mulan retelling with a twist!" Being a huge fan of Mulan retellings, I knew I had to dive into this book, and I absolutely LOVED IT!

This novel was a delightful and quick read. The protagonist, Ying, is an exceptional character. Intelligent, headstrong, and fiercely determined to uncover the mystery behind her father's death, she carries the story beautifully. Alongside her, the two male leads, Ye-Yang and Ye-Kan, were intriguing, even though they didn’t have as much focus in this book. Their dynamic as friendly academic rivals added a great layer to the story, and I hope to see more of them in book 2.
The Asian fantasy setting combined with a steampunk atmosphere was a perfect backdrop for the tale. It felt fresh and immersive, providing a unique twist to the familiar Mulan narrative.
While the title does mention dragons, it's worth noting that they are not the kind regular fantasy readers might expect. This didn't detract from my enjoyment, but it's good to keep in mind.

Overall, I loved the characters and the story, and I can't wait to read more of Ying’s journey. This book was a fantastic start to what I hope will be an incredible series!

Thank you, NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Zana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first buddy read with Ren! 👯‍♀️

This fits The Diverse Baseline February Prompt C: A book by a BIPOC author with found family.

Since the age range for this arc is 12 and up, I'll review this as something my past child self would've loved and devoured in a few days.

Anyway, this was a pretty fun read! I came in with low expectations and walked away wanting more. I read the author's short story in Wilted Pages, a dark academia anthology, and I really liked it, which is why I requested this arc.

This was a fun coming-of-age story with Asian-inspired worldbuilding with a strong, intelligent, and relatable FMC, Ying. (Stubborn young woman who wants a career instead of following the prescribed woman's role of getting married? Big mood.) At times, the writing was witty (in a cute YA way) and made me chuckle. It was very easy to read and follow along.

I really liked the academic/trials plotline combined with the mini murder mystery (that turned into something much bigger, which was even better imo).

And as much as my current adult self wanted more details on worldbuilding and characterization, I ended up liking the arc for what it was. I actually appreciated how the writing style and story wasn't so heavy and depressing. It definitely could've been that way, tone-wise. It was a great palate cleanser between darker and more serious reads.

Which leads into my only criticism that this entire story felt very "lite" and the solutions to Ying's problems were way too convenient. Ying's father was murdered, but it didn't feel like she even mourned him? She's a village girl in a big city, but there was no culture shock?

There were dozens of trial candidates, but it only felt like a handful (Ying and her three friends) because none of them were actually mentioned. The scene at the brothel and the second trial mentioned that Ying and her friends were with other boys in their cohort, but those boys were just faceless entities that I forgot they even existed on page.

Idk, maybe that's just my grown-up self being nitpicky about details. As a child, I probably wouldn't have cared about any of that.

I think some reviewers didn't like the ending, but I liked it. Maybe if I was younger, I would've hated it. But as someone older than the suggested age range for this novel, I really liked that Ying stayed true to herself and stood firmly with her beliefs on war.

I hope the sequel dives a lot more into the worldbuilding. We only see two places in the Antaran Isles, Huarin and Fei, and I'd love to explore more islands, and possibly even the Great Jade Empire.

Oh, and I really want more actual airship flying action (and Ying piloting an airship or something cool) because we barely see any of that here and I know that some reviewers were disappointed by that.

Read this if you love Tamora Pierce's books, Squire by Nadia Shammas, or The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker.

Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc.

[ingrid ₊ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked it! ying and yekan’s siblingism stole the show

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars
Let the record show that I was very excited about this book and it had all the ingredients to be something I'd love, but ultimately everything about this ended up feeling half-baked. Reading this was one of those experiences where I kept having to pause to take note of everything that frustrated me, and so now this review comes to you in 6 parts.

My full review ended up being ungodly long, so if you're not interested in coming to my TED Talk, here's the tl;dr version:
• This book was set up to have a major focus on engineering, but only had these moments shoe-horned in and never gracefully incorporated in any ways that would support the plot or character development.
• The "high stakes" trial element of this book also always felt like an afterthought and never managed to make the stakes feel as dire as they supposedly were.
• All the characters in this book were faceless cardboard cutouts of people whose actions and motivations would seemingly change on a whim for the sake of plot convenience.
• The world beyond the walls of the engineering guild was never meaningfully explained and left us with no concept of the larger consequences of everything the guild was working towards.
• The book as a whole felt painfully under-edited, immature, and like it desperately needed another round of revisions.
• Despite claiming to be a YA book, everything about the writing and the characters themselves made this feel more like it was intended for a middle-grade audience, but with some romance, violence, brothels, and an 18 year old protagonist forced in so it could pretend to fit into YA.


For those undaunted by what has become an entire essay of a review, read on!
———
An engineering book that has a severe lack of engineering
This book had two things that I always eat right up in fiction, and that is an academia setting and a trial/competition plotline. I've been known to forgive and enjoy even mediocre books when they manage to play into those elements well, but this book took the potential those aspects gave it but continually forgot to give them any meaningful development.

One of the first things we learn about our protagonist Ying is that she's spent most of her life shadowing her father's engineering work and nursing it into a love and skill for the trade herself. We're repeatedly told how much Ying has inherited her father's passion, and at the very least how confident she is in her own talent, and so I assumed this meant that seeing Ying showcase her engineering skill and using it to solve problems and move the plot forward would be a key element in the book. And yet, despite the fact that 80% of the book takes place at engineering college, there is so very little engineering to be found.

Throughout the entire run of the book, we get to see Ying use her supposed talents exactly four times:
1) To plug a leaking barrel
2) During the second and third trials
3) To create one (1) weapon of her own invention.

And despite the fact that this is supposedly her passion, we never see her using or thinking about her rumored abilities at all outside of these instances. The instigating premise of the plot is Ying wanting to infiltrate the guild so she can uncover who was behind her father's death, but not once does she attempt to incorporate her abilities into solving that problem. There were so many blatant opportunities this book could have used to apply her engineering skills in service to the plot, such as:
• Having her create some sort of recording or listening device so she could spy on the people she suspected of being involved in her father's death
• Creating an early warning notification system so she could snoop in areas she's not supposed to be in, or at least sneak her bath in peace
• Crafting some sort of disguise that would either enable her to go undetected during conversations, or help keep her identity a secret.

And those are just the things that occurred to me with 5 seconds of thought as incident after incident occurred where Ying's lack of planning and foresight got her into trouble.

I think this is one of the ways where the book really falls victim to telling rather than showing, and neglects an open opportunity to weave its themes together to make the character feel like she actually has well-rounded and applied traits. Instead, every time we got to see some engineering device come into play, it always felt incredibly shoe-horned in, and as though it was only included because the book suddenly remembered it was supposed to be about talented engineers.

"High stakes" trials that the book seemed to forget were high stakes
The competition for a place in the engineering guild was the one area where I thought this book would be able to pull me in, but this device as well always felt like it was only included as an after-thought. When I compare this book's competition element to that of books like Divergent or The Blood Trials or even Fourth Wing, I think the major difference is that in those, as a reader we were made to feel the looming pressure of the next trial even when we were not actively in that scene, which is something that this book never managed to do.

The trials in this book would appear almost without any notice or discussion, and even though it is theoretically the biggest stressor in Ying's life, we never get more than a few throw away sentences suggesting she's thinking about it. The only trial that felt like it got any build up whatsoever was the first one, with at least a couple paragraphs spent talking about how everyone was cramming to study before their written exam (except Ying of course because she's too Special and Different for that). There was never a good sense of how much time had passed since the last trial or until the next one, nor the kind of work and study that would go into the students preparing for the trials.

The stakes of these trials also felt random and inconsequential at best. We're told at the very beginning of the book that during the last year of competition, only one in a hundred hopefuls earned their place in the guild, and so you'd expect a commensurate amount of pressure and desperation from the applicants to fight for those limited spots. However, because every part of the trials were treated so haphazardly, I never once felt the degree of odds that needed to be overcome to stay in the game. Supposedly about half the class was cut after the first trial, and an unknown number more after the second, but because we never got to know any of the characters who were cut in any degree whatsoever (only a few of them were even so much as named), it went almost completely without mention just how much the original class had been culled down as the trials went on. While being the kind of book it was, you already knew Ying was going to have plot armor to make it through to the end, it still would have made me more invested if any energy had been spent making me feel there being stakes at play, and if we had gotten to know any of the characters who were cut to make the consequences of failure feel more tangible.

While this is more of a nitpick, one thing I couldn't get over was how stupid the first trial was. The entire first trial consists of a 10-hour written exam where the applicants are asked a single broad question about the history of airships that they're supposed to respond to with everything they know about the topic. Beyond the fact that this setup in and of itself is nonsensical (there's no way any essay written on a single topic, from memory, for 10 hours straight is going to provide useful insight into their knowledge), the question itself was also something completely unhelpful to gauging engineering aptitude. If this guild has any real interest in determining who is actually a good fit to help advance their engineering efforts, it would have made far more sense if the question was something that tested their ability to think critically about a problem and find creative solutions to something complex and open ended. Being asked to recite everything you know about the history of something is not at all indicative of the skills one would need to think outside the box and develop new technology, and is the kind of set up that is doomed to lose them bright applicants who simply don't have as good of a memory as others. On top of this, when Ying is apparently the only applicant with the bold idea to take the question and use it to make an actual engineering suggestion, the guild leadership is shocked and appalled at her gall, and would have chastised and failed her had the High Commander not seen and been impressed by her work. (Which, side note, but you're telling me that with 100 students providing 10 hours worth of writing, this extremely busy and important military leader decided to take time to read their essays thoroughly enough that he was able to pick out the potential in Ying's out of everyone's??? bsffr.)

Every single character was underdeveloped, inconsistent, or, if they're lucky, both!
Despite this book being over 400 pages long, there was not a single character who got any meaningful or interesting development.
• Ying: Despite being our main character and getting the most page time, there was never any point where I felt like I knew who she was, or that any of the things we were told about her made sense. According to the blurb of the book Ying is supposed to be 18 (which I say because I don't remember her age ever being explicitly mentioned in the book itself, though it's possible I could have missed it) and the eldest daughter with only one older brother and multiple younger siblings. However, this is very much the sort of thing we're only told and never shown, because maturity-wise, I would have assumed she was about 14 based on how she talked and acted. Along with this, there's no useful explanation of how Ying came to be the way that she is. How did Ying, who supposedly cares about her siblings, avoid the pressures that came with helping care for and guide them as they grew up — especially considering she lost her mother years earlier? How is it that Ying is seemingly completely unchanged by the loss of either of her parents, and is able to continue acting like a child even when her circumstances should have forced her to grow up? Even immediately after losing her father, there's no time spent showing us that Ying is grieving or mourning what is supposed to be her most meaningful familial relationship. While to some extent that could be explained away with everyone grieving differently, and maybe her even channeling her mourning into a desire for revenge, more than anything her desire to infiltrate the engineering guild felt motivated by her own ambitions, with the goal of using it as an opportunity to dig into her father's death feeling like more of a convenient secondary benefit.
Especially since this is a YA book, I think it's possible to start with a character who is young and naive and sheltered so that we can see how they change and grow as they undergo different trials in their life. I think that Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Six Crimson Cranes both did a good job with this, with both protagonists coming from similarly sheltered and naive upbringings, but being forced to grow up when they lose/are separated from their parents. While I think the opportunity was here for Ying to undergo a similar arc, she felt completely unchanged up until possibly the last 10 pages of the book, and even then, I wouldn't trust the changes to last meaningfully into the next book.
• Ye-yang: Despite being the love interest and arguably the next most important character, I know nothing about this man. His actions were inexplicable and inconsistent at best, and there was never a single moment where I could understand what he saw in Ying, or she in him.
• Ye-kan: Possibly the only character in this book who got any amount of development, but even his arc felt like it changed arbitrarily to suit the whims of the plot. We're introduced to him as being a selfish, bratty, and entitled kid, but there would randomly be moments where he'd show kindness and loyalty seemingly out of nowhere. Honestly I think his arc was the only one I was at all interested in, but I think his growth needed to be treated with more consideration rather than just making him act the way the story needed to either for tension or salvation.
• Chang-en: Supposedly Ying's best friend, and yet we know about as much as we do as the other nameless and faceless characters in their guild class. He just sort of shows up and decides he and Ying are friends, and is kind to her (sometimes to his own detriment) for no rhyme or reason. How old is he? What is his background? What are his dreams? Why doesn't he have any other friends? This man literally only exists so Ying can have someone other than Ye-kan on her side and is completely insignificant on his own.

Worldbuilding? What world-building?
Again, this is a 400+ page book, and yet I don't think I could tell you a single thing about the world outside of the engineering guild. Apparently there's a war going on? Against some other country? That's been going on for some amount of time? For some reason? It's possible this was info-dumped on us at some point early on and it just didn't make an impression. If it was, it was never explained in a way that made it feel like it was meaningful to the overall story— despite the fact that the instigating plot event has to do with the creation of weapons for this mystery war.

This book is crying out for another round of editing
Listen, you know it's bad when I actually go to the cover page to make sure there is an editor credited, because there were just so many things in this book that felt like no one had ever looked at them with a critical eye. For context: though I was gifted an early copy by the publisher, the copy I was sent was a finished, hardcover version, and thus these are things that I can't just put down to it being an ARC.

While a lot of these were little things in and of themselves, noticing choices and (possibly) mistakes multiple times throughout this book just contributed to the overall feeling I already had that this book read like a first draft. There were just so many things that felt like they would have been caught if this book had been looked at by a competent editor, but instead we're left with choices like:
• General scene inconsistencies/dropped threads, such as:
 ◦ Ying falls and apparently bloodies her hands early on in the book, but is described as climbing up a ladder later that night with no mention of pain or discomfort
 ◦ Similarly, Ying is supposedly beaten so badly that she claims she thought her legs would break, but is up and running around during the trial the next day with no mention of pain or difficulty
 ◦ Ying is caught unaware while leaving Ye-yang's bathing chamber, and while one moment it's said she can't go outside due to her "state of undress", a page later she's talking to Ye-yang without any mention of her either having dressed or being uncomfortable being in his presence in her undergarments.
• Redundant use of abnormal dialogue tags (e.g., describing Ying as having "squeaked" her response twice within the span of a page and a half)
• Dialogue tags that just do not make sense for the things being said (e.g., a character described as having "quipped" something when he was literally just stating general information)
• Words simply being used incorrectly (please explain to me what a "bemused glimmer" of someone's eyes is supposed to look like)
• General awkwardly worded sentences (e.g. "she had swallowed everything down her throat" [what, as opposed to down her nasal cavity?])

I'm not someone who is particularly inclined to pay attention to or nitpick specifics about writing style choices, but all the little things in this book were distracting enough to pull me out of the story, and all just felt like something that could have been fixed with better editing.

Frankly, this is a middle grade book in a YA trenchcoat
I'm someone who reads a lot of YA fiction, so while I recognize that there's an extent to which I am not within this book's target demographic, I think that over the years, I've come to recognize when a book is otherwise good, but is just too young for me. However, even if it's targetted at the younger half of the YA age range, I feel like this book reads too young to even feel like a good fit for those in their early teens. Everything about the way its written — with lots of telling and no showing, everything over-explained, and very short, choppy, stilted sentences — feels like it's meant for a middle grade reader and not like it has any faith in the intelligence of the teenage readers who are supposedly the target audience. The protagonist herself feels as though she's in her early teens at best, and certainly does not feel like the 18 year old eldest daughter that she's supposed to be. I assume this book wanted to be YA so that it could spend more time on a romance subplot than middle-grade books typically do, but even that element felt so underdeveloped that it wasn't worth trying to age this book up in other ways. Simply having a (technically) new-adult main character and throwing in some violence and mention of brothels does not a YA book make. I think that if this book had just let itself be middle-grade and leaned into marketing itself towards that audience, it would have more luck finding its readers and its shortcomings would have been more forgivable.


Ultimately, I think the main reason I have so many complaints about this book is because it had all the bones to be something I could have really enjoyed and loved, but never managed to be anything more than a skeleton. This book read like a (very long) outline for a book that I'd actually like to read, and I'm just incredibly disappointed that there was not a single thing in this book that managed to deliver. Quite honestly, the only reason I'm not giving this book 1 star is because I tend to reserve that rating for books that I think are actually harmful in some way, which I don't believe this book was. However, I think this book needed a lot more work and refinement to suit its intended audience before it was ready to be published, and I think it's a shame that it didn't get it.

Many thanks to Penguin Teen for the early copy of this book. I'm so sorry I don't have nicer things to say about it. 😭

[Amber Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book is pretty good and reads like a C-drama! Full disclosure, it's my book!

ARCs of Of Jade and Dragons are beginning to going out into the world, so stopping by GR for the first and last time to welcome everyone who is about to read the book or is considering picking it up - from the bottom of my heart, this little debut author appreciates all of you so much :)

Content warnings include: parental death, murder, violence (with blood, not much gore), mentions of war, descriptions of weapons of war, misogyny as is typical of a society entrenched in patriarchy

Here's a list of random things about the book you might be interested to know:

- Of Jade and Dragons was inspired by actual historical events and characters from the late Ming to early Qing dynasty, specifically the life and times of the first Qing emperor, Huang Taiji, and the woman that he supposedly loved most, Harjol (you may also recognise her name as Hai Lan Zhu 海兰珠). This story was born out of my fascination with the blank pages of Harjol’s life before she entered the palace, and how her relationship with the emperor may have begun.

- The Comps. If it were up to me, my ideal comps for Of Jade and Dragons would be Scarlet Heart meets The Long Ballad. If you recognise these titles, it means you're a C-drama enthusiast like me. Unfortunately, in publishing, one cannot comp as and how you like. Here's a quick dissection of my publisher's chosen comps, so you know what to expect: Mulan because there's a girl dressing as a boy in order to perform a role that is restricted to boys in a patriarchal society; Iron Widow because Chinese and Technology (that's literally all they have in common); Six Crimson Cranes because YA Asian Fantasy vibes.

- There are no real dragons in this book.

- I am still undecided between Leo Wu, Dylan Wang and Zhang Linghe being the best possible actor to play the role of the male lead Aogiya Ye-yang in a (currently non-existent) drama adaptation of this book. I spend a lot of time thinking about this and I welcome any other suggestions!

I hope you enjoy the book and thank you once again for giving it a chance! :)

[Lia Carstairs]

from the author:
🐉a feisty girl engineer
🐉 a mysterious prince
🐉a murder mystery
🐉 airships, pagodas and mechanical beasts
🐉MaYbE sOmE AnGsT aNd YeArNinG 😏

immediately had me at girl engineer !! BUT GIVE ME THAT MURDER MYSTERY AND ANGST AND YEARNING TOO

[☆⋆｡naija kelise°‧★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

「 ✦ 3.75 ✦ 」
⟡ arc review ⟡

⋆.˚“If he chooses you, he will lose everything.”

This is a silkpunk mystery where Ying disguises as her brother and allies with a prince to find out who’s behind her father’s murder, all while going through guild trials to become an engineer. While it’s classified as a fantasy there is close to no magical elements (aka no real dragons) and is more sci-fi in my opinion. However, the story and setting is still quite unique and fantastical. The murder mystery was interesting and I did have a little inkling about who was involved but it still came as a surprise and utter betrayal.

⋆.˚“It’s only a matter of time, Ying.” I’m still stuck here by the way.

The romance was the main thing keeping me interested. Like Yeyang the man that you are 😮‍💨. When he wasn’t there I was low key bored. He’s such a simp. But also men ☕️. While Ying didn’t always agree with his views, he is truly just “trapped as a victim of his circumstances.” If you love pretty princes that internally struggle with what they think is right vs what they need to do, you’ll love him. As much as I’m rooting for them to be endgame, I totally understand why Ying took a step back and was like that’s not really the life I want to live. I even did cry a bit during the “third act breakup” that happened, like sick to my stomach.

Love all the friendships Ying has, especially with Yekan who was an annoying little twerp in the beginning but became one of her closest friends. I really hope he’ll be able to become an engineer now that he doesn’t have anyone holding him back.

⋆.˚“I was your sword, but you were never mine.” Why must you leave me with this heartbreak Amber Chen

While I was a little disappointed with the ending that made my heart ache (because it didn’t really go how I expected), it’s clearly set up for the sequel. Which I’m not sure if I’ll be reading or not. I’ll probably forget about the entire plot by the time it comes out to be fair.

⋆.˚“If I want to conquer the world, will you stand by my side?” um immediately yes

For some reason I kept finding similarities with the hunger games??? Specifically the friendships in the guild reminded me of Snow and his peacekeeper friends in the book, actually the entire thing kind of gave the vibes of that whole section of TBOSAS. Another correlation I found was with the whole political and war aspect. The Capitol to the Districts is like how The Empire is to the Nine Isles. And Katniss to Coin is like Ying to the High Commander. The political issues weren’t the main concern of the book but I think the next book will expand on it more.

⋆.˚He was the one who opened this door for her— and then held her hand through it all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this 🏯

[ishi ☆]

꒰🐉꒱ ➳ pre-read ✧ ˚.
i got the arc! the cover is gorgeous and this sounds super interesting so pls be good pls be good <3 soso excited to start this aa

[Bethany (Beautifully Bookish Bethany) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded up

Of Jade and Dragons could loosely be called a retelling of Mulan, except the heroine dreams of joining the men-only engineering guild and is also seeking revenge for her father's murder. It's great. It has this cool sci-fantasy world that gives me East Asian steampunk vibes, and Ying is a fantastic character to follow. She's smart, determined, ruthless at times, but also cares for people. She is also very much a teen girl who might catch feelings for the wrong person. I don't want to say too much about this story, but I enjoyed the element of Ying going undercover as an engineering trainee, and I didn't see some of the twists coming. I would read on in the series! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reading Of Jade and Dragons today was hands down the best decision I have ever made. Well, for a Sunday, that is. Or maybe for all of 2024? I have no idea, but the year is still young. Anyway, in this, you will meet Ying and she dreams of being an engineer in the guild her dad was once in. The only problem is that they don't take girls. Which is rude and definitely needs to change.

It honestly doesn't take long for someone to see through her disguise and then for someone else to find out as well. On top of that, they are both princes in the same family. Along the way, there's a hint of a possible romance and some tension-filled moments between the two. And yet, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The betrayal and secrets came and knocked me off my feet. Thankfully, I was sitting down to read this book, but I am so happy that they happened in the ways that they did. I am also happy with how everything ended. It's never fun when things are easily forgiven just because of love. I'm hoping a certain someone grovels a bit and earns that forgiveness.

In the end, I'm excited for this book to be published so everyone else can enjoy it. I also can't wait for the next book to be written because I want to know what's going to happen next.

[Amanda at Bookish Brews]

Did someone say "Qing dynasty-inspired world of towering pagodas, monstrous airships and cut-throat politics" I'm so here for this silkpunk story fdkljfa

edit 9/21/2023: LOOK AT THIS STUNNING COVER!!!!! IM SCREAMING

[Samantha (ladybug.books) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

I honestly think I could’ve liked this a lot more without the main character. She really held the story back for me. The ending was also strange and I don’t see how it will smoothly transition to a sequel.

[Rowan :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC. All thoughts/opinions are my own.

Release Date: June 18, 2024

“‘Living in the shadows of someone else means you’ll never realize your own potential.’”

.•°°•..•°°•..•°°•..•°•.🐉🗡️⚙️🌊.•°°•..•°°•..•°°•..•°•.➷

Of Jade and Dragons tells the story of Aihui Ying, an eighteen-year-old girl who longs to follow in her father's footsteps and become an engineer. However, after his murder, Ying finds herself venturing to the capital of Fei for a different reason: to discover her father's killer and get revenge. Ying must disguise herself as a boy as she seeks to further her knowledge of engineering and her father's past and, most importantly, find his killer within the deeply sexist Engineer's Guild.

I was so excited to pick this up, and it first caught my eye because of that gorgeous cover! This book certainly did not disappoint- it is filled with unique characters, mystery, and creative concepts, all set in an intriguing world.

Of Jade and Dragons immediately captured my attention and sucked me in. The world that this story is set in is well thought out with unique customs, and the author did an amazing job painting it in my head, especially the city of Fei.

The characters were one of the biggest things that stood out to me within this book. They are unique, well thought out, and the author did an excellent job building and shifting their relationships with each other. Ying was one of my favorites: she was everything I wanted and more. She's intelligent, creative, witty, curious, and an incredible main character in general. One thing that I also really liked about her was that she wasn't too gullible. Ying wasn't immediately trusting or naive- she was alert, careful, and thoughtful. While she did pick up on many things that, if this had been written differently, she might have overlooked, she did not come across as the all-knowing heroine who faces no problems. I enjoyed reading about a sharp and intelligent heroine who doesn't let her guard down easily. I also enjoyed how this affected her relationships- the author did a nice job of taking a guarded and cautious character and slowly letting her open up.

When it came to the smaller but obvious details, Ying was hard to fool. But when it came to the mystery itself, I was pleased to find that the author had managed to pull off tricking her main character (and me) without having Ying be the typical "oh my goodness, how did I miss that" kind of character. While Ying did have a moment like that, there was clearly more to it than that, and it added to the complexity of Ying's character- this revelation that Ying hadn't noticed played into her values and what she had been hoping her life would become (I won't say any more on this to avoid spoilers!).

I also really liked the other characters, particularly Ye-Yang and Ye-Kan. I enjoyed learning more about Ye-Yang throughout the story, and the author did a nice job sprinkling little details about him that led to more intrigue and questions. I also loved reading about his and Ying's relationship and watching it shift.

Ye-Kan was one of those characters that you just hate at the beginning, but by the end, he's one of your favorites. His character development was beautifully done, and his and Ying's friendship blossomed beautifully. I'm very curious to see how the author builds on their relationship in the next book.

Ying's main goal in this book is to discover her father's murderer, and she makes that very clear in the beginning. However, most of this book did not feel very focused on that. The middle of this book is more focused on Ying's current situation trying to become a member of the engineer's guild and the trials she and the other apprentices must face. While discovering her father's murderer is still touched on, Ying makes very little progress on it during the middle of the book. It almost felt like the plot and Ying's goals had shifted- instead of trying to discover her father's murderer, she was more focused on passing the tests and becoming an engineer. I didn't find it boring, it just felt like the main focus of this book had changed.

There were also some parts of this book that I found confusing. I had a hard time understanding the political system and the ranks of different characters, but I think if I read this again it would make a lot more sense. It didn't make the story hard to follow, I was just confused at times.

While I did highly enjoy the characters in this book, I had a hard time connecting with them. The characters did have flaws and weaknesses, but I felt like they weren't deeply explored enough and touched on by the author to make them relatable. I still cared about them, I just had a hard time connecting with and relating to them.

The only other problem I had with this book was the action. It was good and it could be exciting, however, I felt like the characters had an easy time getting out of tough situations. There wasn't a moment where I was like "oh my goodness, I can't imagine how they're going to get out of this". I especially felt this way with the climax of the story. The consequences of it felt more internal and focused on Ying's thoughts and feelings as opposed to affecting her actual position in life and society.

Despite the flaws, this was such a fun read and a fantastic debut. I'm so grateful I've gotten to read this masterpiece before it comes out. But I feel confident that even if I hadn't stumbled upon this on NetGalley, this most definitely would've been a cover impulse buy! I really enjoyed the characters, concept, and plot of this story, and especially how Ying showed everyone that not just boys are capable of being engineers. It makes me so happy to see more and more stories with women in STEM, especially not just white women. I cannot wait to read the second one, and I'm looking forward to seeing this gorgeous book out on the shelves in June!

[nikki | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ . · Rating 4 out of 5]

These seas can never trap those who are meant to fly.

a young engineer disguises herself as a boy to compete for a spot in the esteemed engineer guild while solving her father's murder, sponsored by one of the heirs amid a power struggle for succession.

"A lamp can light up the darkness around you, but a story lights up the darkness within."

steampunk x Mulan vibes, good pacing, no worldbuilding info dumps, & romance subplot. a little violence as war is a very central theme. i genuinely enjoyed the story and would continue the series (i'm curious to see what happens next).

"If I want to conquer the world, will you stand by my side?"

mmc has a dimple hehe

an honest arc review <3

[zara · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd read
yep my feelings on this book stays the same i love it then and i love it now

1st read
4.5/5 stars

i have sat with this book for a good 6 hours... i let it marinate in my brain... and i honestly fucking loved it. it was amazing, i love ying as a main character and i love her resilience and determination. i love and hate the side characters with equal measure, i was also stupidly invested in the romance especially because of how book 1 ends. it has its flaws, like the clans and hierarchy not being explored enough, but i had so much fun reading it, and i hoped it got touched upon more in the sequel

[Trisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is the YA sci-fi/fantasy book I’ve been ACHING for!!

Aihui Ying is a girl with dreams she knows will never happen simply because she’s a girl. But when her father is murdered in front of her, she makes the decision to channel her inner Mulan and seek her revenge. And, while she’s at it, maybe get into the engineering guild and follow in her father’s footsteps.

But on the way, she runs into a snafu when she’s attacked. Luckily she is saved by Ye-yang, the eighth prince of the High Command, and he agrees to assist her in disguising herself as her brother to get into the guild and complete the trials. As time passes, Ying realizes she doesn’t really know her father. Or her brother. Or Ye-yang. Or anyone in the guild. She can’t trust anyone or anything beyond her gut. Can she make the right choice? Do the right thing?

I loved Ying. I loved her motivations, I loved her attitude, and I love her self assured moral compass that she won’t stray from for ANYONE. This was truly her story, and the men and their problems were secondary to her and what she needed to do.

The relationship between Ying and Ye-yang was fantastically written, and felt so realistic in terms of what I would have done in her place. Or wanted to, anyway—I’m not convinced I’m as strong or awesome as Ying. The way the arc went for these too was absolutely perfect and ended on the perfect note to continue the story. I’m genuinely excited to see what direction it goes in from here.

If you love Asian fantasy/sci-fi, women taking no ****, trials/competition games, and always wondered how Mulan might have played out if Shang knew she was a girl from the start—this is for you. This was my absolute favorite YA Fantasy read in AGES.

Thank you SO MUCH to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this one. I can’t wait for book two!

[Katryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up loving this even though it started off a little slow for me. Around 20-50% I felt like the pace hit a bit of a lull, but I’m glad I stuck with it! It definitely picked up and I cannot wait for the next one after that ending!

I really enjoyed all of the characters in this book and that doesn’t happen often. Usually there’s a character who does something that annoys me or another character who just isn’t written out well. That is not the case for any of these characters and a lot of what kept my interest, even in the lull, was because of them. You’ve got a couple of great main characters and a good amount of side characters who all bring something unique to the table.

There’s a lot of fantasy in this book, but it’s not overwhelming at all. I found the world easy to understand, but also different from my typical reads. The mystery in the book kept me guessing too. I wouldn’t say I was shocked by the reveal, but even so there were parts of the reveal that did surprise me.

I cannot wait to read the next book and will definitely be keeping an eye on Amber’s future works as well!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC.

[Jenni ♡]

Very sad that I didn’t enjoy this. It was one of my anticipated releases this year. DNF’d the ARC at 15% was trying to push to 20% to give the story a chance but I did not like the writing style.

I go into most of my books blind so I didn’t realize that this was a “mulan retelling”. There has been a few books this year that have come out with the same theme and I feel like it’s getting a little repetitive. I am also not a the biggest fan on any retelling story so there’s that also.

Because this is a stand alone, by the 10% mark it got a little predictable.

[Mai H.]

$8.99 hardcover at Book Outlet

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers

[Ben Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't have any expectations going into Of Jade and Dragons and I really enjoyed it. It seems like it's a duology, based on some light looking on book 2's page (didn't want any accidental spoilers), so I'm interested to get to it soon!

[The Bookie Crumbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t think I was going to get approved for this one but wanted it so badly. So I was ecstatic when Penguin Young Readers Group approved me for the ARC. Big big thank you!!!

Overall: 4 stars

This is for YA and I kept the expectations and parameters open minded for that. This is overall a cozier good read. It is a nice light read to take a break with between heavier books. I can see myself re-reading this and I am def looking to pre-order the next installment.

Pros:
-Cover is beautiful
-MULAN-y premise (girl pretending to be a boy) mixed with murder mystery? Here.for.it.
-The friends and friendships! I particularly love when someone that’s not liked a lot in the beginning grows to be close.

Cons:
-This seemed more like sci-fi than fantasy
-Politics mirror and remind of Hunger Games.
-A bit predictable but was enjoyable nonetheless
-Things were a bit too easy and conveniently resolved.

Overall, good! I will be picking up the second installment for sure.

[eve.lyn._.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

✩┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄pre-read review✩•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩
you had me at
"a girl who must disguise herself as a boy and enter the dangerous Engineer's Guild trials to unravel the mystery of her father's murder, while aligning with a secretive prince with plans of his own."
😳Excited for this!!!!!

✩┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄review✩•͙͙✧⃝•͙͙✩
Of Jade and Dragons was one of the few anticipated releases I have read in a while that met my expectations. The story starts off with Ying, our protagonist, discovering her father's injured body as an assassin watches from the shadows. Ying is desperate to discover why her father was assassinated and what happened during his time at the Engineering Guild. In order to investigate, she disguises herself as her brother and enters a competition amongst other men. Ying soon finds her own life entangled with the eighth prince, Ye-yang, a man who has more secrets than he does truths. 

    The beginning starts off rather quickly, not establishing Ying's relationship with her family and people as much as I would have liked. However, once the book found its rhythm, it had quite an interesting story. Ying as a character gradually grows more and more complex. She has a perfect balance of maturity and immaturity, flaws and strengths that make her an intriguing protagonist. I haven't read that many silkpunk books, but I found the unique genre to be a new experience. 

     As Ying goes through the many trials in the competition, she learns more about herself and her father. I love how Ying is a very determined protagonist. Even with Ye-yang entering the picture, Ying stays true to her desire for revenge, something I don't see happening often in YA anymore. Ying is a woman who sticks to her morals. Watching her make difficult decisions and ultimately choose herself was beautiful. While I would have loved for Ye-yang and Ying relationship to be explored more and the romance to be more gradual, I adored how Amber Chen wrote them. 

   The conclusion of the first volume was one I really enjoyed. There is angst in this novel, and the ending is definitely bittersweet. This is a great read for those looking for another fantasy novel to fall in love with!
✅PLOT
✅CHARACTERS
✅PLOT TWISTS

✩┄•͙✧⃝•͙┄quotes✩•͙͙✧⃝•͙✩
"Because one move can win you the battle but lose you the war."
-Ye yang

"A lamp can light up the darkness around you, but a story lights up the darkness within."
-Ying

"You said that if I wanted to seek revenge, that you would wield the sword on my behalf. But that was a lie. I was your sword, but you were never mine."
-Ying

[Tiffany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen

★☆☆☆☆ || 1.5/5

---

ARC received on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I convinced myself to finish this book by repeating to myself that this is an YA novel, and somehow that sort of managed to make the journey a bit more bearable. But upon speaking to a friend, there's no reason why I should set my expectations so low. I've read many beautifully written YA novels with incredible depth.

Unfortunately, Of Jade and Dragons is not one of them. Apart from the incredibly juvenile prose, the pacing was inconsistent and the world-building lacking. For a plot that incorporated warring political landscape and a war between two nations, I knew next to nothing about the world. Or even the setting, for that matter - for me, the story suffered from severe white room syndrome.

I am conflicted about Ying as a character. She had a lot of potential marred by questionable character depth. There was no depth to her grief after she witnesses her father’s murder. She dives straight into revenge, traversing to a city as a simple country girl that’s never known more - yet has no issues navigating away around the fast-paced world. Her father’s death was only ever used to move proceeding plot points when convenient, and then abruptly forgotten when not. The book needed to take a firmer direction between Ying's dream to become the first female guild master or uncovering the secrets of her father's death.

Something that really irked be was her jumping straight into suspecting Gerel as her father’s murderer. I appreciate Ying trying to figure out her father's murderer, but to jump at Gerel being the culprit due to former animosity with her father just didn’t make sense when in consideration of the motives. This is consistent with her actions throughout the book - she never thought twice about anything, and instead just enacts the very first idea that comes into her mind.

I don’t even really have anything to say regarding the side characters, because they were barely developed. If anything, I would say Ye-Kan was my favourite character in the story.

The only saving grace was the last 20% of the book, where I felt the plot finally picked up and unveiled something interesting. I will give kudos to a rather good foreshadowing. However, it would have been more impactful had the pacing not been so horrendous. What could have been a bittersweet ending was marred by the lack of development of plot points and a lack of commitment between Ying's revenge or her goal as guild master.

[vxmpslibrary [hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘A lamp can light up the darkness around you, but a story lights up the darkness within.'

I think something is breaking, wait no that's my heart.

there are no dragons.

It's actually mostly engineering work, and must I say the writing was kinda hard for me to read now, so many new words, but in the first read I don't know how I read it so quickly and understanding it, I will still let it stay 5 stars since I enjoyed it thoroughly in my first read and even now.

But, this might really be difficult to read for others since it has new words atleast in most of paragraphs which also does gets you quite unfocused at times, but don't hesitate to binge in!

Aihun Ying : She's the brave reckless sister anyone would ever need, she doesn't let's other people's word too seriously to weight her down, she's creative, creating something to leap off the roof and keeps on crashing and falling, shes stubborn adamant for finding the killer, and then dressing up as a boy with a name Aihun-Min.

Ye Yang : and here comes he, who did make me swoon ahh, he accepted her with no hesitation when he saw her skills, and he's the high commander's son and he's just so confident, I actually don't know what to say. Like he was amazing, and for the ending I love him infact I really do. He will get her back and I assure you!

"These seas can never trap those who are meant to fly."

“Dreams and nightmares are but two sides of the same coin,”

Chang-en was so helpful to Ying and I really liked that about him <3

I feel like the romance was lacking in some aspects, and even though the smallest of moments I ate, I'm pretty sure I was more interested in the romance, but anyways... the time i tried to reread this, I fell in a very bad slump so I don't think so I will reread it but recalling on my thoughts.

Ye-kan was the second-lead syndrome which I didn't knew. Like now that I think of it, he did may have feelings for her, but dw ye-kan, you will fall in love with her sister instead💓😞.

Overall. I'm not rereading this because I'm scared I will fall in slump again, but I will sure read the next installment so that I see my cuties get their happy ending as intended. My reread rating would be nothing since I didn't even finished this in 2024. Though I won't change my ratings like previously mentioned. Read first on 25 June 2024.

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2024/07/08/...

So, I have a bad habit of not paying too close attention to book blurbs and hence completely missed the allusions to Mulan in the publisher description for Of Jade and Dragons until I actually picked up the book and started reading it. My first reaction? Groan, not another one! But you know what they say about avoiding making snap judgments. This book ended up exceeding my expectations, delivering a richly told tale of mystery and ambition set against a silkpunk fantasy world inspired by Qing dynasty China.

The story follows 18-year-old Aihui Ying, who spent her life looking up to her father, the greatest engineer of his generation. But her life takes a drastic turn when she witnesses her beloved A-ma’s murder, the killer escaping with a dropped pendant as the only clue as to their identity. Armed with only her father’s journal for guidance, Ying sets out to become an apprentice by joining the prestigious Engineer Guild, where she also hopes to track down and exact revenge on the assassin.

The only problem? The male-only Guild will not accept a girl, leading Ying to adopt her brother’s identity to gain entry and prove herself worthy of following in her father’s footsteps. In the capital, she befriends a few of her fellow aspirants, including Prince Ye-Yang, who has entered the candidate trials for his own reasons. An alliance—and later, an attraction—forms between them as they promise to keep each other’s secrets and face the apprentice challenges together. This bond and partnership later become crucial as the trials give way to more and more dangerous obstacles, revealing treacherous guild politics and hidden agendas among its members.

First off, I loved the writing. Amber Chen’s prose is vivid and evocative but flows well without being too effusive. I enjoyed the world she created, which is brought to life by intricate details which make it easy to visualize the surroundings. The setting feels both historical and fantastical, which is a hallmark of this particular style of silkpunk blending magic and technology.

Ying is also a great protagonist, driven by her determination and resourcefulness. Despite the characters’ ages, Of Jade and Dragons exudes YA vibes and yet manages to avoid some of the most common genre pitfalls. Relationship dynamics feel genuine, capture the essence of each character’s personality and motivations. Dialogue reads as sharp and authentic. Sure, the plot isn’t without its predictability or clichés, but Chen’s sense of timing and ability to pace things just right make up for it. I found myself hooked on both the intrigue of Ying’s quest to find her father’s killer and the adventure of the guild challenges.

These trials are fraught with danger, but they also introduce wonders like mechanical beasts and other imaginative technology. The Engineers Guild is old and respected, steeped in tradition, but there are factions and infighting within. The wider threat of war looms as well. All the while, the characters grow and their relationships develop. Every thread comes together to fill out the plot, contributing to a gripping narrative.

All in all, I’m reminded that patience pays off. The elements in Of Jade and Dragons came together to deliver a good story with characters that made me feel invested, and I was happy to discover it’s the first installment of a series. I’m looking forward to continuing.

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can definitely see the comparisons saying this is a Mulan inspired retelling, and the female lead STEM setting was a fantastic driver for it. The combination of science and steampunk embedded in a Chinese setting was really unique. There's a lot of details about the Chinese royal family, and the lineage of the different princes and the High Commander was also well fleshed out.

Aihui Ying, who poses as her younger brother in order to infiltrate the Engineers Guild and earn a place as the first female engineer, is determined, sassy and follows in her father's footsteps with her engineering intelligence. I liked her as a main character, although some of the romance with one of the princes, Ye-Yang, felt a bit contrived and emotionless.

As a debut, the concept for Of Jade and Dragons feels strong, but much of the book falls into the trap of telling rather than showing. The world building and finer details feels rather simplified, including the competition based element in for the guild apprentices. I read an ARC of the book, and found that there were several inconsistencies, with things that are mentioned once and then skipped over. The ending also feels rather out of left field, with limited build up as well.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Bethany J · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was a little disappointing, not going to lie. There are multiple reasons for this, but I do want to say that I think the story had real promise. A large part of that was due to the world-building. I thought the world was really cool and interesting. I loved the steampunk/silkpunk elements (I'd love if this were more common in books, but I recognize that it's not all that popular) and I thought the base story "Girl disguises herself to join prestigious inventors' guild to solve her father's murder" is interesting. Unfortunately, nothing else about this story really hit the mark for me.

Firstly, the pacing felt... off. This is a pretty chunky book and while right off the bat, Ying sees her father being murdered, the bulk of the book felt a bit of a slog at times. The ending, too, felt far too rushed for all of the build-up up to that point. There's another issue I have with the pacing that ties into the ending, but I'll get there (because it is a bit of a spoiler).

As the main character, I feel like Ying could've been really interesting. I never really connected with her, though. Part of that was because there was a lot of telling rather than showing in regards to Ying's thoughts and emotions. That, and it seemed like her character was stretched into too many different paths and never really committed too hard to any of them. At least, not in a way that felt satisfying to me.

As for the characters, they all had some of the same problem that Ying did, in that they were largely just imprints of characters rather than people I rooted for or hated. I feel like where it struggled the most was with Ye-yang (Ying's "love interest") and her father. Considering her father is such a looming presence over the entirety of the book, I thought he didn't play enough into the story in a way that felt like it mattered. And Ye-yang was... there. Again, he felt like a mirage of a character. His "romance" with Ying felt forced and boring to me. I couldn't figure out what, exactly, he saw in her and vice-versa. Plus, there's the fact that some of the power dynamics there were a little off from the beginning, which meant that I never really rooted for them. Point is, I never fully cared about Ying or Ye-yang as individuals, so trying to put them together was essentially pointless in my head.

Now, for the spoilers. I usually try to avoid doing this, but unfortunately, the ending really soured the entire book for me and I don't think I can explain why without spoiling just a little bit. So please avoid this part of the review if you don't want that.

The ending felt a bit like a slap in the face. This really ties into the pacing issue, mostly, because I feel like in another book this ending could have been very poignant and bittersweet. If the book had, honestly, avoided the Trials portion of the Guild stuff and relegated that to the background and focused more on Ying's father and her attempting to solve his murder, I think this could've worked. But a lot of the book was focused on the intricacies of the Guild, the other Trial-goers she makes friends with, her relationship with Ye-yang.... By the time the ending rolled around, it turned out that none of that stuff mattered. Her goal of being a Guildmaster as a woman and continuing her father's research was just thrown out the window. Again, this would've been a good reason, if we hadn't spent the majority of the book getting to know her competitors, having her make friends with them, getting to know the other Guildmasters... like, it all just felt pointless, in the end. And that frustrated me. I feel like it just could have been done so much better than it was.

I recognize that this is probably going to work for a lot of people. It does read like a C-drama and it has cool world-building. It just didn't work for me and left me frustrated at the end of it.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚.”

What a rollercoaster this story was! I might have predicted a few outcomes, but I was still shocked every time a secret was revealed. If there was camera footage of me reading this, it’d show me gasping to my walls at 4am because I was in shock lol. Amber Chen I’m humbly asking for book 2 as soon as possible 🙇🏻‍♀️.

Ying was naive and a little thoughtless, BUT she was also self-assured, inventive, unwilling to change what she believed in for anyone (FOR ANYONE 🫵🏻!!). At first, I struggled to get through the beginning 20ish% because of her naïveté. BUT, that characteristic made me question everyone’s trustworthiness (this is a good thing, it kept me on my toes!) because I was constantly wondering if it was Ying's perspective that was influencing me or my own. The feeling of something being "too good to be true" sums up a lot of what was happening in my mind lol. Regardless, Ying stood out as a fmc because she didn’t necessarily have physical strength or fighting abilities (GREAT characteristics many strong fantasy female leads have), but she did have her inventiveness, her resolve, and her beliefs.

I will say that since this is a YA story, it does gloss over some of the darker topics that could have been explored if it were geared toward adults, but I appreciated it for what it was.

I know I don’t do this book justice, but I promise it's a great story that leaves a lasting impression. If you’re a beginner fantasy reader (like me 😃), I think you’ll really enjoy this one. And for those who have read or will soon read it… I liked how it ended and I think it was exactly what should’ve happened 😌! I’m curious to know your thoughts on the ending.

Thank you NetGalley & publisher for providing me with an e-arc for “Of Jade and Dragons” by Amber Chen! All opinions are mine alone. “Of Jade and Dragons” publishes June 18, 2024!

[meggy (readsinbloom) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

“Of Jade and Dragons” by Amber Chen can be described as mulan with engineering plus a murder mystery. The protagonist, Ying, disguises herself as a man to join the exclusive men-only engineer’s guild after her father, who was a member, has been murdered to discover who was behind it.

In order to become a member of the engineer’s guild, one must compete in a set of trials. I love when books have trials or games that someone must win. I do wish that the trials had been a more substantial part of the plot or were more intense, but I really enjoyed this part of the book. I was really rooting for Ying and it was super fun to read the trials. Outside of the trials, I felt the book was slow at times.

There are two main male characters throughout the book: Ye-yang and Yekan. Both sons of the emperor that aid Ying throughout her journey. Personally, I favored Yekan to Ye-yang. However, this was not a love triangle situation. Chen created very loveable and intriguing characters throughout this book.

Overall, I think this is a great YA fantasy that can be read by any age!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!