This is a well written story of how a mixed race woman struggles to handle sexual abuse, racial stereotyping, and the pressures of being a new lawyer in a high powered, male dominated firm. Told in the first person, this emotionally enthralling story has fully developed characters, a well paced plot, and I was invested in the main character from the first page to the last. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader copy.

Thank you Simon Books for my #gifted copy of Jaded! #simonbooksbuddy #JadedBook

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐄𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐞
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

★★★★(4.5)

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬:
A young lawyer wakes up the morning after a work gala with no memory of how she got home the previous night and must figure out what, exactly, happened—and how much she's willing to put up with to make her way to the top of the corporate ladder.

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
This book! I went into this book blind and found it to be so thought-provoking and empowering. The author, Ela Lee, so beautifully and brilliantly took such a difficult topic and created such an impactful book about consent, sexism, race, and identity. I loved how through her writing, the author transported us into Jade’s thoughts and experiences.

This is the type of book that can spark conversations. I finished this book days ago and still find myself thinking about Jade. I love thought-provoking books and feel like this one would make an excellent book club selection. While there are certainly triggers, the conversations that can come from this book are truly unmatched. I cannot recommend Jaded, a debut novel by Ela Lee, enough!

Posted on Goodreads on March 18, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around March 18, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on March 19 2024
**-will post on designated date

Jaded by Ella Lee is a very timely, powerful and moving r.ead. It is a work of fiction, yet based loosely on the experiences of 8 friends and the author who began their professional careers in London in 2017. Each one of them had been sexually or verbally assaulted by 2020.
Jaded tells the story of "Jade," a young professional, an aspiring lawyer with a highly reputable London law firm, involved with a " suitable partner" she really cared for and enjoying caring and empowering friendships. She is the daughter of a Korean mother and a Turkish father, and has. while growing up, experienced prejudice and seen her parents humiliated many times. Jade was strong, yet one night after a trauma following a work event her life changed dramatically.
I don't want to spoil the book in anyway by sharing more of the story. Jaded is a story of family, tradition, the "Me too" movement, corporate responsibility, personal responsibility and healing. Kudos to Ella Lee for writing this wonderful book that is thought provoking and provocative, I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Jaded, this review reflects my honest assessment. 4 Stars.

Jade, born Ceyda Kayaoğ lu, to a South Korean mom and Turkish dad, has changed her name to her Starbucks handle. At 25, she’s fully integrated into British society, with a posh white boyfriend Kit, a job as a lawyer at a top tier corporate law firm and a cool flat all her own. Her parents, still very much embracing their immigrant status, love both Jade and each other deeply. But all their supportive warmth cannot combat the pressures Jade finds herself under: the token minority at the mostly white and male law firm, herself a workaholic, Kit’s wealthy parents who embrace cultural racism such as throwing a Hong Kong costume party and see Jade as a novelty minority, and Kit himself who finds Jade’s independence her most attractive quality.

After a corporate holiday party at which Jade becomes thoroughly drunk, a male colleague rescues her from the unwanted advances of the firm’s senior partner only to accompany her home as she stumbles and passes out- to acquaintance rape her. Jade slowly gains back memories of the vicious date rape that leaves her internally injured. Her subsequent grief and victimhood turns to rage. In the process, her relationship with Kit erodes, as he simply cannot fathom the idea of her being with another man. Her relationship with her parents come under strain, in that Kit fears being honest with them will send them into grief and even more societal withdrawal. Kit also has to wrestle with how much her allowing herself to become besotted and out of control at the party played a part in the sex afterwards. Not to mention that all along with late night sessions, she’s flirted with the man involved. All the emotional complexities of a sexual victim come into play, along with how an incident can leave long term psychological damage.

Point made, and often uncomfortably so, the characters never really come to life beyond the symbolic plot roles they play. That being said Lee captures the powerful damage caused by misogyny, male sexual predators, racism and classism. It’s hard not to come away from Lee’s novel jaded.


Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

This story centers around the titular character Jade, who is a young mixed race lawyer pushing ahead to become a valuable partner in England. She straddles multiple cultures, classes and the ever present sexism that all women face. Everything sharpens when Jade wakes up the day after a holiday party at her firm. She doesn't exactly remember what happened or how she got home. The flashbacks and feeling of dread heighten as rumors fly at work threatening her good standing and her long term relationship. What can Jade do, what should she do, and what can she live with?

The processing of sexual abuse by the main character, Jade, was beyond accurate: with the conflicting feelings, with the doubt, the second thoughts, fear and immense shame, and all the lies we tell ourselves just not to accept the harsh truth.

I found myself crying more than I expected, at certain times for Jade and others for both myself and for us, survivors as a collective.

Although the book might not have a plot, characters, or language like no other, I argue that it comes with something of higher importance — a conversation.

I’ll start by saying that I learned so much from this book. While it covers topics like consent, power and sexism, it was the commentary surrounding race and identity that made the biggest impact on me.

Our main character, Ceyda, who goes by Jade, is the daughter of Turkish and South Korean immigrants living in London. Her story shows us some of the complexities that come with being a mixed race individual navigating society as a minority and trying to climb the corporate ladder.

From examples in social settings with “friends” and romantic partners, overt displays of tokenism at work, and ignorant cultural references, the author shows us how challenges show up for those in minority groups every day. I learned so much from Jade’s POV about the nuance to these situations as well that can bring conflicting emotions.

The other major topics in this book are consent and sexual assault. Jade’s experience will shatter your heart into a million pieces, especially as she tries to carry on as if nothing happened 💔 Because not speaking it into existence means she can deny that it happened a little longer 😢

With Jade, we go through denial, anger, depression, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and the devastating resignation to the fact that justice for so many women never comes ⚖️ More often, the victims who speak up often face worse repercussions than their abusers. But somehow they still have to go on and pick up the pieces.

This read will take you on a roller coaster of emotions🎢 It’s a tough one, but an important one. Despite these salient conversations, I did have a few issues with the writing style that kept this from being a 4+ star read for me. But overall, a book I’d definitely recommend picking up. I think it would make some excellent discussion for a book club! 🌟

Jade Kaya is Turkish-Korean, born to immigrant parents. She is a young lawyer trying to make her way up the ladder in a big-name London-based global service Law Firm. She is in a long-term relationship with her boyfriend Kit who hails from the upper echelons of white gentrified British Society. The morning after a lavish work gala dinner she finds herself waking up with no memory of what happened the night before but a horrid feeling that something terrible definitely did. And so begins the unravelling of the carefully crafted life Jade has tried to build for herself. The story is a classic portrayal of the racist and sexist undercurrents prevalent in work culture as also modern society. Through a series of flashbacks, we also get an insight into the Turkish and Korean cultural influences of Jade's home environment, her parents' struggle to make it despite the societal prejudices against immigrants and various economic meltdowns, the fallout of Brexit (novel is based in 2018) as well as snippets of the British political scene. To my mind, these made the story drag out a bit and detracted from the main plot. Although the plotline is a bit cliched, this is an easy, quick, candid read for anybody who is interested in stories based on the #metoo movement.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and Ella Lee for the ARC.

Here is my review of Jaded, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read jaded early! I truly loved this read and can’t wait to see what Ela Lee writes next

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this book!

When this book was likened to Disorientation, Queenie, and I May Destroy You, I had very high expectations. Disorientation was my favorite book of 2022 and it remains one of my favorite reads of all time. So when I picked up Jaded by Ela Lee, I frankly was not expecting it to captivate me in the way that it did: I stayed up until the early hours of the morning devouring it. I simply couldn't put it down. It was heartbreaking and rageful and hopeful all at once.

Jaded follows a Korean-Turkish woman in London climbing up the corporate ladder of her law firm. Ceyda (or Jade, her Starbucks name, because all children of immigrants have a Starbucks name) is in control of her life until the worst happens after a work function. Her life is upended--from her relationships to her identity to her career.

We readers walk with Jade as she navigates through what's happened to her. Lee does an excellent job of portraying the nuance of processing trauma through all stages of grief. We see Jade in denial, constantly repressing the events of that drunken evening, rationalizing why she feels the way she does. We see her internal struggle through the microaggressions she faces from her peers, but most especially how she justifies how her boyfriend treats her. Her boyfriend Kit is a white man who seems to truly see Jade for all that she is. Except when his mother throws culturally insensitive parties or when his best friends make prejudiced comments around her. He is a self-proclaimed feminist who calls out injustices against marginalized people; he knows all the right things to say. Watching Jade go back and forth between defending and vilifying Kit was all too relatable.

One of my favorite things about this novel was Lee's portrayal of Jade's parents. Her South Korean mother and her Turkish father are the quintessential immigrant parents who shower Jade with indirect love. Her father bringing her fresh cut fruit while they watch true crime documentaries, and her mother praising Jade for being so good at her job.

Finally, the most poignant part was the different philosophies of actionable justice for women. Jade's two closest friends offer different perspectives on Jade's situation: one is so biased against society that she believes that the only people who can protect women are themselves while the other is adamant that Jade advocates for herself by speaking up. While neither approach is right or wrong, the conflicting perspectives highlight what survivors face every single day.

I cannot stop thinking about this book. It's thought-provoking and nuanced, and eloquently tackles the intersections of race, power, and gender. I hope more readers pick this up and it incites action and hope and rage and compassion for all those before and all those to come.

As always, please check content warnings before picking this one up.

Jaded by Ela Lee is out 3/19.

Oh this book is so good but it will make you angry. After a drunken night at a work party for the law firm Jade works at, she has no idea how she got home or what happened to her. As the weeks go by, she starts to have broken flashbacks and her fears have come true…

Her life is turned upside down. She doesn’t feel safe, she’s constantly having to persuade her boyfriend to believe her, all the while trying not to let her parents down

Trying to cope and survive the trauma she endured, will she be willing to leave her old life behind on a journey to fully heal?

This is a #metoo story that includes moments of racism, hope, anger, betrayal, corporate power, and Jade’s battle of finding herself. Tough to read at times but definitely recommend

"Jade isn't even my real name. Jade began as my Starbucks name, because all children of immigrants have a Starbucks name."

Ceyda (Jade) lives her life trying to fit into this 'box' of what everyone else thinks she should be. This novel has themes of cultural identity struggles. There is complex relationships between Jade and her mother as well as Jade and her boyfriend.

There is also SA that happens and Jade is traumatized and is facing some really conflicting feelings of guilt and shame while also trying to figure out the right way to approach the situation. She feels like she could lose everything and fall out of the mold she has tried so hard to shove herself into.
I enjoyed Jade's perspective, her humanity was raw and real. It felt like talking with a friend who has been through a traumatic event with a lack of real support. Jaded covers some difficult topics and is really thought provoking.


Special thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

TW: sexual assault

It’s so easy for writers to ineffectively describe sexual assault. It’s such a complicated and emotional topic, and not everyone knows what it’s like to experience that kind of trauma (which leads to some inauthentic depictions). So, I always approach these kinds of novels with a little trepidation. Luckily, I was in good hands with Ela Lee. Her novel, “Jaded,” is a powerful piece of fiction that succeeds in realistically describing the aftermath of an assault.

The book follows Jade, an up-and-coming lawyer at a big-wig law firm. She’s madly in love with her long-term boyfriend, but she still finds time to maintain her relationship with her immigrant parents (who sacrificed so much to ensure that Jade became the successful woman she turned out to be). When Jade is sexually assaulted by a co-worker after a company party, her carefully curated world falls apart. Few people can write descriptions of flashbacks, panic attacks and nightmares as well as Lee has done here. As the reader, I felt like I was enmeshed with Jade’s struggles, especially as her body remembered much more of the assault than her brain did. This haunting and devastating event wreaks havoc on Jade’s life – not only damaging her mental and physical health, but also tearing apart her relationships as well.

But this isn’t just a story about assault and the horrific ripple effect this type of trauma has on a person. It’s also about Jade learning to challenge people’s perceptions of her, as a child of immigrants, as a mixed-race individual, and as a woman. While some of the events in the book made me literally shake with anger, it was a powerful reminder how much discrimination still exists in our world for anyone who isn’t born rich, white, and male.

I feel like this novel is sort of quiet in its brilliance, so I’m really hoping it doesn’t fail to appear on people’s TBR lists. It’s truly deserving of a place on your bookshelf. As a survivor myself, I’m grateful that Lee took on this challenging subject matter, and I’m even more grateful that she did it with so much skill and heart. I know Jade isn’t a real person, but her story (and all of the stories like hers) matter so much, and it’s truly a credit to Lee’s stellar writing that it had such an impact on me.

I had to DNF. Based on the description I didn't anticipate the story being as heavy as it was. It was just different than I expect but by no means is it a bad book.

Thank you netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc.

review ✨

This was such an incredible debut about Ceyda, the daughter of a Korean mother and Turkish father. Known by her “Starbucks name,” the book follows Jade working at a high-stress big law job and navigating a traumatic assault and the aftermath

Despite the very heavy content warnings, this was a very engaging coming of age—with such important messages on identity, microaggressions, misogyny. I adored this main character and her resiliency. This would be an excellent book club pick as there’s SO much to discuss here

This is out next Tuesday, March 19! Thank you @simonbooks for this gifted copy in exchange for my honest thoughts #simonbooksbuddy

✨ my rating: 4.75🌟
📖 384 pages
💓 read if you liked Maame or The Boys Club

This felt like....a very in-depth and deep episode of Law and Order: SVU. There are topics like race, racism, misogny and sexual assault so it's not going to be a book for everyone.

Overall this is a story one woman trying to do everything, living for everyone's expectations, and then what happens when the facade starts to crack and crumble away.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this book.

Jade is an up and coming young lawyer who seemingly has the perfect life - a spot in a top corporate law firm, a dutiful boyfriend, loving parents. But that all changes after a boozy work party where she is seemingly saved from harm by a fellow co-worker, only to have him rape her once he takes her home. Dealing with the aftermath, Jade tries to piece together her memories and heal while still trying to maintain the facade of normalcy.

Jaded by Ela Lee deals with the harsh realities of being a young woman today. Race, sexual politics, class inequity are all touched upon. I wouldn't say this is a fun and breezy read, it's definitely disturbing at times and uncomfortably realistic. It's hard to be a female, and this is another harrowing and unfortunately truthful tale of what it's like.

Powerful story of women in the work force dealing with things men don't have to deal with everyday. It's also about dealing with a trauma and how it affects a person in their life. Definitely feel like there needed to be more warning on what was going to happen in the book and how long it was going to be discussed. This could be extremely triggering for some people. It's also about a minority woman making her way through the word. It was a difficult read with the extremely heavy topic but might be needed for some. Please label this with a trigger warning before putting it out there.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

A thoughtful look at the impact of an assault- a trauma that sends Jade to look at how she's been living her life, She's a hard worker who has subsumed much about her past as she moves up the ladder and through her relationship with her caucasian partner Kit. She's trying to live up to the expectations of her immigrant parents. And now, she's coming apart. There's a lot going on here and some of the territory might feel familiar but Lee has created a terrific character in Jade- the Starbucks name of Ceyde. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An impressive debut and a good read.

This book is going to take me a while to process. I would certainly be aware of a trigger warning for rape/sexual abuse. It takes on a lot – racism, classism, corporate politics, family structure and support, how women who report sexual abuse or rape are handled by various members of society. It is based in London, but I feel like a lot of this can be translated to the US with very little change in the story. I honestly felt there was a lot of realism in Jade’s experience and could easily see it happening to myself or people I know in just that way, especially when I was younger. Lee did such a great job of exploring all of Jade’s relationships and how each one affected her healing from trauma. This is not a book afraid of the hard topics. I will say the story at times felt a little chaotic and disorganized to me – that would be my only complaint.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC.

This was quite the read. It hurt to get through. What a triumph of a novel.