This debut novel by Ela Lee is a complex character driven story about the aftermath of a sexual assault.

Jade is a young lawyer working at a prestigious law firm. The morning after a work event, she wakes up having no memory of how she got home. She must now try to put the pieces of her life back together.

The author takes us through the story that is centered on sexual assault in the corporate world and how a young woman navigates against very powerful men. Jade learns who she can trust and who she cannot.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, NetGalley, and Ela Lee for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Jade had done everything right and has the life to show it. After a work event, she wakes up with no memoirs of the evening. As she tries to find out what happened, her carefully build life starts falling apart.

It took me a bit to get through this one. It’s one that you’ll want to read slowly and really savor. It is also hard to watch Jade as she struggles deeper and deeper in her trauma. This felt like a realistic portrayal of trauma and should be required reading. Jade’s experience leads to every aspect of her life changing. There was a lot that went into this story, societal and parental expectations, mixed race relationships, among gender and class issues.

“They say justice is blind but why did a brown woman’s chances against a white man feel insurmountable.”

Jaded comes out 3/19.

Gorgeous, thought provoking, tackles a lot of important and notable issues. Thanks for the arc! I really enjoyed jt

This was such a great complex story. It's slow paced and character driven. It follows Jade and the aftermath of her being sexually assaulted. The story was so well written and covered so many different topics of consent, race, and identity. The characters were so well written. I loved Jade and was rooting for her the entire time. This was such a good debut novel, and I look forward to reading more from Ela Lee.

Jaded is the story of a young lawyer of mixed race named Jade. On a night out with her office, she gets raped by a Cabinet member at a higher position than her, and that's when her life takes a turn foe the worse. This book exposes the difficulty to navigate society as a woman of foreign background; how they have to regularly deal with racism. What makes it worse is being raped by a person working in the same office as they do: are theyvsupposed to report it, go to the police, keep it quiet,..? What about your boyfriend? Should you share it him? What if he doesn't understand? Could it lead to an eventually breakup? All those questions are to be experienced by Jade. We all survive such traumatizing life events. Just like any experience, we need to learn from in.order to move forward in life. A nice book, well written, I could feel the pain and struggle Jade went through, but it did not touch me more than that.

This book is excellent. It is a sad and poignant reminder that stories like this are still so true for women in 2024. Jade is a character who is both relatable and realistic. She is a young professional eager to forge an identity in both her work and personal life, and it all comes crashing down after drinking too much at a work event. I would not dream of giving away more than this - you have to read it for yourself. Many will see themselves in the unravelling and rebuilding of Jade's life. She is strong, and you want her to succeed. I cannot recommend this book enough, kudos to Ela Lee for telling this story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an eARC of this book via NetGalley Simon & Schuster. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Publishing: March 19, 2024
Pages: 384

Jaded is a first time read by author, Ela Lee by this reader. I thought the beginning of the story started off quite slow and was somewhat difficult to read. For a debut, I thought it was well-written and presented a lot of dynamics that could relate to those who read this story (i.e., racism, sexism, identity). This is a unique story that is heartfelt as the main character, Jada had to endure and overcome struggles that are quite real today. Ultimately, the story does pick up and diverts you away from reading a mundane story. Although it was hard to follow the characters, I managed to complete until the end.

This was such a good, yet utterly difficult read. I hope none of the readers found the story too relatable, but I’m afraid that’s not the case here. I’m afraid this book will hit home for way too many and will hit home way too hard. Racism, sexism, trauma, consent, identity, who you are, what you are, what shapes you as a human, what makes you the unique you, how to live in the world that is the way it is, society and its standards, oh, it’s all in there. It’s raw and it’s emotional.
Overall, it was a really, really good read. Deep and profound, and very well-written.

A little bit slow at the beginning but I ended up really enjoying it. Many relevant themes (sexism, racism, consent, power, multiculturalism) are present in the book. Very good read, highly recommend!

I received an ARC from the publisher.

I wasn’t quite sure what to think of this book when I read the cover, but once I started, I was transported back into my 20s, working my high profile job. The struggles that our main character goes through are not only real, they’re very heartfelt as I endured many of the same. The authors writing, not only invokes all of the pressure ,and the fears, as well as the excitement, of this time in our lives. What was so well written was the internal struggle of how well do we really know ourselves. Now that I’m in my 50’s, I can still relate to the internal struggle of who do I want to be.
This book was an amazing journey of self discovery. Equipped with a phenomenal set of best friends, I thoroughly enjoyed reading every word. A definite must read for all.

Publication Day 3-19-24
Thank you Ela Lee, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a chance to read Jaded. There are several topics within this story that are real life and should be discussed and understood on so many different levels. I really enjoyed a relevant suspense thriller. Jade, a young female attorney born of immigrant parents has faced several challenges growing up, but one night bad decisions were made. Bad decisions that she doesn’t remember and that involve a senior partner in her law firm. Jade is left to pick up the pieces of her life after this sexual assault and decide how to handle her future. Highly recommend this as a buddy read or book club adventure. I ended up talking to my daughters in depth about how easily something like this could happen to someone they know or even to them.

"Jaded" was a smart & nuanced exploration of the aftermath of a sexual assault: what's remembered, what's believed, what's traumatizing and triggering, what lingers. Everything rang true, especially the ways in which women -- especially young ones -- get "punished" while the aggressors move on. A great debut

While this book definitely needs to have a content warning, it is a powerful book beautifully written about the trauma and reality of living and surviving assault in a culture that is designed to allow rape and misogyny to go unchecked. From her doubtful boyfriend to the stoic silence of her mother, Jade is left to navigate trauma and grief along as her perpetrator is given the benefit of the doubt. Lee pulls back the curtain to show the ramifications for individuals and society of the refusal to really acknowledge women's experience of sexism and assault.

It took me a bit to get into this book as the start was quite slow and mundane, however, as Jade’s story began to unfold it began to capture my interest. I found myself rooting for Jade as she grappled with the aftermath of that mysterious night she has. Ultimately, this journey helps her discover who and what is truly important.

Jaded is a story that tackles many important themes while keeping the reader interested in a gripping character driven story.
The main character Ceyda goes by Jade as it is easier to spell and pronounce than her given Turkish name. Jade was born to two immigrant parents, her dad from Turkey and her mom from Korea. They worked hard to give their child the "American dream" which she achieved when she became a lawyer. On the outside, Jade seems to have it all, the job, the boyfriend, and the social circle. But Jade is a child of two immigrant parents, she's biracial, and she's a woman. She has to try to fit into these categories while ignoring or rationalizing bias, racism, misogyny that comes her way.
Everything is going well for Jade until one night at a work mixer. Jade is seated next to one of the main executives and she takes this as an opportunity for advancement. However, this man is only interested in using his power to get her to come home with him. She dodges a bullet when a "friend" pulls her away and offers to get her home safely. She wakes up the next morning with a hazy memory of something terrible happening. You follow Jade as she goes through her daily routine the next several days after the assault as the memories start to come back piece by piece.
Eventually Jade breaks, unable to bear the weight of it all. She tries turning to her parents and her boyfriend but they both are unsure what to do to help. Jades friend, Adele, is the only one able to empathize with Jade and offer her some sort of assistance and clarity. Jade and Adele's friendship was one of my favorite parts of the book. It was a warm light in a dark story.
This story is about sexual assault and the aftermath that affects the victims mental and physical wellbeing as well as relationships, jobs, and quite frankly day to day functioning. You get to know Jade so well throughout this story and are just heartbroken with every barrier the world throws at her but at the same time you are uplifted by personal growth and resilience.

This is one the first books I was unable to finish. Entertaining at first, the story of Jada Kaya, young attorney living and working in a London law firm during current times. As a mid-level attorney, her career path is moving in the right direction for growth . As an only child from Turkish-Korean parents living in London, she has had an intense focus on achieving success and unexpectedly love with her fellow-college mate, Kit.

Then, it all goes bump when she finds herself obviously physically abused the next morning after a mandatory law firm staff dinner at the very tony Savoy. And her realization of what has been done to her without her consent.

While the subject matter is very important, I could not see the story through because I found the lifestyles overwhelmed my ability to stay interested in the characters. I am sure the author's point is the female abuse take place anywhere - corporate worlds or more day-to-day environments. And that suppressing the abuse, or the lengths to cover up and blame the victim, is happening all the time.

I just could not empathize with the characters and follow the story to the end.

Jade, a young and rising attorney in a cutthroat law firm, has learned how to successfully play the game. Tiptoeing along a tightrope stretched between expectations and dreams, she must balance being the daughter of a mixed race couple, the girlfriend of a wealthy, entitled white man, and smart but not too smart lawyer in a firm dominated by men.

When she can’t remember the details of an evening after an alcohol-drenched work event, Jade’s carefully plotted life starts to unravel. The ambiguity of her memory tortures her and wreaks havoc on her personal life.

Themes of racism, sexism, and identity swirl around questions about conformity, consent, and power. Painful to read at times, Jaded by Ela Lee, takes a raw, unflinching look at families and relationships and climbing the corporate ladder. It is beautifully written and thoughtfully presented.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy for review.

This was a difficult read. Her struggles as she deals with the aftermath of sexual assault are heartbreaking. Her struggles with her partner are relatable. I hadn't ever considered the struggles of mixed race people and so this was enlightening too.

Jade is the daughter of mixed-heritage, immigrant parents who have relentlessly toiled to build a life in England to give their daughter a future. But Jade isn't even really her name. It's an anglicised, phonetic take on her given Turkish name Ceyda - and it's just easier. Easier to fit in, easier to not offer explanations, and easier to not side with being Turkish or Korean. Being what Jade perceives people need her to be: a dutiful daughter at home, easygoing with her boyfriend, and a workaholic as a lawyer has worked well for Jade. Jade has everything - until Jade doesn't. The morning after a work function she wakes up naked in bed, without a clue how she got home and a hazy memory of the night before. As her mind slowly reveals what the body has always remembered, Jade is confronted with all the locked-away illusions of her life to date. Her precarious balancing of multiple selves crumbles, leaving her to question just who she really is.

This book is a great example of sophisticated storytelling in my opinion. The story was well written and the characters were very interesting. The main situation was uncovered and the book goes into detail about how the characters deal with this. Class, culture and gender are the main themes.

This was so good. The book cover gave me little insight into what was going to happen, so i really wanted to find out once I opened the book.