Jade has worked her whole life to fit in and please others. She became a lawyer to please her immigrant parents. She ignored the racist remarks from her wealthy boyfriend’s parents and friends. She even changed her name to “Jade” because her birth name was too hard for others to pronounce correctly. After attending a work gala for her law firm in London and having too many drinks, Jade wakes up in her bed with no memory of how she got home the night before. Slowly, the pieces of that night start to come together, and she must come to terms with the fact that maybe this isn’t the life that she has always dreamed of.

The subject matter seemed very personal to the author, making it that much more effective. However, it was too long and tended to drag. I think the book could have done with some major editing in the last 2/3 of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a free, electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A perfectly fine book, but it just didn't work for me and I can't put my finger on why. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity.

Jade isn’t even her name. Rather, it’s a nickname she took on in a world not always welcoming of anything not mainstream..

She’s a young woman, of Turkish-Korean ancestry and first generation born and raised British. She’s also an accomplished attorney, working for a well known law firm. She has a boyfriend, a group of supportive girlfriends, loving parents too. One particular evening, her hitherto comfy life all falls apart.

It all has to do with some alcohol, drunkenness, and not remembering much afterwards. Alas, the afterwards involved a very senior male partner in the law firm and sexual assault.

This story takes us on a journey of the pain after, widespread ramifications, mental health challenges after trauma, and a young woman deciding to finally draw a firm line in the sand, deciding what she’d live with, and what she was unwilling to accept. She makes some very hard decisions too - a career upset, a relationship abandoned.

This was a captivating story! I like how it ended with Jade learning how to live with herself after such a life-altering event, reaching out for help, and finding closure in the company of those most valued in her life who stood with her through thick and thin, each in their own way. I applaud how she decided to fully own herself, her whole being, the history she descended from, and to stand unwavering and demand respect.

I do wish she’d truly reclaimed her name - Ceyda!

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this ARC!

Ugh. This book is great for all the wrong reasons. Ela Lee does a stellar job unraveling so much fallout from one evening.

For one thing, the way Lee can describe the vacant and hollow feeling of waking up after a night of too much drinking; the "hangxiety" of it all was so visceral it made me feel a little ill in the pit of my stomach.

This is a story we're familiar with. We know how it will end, how there's little recourse, and that's "just the way it is". It's infuriating and depressing, but also a must-read for many.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.

What a gut punch of a book! Jaded is the story of Jade, a daughter of mix-heritage (Turkish and Korean) living in London and climbing the corporate ladder of the legal world. The novel follows the night that Jade gets sexually assaulted after a work event, and the personal, professional, and emotional fallout novel. The book made me very mad at times, as it didn't shy away from the ugly truths of these situations.

This is a really well done debut, one that mostly feels far more developed and sophisticated than I was expecting going in. On its surface, JADED is about the long-reaching repercussions of sexual assault on our narrator Jade (Ceyda) - who was raped following an evening at a work party where she got far drunker than she expected and was chaperoned home by a Nice Guy (TM).

But this story is so much more than that. The assault and its aftermath impacts Jade's career, her relationship with her longterm boyfriend, her friendships, and her relationship with her parents. As the dominos begin to fall, it turns into a deeply searching look into how Jade became who she is, and whether she can even recognize herself.

I was drawn in immediately and could barely put this one down. There are definitely moments where it was a little too on the nose for me (there's an incident at a dinner party that is so blatantly and absurdly racist that I had a hard time engaging with the somewhat subdued aftermath), but overall it's both incredibly specific and broadly relatable.

Ela Lee is a definite voice to watch out for. 4 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC

WOW!! This was soooo good! This story was so well written and thought provoking. Jaded is a relatively short story that covered so many issues: ethnicity, sexual assault, and misogyny to name a few as well as had complex characters and relationships. I really enjoyed how this was part thriller part contemp. fiction.

This is one to add to your TBR in 2024. I will definitely be reading more of Ela Lee in the future.

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

Ela Lee's debut novel, Jaded, is a bold, well written story about a young woman developing her identity as a child of immigrants working in a prestigious law firm in London. At the beginning of the book, Jade appears to have it all, a wealthy long-term boyfriend, a loving family and a great job. However, this all begins to crumble apart when Jade is sexually assaulted by a powerful co-worker. As a woman of Turkish and Korean descent, Jade experiences racism, sexism, and classism as she struggles to get support to come to terms with the trauma of being violated.

Based in London, Jade is a testament to how much more progress is needed in the victim's rights and the "MeToo" movements globally.

I highly recommend this book. The only minor feedback that I have is that this book is written for a younger audience (under 35). However, that should not detract older readers from reading this very important story.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This isn't an easy book to read. The content is harrowing, illuminating the problems women, particularly women of color, have with rape and the institutional sexism that follows.

It is well written and it's easy to relate to Jade's dilemma.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC. . My opinions are my own.

Interesting characters, story and plot. Enjoyed the read and a perfect escape for a cold winter afternoon or a nice afternoon at the beach. Thanks

I was sent a copy of this book from the publisher - thank you!

Jaded was summarized to me as "set against the backdrop of the cut-throat corporate world, the novel follows a young lawyer at a fancy London firm who 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. JADED is a blistering account of consent, power, race, sexism, and identity in a broken society."

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I did not relate to the characters, so this book felt distant to me. I found the race and immigration related storylines compelling, but not the corporate storylines. Ultimately, this book wasn't for me.

This was a difficult read for me in terms of the subject matter, but the writing was so well done. The author was able to take us through Jade’s thoughts and feelings as the realization dawns on her that she was sexually assaulted. I felt Jade’s struggles and actually understood them.

The characters were all well developed and made me feel like I knew them. From Jade’s immigrant parents, her boyfriend (I hated him from the beginning and I saw no redeeming qualities whatsoever!) her colleagues and most especially her best friends, Adele and Eve.

I highly recommend this book, but please check the Trigger Warnings. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A strong story of healing and owning oneself , after being raped. A story of dealing with racism, both subtle and obvious as a Korean/Turkish woman. A story about sexism in a big law firm and of being in a relationship with a priviledged man who sees himself as enlightened and a good man. A hard story but also a story of hope and healing

Jade is a Korean-Turkish-British attorney for a large firm. She awakens the morning after the company Christmas party with the realization that non-consensual sex occurred the night before. The story wrestles with her pre and post sexual assault identity, issues of ethnicity, handling of sexual assault in the workplace and difficulties in relationships post-assault. "Like a dropped vase, life shatters", but Korean wisdom says (to quote the author), "the vase lives on albeit damaged." The breakage and regeneration are part of Jade's story.

Jade 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?

A harrowing story, part thriller, part common story. The different is that Ela Lee presents a different perspective, one that is not of a young white woman suffering from misogyny and violence, but that of a person of color. In this book, it makes all the difference and a familiar story seems brand new. #Jaded #ElaLee #SimonSchuster

Read this book in one sitting because of how powerful I thought it was. What made this book so special is that every action, every conversation, and every thought was so realistic. This story has been told by so many women because so many women have this same story- confused, conflicted, scared, and unprotected. The storyline isn’t special, it’s not novel or exciting or dramatic or anything that separates it narratively. It feels so easily that it’s just the story of someone we know, work with, or have seen before. And thats what makes this story so impactful, because it means something that as a reader and as a women you can relate or at least empathize so so easily with Jade as she navigates this horrible experience and then men in her life. I thought the side plot of Kit’s friend was particularly strong. I would be very very cautious of reading this if you have experienced some sort of sexual assault or misconduct, but I would certainly recommend this book to anyone. Will be thinking about it for some time. Thank you NetGalley for letting me read it early!

Jaded is the story of Jade, a young female, mixed race lawyer, who finds that after she has drunk too much one evening, has been sexual assaulted. The horrific event causes her life to spiral and she must face challenges in her law career and in her relationship with her parents and long-time boyfriend.

This book is emotionally hard to read about and is quite depressing. The story is long, and probably should have been edited down quite a bit. It's not a fun read. It's packed with the difficult truth that female victims may suffer the rest of their lives with the horror of abuse, and the male perpetrators may not receive any punishment. It's such a difficult topic that I don't think I could recommend it to anyone to read.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Jaded.

The experiences that Jade had brought to the surface all the prejudices that exist in our society. You have to be a white male to be taken seriously about wrong doings. Otherwise you will not be believed, made fun of at the expense of the non white person and go unnoticed for the suffering that all of these things might entail. This book was very well written and thought provoking!!

Jade, a rising lawyer in a prestigious law firm, has to fight for her sanity after having slept with and been injured by a male coworker while she was too drunk to consent or have any say in what was happening that night after a company party.

The book is a wake up call for women who have to fight male privilege and sexism for their own rights and privileges as females, particularly in a competitive male dominated workplace.

This book was heartbreaking, but shines a light on the abuse that is all too familiar to many of us. It follows the inner turmoil of our main character, Jade, after she experiences a traumatic event at the hands of a colleague. I thought Lee's writing did a wonderful job of documenting just how complex and confusing the aftermath of situations like this can be. What happened to Jade? Is it her fault? Should she come forward to report the abuse she experienced? And most importantly, what impact will all of it have on her life?

Lee's character writing is very strong. Not only did Jade feel real, but all of her friends/family felt lifelike - their respective actions and responses to Jade made sense given their backstories.

This book was heavy, but it wasn't difficult to finish. I would absolutely recommend it to friends!