This was a really intriguing premise, I'm always looking for more silkpunk fantasy and I loved the idea of the focus on engineering. Unfortunately it felt a bit half baked and needed some additional polish.

I've been highly anticipating Of Jade and Dragons ever since seeing the author's pitch on Twitter - I will take a Mulan-inspired fantasy story any day and one set against the backdrop of competition is a setup I've loved before (i.e. Spin the Dawn). Amber Chen creates an incredibly compelling world where the island nation of Antara finds itself on the brink of war as natural resource supplies dwindle and a larger more powerful Empire tests their borders. The hope of victory rests on the infamous Engineers Guild which has always been closed to female applicants.

Upon witnessing her father's murder by an intruder in his workshop, Aihui Ying decides to impersonate her younger brother and follow her father's footsteps to the capital to find some answers. Her journey is conveniently smoother than expected when running into one of the High Commander's sons, the fourth beile Yeyang. With his support, Ying finds herself as one of the applicants to the Guild's grueling trials for an apprenticeship, using this opportunity to further her own quest for revenge.

Despite such a strong premise that should have instantly hooked me, Of Jade and Dragons took me longer than expected to get through. The two main factors that I struggled with were the pacing and Ying herself. For a book that's over 450 pages, the plot meandered throughout the competition. We get glimpses of the stress other candidates experienced, but Ying seemed to flounder through her classes making it difficult to root for her. We were told of her struggles but her successes seemed like a mere stretch for her. It definitely took me a majority of the novel to warm up to her, hence why the plot seemed to drag.

The story does take an interesting twist once secrets about the guild and High Commander's ambitions are revealed. It's a classic tale of man's greed for power that seems to be the push Ying needs to become more proactive in her story which in turn allowed her character to grow and mature. The additional elements of "friendly" academic rivalry between Ying and her classmates, Yekan and Chang'an in particular, and the potential romance between Ying and Yeyang were placed more in the background but did add more depth to the story that kept me invested through it all.

While Of Jade and Dragons had a slower start for me, the ending leaves open questions of personal morality, the cost of war, and how forbidden love can survive amid political unrest. We haven't heard much about the sequel yet but I'm hoping the author will continue to expand this world and we'll get to see Ying's journey and character arc continue to flourish.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Of Jade and Dragons is a light easy read YA fantasy about Ying who passionately following her father's step to be an excellent engineer. She had to disguise herself as a man (bcs no woman allow) to enter the well-known Engineer Guild and her ambition was fueled after the assassination of her father. She promised to look for who and why her father needed to met his end that way.

This book has such a great potential. I love the premise, the engineering steampunk vibes in a Chinese traditional fantasy kingdom setting sounds very promising. However, this book felt a bit surface level. I'd definitely love for it to be written with more depth and atmospheric vibes.

In general, I love the friendship dynamics. It could use more academic settings and rivalry. Not so much with the romantic vibes, tho.

The kingdom alliance, tricks and twists, and the investigation could be more thorough written.

The plot is okay overall. the ending is kinda nice with the twists and everything. However, the final act felt anti-climatic.

I'd love for the engines, airship, weapon, canons to be more lively and engrossing.

It was an okayish type of story. It was nice but not that great. I might want to read the next installment to see if it improves 👀

If you're into Mulan-coded YA fantasy laced with steampunk settings and a pinch of murder mystery, completed with political kingdom intricts, give this book a go 🥹✨ I see how some people might love this book.

Thankyou for the arc in exchange for honest review 🩷

I rated this 3.5/4⭐️

Overall I thought this was a very fun and exciting read. I loved the inventive curiosity and problem solving of the female main character, who goes to an engineering school meant for all men so she can uncover the mystery of her father's death. The romantic entanglement is super gripping and played a good balance between the story and romance. The bonds between the classmates was also a fun dynamic element of the story. In other words, this book excelled at characters!

The weakness for me came with the world and political building. We are told about a war often with little actual experience with that or the overarching politics that play into it. I want to know why this war is so important and why it's being fought! Instead this was used as a plot device to take away the male lead and show the importance of engineers in the society. I hope that book 2 will address the war more and it's overall importance to the main character.

Aihui, an inventor and engineer, sets off to avenge and find out more about her father’s murder amidst a steampunk-esque world where sexism abounds. Reviews compare this story to Mulan due to her posing up as her brother, but she also has similar spunk and strength. The world building was unique without being too confusing and I was rooting for Aihui the whole way.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book--I couldn't make myself take a break for sleep or dinner, and I don't regret it! A perfect balance of intrigue, action, and ever-increasing complexity that kept me rooted in place for the entire time.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.

I liked it, the characters were good to follow and the plot was cute! I enjoyed the scifi elements and how the emphasis on country is not always worth fighting for.

it kinda have that mulan element to it, where she has to disguise herself as a male to get in the Engineer's guild which only males are allowed. it reminds me of Stars of Chos (Sha Po Lang), it has that futuristic, steampunk with Chinese influence to it. Yeyang is determined to follow in to her father's legacy and to become the first female engineer.

A Mulan inspired story where the main character tries to solve who murdered her father and wants to get into a guild that only accepts men. That sounds interesting! But it really wasn’t.
Our main character witnesses the murder of her father and is desperate to find the people responsible, I would too! But that plot sort of gets lost once she gets into the apprenticeship. She starts to focus on romance and passing the tests. The plot of finding the murderers was not the main plot and when she would find clues it was more of a last minute thought or decision than for her actually looking for clues.
Our main character is described as smart. Key word described. We never actually see her engineering or thinking about anything that would label her smart. And the parts where she does have to make something it isn’t described that well and it’s more like “I can do this. Here, it’s done!”
The romance itself felt out of place. She meets this random guy who is very eager to help her and then they start to fall for each other even though they’re hardly with each other. And when they’re together before they started liking each other, there was nothing that was shown to us that would make them like each other. They just do.
The world could’ve been so amazing if it focused on the steampunk elements and the actually creation of the devices they describe. It ended up being a world surrounding a romance.

It's steampunk without much steampunk, but I appreciate the lack of info dump and how the romance is more of a subplot than anything.
I enjoyed the story, not so sure about the characters and while this isn't a favorite, I would gladly read more.

This more of a 3.5 for me- there were great moments in here but it felt a little played out. I felt it could have been shorter and delivered the same punch with the plot and twists. Although it was pretty predictable- there was still a great story behind it and I really enjoyed it.
It was very relatable to Mulan- with it being a woman in disguise and the views of women in society but other than that it does make its own path/story- which I loved!

i always enjoy a fun Mulan retelling. i enjoyed the mix of magic and tech. that cliffhanger! what was that!

It was the absolutely stunning cover of this one that dragged me in (and lets be honest, the word dragon), and I am glad to have read it. I enjoyed the story though it was not what I expected at all going into it and I really enjoyed the Mulan vibe!

A silkpunk fantasy with hidden identities, assassination attempts, and romance.

If you enjoy fantasy stories--you have to read this! The FMC is trying to figure out who murdered her father and goes undercover at an engineering school for clues. The story has cool steampunk-like technology, romance with a prince, found family, and a fantastic ending. The mystery element had me questioning everyone and everything, so I want to reread it now knowing the twists!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was not for me. Shame because I was so excited for it. And I really love the cover.

I don't remember much of what I read. I'm just happy I can finally cross this off my tbr shelf.

I was bored for the most part. I didn't like any of the characters. The romance was 'meh'.

I wanted so badly to love this.

A wonderful Mulan inspired story about a young woman pretending to be a boy to try and figure out what happened to her father. I like the twists and turns in this book. Held me captivated the whole time.

Rating: 5 stars

Mulan meets Steampunk/Silkpunk in this unique science based fantasy world. Ying quickly became one of my absolutely favorite FMCs to read and follow! Her journey is full of heartbreak, sacrifice and a constant struggle between giving into desires or retribution.

If you love fantasy, complex romance, politics and DRAMA. read this!!

Ying disguises herself as a boy to gain entrance into the male only trials for the Engineer’s Guild. She is trying to find out who murdered her father.
There’s a bit of romance with Ying and Ye-Yang who has helped her get into the trials as a member of the royal family.
I loved Ye-Kan.

Overall I felt the book was just a touch too long and I wanted more of the mystery, but I enjoyed this first book in a new series and looking forward to seeing where it goes.
Thank you to @penguinteen and @netgalley for the review copy.

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

This feels like a well done C-drama! I love that this was inspired by actual events. This is a 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. My only complaint is I was expecting a fantasy and this was more like a Sci-Fi.

I love that the worldbuilding did not feel like chapters of info dumping! I was able to get into the story right away and figure out the world.