I really, really wanted to love this book, but ultimately my feelings are that it’s just fine. It does nothing egregious but does nothing to stand out either. I really should’ve DNF’ed around the 50% mark but I pushed through because I liked the ideas that were presented.

Let’s start with the things I kinda liked:

This was my first introduction to silkpunk, and I think it was an excellent introduction to this genre.
This book reads very much like a C-drama, and that appealed to me.

What I didn’t like:

The writing felt clunky, and a little juvenile for the content itself.
The pacing was all over the place.
The execution of this concept/idea just simply wasn’t my cup of tea.

To be more specific about what I said above…

Amber Chen takes on the ambitious job of introducing a complex fantasy world that’s based in the silkpunk genre. I keep mentioning this because it’s important to make a distinction between steampunk and silkpunk, especially since it is so explicitly stated that this is what this book is. In the words of Lyndsie Manusos from the Book Riot article on silkpunk:

“It’s more organic than steampunk. With silkpunk, form is just as important as function [...] It’s not a big chunk of metal coughing steam. It is beautiful. It is art.
The “punk” part, however, is pretty classic to the other “punk” sub-genres. Resistance and rebellion against authority are key elements.”

Ying’s resistance is obvious at first; secretly entering a guild that has only ever exclusively recruited and taught men, and succeeding despite everything thrown at her. Her choice, at the end of the novel, feels very in tune with resistance and rebellion, to me.

I remember while I was reading having the exact thought “This totally feels like a C-drama.” And lo and behold! That was the point. Having grown up around C-dramas and watching a few myself, I loved having that exact vibe shine through. That was very entertaining.

This has the bones of a good story. However, I don’t love the writing half the time, and the dialogue was often the sore thumb sticking out. It felt awkward, stilted, and unnatural. This was often the problem between Ye-yang and Ying and it made their scenes a drag. And speaking of dragging…the pacing was never consistent. I got about 50% and really struggled with how slow everything felt, especially since the story started incredibly fast.

All of this, the things I disliked, stem from a middling execution of the story. This really could’ve used a second look before publication, just to clean up sections of the story that feel slow, and really focus in on the themes. I have a hard time figuring out who to recommend this to; the content is not too heavy, but there are violent moments that don’t necessarily match up tonally with the writing. I’d say this is appropriate for the middle-older end of YA, and for those who wanted to experience a different punk subgenre, with C-drama vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Readers Group, and Viking Books for Young Readers for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Real rating is a 2.75, reduced down to 2 stars for the NetGalley rating system.

Wow. I really, really enjoyed this book. Ying is an incredible main character and I loved being inside her head. She’s so strong and I lived reading her wrestle with her morality and her ambition.

The world itself is so cool. I really like the steampunk-fantasy setting and all of the political intricacies were so interesting to read.

All in all, this is probably one of my favorite reads of this year so far! It looks like this will be the first in a series, I can’t wait to see where else this world may go!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book had everything; there is action, a dash of romance, and women in engineering! This was a fun coming-of-age story and it is so refreshing to see a strong woman like Ying take on her patriarchal society headlong. I am always excited to read anything even remotely similar to a Mulan retelling and I feel like this did it justice. I can’t wait to see what the second installment has in store.

Truthfully, I didn't finish this book. I didn't even make it halfway. It would be unfair of me to give an immediate 1 star to any book I didn't finish, but I can't in good conscience give this book anything higher than 2 stars. The dialogue was clunky and clinical, and the story itself felt so ragged that I felt zero investment in what was happening. I think it would have been a better idea to spend more time with Ying pre-her father's murder, so we would be able to get an idea of her relationships with her family, and the skills that she possessed. The immediacy of the death stifled any opportunity to really feel for Ying in a meaningful way, and made the rest of the story seem empty.

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 . . .

While I am probably not the darget demographic for this type of story, and I tend to not enjoy romance in my fantasy, this one had enough going for it that I stuck with it until the end. I didn't click with some of the characters as they seemed like pretty typical YA tropey, whiny idiots. But the plot was fun and interesting and moved along at a good pace. If you're into romantasy or like YA fantasy, then give this one a shot:)

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.

Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group, for providing me with an ARC for this book!

Reading “Of Jade and Dragons” was a delight, as I could vividly imagine every scene of this book unfold before my eyes like a movie. It was evident the author thoroughly researched the principles of engineering and the crafts that were inspired within this book. Witnessing Ying masterfully navigate through each trial with the wisdom learned from her father was such a captivating experience. Ying is a strong female character that is resolute in her goals and very knowledgable (a role model for women in STEM). Additionally, I appreciated the flawed nature of each character, which added depth and allowed them to appear more real. My absolute favorite character in this book was Ye-kan. He was a complex character whose background contributed to some of his personality traits yet he was also kind and had a strong moral compass despite his young age. I hope there is more of him if there is a sequel. Moreover, I also liked where the book left off, which highlighted Ying’s portrayal as a strong independent woman.

The romantic development in this book did feel a bit underdeveloped to me. I wish there were more intimate scenes that illustrated how Ying and Ye-yang began to develop feelings for one another and them showing genuine care and affection for one another. Their romantic connection appeared somewhat superficial to me, and Ying’s occasional stubbornness and immaturity can pose challenges in relating to her character.

I know “Of Jade and Dragons” is a book that I will think of from time and time and one that I will highly recommend to other readers and friends. I eagerly anticipate the next book in the series and more works from the author, Amber Chen.

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!

ARC provided by the publisher— Penguin Group— in exchange for an honest review.

I think the best way I can describe this book is.. mid. I enjoy the good old mulan take where the girl goes undercover, and the writing was simple enough to read in one sitting, but nothing really spoke out to me. Ying wasn’t a character I was able to really connect with, despite loving some of her characteristics I didn’t enjoy the others at all- this being a commonality with the other characters. The origin of the romance was confusing as well. It didn’t feel like anything new which was somewhat disappointing.

Dazzling and damn good, OF JADE AND DRAGONS may end up being one of the best YA debuts of the year. I’m calling it now: Amber Chen is *the* YA author to watch. Her writing style is shatteringly gorgeous, and her skill for intricate world-building is unmatched. I loved every last bit of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers for an ARC.

In this Mulan-inspired historical fantasy, Aihui Ying wants two things: to uncover the truth behind her father’s murder and have a shot at an apprenticeship at the renowned male-only Engineer’s Guild. For a chance at both, she disguises herself, takes her brother’s name, and ventures off her tiny island to Fei, the main city of the Antaran Islands to face new enemies, new friends, and new feelings.

I missed reading standalones. I didn’t expect to be reading a standalone. I thought this journey was going to be long and winding, both for Ying and for readers. I am very glad to be incorrect on that account. Though I found the beginning a bit exposition-heavy, I do suppose that is to be expected in any fantasy novel. I applaud the author’s masterful weaving of historical and fantastic aspects, giving it an East Asian steampunk vibe that I very much dig. The accompanying love story was compelling to the very end, giving enough to keep this romance reader interested without taking away from the strength of Ying’s personal journey.

This book will be released on June 18, 2024 with this VERY gorgeous cover art, and it certainly will have a place on my shelves.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for the e-ARC. I enjoyed Of Jade and Dragons. I absolutely loved the Mulan vibes throughout this book. We follow our FMC Ying who just watched her father, clan chieftain be murdered. Ying recovers a pendant with a dragon from the assassin who killed her father and her father's notebook which he tells her to burn. Upon discovery, Ying takes the pendant to her brother Wen who is next in line to become the next clan chieftain. Wen tells Ying it's basically a waste of time to figure out who murdered their father. Above all, Ying wants to be an engineer like her father. However, slight problem is the Engineer's Guild does not allow females. Ying disguises herself as her little brother and begins her journey to try to get into the Engineer's Guild to see what she could uncover about her father during his days in the guild. While traveling to the guild, she run's into Ye-yang who is a young prince. He vows to keep her secret about being a female if he could sponsor her to get Ying inside of the Engineer's Guild. Ying's father is very well respected, however other masters still harbor jealousy/mistrust toward her father which in turn throws some heat onto Ying during their tests. Eventually, we find out the pendant belongs to one of the guards to the High Commander and Ying wants to find out if he really killed her father and why? The fact that this was the Amber Chen's debut novel is amazing. The plot, politics, romance, everything was so well fully thought out.

Such a beautiful cover. I definitely enjoyed this one. It was a fun magical system and I loved the ride.
3.8

Of Jade and Dragons is a fun, imaginative fantasy take on the classic Milan story and author Amber Chen brings a vibrant and interesting world to life and crafts an intriguing new spin on the legend.

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen
⭐️⭐️⭐️

What I loved:
🔧The academic setting. I am a sucker for academic settings and I really enjoyed this aspect.
🔧The Mulan inspiration and plotline.

Other than that, I was less than impressed. My minor issues stem from this being a classic YA novel with a naive, whiny, and overall young FMC. I know middle school/high school me would have loved this. Adult me? It was easy to get through, and I was curious enough to see it through to the end, but I didn't love it.

All of the characters needed more development. I didn't connect with Ying. Her father dies at the beginning, and I don't recall her ever mourning. She was also incredibly rude to her friends and never apologized and expected them to forgive her, and they did. Ye-kan, Chang-en, and Ye-yang were all pretty one-dimensional. I would have loved more depth. Why is Ye-Kan so abrasive? Why is Ye-yang such a tortured emo boy? Other than Chang-en being a golden retriever best friend, what else is there?

Also, the romance between Ye-yang and Ying was confusing. I didn't understand what he saw in her. She was this naive, whiny child whilst he commanded a military. It didn't make sense.

I also felt the pacing wasn't great. I loved the academic setting, but wished there were more trials. In between the trials the book got boring as not much tended to happen. The ending also came on fast and resolved extremely quickly. It felt too easy.

There were also a lot of forgotten characters and lose ends. One such being Arban, who introduced as an antagonistic schoolmate for Ying. And then he had like 2 scenes that were inconsequential and completely disappeared by the 75% mark. Master Gerel was also introduced as an antagonistic professor and that fell flat. The mystery wasn't as prominent as I'd have liked it to be and took a backseat to the academics until the very end. Not to mention the lose ends at the end, but a lot of its spoilery so I don't want to get into it. Plus, some might resolve in a sequel but I felt most made more sense to be resolved in this.

I went in with pretty high expectations as there is a rumor that this is a book box pick, but I was not impressed. Nothing felt new. There was nothing here that distinguished this from any other book in the genre. I felt the main character had too much to focus on, i.e., the murder mystery, academics, politics, romance, and the threads were lost, or at least not convincingly woven back in. I wanted to connect with the characters, I wanted to be wowed by this story, and it really fell flat to me.

Of Jade and Dragons was awesome! This book was a pleasure to read! In the story, we follow Ying’s quest to solve her father’s murder! It leads to the prestigious Engineers Guild, which then Ying disguises herself as her younger brother to gain access! Women are not allowed, so she must tread carefully in searching for the killer!

Amber Chen did a wonderful job with the character development in this book! I loved the mystery “who done it” aspect as well, which kept me on edge! The role of a strong female characters like Ying was very refreshing and inspiring! The romance subplot was very interesting and I hope the author expands on it if there is a sequel!

My only gripe about this book is that the chapters are really long! Personal preference, but I wish they were broken up a little more bc it was a struggle for me to get through some of them! But overall, the book was amazing and I can’t wait to get a special edition of the physical book!!

Big THANKS to NetGalley and Viking Books for the ARC of this book for an honest review!

Excellent and powerful female main character! A wonderful addition to young adult fantasy with everything you could ask for

Of Jade and Dragons follows Ying, who is determined to solve the mystery surrounding her father's murder. When the trail leads to the Engineers Guild, Ying must disguise herself as her younger brother to gain access and continue her search for her father's killer.

This was a delightful YA debut from Chen! I enjoyed that Chen was able to create a beautiful world without it being overly info dumpy. Ying was also an incredible lead. She was intelligent, strong-willed, and was true to herself the entire novel. I enjoyed the fact that she wasn't naturally good at all the tasks presented to her, but rather had to work hard to keep progressing. The ideas in this book felt so fresh and i appreciated how light the tone was considering some of the themes of this book. I also loved the romance subplot and am so curious to see where it goes if there is a sequel.

My only issue with this book was the long chapters. I wish the chapters would have been shortened since they all had natural page breaks throughout where the current chapter could have ended and a new one started. That is nit-picky though.

Overall, highly recommend this book and I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy!

Thank you Netgalley and Viking Books for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review!

Ahhh the ending of this book had me. This whole entire book was so beautiful and interesting. The book originally caught my eye because of the reference to it being like Mulan, which is my favorite Disney Princess movie. However, as soon as I started it I knew the book was unique to itself in an amazing way that I loved. The coming of age story of a strong young woman was so inspiring. Thank you Penguin publishing for an ARC of this book.

4 stars ☆
⤿ arc review
tropes: friends to lovers

of jade and dragons is everything i wanted in a ya mulan retelling! i cannot believe this is chen's debut novel, i read this during a break in school and i simply could not put it down, an immersive feeling of clarity while living in a beautifully crafted world. this book follows a girl, ying, who disguises herself as a boy and goes on a journey to the engineer's guild, solving challenges only the bravest can attempt. she must unravel her father's murder and the culprit behind it, befriending a prince who might have malicious motives of his own. i believe this was inspired in a Qing Dynasty setting (hopefully i got that right because i am sadly very uneducated) but the world building was minimal, and rarely was there any sort of confusion. you may sense a hint of glee in my tone and that is because ya fantasies always go too far with this, and that is something i get very frustrated with. sometimes, it's easier to give the reigns of the imaginary world to the reader themselves!

ying is such a strong female main character, fierce and stubborn, unwilling to leave her father's legacy behind, uncovering a variety of clues. i loved reading about her thought process, the author wrote the engineering mindset brilliantly, and the behind-the-scenes look about what goes on in her mind while coming up with something insanely creative was so cool! i think she's so inspiring for future women in stem and i would recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about that, the romance is just a bonus <3

ye-yang, the mmc, is complex, i still don't know what to think about him. again, i have this urge to reveal everything and just scream about all the spoilers and why my mind is spinning but i won't. instead, i'll say that these types of characters are my favorite, ones left up for interpretation. are they good, are they bad? is their moral compass broken? perhaps there's a little bit of tragic backstory lingering that i simply cannot wait to learn about. to be quite honest, i wouldn't be surprised if there's a sequel, not because there's too many unanswered questions, but because i think the story can still seamlessly continue. whether or not it's a series, of jade and dragons is a ya book that i will keep close to my heart ౨ৎ

a little side note: the cover designer of this also created "spin the dawn," and i love both of these so so much, framing both of them as soon as possible!

thank you to amber chen and netgalley for the arc ♡