This is such an interesting fantasy. Part school competition/part Mulan. This is exactly my kind of story.

After discovering her father seconds from death, Ming is determined to find his killer and seek revenge, at any cost. Her thirst for vengeance will take her to the city of Fai. Once in the city, Ming disguises herself as her brother in order to enter the Guild Engineers Apprenticeship competition. Ming will need all the help she can get in order to not only survive the competition but also find out the truth about her father.

I had a really good time reading this. I started on audiobook (which was fantastic and greatly helped with my pronunciation) but I was too impatient so I ended up reading the rest.

This book is my kind of fantasy. It leans more political and some people aren’t going to like that it’s more scheming and schooling than violence but I thought it had a great balance.

I am impatiently waiting for book two, and now I’m going to have to get the Illumicrate edition of the first.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. While I am incredibly grateful, it does not change the content of my review.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP, Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers, and Amber Chen for the opportunity to read Of Jade and Dragons in exchange for an honest review.

Of Jade and Dragons was one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and it did not disappoint. It was both expected and unexpected in the thrills of engineering, murder mystery, and romance, along with my most favorite literary trope: crossdressing to hide one's gender identity to achieve a goal.

The story follows Aihui Ying, who wants to follow in her fathers footsteps to join the Engineer's Guild and become a guild master. Unfortunately, they do not allow girls to join the guild. And besides, her father and their family live a quiet life away from the city, because her father wanted to leave that life behind.

The tides turn when Ying's father is assassinated, the culprit seeking the secrets of his works. Ying knows now that she must join the Engineers Guild, if for nothing more than to find her father's killer and learn the secrets behind their motive.

Disguised as Aihui Min, Ying takes on the persona of a boy to take the trials for the Engineers Guild. While she missed the application window, her engineering skills impress a young prince, who is able to put her into the trials as a nominee without an application. Plus, he sees right through her disguise (but why don't others? With some pointers from him, perhaps she can be more manly).

As Ying's outside the box thinking when it comes to engineering and teamwork make her stand out to the High Commander, she strives to keep her identity a secret, or she will never learn what she needs. With few to trust, she bathes at the prince's house and selects him as a confidant...but some secrets even he cannot know.

This novel is exciting in a realistic fantasy flare. The engineering aspects and ideas presented by Ying and the other characters are fun to explore and to wonder what will she do next. The murder mystery continues through to the end, where many secrets about her father and his past are revealed, a certainly worthwhile investment for the reader.

Goodreads calls this Fall of the Dragon #1, indication the start to a series, though no information is available on a second installment...yet. With the way things end, it could be an unsatisfying, yet wholly realistic and true-to-character end, though the promise of more of Ying's story is exhilarating. Looking forward to the next one. A book perfect for fans of Mulan, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and wholistically enjoyable fantasy romance mysteries.

I enjoyed this book but what really did it for me was the world building. It was so refreshing to see a different viewpoint and I'm glad that I read it.

Of Jade and Dragons had a lot of promise with its captivating cover and intriguing synopsis, but ultimately fell a bit short for me. The concept of Ying disguising herself as a man to enter the Engineer’s Guild and solve her father’s murder had me excited, especially with the Mulan-esque twist. The steampunk-inspired Asian fantasy world was fresh and interesting, but the execution left much to be desired. Ying’s character, though described as intelligent and determined, often came across as immature, and the plot frequently meandered, losing focus on her quest for revenge. The romance, while taking up more page time than expected, felt shallow and clichéd, which detracted from the overall narrative. While the world-building had potential, it felt underdeveloped, and the pacing made the story drag. That said, fans of light, fast-paced fantasy might still find enjoyment in it, but I was left hoping for more depth and substance.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is a decent book and I have enjoyed the fantasy elements and the plot but it just didn’t quite hit all the right spots for me to rate it any higher. The world building was fascinating with all its glorious steam-punkness but the characters and their dialogues were poorly written and were a true pitfall of this story. Alas, a disappointing read.

Marketed as a steampunk fantasy novel, Of Jade and Dragons was enjoyable, overall, but had a lot of slow build up and surprisingly few dragons (IE: no real dragons). It felt like the book was trying to do too much in too short a time, which resulted in me being confused about what was going on for the first half of the book and then surprised by an abrupt ending.

Words cannot express how much I enjoyed this story and world. Amber Chen did a great job describing the setting and characters.

This book was not what i was expecting. I think i had higher hopes than i was hoping for. this started out so slow and then just kept it up. Maybe it just wasnt for me.

I received an advanced copy of Of Jade and Dragons from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Despite my love for everything Mulan-related, Of Jade and Dragons was a bit of a letdown, with bland characters, a neglected plot, and a lack of world-building. However, it was still an enjoyable read, surprisingly enough. I don't think that the writing itself was bad. Perhaps a little too telling and a little young, but nothing so crazy that it took away from my ability to read and enjoy the story. I think the book suffered from a lack of development in all departments.

The characters had the makings of interesting and dynamic people but weren't fleshed out enough to quite get there. Even though Ying's motivation to join the engineer's guild was out of the desire to discover her father's murderer, I barely saw any motivation through the rest of the book once we got to the guild. Ye-yang made no sense, nor did any of the other boys Ying interacted with. I needed more background on them and to not have them be on the page just to further whatever Ying was doing.

Back on the subject of Ying's father's murder: this was supposed to be the plot, but again, I saw no indication of Ying actually trying to solve the murder until information fell into her lap. This plot point was overshadowed by Ying taking part in the engineer's guild's classes and trials, which also needed significantly more development. On top of all that, there's a war going on that I have no accurate information about. It ended up feeling like the plot was a bunch of ribbons that never got their bowtie. Nothing connected in a meaningful way, and those plot ribbons kept getting left behind with no actual world-building to try and hold things together.

Even with all this, I did finish the book, and I can't say that I didn't like it. Was it perfect? No. But if I remove the things I had issues with, Of Jade and Dragons wasn't a bad book. Taken at face value, I think that it had a lot of potential. However, I likely won't be reading the next book in the series.

I really enjoyed this book! it felt on the young edge of YA, but in a good way in my opinion. it brought me back a bit to the feeling of reading tamora pierce books, which is a HIGH compliment from me. every once in a while, it’s a relief to read a fantasy book where you know not that much will go wrong, because it’s intended for a younger audience. and in this one, the plot/setting/characterization all felt really strong so it made for an enjoyable reading experience.

I really enjoyed this fantasy by Amber Chen. I liked the story and the characters, overall it was well done. The only thing for me was that there could have been more world building. But a pretty solid fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin and Viking books for the ARC!

Of Jade and Dragons
By Amber Chen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This Mulan retelling with a twist, was such a beatiful and entertaining story. So action packed with an academia vibe. Ying is such a strong, headstrong, exceptional character determined to discover the mystery of her father’s murder. She infiltrates the engineer’s guild apprentice trial disguised as a boy hoping to follow in her father’s footsteps as well as figure out why her father was murdered. The two male leads were a great addition, Ye-Kan like a little brother, and Beile-ye Ye-Yang. I hope to see more of them in the next book.
If you enjoy a Mulan retelling with a twist, with academia meets steam punk, a fierce ruthless female lead that strays true to herself to the very end, and some twists I didn’t see coming, please give this book a read.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review Of Jade and Dragons (even if my review is a bit late).

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕚𝕤𝕥:
Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying dreams of becoming an engineer like her late father, who was murdered. Armed with his journal and a jade pendant, Ying disguises herself as her brother to infiltrate the male-only Engineers Guild, seeking answers about his death.

With the help of the prince, Aogiya Ye-yang, Ying navigates dangerous trials, jealous guild masters, and a relentless assassin. As secrets within the guild unfold, Ying must decide whether to avenge her father, risking her life and homeland, or face becoming the next target.

𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕋𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕤:
🐉 Feisty female engineer
🐉 Mysterious prince
🐉 Murder mystery
🐉 Betrayal and secrets

𝕊𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕒𝕣 𝕍𝕚𝕓𝕖𝕤:
🎥 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗻
📚 𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘆 𝗔𝘃𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗱

𝕄𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤:
I was so excited to pick this book up, and it first caught my eye because of that stunning cover! Overall, the story did not disappoint- it is filled with unique characters, mystery, and creative concepts.

I really loved the characters. Ying was intelligent, creative, and witty. She was cautious and didn’t trust easily, and I enjoyed getting to watch her slowly open up. 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.

There were definitely some parts of the book I found confusing. I had a hard time making sense of the political/ranking system. I also felt like there could have been a lot more world building. Overall, this was still a fun read! That cliffhanger ending has me anxiously awaiting the next book!

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄.

𝕄𝕪 ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (𝟯/𝟱)

Aihui Ying witnesses her father's assignation. Obsessed with justice, she leaves her home behind, seeking out the killer.
Disguised as a son of her father's, Aihui gains entry to the engineer school - her father still a famous student. Desperate to learn more about him and forge a connection, Aihui cannot hide from the reality of his truths.
Balancing invisibility while motivated to show her father continues on her own abilities, Aihui must choose her own journey.

In an effort to avenge her murdered father, Ying dresses up like a boy to enter the trials for the Guild of Engineers.

This was a fun fantasy read! Ying is a proactive young woman, fighting against the odds expectations of her family and her clan, but also fighting to avenge her father when he is brutally murdered in front of her for his experimental work. We spent a lot of getting to know her classmates in the trial, which was fun. They were all interesting characters. But the time we spent with them definitely made me think they were all going to play a larger part in the end of the novel.

There was a good balance in the background, where there was not so much world building as to be overwhelming, but enough that the world didn’t feel flat. We get glimpses and discussions of a huge conflict and space beyond what we experience with Ying, and I’d love to explore the world even more.

The pacing was really where this story lost me. It was so slow for so long, that as we got closer to the end, I was sure that it was going to end on a cliffhanger. The sudden hurry to get to a resolution left me feeling rushed. The ending is open enough that there could be further stories down the line, but I really wasn’t given space to appreciate the climactic moment, because we jumped immediately to an epilogue.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for this arc.

3.5 stars
This honestly took me a little while to read and a little while to review I kinda have mixed feelings on it. I did really enjoy the story and I found it very intriguing. I just found some parts felt kind of slow and I feel like during those parts, the book just dragged out for me, causing me to lose interest overall.
Aihui Ying, who poses as her younger brother in order to infiltrate the Engineers Guild and earn a place as the first female engineer, is determined, sassy and follows in her father's footsteps with her engineering intelligence. I liked her as a main character, although some of the romance with one of the princes, Ye-Yang, felt a bit contrived and emotionless.
This book had a super interesting premise and a really strong set up. I feel like for a debut, it wasn’t bad by any means. I just feel like a lot of this book fell into the more telling and not showing aspect. It felt like there was a lot of drawn out scenes that didn’t exactly lead too much or slightly inconsistent world building at times. I feel like this book in general just could’ve been shorter and maybe fine-tuned a bit more again. I can definitely see that coming in maybe like the future of the series! I can definitely see this book that my younger self would’ve absolutely loved, it definitely had that YA fantasy, anything with trials or games I would’ve ate up lol
Honestly though, thinking back on this book, there was a lot of stuff I liked. The friendships and the bonds that were grown throughout. The book was definitely really interesting and watching how everything tied together, especially the ending, definitely left me intrigued. There is a lot I remember enjoying this book, I just feel like it was a bit overshadowed by excesses scenes that didn’t necessarily feel too needed in the story as a whole.


*Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and team for an arc of this book! All opinions above are 100% my own!*

This had so much potential, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite deliver for me. I was initially drawn in by the promise of a steampunk fantasy, but I found myself STRUGGLING to stay engaged. The premise is undeniably strong—a young woman seeking revenge for her father’s murder while disguised as her brother.

However, the execution left me wanting more. I often found myself zoning out and losing track of the plot, which is never a good sign. HI had to re-read pages because I wasn’t invested in what was happening.

One of my biggest disappointments was that the engineering aspect, which I was so excited about, didn’t play as central a role in the story as I had hoped. I wanted to see more of Ying’s skills in action, more inventive uses of her engineering knowledge, and more challenges that put her abilities to the test. Instead, it felt like a background detail rather than a driving force in the plot.

The characters didn’t feel fully fleshed out, and I struggled to connect with them. The lack of character development made it hard to care about their fates or the outcome of their journeys. While I appreciated the diversity in the cast and the world, the story felt flat. I kept waiting for that moment when everything would click into place, but it never quite happened. Instead, I was left with a sense of disappointment, feeling like the book had all the right elements but didn’t know how to use them effectively.

I wanted more—more excitement, more character development, more depth.

Thanks to Netgalley, Penguin, and Viking Books for the opportunity to review. This review is based on a complimentary pre-released copy and it is voluntary. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I absolutely loved this story and concept. It was definitely very different from anything I have read previously but not different in a bad way. I hope to read more books like this!

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. The writing was slow and failed to grab my attention. The blurb was so good but when I started reading it seemed like just another fantasy book.

Aihui Ying witnesses her father’s murder and is left with his journal of engineering secrets and a mysterious jade pendant from the assassin. She begins her quest for revenge and heads to the capital and the prestigious Engineers Guild. To infiltrate the male-only Engineers Guild apprenticeship, Ying disguises herself as a boy and befriends Aogiya Ye-yang, the eighth prince. Ye-yang sponsors Ying’s apprenticeship while Ying bests her competitors and secretly hunts for her father’s killer. The secrets Ying uncovers are deadly and may cost her more than her life.

Slow to start, this silkpunk fantasy has several nods to the legend of Mulan. Ying’s prowess in engineering and ingenuity demonstrates value in intelligence which makes for a welcome twist in a Mulan retelling. Paired with her compassion and desire to protect others, Ying is a more approachable and relatable character as the story progresses.

Rating 3/5 ⭐️s - I had a lot of trouble connecting with Ying and the first chapters felt like they dragged. It took awhile before Ying grew into a character I liked. I waver on whether or not I would read this book again or keep it in my library but the cover art is absolutely gorgeous.

That being said, I loved the way the story ended and feel that this was the best way to end Ying’s story. Highly recommended for teen girls who love fantasy. And by the way, mechanical dragons - heck yeah!

Spice Rating 1/5 🫑 - While there is some romance, this book is mainly a fantasy with some heated glances and longing but not much else. Totally appropriate for YA readers.

Thank you Amber Chen, Penguin Teen, and NetGalley for this read. My feelings for this book are a little convoluted but I enjoyed it and am curious about what’s next for Amber.