Eighteen-year-old Aihui Ying's dreams of becoming an engineer like her father fell apart after his murder. She has a journal of her father’s engineering secrets and a jade pendant snatched from the assassin, and soon is determined to enter the Engineers Guild to discover why he was murdered. Disguised as her brother, Ying infiltrates the guild’s male-only apprenticeship trial. She has the help of Eighth Prince of the High Command Aogiya Ye-yang, but her father’s renown makes her a target. Ying must stay ahead of her fellow competitors, the guild masters, and the killer still hunting for her father’s journal. Complicating everything is her increasingly tangled relationship with the prince, who may have mysterious plans of his own.

This is billed as Mulan meets Iron Widow, as it's basically a steampunk C-drama in print form. She finds her father and he dies in her arms, but her older brother seems more interested in maintaining the status quo. She discovers he was essentially threatened to do so, which cements her decision to leave. Entanglements get her to the apprenticeship trial, which is only the start of her trouble. Logistics are an issue, given that the school isn't built for women, as well as the fact that some teachers had known her father and disliked him, so that enmity passed down to Ying. The prince is one of multiple possible heirs, so he has a lot of backbiting and social jockeying to deal with himself. The two are drawn to each other, adding in another complication.

There are multiple sequences related to the engineering guild classes, the teacher and student interactions, as well as intermittently searching for answers. It's difficult for Ying to learn much about the assassin, though she sees him again and eventually discovers the identity in a way she didn't expect. She's able to move forward and put aside some emotions and impulsive behavior, a far cry from our first view of her diving off a cliff. She's grown up a lot over the course of the novel, and the finale really brought it home. Without spoiling the ending, I can say that she delivered real zingers of lines, was incredibly brave and clever, and had gadgets that absolutely reminded me of Chinese martial arts movies. I mean it the best way, because Amber Chen really nailed the vibe of her inspiration. Once the story got going, it was hard to put down and I loved seeing the journey Ying took.

This reminds me of many other books I've read recently. Like a person with the kind of face that always makes you think you recognize them. It might be because the story uses a lot of particularly popular tropes/story elements throughout - that's not intrinsically bad, but I felt this book relied on the readers' experience with and knowledge of the genre. I know it's kind of a retelling, but even so.

My main critique of this book is that it never felt like the main character had to try particularly hard. The book explicitly told me that it was hard, but it also went out of its way to show that Ying isn't in danger. A favored prince nominated her for the trial and backed her throughout. The emperor himself intervened on her behalf during the first trial. Her father was a lauded genius and pioneer in the field and had the respect of the highest-ranking scholars and officials. The work for her final exam was basically just adapted from her father's notes.

I was interested in the setting and conceit of the book's focus on engineering, but I'm not sure it added substance to the story. You could easily swap it out with magic or martial arts or something else without affecting much.

Also, I disliked the male love interest for the entire book, so yeah.

Thank you to NetGalley andnPenguin Teen for sending me this ARC.

I think this book had a ton of potential, but I think suffered in a couple areas. It is a YA Fantasy and with how it was written does feel very young. The author does have good technical writing skills, but I feel like this novel definitely feels like a debut and it suffers a bit. It feels more like you are being told elements in the story rather than being shown and watching the story play out. We are told the characters are attracted to each other, but we don't really get that chemistry. It was also a bit of a challenge to really care about any of the characters.

This book has been described as a Mulan retelling, but I think the only thing it took from that is a girl pretending to be a boy. However, in the first couple chapters the MMC already figured out the FMC was a girl so it doesn't sounds like she was very good at it.

I also really didn't like how this book chose to end itself. Our FMC wants desperately to be like her father and join this guild and become an engineer, but then at the end says "nah, nvm." You can see the corruption from the beginning, but as soon as she gets her revenge the corruption in this land is too much and she dips to go back home. The ending also made it unclear if it was going to be a sequel or not until I looked it up on GoodReads.

Overall, I did have fun with this book and thought it had some good potential. It feels like as the author gets more comfortable in writing the novels are going to be getting better. I will be picking up the sequel and am excited to see where this book goes from here!

My son read this book and found it riveting and hard to put down. He finished it quickly and liked the characters and story line progression.

After Ying finds her father dying in his ransacked workshop, she disguises herself as a boy and sets out to join the Engineer's Guild in an attempt to unearth the secrets that cost her father his life.

Of Jade and Dragons by Amber Chen crafts a soaring and imaginative steampunk fantasy filled with airships, mechanical beasts, and deception.

First of all, I adored Ying so much as a main character! As a girlie who grew up playing with Legos and loving Violet Baudelaire, it's really refreshing to have an inventor-type protagonist who uses her wits to solve problems instead of a sword.

Overall, Chen made a unique, genre-bending fantasy here that, instead of pitting magic and science against one another (like To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods *cough cough*), creates an inventive alchemical fusion of the two.

I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to read the next one! I’m not sure how I felt at the very end and am not sure where it’s going from here but I’m in it for the long haul! I really enjoyed all the characters (although I’m not sure how I feel about one of them by the end) Ye-Kan is my favorite

I really enjoyed this read a lot. It was a little bit of a departure from the romantacy books that l've been reading lately. There is a bit of a romantic element, but Ying also very independent and there is a lot of focus on the friendships as well! Ying definitely gives Mulan vibes, and I really enjoyed her character. The story wa engaging and kept me wanting to read more. There were a couple points where I got a bit lost (but that might have just been because I was reading while I was tired). Overall, it was such a fun read though!
Thank you to @netgalley for an advance copy on exchange for my honest review.

To solve her father's murder an 18 year old girl must disguise herself as a boy and enter a dangerous Engineer's Guild trials to get the answers she's been searching for. Aihui Ying wants to become a famous and talented engineer, just like her father... but when he is suddenly murdered her entire world crumbles. Ying is determined to find out who murdered her father and with his journal filled with engineering secrets and a jade pendant from the assassin, Yingis heading straight to the Engineers Guild Trials to discover her father's past.During the trials she disguises herself as her brother and gains an unlikely ally, Aogiya Ye-Yang, the eighth of the High Command. Ying will do anything to win and stop the killer from finding her father's journal. Yet she is also struggling with her very complicated relationship with the prince who seems to be having his own plan. This was definitely a slow burn mystery with an interesting world. I was definitely expecting dragons/fantasy elements but its much more gear/steampunk kind of feeling. The story itself felt really slow and the build was a really slow one, it didn't really pick up until the 50% mark. It's the first book in a series as well. Overall, it was a bit too slow for me but if you love a slow burn mystery with an interesting world and a bit of angsty romance, definitely give this a go!

Release Date: June 18,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

“𝐎𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐬” 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

The Mulan vibes in this book were immaculate 👌🏻 I really enjoyed this one! Such fun twists and betrayals, one of the best ya fantasy’s I’ve read so far this year! The writing was beautiful and the ending has me so excited for book 2! Definitely recommend picking this one up!!

Thank you so much to @penguinteen for my review copy; all thoughts and opinions are my own. #penguinteenpartner #ofjadeanddragons @amberwrites88

As a woman working in the construction field- very male dominated- I adored this story! Definitely gave me some Mulan vibes but the story itself takes on a life of its own. I love that it's the Engineer Guild that is held in such high honor and that there are so many STEM attributes to it. The characters were intriguing and I want a sequel! I like where the story ended, but I would love to come back to this world to catch up with a few of my favorites! Especially a certain Prince. .. please!

A Mulan inspired steampunk fantasy! The main character Ying is fierce, intelligent, and goes against societal norms for her beliefs and family.

This book is for Mulan fans and YA fantasy lovers! Of Jade and Dragons does follow some pretty common plot lines seen in YA fantasy books where a strong female character has to prove themselves in a male dominated world while also finding some romance along the way. This familiarity added to the enjoyableness while reading the book because you knew what to expect and Amber Chen did it well. That isn't to say that there wasn't plot twists and excitement throughout the book because there was some surprising obstacles and new problems that our main character encounters.

One of the uniques aspects is that Ying was not training for battle in a typical way, instead she was fighting to prove herself as an engineer - a profession forbidden for women in this story. I loved how Chen highlighted different areas of strength as well as roles in war because Ying was still fierce and showed boldness in actions. I loved Ying and Ye-Yang's slow burn relationship in the beginning and was even giggling at times but the ways things left off is not my favorite so I will need to pick up the next book to find what happens next! I would say that although I enjoyed the read and found it quality writing it was very YA and sometimes more juvenile then I typically enjoy to read nowadays but would have been obsessed with the series if I was younger.

Aihui Ying has had her life turned upside down. Her father is murdered in front of her eyes, leaving only his engineering journal and a pendant that she unwittingly steals from his assassin. Unable to overlook the injustice of her father's death, Ying heads to the Engineering Guild to follow in his footsteps. Though, as they don't accept female students, she does so in disguise with unexpected help from a prince. With the pressure of keeping her own secrets, the lingering threat of the assassin, and the trials of the Engineering Guild, it's all Ying can do to keep herself ahead of danger.

This book has beautiful scenery, engaging characters, and an intriguing plot. It took me a while to get through due to the number of characters that I had to keep straight and density of the plot, but there is more than enough to keep you turning the pages. I thought the different plotlines were well-balanced, with enough time put into each to keep them relevant. The author was able to tie threads from the beginning of the story into the conclusion, and paying attention to what characters say pays off in an extremely satisfying way.

I was a bit worried that I would find the school aspect of the book to be contrived, but I was happy to find that it really helped establish the characters, their relationships, and their growth in believable ways. Do I think that it has some of the same issues with believability as the works that helped inspire it? Yes. Do I think this affects the story negatively? No. Without getting into spoilers, I will say that the ending absolutely left me wanting more, and I am eagerly awaiting the next book. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group. This is my honest review.

5/5 Silkpunk fantasy at its finest.

Of Jade and Dragons follows a young girl who sneaks into an Engineers Guild following her father's murder. The fast pace kept me engaged, but I was underwhelmed overall. I wanted more world-building and detailed engineering.

I received an ARC from PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House Publishers for accepting my request to read this arc. It was one of my highly anticipated 2024 releases, and it lived up to what I have hoped for.

As someone that loves steampunk, this book was something that I was extremely excited to read, especially with the mix of Chinese mythology. I love this book, and it is now one of my top reads for this year!! I love the mixture of steampunk, the academy, and Ying's determination to find the truth behind her father's murder. The slow burn between yeyang and ying was one of my favourite, as she learns more about her father from him and those in the academy, to battling different ideals. It is hard to trust anyone in the book, as each person ying encounters most likely has ulterior motives and hidden agendas. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest picking it up and enjoy a new look at steam pink that hasn't been explored.

Thanks to NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, DNF'ed at 20% of the way through.

I like the concept of the book but it wasn't executed very well. Lots of lore/info-dumping that's fast forwarded so you can't question any of it and how confusing it is. It's very barebones worldbuilding which is why everything is so fast-paced to pretend that isn't a problem.

This book is a LOT of telling and not showing--the protagonist is this engineering prodigy but we never see it. Literally 5 minutes into the book her dad is murdered and she runs away to engineering school. It's a lot of "I've always been SOOO good at engineering" inner dialogue and it got very annoying very fast. I didn't enjoy it very much.

I was honestly laughing pretty hard when the protagonist "showed off" her engineering skillz by....fixing a leaking barrel. Lmao.

I had really high hopes for this one because I have read a few Asian/Fantasy/HF type books and I end up really enjoying them. Honestly my biggest complaint is that it was really long and so it took me a while to get into it. I liked the Mulan vibes and just the whole setting and plot. I think the author could have gone a little deeper into some of the characters personalities and their development. The writing wasn't bad, it just wasn't as complex as some others I have read that are similar in plot/genre. I would definitely recommend this book and read more from this author but I would just have to warn people that it is pretty long.

A perfect blend of Fantasy and Science Fiction, this Steampunk Mulan is a fun YA read. I really loved the murder mystery aspect and the trials, however I do think things moved a little too fast and the experience our FMC had in this book could have been fleshed out a little more.

I enjoyed the Mulan vibes. I am always drawn to these type of books. Really easy read. I absolutely loved the cover.

Ying dreams of joining the prestigious Engineers Guild, but as a woman, this is forbidden. After her father's murder, she disguises herself as her brother to enter the guild's trials, hoping to uncover his killer and fulfill her ambition. With the help of Prince Ye-Yang, Ying navigates the guild's dangerous secrets and political intrigue.

The book's pacing is excellent, making it a compelling read. Ying's character is well-developed, intelligent, and relatable, despite her naivety. Her relationship with Ye-Yang adds depth without overshadowing the main plot. The story's mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk elements creates a unique and intriguing world.

While the ending leaves some questions unanswered, it sets the stage for the next book in the series. Overall, "Aihui Ying and the Engineer's Secret" is an engaging read with strong characters and a captivating plot. Highly recommended for fans of sci-fi fantasy and strong heroines. .