Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately I had to mark this book as DNF because it just wasn’t for me.

The writing was very clunky and at parts hard to read (Robins first chapter is incredibly cringey).

The writer also included many fatphobic, sexist and homophobic statements within the first chapters which were unnecessary to the story and gave me an incredibly bad taste in my mouth.

I was not impressed with this book. It truly wasn't that enjoyable. The writing was all over. I got lost a few times with the jumps in the chapters, and the back and forth without knowing at first. The fat shaming and homophobia in this book also makes me less interested as well. The way you described the fight scenes weren't intriguing either. I read this and kept questioning why I was reading this even halfway through. It wasn't the worst book I have read, but it definitely wasn't one I was completely hooked into rushing through. Thankfully this isn't a super long story either. I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but it was definitely not a very welcoming to everyone kind of book, and it just put me off very early.

The Jade Necklace was an incredibly enjoyable read—I devoured it in one sitting! What stood out most was the beautiful diversity woven throughout the story. The characters reflect a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, making it feel refreshingly inclusive.

One of the highlights for me was the gradual build-up to Clara and Robin’s meeting. Unlike many romance-driven novels, I had the chance to truly connect with each character individually, getting to know them within their own worlds and surrounded by their own circles before their paths intertwined. This added so much depth to the story and reinforced a powerful message: being whole on your own draws the kind of love that doesn’t complete you, but instead strengthens the person you already are.

The Jade Necklace is more than just a fantasy romance—it’s a testament to growth, self-discovery, and the magic that happens when two strong souls collide.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

The Jade necklace by Jad Philipp is a fun, adventurous story that follows a Gargoyle named Badr who is set to find Clara, an orphan, who has incredible powers and has been hunted by many for her abilities. We meet in the story all of Clara’s friends and their adventures together. I enjoyed the different POVs of Clara and Badr as they go through their separate paths destined to find each other. Loved Jonathan’s story, although would’ve liked his POV once I knew more of why Badr & Clara are tied together. All in all, a super exciting book 🤩 First 30% & last 10% were my favorite!!

You will love this if you love:

✨ Magical Powers
✨ Hidden Society
✨ Gargoyles
✨ Love Triangle
✨ Friend Group
✨ Everlasting Love

Thank you NetGalley, BooksGoSocial & Jad Phillip for an Advance Reader Copy of The Jade Necklace by Jad Phillip.

It was an interesting YA fictional novel that took place in a new location in the world, with nice original characters that are not conventional. I like the link between the characters and the occults that are present in the book, and the on going chase and fights that happen every now and then.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Jad Phillip for providing me with an ARC of The Jade Necklace in exchange for my honest review.

The Jade Necklace by Jad Phillip is a YA fantasy/romantasy, and the description of the story initially sounded like something I would really enjoy. Unfortunately, I struggled to get past the numerous fatphobic and homophobic slurs present from the very beginning, which seemed to serve no purpose in furthering the narrative. Here are some examples:

“A fat friend”

“What will the gay boy do to me now”

“If I were a lesbian, I’d so go out with you”

“Widad was a ‘well-rounded girl’ – fat was an understatement”

“... you shouldn’t eat that much. I’m worried your clothes will suddenly rip apart because they won’t be able to contain you”

“Widad was fat. That was true”

“There are so many guys who are into fully-packaged girls”

“What are you doing to yourself” – said to the ‘well-rounded girl’

“What did you eat” – again said to the ‘well-rounded girl’

In reference to the ‘well rounded girl’ -“Clara realised that her friend might have Irritable Bowel Syndrome”

A character is described as “chubby, dark, and ugly”

“I’m not a lesbian, but I feel like being experimental tonight”

“Marc, the big fat bully”

“What’s up, faggy?”

These phrases are unnecessarily offensive and detract from any enjoyment the story might otherwise offer. The frequent fatphobic references and the apparent fetishisation of queer people made this a difficult read for me. Perhaps I could have appreciated the narrative more if it had avoided perpetuating such harmful stereotypes and language.

DNF at 30%. Interesting premise for sure, but I just could not get past the writing style. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I expected the writing to be a bit on the more easily consumable side since this is classified as "Teens & YA". World building for fantasy geared toward this age group tends to be more simple, and I love that I can just jump into the story right away. Fantasy is also what pulled me into reading at a young age, so I have a soft spot for books like this. The premise of this also sounded really interesting and like it had a lot of potential to be a fun read.

The tone of this was unfortunately very flat for me, and I couldn't really get a sense at all of what the world of this book looked like. If this *is* geared toward young adults and teens, I think it might be a little *too* simplified. It reads very "this and that and then this".

While fairly censored, I'm not sure that the sexual content in this book makes this novel appropriately classified for the age group it's listed under. I believe it's important content like this is labeled properly with the way minors have access to books with mature content at the tap of a screen. "What will the gay boy do to me now?" was a line that took me entirely out of the story, the top being that it just wasn't something I imagine being said in a flirty tone as the text intends. I personally just didn't find it tasteful. It's tough to read fantasy, a genre in which you can write absolutely anything in the world.. and you can still use the word "gay" as a negative connotation, joking or not. The use of the term "metrosexual" in a fantasy setting geared toward today's audience isn't a joke I'm sure that would land.

Describing someone by using their race as an identifier is totally fine, but most instances in this book get carried away in this. All of the following are (spoiler friendly) lines that were really souring:

"Darla kicked the Asian man in the face and he fell to the ground. The Asian rolled away, ripped his shirt off, and morphed into a giant beast."
""..the Asian monster was still attacking Darla."
"[...]he leaped and threw himself on the tiny Arab, setting him ablaze as well."
"You mock me? May Allah take pity on you, freak. A fireball formed in the Arab's hand."

There were quite a few more, but these were just the ones I happened to annotate for the sake of review. I think it's easy to discern how deeply racist this is and would come across to most readers.

This book could benefit from a lot more editing.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for prodviding a free copy of The Jade Necklace in exchange for an honest review.

In this novel, we follow two main characters, Clara and Robin, who come from very different backgrounds, and I appreciated how the author explored their contrasting lives. The lore surrounding gargoyles, mages, vampires, and other supernatural elements was intriguing and added a fresh twist to the story, especially since I haven't read many books that feature gargoyles in this way.

I found Robin’s chapters particularly engaging—they flowed more smoothly and were easier to follow, which made his story stand out. However, Darla’s character felt a bit underdeveloped, as she seemed to primarily serve as a way to expand on Robin’s powers and storyline.

As for Clara, I struggled a bit to connect with her. Her backstory felt somewhat disjointed, and she doesn’t have much presence in the first half of the book, even though she’s the female lead.

The romantic subplots in the first half were a bit distracting, and I wasn’t sure it was the best choice to focus on these relationships at that stage. I didn't care much to read about both MC's developing feelings for other people. It made it harder for me to fully invest in the development of Robin and Clara’s relationship once they meet, especially since the pacing was already on the slower side.

I also found the writing, particularly the dialogue, a bit stiff at times, which made some interactions feel less natural.

Overall, while there were a few aspects of the book that didn’t fully resonate with me, I can see the potential in the plot and the unique world the author has created. With more development and refinement, I think this could become an even stronger story.

The Jade Necklace by Jad Phillip is such a masterpiece. I couldn't stop reading this book. I read it in a day and an afternoon. I couldn't stop reading this. So so good.