I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Shealea at Shut Up, Shealea for organizing this tour and to Orbit Books!

Fonda Lee has done it again. Jade War is an incredible sequel to Jade City, one of my favorite books that I’ve read in 2018. Complex family relationships, clan and nation politics, self-discovery, and action-packed sequences are all woven together into one tightly-written and fast-paced sequel. The stakes are higher than ever and more players have entered the game as the war for jade intensifies.

The book follows various members of the Kaul family, the ruling family of Kekon’s No Peak Clan, one of the two big Green Bone clans who once led the fight for Kekonese independence. Here, Kekon continues to chart its course as an independent country with a foreign policy heavily shaped by jade- and the clans who control it. Here, we mostly follow Hilo, Shae, Anden, and Wen as they all try to find their way in and help the clan in their own ways. Family is still the most important theme here and while bonds may fray- they do not break.

I like how Hilo and Shae really grow as characters throughout the novel. As the Pillar and Weather Man of the clan respectively, they’ve both have to make some tough choices which the other may not necessarily agree with, but they believe is for the betterment of the clan. With them facing new threats and having to deal with greater ones, they do have to work in order to do what they think will improve their standing and eliminate those threats.

I really loved Anden’s arc here. After being essentially exiled to Espenia, he really grows as a character as his arc becomes one of self-discovery and figuring out what kind of person he really wants to be. After the events of the first book, he no longer wants to be a Green Bone and wear jade- for very good reasons. Here, Anden learns to live his life without jade and find out what other options are available to him. The ending to his arc at the end of the book was really good and feels very full circle.

Wen was a fantastic surprise. I wasn’t expecting to get her POV but I honestly really enjoyed the perspective of a jadeless stone-eye in a powerful Green Bone clan. Wen too has to find her place in No Peak and sometimes, that may involve some deceit and sneaking around. But, at the end of the day, her heart’s in the right place and her dedication to the clan and Hilo was very endearing.

Ultimately, this is a book which also centers three women who are powerful in different ways. Shae, Wen, and Ayt Mada really made this book for me and I liked that we get to see more of Ayt Mada here. I think she’s a pretty complex and badass character who is ruthless and would stop at nothing to get what she wants. Unlike most of the No Peak’s leadership, she doesn’t seem to have so many attachments and thus has fewer to lose, perhaps making her more bold in the way she handles things. She wasn’t even above doing things the Kekonese would consider taboo just to get her way. Honestly, I’m just really interested in her character and she ranks high up in my list of favorite antagonists.

I don’t want to talk too much about the plot in case of spoilers but the war for jade really gets more intense. More players get added and taken out of the chessboard and each party really have to do some political maneuvering to gain the upper hand. As someone who likes seeing political intrigue in her books, I seriously loved this. The ending was really beautiful and I could see how family remains at the heart of the book. I can’t wait to see how the stakes get even higher and how everything gets resolved.

Overall, I really loved Jade War and would heartily recommend it to anyone who liked Jade City. It’s a fantastic sequel full stop.