readwithiffy's reviews
112 reviews

LAN! the love of my life..that chapter with his history with anden 😭😭 oh my god!

every pov in this was AMAZING added so much to the entire saga

little nugget of janloon that I needed after finishing jade legacy.. quick and easy read that still tugs on the emotional strings 

the cameos?

HILO and the maik brothers LANN!! THE MAN THAT YOU ARE 😭💔

Jade Legacy spans over decades focusing on the Kaul family as they battle enemies across all angles. It’s up close and ugly and messy. The dynamics between the characters are a highlight, because they shift and change. The politics are layered as Kekon navigates its position against foreign interference and Ayt Mada. Its loss, death, retribution, family, love, and honor bound into one.

I didn’t realize how much this family and characters like Hilo grew on me until this book. The development and growth we see is staggering, but in the end they’re flawed in a way that’s feels tangible. These characters leap off the page. This book I really enjoyed Wen and Hilo

AND RUU!! my baby fought his duel and no one saw him win 😭😭 this part broke

The call backs and references, how it all ties the entire Green Bone Saga is a testament to how detailed Fonda Lee is as a writer. I appreciate how she wrote the war against the Mountain clan…long and dragged out but in the end one cannot truly finish the other.

By the end,

i was crying my eyes out because Hilo really did put his family first, unwaveringly. His last conversation with Shae had me 😭😭😭 also, Lan will always haunt the narrative, miss him bad, but the entire family will see each other again.

family trope done well 

The time jumps were a lot this book, but I felt like the plotting was really good, so I didn’t mind. 

bero still making it.. I could write essays about this*

Overall, the Green Bone Saga is one of those series that you just have to treat as one entity. Finishing it, makes me want to go back reread with a new perspective. I think it would be one of my favorite shows if it was adapted to that medium, across many seasons to cover the time jumps. I think the writing style and magic system would work really well there.  

Thank you to Victory Editing, NetGalley, and the Collins for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

4 stars / 4.25 stars

This is a high fantasy book that feels LOTR-esque while still remaining new and fresh with its worldbuilding. I wouldn’t say it's cozy, but because of the quest and the 4 characters we’re following (guardsman, thief, a princess, and the guardsman’s best friend)… it feels like the type of book I would enjoy between longer, bleaker series. 

I was gripped from the first chapter and it was the type of book I needed at the time. Though it has all the classic fantasy tropes we love, Collins includes lots of representation that I think most books in this category lack (ex. was very intrigued in how sign language was written into the story). This made me feel more seen and attached to the characters of this world.

I LOVED Olaf and Ral and wish they had more POV chapters! I did enjoy Dimitar and Kaleela’s chapters, but I wish the romance didn’t take as much page time in their POVs. I’m usually a sucker for romantic subplot, but I think it could’ve slow-burned a little more. At the very least, there shouldn’t been more angst in regards to their stations even if Khaled wouldn’t supported them regardless 🙂

Another thing to note… the plot kinda dragged in the middle. There were times where I felt like the characters were bouncing from place to place very conveniently. Though there was urgency, I think the plot could’ve done with more intimate character moments or depth to the backstories of Dimitar or Olaf. This might be something that will be expanded on in Book 2.

This is one of the few stories that does found family well. I loved seeing Dimitar’s growth and willingness to change his opinion on Ral. All 4 characters had lovely moments with each other and were not just contained to their prior relationships. I need more Ral x Kaleela x Dimitar in Book 2!!

I loved seeing the geo-politics and ramifications of the clan war and jade has across other countries. There’s also more on the kekonese of the diaspora.. what they’re like and how they’re perceived on Kekon. Jade War is gritty, bloody, and anxiety-inducing and by the end I just wanted the Kaul family to have a win 😭

Some people say this suffers second book syndrome but for some reason this installment gripped me more? I do think this series has a way of explaining moments that happen off-screen instead of showing it and it can make me feel removed from the characters. They’re interesting, flawed, and realistic but I’m hoping Jade Legacy makes me more attached to them. I think that’s this wasn’t a 5 star for me!

Shae and Hilo fight scene at the end ate.. their entire relationship is so fascinating to me

my favorite moments are between the family.  Anden and Wen was an unexpected delight. 

But there’s no critiques other than that.. everything about this series feel like a drama unfolding before my eyes.

Asian inspired urban fantasy that’s a cross between classic martial arts films and the Godfather.. and IT WORKS! 

The worldbuilding is engaging and intricate with the right balance of history and modernity. I’m interested in learning more about the different capabilities of jade.

The Kaul family is the center of this story and every character is fleshed out and feels sooo real. Their interactions with each other had me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t think another family could stress me out like the Roys in Succession. The book feels like a tv show that’s unfolding in front of your eyes.

The politics eating and I already know it’s just the beginning. For an urban fantasy to have me this glued… it’s saying a lot! Fonda Lee is something else 😭

LANNNNNN my fav dead.. it’s wrap. Me getting attached to tragic characters  😭😭

Thank you NetGalley, Visceral Books, and Raymond King for sending me this ARC. This review is voluntary and contains my own opinion.

I was initially drawn to Alien Nation for its science fiction premise, and the synopsis immediately hooked me. The story follows two main points of view in a society that aspires to be psychopaths and where sadism is the norm. One perspective is Jason, a service android who has never been able to conform and is at risk of being replaced. The other is Prince Marcus, a member of the ruling class of “monarchs.” Through a series of events, their roles in this world are quickly upended. 

The book had a lot of potential. There’s a sense of dread woven into the narrative, lots of the interactions are unnerving which I think was intentional. Since this is a shorter story, I expected the pacing to be quicker, but the characters felt hollow. The dialogue was somewhat clunky, which made it difficult to immerse myself in the story.

The most compelling aspect of the book was its worldbuilding and lore. However, I often found myself confused. The world introduces many different people and concepts, but much of it is left unexplained. Normally, I enjoy a book that tosses me in head first, but this was a lot with little pay off. 

I don’t know why I waited forever to start this, but I missed this world so much! 

Tracey’s writing always hits me in my feels and as always, the layers to the worldbuilding and magic system are intricate.

Cried seeing Bree’s mom again.

The entire Volition plot ate! I love seeing more of the world.

I think this is not a 5 star just because the plotting was all over the place. It didn’t need this many fight scenes, I wish we slowed down had more character moments. By the end, there was so many “tell” instead of “show” moments especially that last couple of chapters. And as much as I love a good romance

breesel took me out the book, might be the writing of the love triangle in general though.

I think this book is serving a bigger purpose for Oathbound so I’m excited! Overall, I enjoyed Bloodmarked 

Ken Liu did something ambitious. He dreamt up Dara from the depths of his imagination and crafted into a real place. This series is transportive and find myself grasping for the intangible. The Dandelion Dyntasy is very much a historical epic, written like a classic at times with luscious, layered prose. It spans decades in time and I love how so many characters and moments in the Grace of Kings have turn into myth and lore in-world. It’s going to be up there in my favorite political fantasies especially since this series ties so much historical elements into it. 

Speaking Bones runs with the groundwork set in the Veiled Throne. It’s battle after battle and TENSE. I’ve never been so stressed 😭😭 Characters have to reckon with who they are and decide whether to follow their natures and own the consequences. The characters in this series are polarizing, flawed, and they invoke feeling like a real person whether you like or dislike them. The politics are politicking! The themes and commentary are so important and relevant to today’s world without being heavy handed in its approach as well.

Jia is the most complex, fascinating character in the series for me and I loveddddddd her chapters. No one gets her like I do. I also loved Thèra and the rest of the dissolver of sorrows cast. There’s too many major and minor characters to note, but many impacted me. Ken can scope in on someone and really have you invested in them and their life in a couple pages. Cried so many times- 🥹

The philosophical elements to the story were some of the highlights for me too. Especially to how it pertains to what it means to govern and wield the Grace of Kings….. ahh!!!

Some nits were that the timeline kinda got repetitive for me. The whole flashback in the middle of a fight scene to see how characters invented something was just done too many time and took me out of the story. As much as I love the engineering in this series, I think it got way out of hand in Speaking Bones.

Some of my favorite lines, stories, and folk-tales were in this book! I loved the call backs too. “Teeth on the board” will forever live in my mind rent free.

The way I inhaled this book. The pacing was really good for 1300 pages though it was interesting that it’s across 10 days. At times, I had to remind myself when moments would repeat that these characters are not passing in time by much. I do think that some of the spiritual world couldn’t been cut, at least with Rlain, Renarin, and Shallan’s portion of it.

ADOLIN AND YANAGAWN!! their moments and friendship <3 Though we had Szeth flashbacks, I do feel like this was also Adolin’s book. He really was one of my fav POVS.

The unOathed!!! MAYA’s so funny 😭

Szeth.. his flashbacks and storyline, twisted afff 😭😭 Kaladin and him journeying together ate down. I LOVEDDDDDDDDD this duo.

Add in Nale and Nightblood..

This book being an entire sanderlache lowkey. Like I can’t even fathom that ending like wtf.. if crack was a book. 

This is review is so jumbled but I can’t wait for the second arc of SA.. the ending perfectly embodies that dreadful pit feeling yet slight hopeful undertones

my overall thoughts of SA as series are positive but I do think Sanderson does a lot of hand waving of the light-eyed / dark-eyed issues and without much nuance. Also tired of the narrative always make it seem like Kaladin has to get over his prejudices but the other light-eyed character rarely grow in a meaningful way regarding their biases. Also dialogue can be awkward and corny sometimes 😭 So even though I give 5 stars for each book, the overall series is far perfect imo