Sets in the fictional city of Janloon, Jade City is an Asia-inspired fantasy novel revolves around the No Peak clan, an organization that is similar to the crime/mafia families, in the conflicting war with their rivalry, the Mountain Clan. It is a story of family, honor, greed, wealth, power, and loyalty.

I loved it! It was one of the best novels I have ever read. The biggest highlight for me in this book is the relationships in the family, specifically the No Peak Clan. I would compare their dynamics to the Corleone family in The Godfather, where you see how much they love the others and how important loyalty are to them. Every single character feels like they have a lot of history with each other, you will never feel bog down by their interactions. The plot is intriguing and suspenseful, there's twists and turns that will leave your mouth open, but they feel earned and not out of nowhere. There's barely any action, but when the action hits, it hits hard. Fonda Lee wrote the action scenes in the veins of martial arts films or wuxia films. The magic system, it is a fantasy novel, is unique and visually appealing but not well developed but I think the readers could understand what is going on when the magic comes in. The worldbuilding is well crafted, the atmosphere and the social aspects are inspired by Hong Kong in the 20th century and you can feel it. It was a fantastic read for me.

I highly recommend Jade City to fans of The Godfather and have interests in martial arts or Hong Kong. This is an adult fantasy novel, so there are some vulgar languages and scenes that might not appealing to you but they are a small part of the book. Also if you enjoy a good and loyal family, well-developed sibling relationships, you would devour this book.

Minh, 16

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