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themoonwholistens's Reviews (698)
this jump started my hope in love again and what better reason to love a romance book?
This is for when you want a slow burn enemies to frenemies to friends to best friends to lovers romance between two ice skaters wherein they need to work together and they actually become each other's best friends. And really most of the reason for the 5 stars is because of how well-written I think the best friend to lovers aspect ended up being.
The romance was so sweet and wholesome that I melted, was shaken, and then put back together. But even then, what sold me was how Zapata was able demonstrate the struggles of athletes and the Jas’ fight even just to stay motivated. All the small details that played into that were really well done in my opinion.
Nothing warms my heart more than seeing people become best friends first before they fall in love and I enjoyed my time reading this a little too much. I don't know why it seems so rare to find well-written best friends to lovers dynamics and maybe that's why I ended up loving this more despite some things that irked me. (And the fact that this was a sports romance)
i don't think its the most perfectly written of books but i loved so many more things that it overshadowed the parts that i did not. i should also advise you on how there are some questionable lines that normally you should raise a red flag against if you encounter it in real life... just saying. I was pleasantly surprised that she had a learning disability since I feel like we don't see that as much and though i can't talk about the accuracy of it, it was nice to see how it played out in the story. there is some small filipino rep but it felt more like an after-thought. Though, the camaraderie that grows between the two main characters and role of the families involved added a lot to how invested i ended up being in the story overall.
*stands and slams hands on the table* i love them so much
i need more sports romances like this (pls rec me some). sports stories are turning into my weakness.
— 4.75 —
⇢ content warnings// Bullying, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexually explicit scenes, Stalking
⇢ representation: Filipino-American main character, Wlw side character, Mlm side character
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marking this for the next time i am in the mood for a slow burn romance wherein two people who hate each other have to work together kind of trope
This is for when you want a slow burn enemies to frenemies to friends to best friends to lovers romance between two ice skaters wherein they need to work together and they actually become each other's best friends. And really most of the reason for the 5 stars is because of how well-written I think the best friend to lovers aspect ended up being.
The romance was so sweet and wholesome that I melted, was shaken, and then put back together. But even then, what sold me was how Zapata was able demonstrate the struggles of athletes and the Jas’ fight even just to stay motivated. All the small details that played into that were really well done in my opinion.
“I’m not going to give up what I love just because I might not have it forever,“
Nothing warms my heart more than seeing people become best friends first before they fall in love and I enjoyed my time reading this a little too much. I don't know why it seems so rare to find well-written best friends to lovers dynamics and maybe that's why I ended up loving this more despite some things that irked me. (And the fact that this was a sports romance)
i don't think its the most perfectly written of books but i loved so many more things that it overshadowed the parts that i did not. i should also advise you on how there are some questionable lines that normally you should raise a red flag against if you encounter it in real life... just saying. I was pleasantly surprised that she had a learning disability since I feel like we don't see that as much and though i can't talk about the accuracy of it, it was nice to see how it played out in the story. there is some small filipino rep but it felt more like an after-thought. Though, the camaraderie that grows between the two main characters and role of the families involved added a lot to how invested i ended up being in the story overall.
*stands and slams hands on the table* i love them so much
i need more sports romances like this (pls rec me some). sports stories are turning into my weakness.
— 4.75 —
⇢ content warnings// Bullying, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexually explicit scenes, Stalking
⇢ representation: Filipino-American main character, Wlw side character, Mlm side character
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marking this for the next time i am in the mood for a slow burn romance wherein two people who hate each other have to work together kind of trope
this was just so adorable
1. What Really Happened in Peru - ★★★☆☆
2. The Runaway Queen - ★★☆☆☆
3. Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale - ★★★★★
4. The Midnight Heir - ★★★★★
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - ★★☆☆☆
6. Saving Raphael Santiago - ★★★★☆
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - ★★★★☆
8. What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - ★★★★☆
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute - ★★★★★
10. The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - ★★★★★
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - ★★★☆☆
//
someone needs to explain to me why all the other audiobooks are on my libby and this one IS NOT.
...it’s the LAST STORY
1. What Really Happened in Peru - ★★★☆☆
2. The Runaway Queen - ★★☆☆☆
3. Vampires, Scones, and Edmund Herondale - ★★★★★
4. The Midnight Heir - ★★★★★
5. The Rise of the Hotel Dumort - ★★☆☆☆
6. Saving Raphael Santiago - ★★★★☆
7. The Fall of the Hotel Dumort - ★★★★☆
8. What To Buy the Shadowhunter Who Has Everything - ★★★★☆
9. The Last Stand of the New York Institute - ★★★★★
10. The Course of True Love [and First Dates] - ★★★★★
11. The Voicemail of Magnus Bane - ★★★☆☆
//
someone needs to explain to me why all the other audiobooks are on my libby and this one IS NOT.
...it’s the LAST STORY
”When you’re young, you think you can change the world. You think you can bend it to your will. When you’re old, you learn to change your small corner of it and live with the rest.”
I just want to go around screaming at everyone to read this series. Especially if you want an Adult High Fantasy set in a post-apocalyptic style fantastical world with the awakening of magic and animal companions.
I’m going to be honest: this wasn’t really the book I thought it was going to be… but I’m not mad!!! This played with emotions so much in the best ways I could imagine, what a wild time.
If there’s one reason to read this book: It’s Jovis and Mephi.
The way Andrea Stewart writes the chapters makes the story flow so well. The plot is still slow paced relative to the first novel but the ending was so explosive that it had me gasping. The way Stewart wraps up her books always manages to bump itself up my rating. Talk about the ending making the book.
All the back and forth “betrayals” but “not betrayals” was so amusing to watch and I just loved how unsure we all were of what was happening in this book (in a good way). By “we” I mean both the characters and us, as the readers.
“Because even if I am the Emperor, I am still one of them.”
I do think the writing style and intrigue died down somewhere in the middle (relative to the first book) which was a little disappointing to me. Especially since I am already considering the first book as one of my faves of the whole year with the mystery and intrigued it was able to uphold.
My problem with this is that I think it didn’t have the best follow throughs to an extremely promising first novel. Some specific plot choices made were sounding so cliche to me, especially somewhere in the half way point. For the most part in book 1, we were trying to figure out who they were alongside them and I think in this book, it lacked the build up for me to feel fully invested in that certain characters motivation.
Admittedly, while i did like certain other developments in this book, i overall enjoyed the atmosphere and the mystery of the first book more. There were certain characters developments that were so satisfying to see where they are from the first novel. I keep hyping Jovis up but really he’s just an idiot that makes me laugh. Lin’s dynamic with absolutely anyone in this series amuses me to no end and created a compelling dynamic that just kept me reading.
”A coward is not a man who feels fear. A coward is one who would volunteer others for the suffering he would not take on himself,”
I love how lgbtq+ relationships are so normalized (even poly) and are just casually mentioned. The language used regarding pronouns and queerness is probably one of the, or the most inclusive one I have come across in Adult High Fantasy.
The vibes and the atmosphere /is/ different from the first book,, a lot of the mystery turned into suspense for the reveals that you already know and socio-political scheming. So it might have been slightly disappointing in that aspect but really this just jumped from one type of book that I love to another.
↣ A little dark, a little heartwarming, a little intense. Definitely recommended if you are in the mood for an Adult High Fantasy that keeps you curious and refreshing characters. This was more character driven and does have a slow-paced plot but I think it was all extremely worth it in the end. ↢
P.S. the cover makes so much sense now after finishing the book T_T
— 4.25 —
⇢ content warnings// Animal Abuse (implied, mentioned), Childhood abuse (mentioned), Emotional Trauma, Body Horror, Violence, Death
I don’t want to read a book written by an able-bodied person on the suffering of a disabled person without the research and nuance. You are allowed to love this book (I don’t though) but don’t close your eyes to the fact that this is an able-bodied person writing about how a gay disabled character “never gets better”…. I don’t like what that says.
Everyone keeps saying “books don’t need to have a happy ending” and that’s why people dislike this book. But it’s not the reason? Atleast not for me. This book could have the saddest ending for all I care but what matters to me is how it got there. And reading through a friendship that we didn’t even get to watch grow, was not it.
The biggest trigger warnings for this book is self harm, rape, (child molestation, child prostitution), suicide. Check the ending of this review for more. And I don’t care if you consider trigger warnings as spoilers because keeping someone from experiencing episodes and relapses is more important to me than your “plot twists” and your “enjoyment”. It needs to be said and it needs to be normalized because I don’t want to imagine even one person going through what I went through reading this book, or worse. So I hope that if you’re hyping this book up and someone asks you why it’s so depressing, you can tell them about it’s trigger warnings and keep from openly saying that it’s a “worth it read”. I’m tired of people recommending this problematic book so easily.
this book should never be recommended lightly.And should be read by those who are in the healthy headspace to do so.
I was wrong to think that this was going to be about friendship, it's not. which was half of the reason I started this, and the full reason why I thought I would still love it despite the endless list of all the most trigger-able content. I thought we were going to see the development of this friendship or at least get to know why their found family was/is as solid as it supposedly was. And we never got to see that. I really don't know why people keep emphasizing it but I'm here to tell you that it isn't and I was gravely disappointed when I realized what this book was really about. Some characters were used as plot points and some where used to make you feel guilty... at worst, they were added for the shock factor.
Before I say anything else, if you didn’t already know, the author herself said that she wrote Jude without doing any research and that he came to her “fully formed”. Given that the author is not 1. A disabled person and 2. A gay man bothered me the whole time I was reading this book. If you are going to write about mentally sick disabled gay man, you should at least do research about… well, all of those if you’re going to be writing about highly sensitive topics. Most especially when you pack so many traumatizing things into one book.
In another interview she said that the reason that she writes about men is because she thinks that they aren’t as good in expressing their emotions as women. And I don’t know with you but that’s a red flag to me.
hmm… so… this was grueling to read and I was extremely triggered the whole time I was reading so there’s that. I read the trigger warnings about this book before reading it but i didn’t realize that it so strongly focused on self-harm and self-destruction as much as it did. As someone who has battled with self-harm, it’s going to be incredibly upsetting and hard to read if you aren’t ready. I know it was for me. No one really emphasized that part when I was going through reviews and I do see why since it could be seen as a “spoiler” but I think we need to stop equating trigger warnings = spoilers. . It keeps people from having to read triggering content, like what happened to me, that could result to relapses. I could feel my mental health going somewhere I didn’t want it to.
This book wasn’t for me but I know a lot of people loved it. More thoughts in the future (maybe) because it’s currently 1am and I very tired.
Somewhat Full RTC!!
— NO RATING —
⇢ content warnings// Ableism (violent), Child abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Child molestation, Child rape, Drug abuse, Domestic violence/abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grooming, Lesbophobia (unchallenged), Manipulation, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Prostitution, Racism, Rape, Self harm (graphic), Sexual abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide ideation, Suicide Expand, Transphobia (misgendering)
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kat from @paperbackdreams said that bridge to terabithia is nothing compared to this and i am nervous because i’ve watched/read that more times than i can count and have sobbed each time
————————
maybe I should wait to read this for a time when I'm feeling a little happier so that I'll have a heart to actually break
Everyone keeps saying “books don’t need to have a happy ending” and that’s why people dislike this book. But it’s not the reason? Atleast not for me. This book could have the saddest ending for all I care but what matters to me is how it got there. And reading through a friendship that we didn’t even get to watch grow, was not it.
The biggest trigger warnings for this book is self harm, rape, (child molestation, child prostitution), suicide. Check the ending of this review for more. And I don’t care if you consider trigger warnings as spoilers because keeping someone from experiencing episodes and relapses is more important to me than your “plot twists” and your “enjoyment”. It needs to be said and it needs to be normalized because I don’t want to imagine even one person going through what I went through reading this book, or worse. So I hope that if you’re hyping this book up and someone asks you why it’s so depressing, you can tell them about it’s trigger warnings and keep from openly saying that it’s a “worth it read”. I’m tired of people recommending this problematic book so easily.
this book should never be recommended lightly.And should be read by those who are in the healthy headspace to do so.
I was wrong to think that this was going to be about friendship, it's not. which was half of the reason I started this, and the full reason why I thought I would still love it despite the endless list of all the most trigger-able content. I thought we were going to see the development of this friendship or at least get to know why their found family was/is as solid as it supposedly was. And we never got to see that. I really don't know why people keep emphasizing it but I'm here to tell you that it isn't and I was gravely disappointed when I realized what this book was really about. Some characters were used as plot points and some where used to make you feel guilty... at worst, they were added for the shock factor.
Before I say anything else, if you didn’t already know, the author herself said that she wrote Jude without doing any research and that he came to her “fully formed”. Given that the author is not 1. A disabled person and 2. A gay man bothered me the whole time I was reading this book. If you are going to write about mentally sick disabled gay man, you should at least do research about… well, all of those if you’re going to be writing about highly sensitive topics. Most especially when you pack so many traumatizing things into one book.
In another interview she said that the reason that she writes about men is because she thinks that they aren’t as good in expressing their emotions as women. And I don’t know with you but that’s a red flag to me.
hmm… so… this was grueling to read and I was extremely triggered the whole time I was reading so there’s that. I read the trigger warnings about this book before reading it but i didn’t realize that it so strongly focused on self-harm and self-destruction as much as it did. As someone who has battled with self-harm, it’s going to be incredibly upsetting and hard to read if you aren’t ready. I know it was for me. No one really emphasized that part when I was going through reviews and I do see why since it could be seen as a “spoiler” but I think we need to stop equating trigger warnings = spoilers. . It keeps people from having to read triggering content, like what happened to me, that could result to relapses. I could feel my mental health going somewhere I didn’t want it to.
This book wasn’t for me but I know a lot of people loved it. More thoughts in the future (maybe) because it’s currently 1am and I very tired.
Somewhat Full RTC!!
— NO RATING —
⇢ content warnings// Ableism (violent), Child abandonment, Child abuse, Child death, Child molestation, Child rape, Drug abuse, Domestic violence/abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grooming, Lesbophobia (unchallenged), Manipulation, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Prostitution, Racism, Rape, Self harm (graphic), Sexual abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide ideation, Suicide Expand, Transphobia (misgendering)
————————
kat from @paperbackdreams said that bridge to terabithia is nothing compared to this and i am nervous because i’ve watched/read that more times than i can count and have sobbed each time
————————
maybe I should wait to read this for a time when I'm feeling a little happier so that I'll have a heart to actually break
“How awesome it would be if one of them spotted her, and she could introduce them to her mother as ‘my friend’.“
I CRIED YALL. There are few books that i can claim i full-on bawled while reading that I couldn’t see the pages anymore…. but this is one of them.
The story is built around these children that find that they can enter their mirrors and be transported to a place with a castle. However, there are rules entering this place because of course, something like that can’t last forever.
This is the kind of portal magic/magical realism that leaves a lot to be explained and focuses a lot more on the characters themselves. It is in that Japanese style of writing that is a little straight to the point and sometimes the writing felt off but I feel that has to do more with the translation than the actual writing since this was originally written in Japanese. Don't get me wrong though because i did love the writing aside from the pacing, it made the story feel that much more raw and real, that you cannot help but see either parts of you or your friends in them. That’s how it was for me at least.
I do have reservations about some parts of the story and how it all ties together but in the end, the character developments and relationships just hit a little deeper than I thought it did… that I couldn’t help but feel the emotions by the end. I buddy read this and we both agree that, no matter how slow u initially find it, u get to a certain point in this book and just cannot help but marathon it to the end.
My favorite part is how the story so successfully highlights the unique friendship built over friends you meet when you are “young” and are just starting to figure out your place in the world. Part of the characters interactions, as they are mostly middle school aged, is how complicated these friendships can be to navigate at times but also the unlikely friends and memories you make when you’re “forced” to spend a certain amount of time with people in school (or some place else
I will never get over this series. This review will never give justice to this book but I'll try anyway.
The Green Bone Saga is heavily political, brutal, intense, fight scenes that will give you a heart attack… but also heart-warming, emotional, detail-oriented and sincere down to it’s core. It’s as much about family as it is about everything else related to it. The most satisfyingly beautiful and painful conclusion I could have ever asked for. If you want something emotionally investing, I think it is an understatement to say that I highly recommend. My new favorite series of all-time.
This series quite literally has the best character dynamics I could ever want and Fonda Lee serves it all on a silver platter complete complexity and heart that was so addicting to read on every level. Every tragic point had meaning and purpose, and was never done for the sake of tragedy.
I never would have thought that FL could deepen this world more than she did in Jade War but she did. She really did. The expansion of the application of jade from traditional to modern opened up so many possibilities each book that by the time we got to Jade Legacy, I felt so tense whenever we started a new chapter. In fact, Fonda Lee makes the space of Janloon and Kekon feel just as vibrant and vivid as the likes of Stormlight Archives and Mistborn, if not more. From the details on the perspectives of Jade = Lucky and the importance of “losing face”… I feel like it is so rare to see Asian values applied into an Epic Fantasy on a scale as largely as The Green Bone Saga did. A genre filled with friendship tales and otherworldly settings, I have never read any kind of Epic Fantasy that so prominently displayed family as the center point through and through.
Fonda Lee has carved has carved years off my soul but at the same time put me through 10 lifetimes. I will never have enough words to compress all of my thoughts and feelings without just narrating to you the whole 3-book story… but I will try my best anyway because Jade Legacy deserves all the words I can muster out of my body.
Honestly, the most heart-wrenching part of this book is how you watch the characters you love go through time. You would think that it would make you feel less attached to just be told what happens over the various time skips. But Fonda Lee manages to do the complete opposite by so efficiently packing information/details into the crevices of your mind, milestone per human milestone. Only for you to look back at what you read and realize how creatively she has wrapped you around each character’s story to make it feel like you’ve already read a whole novel about them alone. It is such an unconventional tool to use for an Fantasy novel but Fonda Lee more than pulled it off. The Kauls and the people around them go through a lot in the span of a chapter of Jade Legacy, that every person who has survived this book really does deserve a long hug for the rollercoaster that I know you’ve gone through.
One of the best (if not the best) written character developments of a big cast that I have come across. Incredibly nuanced with no one falling into stereotypical heroes and villains, they all just felt like people. People that you have known for what it feels like decades with the care that Fonda Lee took in crafting all of them to fit a purpose in the story. Every change of perspective has it’s own unique voice and subtle change in writing style that make them feel so well-realized. No matter how briefly you get to see Kekon through their eyes. I have never been so invested in so many characters at once and never been so affected by even the most minor of characters. They all felt so alive in my head that I don’t quite know what I was doing before I met them. Filled with an uncountable number of upfrontly flawed characters… it only made The Green Bone Saga that much more emotionally captivating.
[ STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK ]
[ LAST CHANCE… STOP READING. CONTEXT SPOILERS AHEAD. ]
Hilo has been a personal favorite since Jade City but his development was so gradual but also incredibly hard hitting to watch by the end of this novel that he’s turned into probably my new favorite character for the last decade. One of the most well-written and most nuanced characters that I have met on page. Petrik said it best and I couldn’t have done it any better. It is a feat to make readers understand questionable decisions that they have never have to make in a story and still love every inch of the characters that made them.
That isn't to say that the other characters in this series do not go through the same amount of development, they all do. It's just that the longer I think about this series, the more in awe I am of the things that Hilo had to deal with all at once as the Pillar.
The parallels between Hilo and Mada could not have been any more glaringly obvious. Their difference, however, is not that Hilo is able to illicit both respect and love in the same breath, they both do. What made Hilo different from Mada was that in his long reign as a Pillar, he never forgot that he was leading human beings. How it translated to the respective people they are charged with showed so noticeably shown in the crowds that gathered in front of their homes. In the end, the message to me was how leadership is not a solitary job nor is it a solitary position that can be properly done without compassion and humanity. That having all the most strategic alliances in the room does not compare to having one good friend.
Lott’s character was the best representation of Hilo’s influence on a single person. A concrete example of how you win people over by simply caring. To write a relatively simple character that manages to reflect the developments of the other characters while still being his own person in a story with at least 10 different perspectives, is amazing. It was so refreshing every time he was on the page. I don’t know when I started thinking of Anden as Kaul Anden instead of Emery Anden, having only realized it myself when Ayt Mada referred to him as Kaul-jen in the end. That itself is another example of the leaps in character development Fonda Lee manages without forgetting the journey it took to get to each one of them.
I say time and time again that what astounds me with the writing throughout the series is how FL shows the effects of the conflict from the Kauls to the Lantern men to the level of jade thieves. The highest tier to the lowest on this fantastical social ladder that is reminiscent of the most extreme values of various Asian Cultures with all the nuance and complexities that go with it. Despite being centered around the Kauls, it’s actually funny how none of the books ever ended or began with a perspective from a Kaul (even then, Anden isn’t technically a Kaul by blood). I think it’s the book’s little reminder about how even though we revolve around their story, it doesn’t start or end with them. With how the story is written post-Many Nations War and promises so many possibilities from Niko, it certainly felt that way too.
The themes of this story covers many things from leadership, solitude, power, and fate. But in the end, I like to think it all boils down to family. The Green Bone Saga is very accurately pitched as a modern epic urban fantasy family saga. And even though it goes through the biggest rollercoaster of a politically epic but emotional plot I have ever encountered… it does so while keeping in mind the one solid beating core that connects every message that comes across and is the underlying reason so many of us feel so attached: Family. That family extends to the people who have trusted you to lead them.
I have truly never been so emotionally devastated and hungover over any book in my life.
Each book in this series is so unique on their own and has such a distinctive atmosphere that I like to jokingly describe as the 3 stages of grief: Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy, respectively. This last installment most especially tackles the brutal stereotype of clans and gangs while showing their vulnerable sides. Which one of the most clever and heart-wrenching decisions Fonda Lee has ever made. My emotional hangover will never be appeased. You see the world evolving and the characters grow. You experience with them the pain of loss and time but also the simple, little joys of life and family. You see how pain changes people but it doesn’t make them irredeemable, just like what Lan believes.
I wasn’t sure about what to feel about Niko at first but I was amused that the way people viewed him in the story, was exactly the way I did too. In that way, they reflect how a lot of us would act in the face of the conflict that arise. Which was one of the best tools that Fonda Lee employed and it made me see myself in the story, even just a nameless floating entity within the world. Change is always scary at first but the book clearly sends the message of how the story wouldn’t have been possible if Hilo wasn’t different from Lan and how they wouldn’t be able to adapt in the future if Niko wasn’t different from Hilo. Niko is not the best fighter or the smartest, especially compared to Hilo and Lan. But he would know to maneuver the era of the clans into an evolving and more technologically advanced world with all the calculation that you make when you've had to face the extremes of cruelty and power head on. I felt the pain break something deep within me when Shae described how Niko looked when that scene happened and it made me realize that at the end, he's still just a kid in the face of the people who raised him. Cruelty and power is everywhere, as this series never fails to make us forget, but the difference of humanity is in when and how you use it. That it is compassion and love from the people surrounding us that shapes us.
It is so unapologetically rooted in its east asian and southeast asian influences without ever feeling the need to water itself down. This series will forever have a special place in my heart because how artfully it was written both technically and emotionally. My tension and awe while reading this had me flipping pages through tears~ This series has debunked so many things I thought I knew about storytelling while expertly applying everything I didn’t know I wanted but needed in a book. I’m going to end this review for now because the only thing I want to do is reread the whole series. I respect Fonda Lee on a whole other level for the emotions she has made me feel that felt every bit rewarding and beautifully painful.
Fonda Lee is a master at propelling a story forward on different levels all at once. I will never get over how well-curated and realized all of these characters are in a vividly and artfully designed setting that feels so real in the mind of it's readers.
Some things to leave you with that I didn't get to say in this very long review:
1. A part of fate is what you choose for yourself
2. Sincerity and compassion go a long way
3. A difference in beliefs does not make you incompatible friends
4. Family is chosen, even those by blood
5. The worst punishment you can receive, worse than death, is being forgotten and deemed insignificant.
6. Even if you have to go to war the next day, you make time to have dinner with your family—
A part of my mind, spirit, and soul will forever be having brunch with the Kauls in the Twice Lucky~
— 5.0 —
⇢ content warnings// Graphic Violence, Death, Torture, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarraige
⤜ pre-read review ⤛
happy release day to pain
“It was Kaul Hilo's great talent. He could have a single ordinary conversation with a man and make him loyal for life.”
The Green Bone Saga is heavily political, brutal, intense, fight scenes that will give you a heart attack… but also heart-warming, emotional, detail-oriented and sincere down to it’s core. It’s as much about family as it is about everything else related to it. The most satisfyingly beautiful and painful conclusion I could have ever asked for. If you want something emotionally investing, I think it is an understatement to say that I highly recommend. My new favorite series of all-time.
This series quite literally has the best character dynamics I could ever want and Fonda Lee serves it all on a silver platter complete complexity and heart that was so addicting to read on every level. Every tragic point had meaning and purpose, and was never done for the sake of tragedy.
I never would have thought that FL could deepen this world more than she did in Jade War but she did. She really did. The expansion of the application of jade from traditional to modern opened up so many possibilities each book that by the time we got to Jade Legacy, I felt so tense whenever we started a new chapter. In fact, Fonda Lee makes the space of Janloon and Kekon feel just as vibrant and vivid as the likes of Stormlight Archives and Mistborn, if not more. From the details on the perspectives of Jade = Lucky and the importance of “losing face”… I feel like it is so rare to see Asian values applied into an Epic Fantasy on a scale as largely as The Green Bone Saga did. A genre filled with friendship tales and otherworldly settings, I have never read any kind of Epic Fantasy that so prominently displayed family as the center point through and through.
“You'd think it would be easier to face death as you get older, but it doesn't work that way. You get more attached to life, to people you love and things that are worth living for.”
Fonda Lee has carved has carved years off my soul but at the same time put me through 10 lifetimes. I will never have enough words to compress all of my thoughts and feelings without just narrating to you the whole 3-book story… but I will try my best anyway because Jade Legacy deserves all the words I can muster out of my body.
Honestly, the most heart-wrenching part of this book is how you watch the characters you love go through time. You would think that it would make you feel less attached to just be told what happens over the various time skips. But Fonda Lee manages to do the complete opposite by so efficiently packing information/details into the crevices of your mind, milestone per human milestone. Only for you to look back at what you read and realize how creatively she has wrapped you around each character’s story to make it feel like you’ve already read a whole novel about them alone. It is such an unconventional tool to use for an Fantasy novel but Fonda Lee more than pulled it off. The Kauls and the people around them go through a lot in the span of a chapter of Jade Legacy, that every person who has survived this book really does deserve a long hug for the rollercoaster that I know you’ve gone through.
“Even goals that seem out of reach can be accomplished with the help of the right friends.”
One of the best (if not the best) written character developments of a big cast that I have come across. Incredibly nuanced with no one falling into stereotypical heroes and villains, they all just felt like people. People that you have known for what it feels like decades with the care that Fonda Lee took in crafting all of them to fit a purpose in the story. Every change of perspective has it’s own unique voice and subtle change in writing style that make them feel so well-realized. No matter how briefly you get to see Kekon through their eyes. I have never been so invested in so many characters at once and never been so affected by even the most minor of characters. They all felt so alive in my head that I don’t quite know what I was doing before I met them. Filled with an uncountable number of upfrontly flawed characters… it only made The Green Bone Saga that much more emotionally captivating.
[ STOP READING IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK ]
[ LAST CHANCE… STOP READING. CONTEXT SPOILERS AHEAD. ]
“We don’t handle this world. We make it handle us.”
Hilo has been a personal favorite since Jade City but his development was so gradual but also incredibly hard hitting to watch by the end of this novel that he’s turned into probably my new favorite character for the last decade. One of the most well-written and most nuanced characters that I have met on page. Petrik said it best and I couldn’t have done it any better. It is a feat to make readers understand questionable decisions that they have never have to make in a story and still love every inch of the characters that made them.
That isn't to say that the other characters in this series do not go through the same amount of development, they all do. It's just that the longer I think about this series, the more in awe I am of the things that Hilo had to deal with all at once as the Pillar.
“After all these years, is there anything you believe I won’t do if I have to?”
The parallels between Hilo and Mada could not have been any more glaringly obvious. Their difference, however, is not that Hilo is able to illicit both respect and love in the same breath, they both do. What made Hilo different from Mada was that in his long reign as a Pillar, he never forgot that he was leading human beings. How it translated to the respective people they are charged with showed so noticeably shown in the crowds that gathered in front of their homes. In the end, the message to me was how leadership is not a solitary job nor is it a solitary position that can be properly done without compassion and humanity. That having all the most strategic alliances in the room does not compare to having one good friend.
Lott’s character was the best representation of Hilo’s influence on a single person. A concrete example of how you win people over by simply caring. To write a relatively simple character that manages to reflect the developments of the other characters while still being his own person in a story with at least 10 different perspectives, is amazing. It was so refreshing every time he was on the page. I don’t know when I started thinking of Anden as Kaul Anden instead of Emery Anden, having only realized it myself when Ayt Mada referred to him as Kaul-jen in the end. That itself is another example of the leaps in character development Fonda Lee manages without forgetting the journey it took to get to each one of them.
“Jade had meaning because of the type of person one had to become to wear it.”
I say time and time again that what astounds me with the writing throughout the series is how FL shows the effects of the conflict from the Kauls to the Lantern men to the level of jade thieves. The highest tier to the lowest on this fantastical social ladder that is reminiscent of the most extreme values of various Asian Cultures with all the nuance and complexities that go with it. Despite being centered around the Kauls, it’s actually funny how none of the books ever ended or began with a perspective from a Kaul (even then, Anden isn’t technically a Kaul by blood). I think it’s the book’s little reminder about how even though we revolve around their story, it doesn’t start or end with them. With how the story is written post-Many Nations War and promises so many possibilities from Niko, it certainly felt that way too.
“Being green has greater significance than the abilities a person gains.”
The themes of this story covers many things from leadership, solitude, power, and fate. But in the end, I like to think it all boils down to family. The Green Bone Saga is very accurately pitched as a modern epic urban fantasy family saga. And even though it goes through the biggest rollercoaster of a politically epic but emotional plot I have ever encountered… it does so while keeping in mind the one solid beating core that connects every message that comes across and is the underlying reason so many of us feel so attached: Family. That family extends to the people who have trusted you to lead them.
“He was his father’s son; He would not back down from any fight or be used by anyone.”
…
“Ru was not a Green Bone or an heir to the clan’s leadership. He was not a threat or an obstacle to anyone. All he had been was Hilo’s son.”
I have truly never been so emotionally devastated and hungover over any book in my life.
Each book in this series is so unique on their own and has such a distinctive atmosphere that I like to jokingly describe as the 3 stages of grief: Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy, respectively. This last installment most especially tackles the brutal stereotype of clans and gangs while showing their vulnerable sides. Which one of the most clever and heart-wrenching decisions Fonda Lee has ever made. My emotional hangover will never be appeased. You see the world evolving and the characters grow. You experience with them the pain of loss and time but also the simple, little joys of life and family. You see how pain changes people but it doesn’t make them irredeemable, just like what Lan believes.
“Only children and gods are arrogant enough to judge what they can’t understand.”
I wasn’t sure about what to feel about Niko at first but I was amused that the way people viewed him in the story, was exactly the way I did too. In that way, they reflect how a lot of us would act in the face of the conflict that arise. Which was one of the best tools that Fonda Lee employed and it made me see myself in the story, even just a nameless floating entity within the world. Change is always scary at first but the book clearly sends the message of how the story wouldn’t have been possible if Hilo wasn’t different from Lan and how they wouldn’t be able to adapt in the future if Niko wasn’t different from Hilo. Niko is not the best fighter or the smartest, especially compared to Hilo and Lan. But he would know to maneuver the era of the clans into an evolving and more technologically advanced world with all the calculation that you make when you've had to face the extremes of cruelty and power head on. I felt the pain break something deep within me when Shae described how Niko looked when that scene happened and it made me realize that at the end, he's still just a kid in the face of the people who raised him. Cruelty and power is everywhere, as this series never fails to make us forget, but the difference of humanity is in when and how you use it. That it is compassion and love from the people surrounding us that shapes us.
“It’s obvious you’re not a father, Or you wouldn’t feel so invincible.”
It is so unapologetically rooted in its east asian and southeast asian influences without ever feeling the need to water itself down. This series will forever have a special place in my heart because how artfully it was written both technically and emotionally. My tension and awe while reading this had me flipping pages through tears~ This series has debunked so many things I thought I knew about storytelling while expertly applying everything I didn’t know I wanted but needed in a book. I’m going to end this review for now because the only thing I want to do is reread the whole series. I respect Fonda Lee on a whole other level for the emotions she has made me feel that felt every bit rewarding and beautifully painful.
Fonda Lee is a master at propelling a story forward on different levels all at once. I will never get over how well-curated and realized all of these characters are in a vividly and artfully designed setting that feels so real in the mind of it's readers.
"She got me in the end. But she didn’t get us."
Some things to leave you with that I didn't get to say in this very long review:
1. A part of fate is what you choose for yourself
2. Sincerity and compassion go a long way
3. A difference in beliefs does not make you incompatible friends
4. Family is chosen, even those by blood
5. The worst punishment you can receive, worse than death, is being forgotten and deemed insignificant.
6. Even if you have to go to war the next day, you make time to have dinner with your family—
A part of my mind, spirit, and soul will forever be having brunch with the Kauls in the Twice Lucky~
“Good men are remembered with love by their friends.
Great warriors are remembered with awe by their enemies.”
— 5.0 —
⇢ content warnings// Graphic Violence, Death, Torture, Murder, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarraige
“The No Peak clan is powerful,
but it can't change the attitudes and laws of an entire
country of people who don't understand us.”
⤜ pre-read review ⤛
happy release day to pain
TOTAL VIBES! but i wish i was more attached to the characters in the end. It felt like there was a wall separating me from the characters. The magic is also hard to grasp but i would really just read this for the atmosphere.
likely pros:
- coyotes as familiars
- historical fantasy
- vibes of mexican gothic but more whimsical, less horror and i loved this more
- intergenerational and i love that it felt like we were getting to know each one of them personally,, each character felt like they possessed a different vibe and it was charming but i realized that in the end, that was probably the downfall of the book for me
- SIBLING DYNAMICS I LOVE IT
- plot points that focuses on their family and of the past
likely cons:
- The magic system was fun at first but it started to feel a little bit too cheesy for my taste
- i wasn't attached to the romance because it didn't feel like it build up well
— 3.5 —
⇢ content warnings// Alcohol, Body horror., Child death [not graphic], Drowning [off-page, not graphic], Infidelity, Parental neglect, Parent death, Pregnancy
“When she'd met Orquídea Montoya, she saw a whisper of a girl who wanted to become a scream.”
likely pros:
- coyotes as familiars
- historical fantasy
- vibes of mexican gothic but more whimsical, less horror and i loved this more
- intergenerational and i love that it felt like we were getting to know each one of them personally,, each character felt like they possessed a different vibe and it was charming but i realized that in the end, that was probably the downfall of the book for me
- SIBLING DYNAMICS I LOVE IT
- plot points that focuses on their family and of the past
likely cons:
- The magic system was fun at first but it started to feel a little bit too cheesy for my taste
- i wasn't attached to the romance because it didn't feel like it build up well
— 3.5 —
⇢ content warnings// Alcohol, Body horror., Child death [not graphic], Drowning [off-page, not graphic], Infidelity, Parental neglect, Parent death, Pregnancy
I wanted to love this so bad.
I don't think i hate it. But also, I think the plot lost me in all of the descriptions and short stories. The thing is, I see the hype, I appreciate, I get why people love it… but it didn’t hit me. Especially the ending. And as someone who believes that endings make or break a story, endings are important to me.
What I liked: the beginning, the quote-worthy lines, and Zachary. I did really enjoy the short stories individually (albeit sometimes more than the actual plot). I had a lot of people telling me the ending was worth it but I am so sorry but the ending was a real let down for me.
I was really led to believe that this was going to pull together to create one giant headspace of whimsical world where dreams and stories existed. But so many of what happened… just felt like it had no point. I thought this was going to say more. I started this and finished it in the span of a year and remembered the plot because honestly— half of this book are short stories. I appreciate how it connects in the end but it really was not worth it because I couldn’t get into it enough. Erin Morgenstern’s story formats are probably just really not for me.
However, my main problem was how the “magic” was used in this book. I’m fine if magical realism books don’t fully explain their origins/system, but it needs to feel intentional in the story and not used as an escape for every problem that comes up. Most of the magic that was used was just to get them out of problematic situations without establishing what the rules even were. It just so happened that there was always some magical-out to everything and those don’t work for me.
Just like how Fate owes me some of the time I spent reading this book for the past year.
— 2.0 —
⇢ content warnings//
I don't think i hate it. But also, I think the plot lost me in all of the descriptions and short stories. The thing is, I see the hype, I appreciate, I get why people love it… but it didn’t hit me. Especially the ending. And as someone who believes that endings make or break a story, endings are important to me.
What I liked: the beginning, the quote-worthy lines, and Zachary. I did really enjoy the short stories individually (albeit sometimes more than the actual plot). I had a lot of people telling me the ending was worth it but I am so sorry but the ending was a real let down for me.
I was really led to believe that this was going to pull together to create one giant headspace of whimsical world where dreams and stories existed. But so many of what happened… just felt like it had no point. I thought this was going to say more. I started this and finished it in the span of a year and remembered the plot because honestly— half of this book are short stories. I appreciate how it connects in the end but it really was not worth it because I couldn’t get into it enough. Erin Morgenstern’s story formats are probably just really not for me.
However, my main problem was how the “magic” was used in this book. I’m fine if magical realism books don’t fully explain their origins/system, but it needs to feel intentional in the story and not used as an escape for every problem that comes up. Most of the magic that was used was just to get them out of problematic situations without establishing what the rules even were. It just so happened that there was always some magical-out to everything and those don’t work for me.
“Fate still owes me a dance.”
Just like how Fate owes me some of the time I spent reading this book for the past year.
— 2.0 —
⇢ content warnings//
[edit: why does the new version of this book look like zuko playing the violin]
"Yeah. I mean, most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that."
waahh. goodbye book slump.
-- SUPER SLIGHT SPOILERS --
Victoria Schwab did not let me down.
This book is so original and unique (practically all her books are), but it's one of those books that hile you are reading it you realize "why hasn't anyone else thought of a story like this one".
Why 4 stars:
As amazing as the characters and the story were, I found myself needing more of a plot and more variety in characters and world building. I have always been a fan of complicated characters and plots when it comes to fantasy books and I guess that was the only thing I was looking for.
Aside from this, almost everything about this book blew me because I had no idea what was going to happen next and everything just kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading. It was fun let me tell you. From the plot, to the characters, the world itself, it was good.
Characters:
"I read somewhere, that people are made of stardust."
AUGUST FLYNN MY BABY and KATE!! THAT BAD ASS LITTLE GIRL. I loved the chemistry between these two. There was barely anything that said implied that they viewed each other romantically which I LOVE LOVE LOVED so much. I just wish some characters were explained more. There wasn't much of a character development but more of a character revealing I guess. The characters were explained much more towards the end but I still found that pretty lacking, but I am expecting this problem to be solved by the second book.
We are always used to those heroes saving the day and good people being the center and main characters, but everything is so subtle here that you don't even realize that you are learning to love all of these "evil" characters. I mean, our two main characters here are not exactly good people in nature.. I guess (readers you know what I mean). My point is, they are not usual heroes, and I think that was a very important aspect that I see in books.
Plot:
I actually wanted more substance in the story and more characters to be introduced and explained which was not really done here. Though, everything is so unique that it kind of makes up for it. The other weak thing here is how the world seems so compressed in the city of Verity and not any of the other territories. Although, again, everything is PRETTY UNIQUE that you probably won't care about anything else. Trust me, you aren't going to be getting your usual cliche story here, anywhere, throughout the book.
Theme:
The whole theme of this book was UH-MAI-ZING. I never thought I needed a story like this until I was reading it. All these monsters, but not monsters, in a world of humans. Some of them are losing their lives because of it while others are being their ignorant selves.
This also isn't exactly a happy book. It's quite sad if you ask me. Which I think is what adds to the originality and the uniqueness of it all.
Music Incorporation:
"the staccato of the gunshots"
Speaking as a musician, I am happy with how she added music into the story (not how someone smashed someone's head with August's violin tho, anger). I really feel like there could have been more but I am already happy to see something that I do be incorporated to a story that I love. Music here wasn't something that was just introduced into the story and then forgotten. It is in the heart of the story itself and that satisfied me a lot.
Writing Style:
I love how Victoria's writing style practically makes up for all the weak points. I don't even want to go all critic here because I just loved the book in general. I don't know how else to explain this but Victoria Schwab is someone who all fantasy book readers need to read. She has this way of writing that cannot get me to stop reading. It's so unique, beautiful, deep, realistic, all at the same time.
"He could be the monster, if that kept others human."
I don't know if I was able to complete this review properly but this is what books do to you.
This was a really great read that kept me on my toes the whole time and brought me to a whole new fandom. Fans of Victoria Schwab need to experience this. I do not want to give high expectation to anyone who is reading this review and still hasn't read the book, but just go in and enjoy the world. This should go for any book for the matter. Anyways, I am definitely starting the next book as soon as possible.
"where are you?"
"Yeah. I mean, most people want to escape. Get out of their heads. Out of their lives. Stories are the easiest way to do that."
waahh. goodbye book slump.
-- SUPER SLIGHT SPOILERS --
Victoria Schwab did not let me down.
This book is so original and unique (practically all her books are), but it's one of those books that hile you are reading it you realize "why hasn't anyone else thought of a story like this one".
Why 4 stars:
As amazing as the characters and the story were, I found myself needing more of a plot and more variety in characters and world building. I have always been a fan of complicated characters and plots when it comes to fantasy books and I guess that was the only thing I was looking for.
Aside from this, almost everything about this book blew me because I had no idea what was going to happen next and everything just kept me on my toes the whole time I was reading. It was fun let me tell you. From the plot, to the characters, the world itself, it was good.
Characters:
"I read somewhere, that people are made of stardust."
AUGUST FLYNN MY BABY and KATE!! THAT BAD ASS LITTLE GIRL. I loved the chemistry between these two. There was barely anything that said implied that they viewed each other romantically which I LOVE LOVE LOVED so much. I just wish some characters were explained more. There wasn't much of a character development but more of a character revealing I guess. The characters were explained much more towards the end but I still found that pretty lacking, but I am expecting this problem to be solved by the second book.
We are always used to those heroes saving the day and good people being the center and main characters, but everything is so subtle here that you don't even realize that you are learning to love all of these "evil" characters. I mean, our two main characters here are not exactly good people in nature.. I guess (readers you know what I mean). My point is, they are not usual heroes, and I think that was a very important aspect that I see in books.
Plot:
I actually wanted more substance in the story and more characters to be introduced and explained which was not really done here. Though, everything is so unique that it kind of makes up for it. The other weak thing here is how the world seems so compressed in the city of Verity and not any of the other territories. Although, again, everything is PRETTY UNIQUE that you probably won't care about anything else. Trust me, you aren't going to be getting your usual cliche story here, anywhere, throughout the book.
Theme:
The whole theme of this book was UH-MAI-ZING. I never thought I needed a story like this until I was reading it. All these monsters, but not monsters, in a world of humans. Some of them are losing their lives because of it while others are being their ignorant selves.
This also isn't exactly a happy book. It's quite sad if you ask me. Which I think is what adds to the originality and the uniqueness of it all.
Music Incorporation:
"the staccato of the gunshots"
Speaking as a musician, I am happy with how she added music into the story (not how someone smashed someone's head with August's violin tho, anger). I really feel like there could have been more but I am already happy to see something that I do be incorporated to a story that I love. Music here wasn't something that was just introduced into the story and then forgotten. It is in the heart of the story itself and that satisfied me a lot.
Writing Style:
I love how Victoria's writing style practically makes up for all the weak points. I don't even want to go all critic here because I just loved the book in general. I don't know how else to explain this but Victoria Schwab is someone who all fantasy book readers need to read. She has this way of writing that cannot get me to stop reading. It's so unique, beautiful, deep, realistic, all at the same time.
"He could be the monster, if that kept others human."
I don't know if I was able to complete this review properly but this is what books do to you.
This was a really great read that kept me on my toes the whole time and brought me to a whole new fandom. Fans of Victoria Schwab need to experience this. I do not want to give high expectation to anyone who is reading this review and still hasn't read the book, but just go in and enjoy the world. This should go for any book for the matter. Anyways, I am definitely starting the next book as soon as possible.
"where are you?"
what did i just read LMAO so weird that i enjoyed it?
This 1 hour long audiobook creeped me out than most horror books ive read. this feels like the book where the starless sea got half of its inspiration from and given i didnt like the execution of that book in the end because it felt like it dragged on for too long, i liked that this was short and just scared me i guess.
it's about a guy who gets stuck in a library and starts hallucinating i guess? discusses the microcosm fears set in a short timeline like The Little Prince type of short stories.
— 3.5 —
⇢ content warnings// physical abuse, animal death, body gore
This 1 hour long audiobook creeped me out than most horror books ive read. this feels like the book where the starless sea got half of its inspiration from and given i didnt like the execution of that book in the end because it felt like it dragged on for too long, i liked that this was short and just scared me i guess.
it's about a guy who gets stuck in a library and starts hallucinating i guess? discusses the microcosm fears set in a short timeline like The Little Prince type of short stories.
"My anxiety had turned into an anxiety quite lacking in anxiousness."
— 3.5 —
⇢ content warnings// physical abuse, animal death, body gore