I enjoyed this book. Was I blown away by it no, but was it boring as well, no. This reads just like a standard YA fantasy novel, which isn’t a bad thing. I still really enjoyed reading this book, while I was in no rush to pick it up after I had put it down, I did find that when I did pick it up I read about 100 pages at a time. If you’re a new reader of south East Asian inspired fantasy’s I think you’ll get a lot more enjoyment reading this than I did. This particular sub-genres is one of my favourites and as such I wasn’t particularly surprised by the plot twists. However I do still think this is a good book and a quick read, I found Ahn’s pov more enjoyable to read than Altan’s, I found his quite cringey at times. But still worth a read!

I really really enjoyed Jade Fire Gold!

From the opening chapter I was intrigued and hooked to following Ahn through her story. I loved the rich setting for the narrative and I think the characters were very well developed by the end of the book, they had a great story arc. The only drawback for me was sometimes I felt bits were rushed over when they could have been a bit more slow unfolding over time but this didn’t hinder my enjoyment. Jade Fire Gold was an incredibly easy book to read and it kept me guessing - I thought I had it all figured out but I didn’t although I did see that epilogue coming a mile off.

I’ve recommended this book to a few readers now who will hopefully love it too. It’s a fantastic fantasy book and uses some of my favourite tropes in an incredible setting. Ahn and Altan were great together, I couldn’t wait to see their development, it was the reason I read this book in a couple of sittings.

My favourite element of Jade Fire Gold was the magic, it felt very creative to me and the way it was explored through Ahn and the swords was well done and felt like it was drawn from mythology which really piqued my interest. I’d love to hear more around the inspirations for this story and of course I can’t wait to get book two!

In an empire on the brink of war...

Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.

Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.

But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

I really loved this book, the main characters are interesting and complicated and I loved that the side characters were also independent with their own desires and decisions, although I would have liked some more fleshing out of some of those side characters but i hope that will come with the next book! This book has further cemented my love for xianxia, chinese fantasy stories inspired by chinese mythology, medicine, and martial arts which I didn't realise had a name. The writing is great and the action scenes are fantastic with the addition of magic. I am not usually into romance in fantasy but i really liked the building of the main relationship and am very excited to see where it will go from where it left off. The ending was a bit of a cliff hanger but I am very excited to read the next book in this series! Its not as dark as The Poppy War but I definitely think fans of The Poppy War and The Jasmine Throne will enjoy this book!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and no one is more sad by the fact that I didn’t enjoy it. This was, for lack of a better description, fantasy 101, which would be fine, I guess, to readers new to the genre, but as a long time fantasy nerd, it felt like going to a restaurant, ordering a dish and it being not terrible, but bland, basic. Nothing special, it just felt like there was some pizzaz missing to bring the flavours to life.

This book would make a fantastic starting off point for introducing readers that are new to YA fantasy.
The writing style was digestible and concise, making the pages fly by and not bogged down in excessive detail.
A good mix of magic and political/royal plotlines without it becoming too skewed in either direction.
With some betrayal and hidden identities to stir the pot.

Really liked the sarcastic and witty humour bantering between the main characters. Especially when they brought up childhood memories of growing up together. I enjoyed how all the characters were threaded together and then linked up throughout the course of the plot.

For my own personal tastes, it did read as quite a surface level fantasy to me. A lot of time was skipped over in the name of plot convenience which I just found quite jarring when timeline and setting can jump from one place to another in the space of a sentence or two. I think some character development and worldbuilding moments could have been explored further, also.

I enjoyed the slower burn romance. If romance isn't normally your thing, I wouldn't worry, it doesn't take over the entire plot line here and there's no 'instalovey' declarations.

I think I would have enjoyed this a little more had I been a few years younger but I'd still highly recommend it to teens or anyone looking to give the fantasy genre a go. Especially with the inclusion of some great myths and beasts from Chinese folklore .

A totally interesting story, the two POV makes the story goes very well, The beginning is kinda slow building up a bit the lore and character but I think it could turn off some readers. The world-building is very interesting the lore about the swords and the magic everything was very well designed and interesting. I love the side characters i think they bring their unique twist to the story. I was not a fan of the romance between the two main characters i felt it was unnecessary, it could have been done without it for me it was a small negative point since it follows the normal and it could be done as friends. Overall it was a very enjoyable novel with an interesting setting and lore. Very excited for book 2 since the last chapter put the stakes high!

You can find my full review here: https://youtu.be/lbmPvkKfqEQ live on 28/11/2021

Ahn is a girl with no past and no family. She lives in her little village, looking after her grandmother, the woman who found her and took her in. But one day that all changes, attacked by two men Ahn finds a power inside her she never knew existed, one that can steal the live of any living thing. Taken by the priests, and sure her death waits on the other side of her journey, she is instead shocked to find someone she thought lost to her, but Ahn will have to decide whether she can trust this person, or if they wish to use her for their own gain. Altan is a Prince without a throne, after his aunt and uncle had his parents and sister killed, he has been determined to claim his rightful place on the throne, and once he meets Ahn, he knows that she might just be the person to help him. But trust doesn't come easy to a boy who has constantly been deceived. Altan and Ahn will have to learn to work together, to trust each other, if they are to save the Empire and the people that they love.

If there was one thing that really stood out to me with this story, it was the lack of development be it character, world or magic, nothing was really developed enough, and because of that I really struggled to get invested in the story at all. Ahn and Altan both had the potential to be brilliant characters, but they just came across as one dimensional, they lacked any real emotional draw and though they have certainly been through some hardships, and go on an intense journey together, I just really struggled to empathise with them in any way. Some big events happen to them throughout the book and I just found myself going 'ok, I guess that was meant to be big and emotional, but I'm getting nothing.' If anything, I found myself more interested and invested in the side characters, who play pretty small parts in the story, but I found them more interesting & would have liked to see more of them.

As I said above, the world and magic system in Jade Fire Gold was seriously under-developed. A big part of this book is the 'life-stealer' and how they are the only ones who can return peace to the world, push back the desert, which is fine but I just didn't get why? We're given no real history of the world, why it is like it is, what exactly the author means by the desert encroaching on everything, why magic has been made illegal. We know the basic facts, but not the why and that meant that I just really struggled to get into the story. Dini and I were constantly throwing out questions to each other, why is this like this? Does that makes sense to you? and most of the time our answers were 'I have no idea.'

Positive wise, because I really don't want this to be just one big negative review. This is a book I would give someone who had never read fantasy before, some one who wanted to read something light, something where they didn't have to put too much thought into it, and maybe if you're that kind of reader then this would be the perfect read for you. It has romance, which was a little too insta love whilst also trying to be enemies to lovers at the same time. It even contains one of my favourite romance tropes 'there's only one bed' but because I really struggled to care about the characters, it just didn't really work for me. Personally, I like a little more depth in my stories, I'm here for the books that give us pages of world building, spend the time to develop their characters until their wants, thoughts, and actions almost become your own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for early access to Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan. My opinions are purely my own.

Quite frankly, I don't know how I feel about this book. It was 800 pages and constantly just drawled on and on and it wasn't for me. The ending was the best and it gave you a sense of: ooh what's gonna happen in the next book.

Although, it just felt like it was missing something for me.

The first third of the book was absolutely GOLD: I was engrossed in the story and couldn't wait to see where things would go and learn more about the characters. The story starts in a desert and June does an amazing job with the worldbuilding and the chosen one trope. I had high expectations before starting this book and the first third did nothing but raise them.
However as the story progresses, it starts becoming another one of those cliché YA fantasies with overused tropes. The pacing was suddenly all over the place and things became repetitive to the point that I wanted to DNF it. Also, let's talk about the romance. For a book marketed specifically as 'slowburn', I ended up heavily disappointed. There was no angst, no yearning, nothing. The side couples were more interesting than Ahn x Altan and I didn't see the point of forcing them together?
Talking about the good things, I really enjoyed reading about Chinese mythology and the wuxia and xianxia aspects of the book! It is so important to see various cultures being reflected in books and Jade Fire Gold's mythological elements heightened the experience for me.
The last part of the book really got on my nerves: there was so much confusion and glossed over things, my mind was like 'WHOA when the heck did the fight start who won why is *** dead whats happening help.'
Jade Fire Gold turned out disappointing because I expected it to be complicated and interesting. Instead, it was confusing and under-delivered.
Overall, I'd say Jade Fire Gold has some enjoyable aspects and recommend it to readers who are looking for a simple fantasy book.

Jade Fire Gold tells the dual stories of Ahn, a young woman who finds her life completely upended, and Altan, a former prince, as their lives and missions completely and unintentionally converge.

Ahn is an orphaned young girl living with a kind stranger in a small outskirts town, who is uprooted suddenly when she discovers that her father is a very senior ally to the royal family that desperately needs her help to solve an age old problem. Altan, meanwhile, is a presumed-dead outlaw former heir to the throne who realises that Ahn may be the key to regaining his position, and knows that he needs to do whatever it takes to do just that. What follows is an intense and epic adventure, filled with magic, slow-burn romance and a lot of action and adventure.

This story was so much fun to read. The imagery was vivid, the magic was intense (very ATLA-esque) and both protagonists were so well-developed that I found myself equally excited every time the perspective changed to either of them. I did find that the pacing was slightly odd at times, and that weeks seemed to pass by in the space of one or two lines but, whilst this was off-putting at first, I found by the end that it just allowed much more time to develop the story.

It’s rare in a fantasy book that the fight scenes are my favourite part, but it was definitely the case with this one as they were so intense and perfectly described that I found myself completely sucked into the action. I genuinely cried at multiple points and I felt so emotionally connected to the characters by the end of the story that I was truly sad to have to put it down. The romance was also really beautifully done, as what could very easily have been insta-love based on their first interaction turned into a beautiful slow burn romance with a couple of tropes and clichés thrown in along the way that I really found myself enjoying.

I think it may be obvious, but I adored this book. I couldn’t get over it for days after putting it down. The characters are still living in my brain at this moment, and I’m so excited to see what June CL Tan releases next.

Ahn lives on the fringes of the empire, where the desert has slowly been taking over the land because of a curse by the Tiensai, magic wielders that aren’t recruited by the empire’s Diyeh priests. Or at least, that’s what history says is causing it… the empire has also been at war with all of its neighbours, and its emperor has just died, leaving a young heir and a strict empress dowager. When Ahn, desperate to help her ill grandmother, steals the wrong thing and is chased by soldiers, she unleashes her own, terrible magic she has been hiding all these years, and is taken away to the capital: she is the Life Stealer, the only one who can wield a powerful weapon that can restore or destroy the empire. Altan is the son of the previous emperor, who was murdered by his brother, forcing Altan and his family to run; Altan is the only survivor and he has sworn vengeance. A chance encounter with Ahn pushes them on the same path and he realises he can use her power to restore his throne, though he knows that in the long run he cannot let someone as powerful as her live.

I kept thinking I knew where this story was going, but it kept surprising me, which I found very fun! I loved both Ahn and Altan, the two point of view characters, and loved watching their slow but inevitable fall toward one another, and the tragedy of it. I love me a bit of angst! But Jade Fire Gold has so much more than that; it’s vivid storytelling weaves politics, magic, legend, and love to make a perfect blend. Hardship and loss, too, play a big part; Ahn has lost her parents and all memory of them, Altan has lost his home and his family, and both will lose even more before the end. For such young characters, they are very hardy and the fact that they still manage to find hope and love amidst the pain was something I really enjoyed. There were also many Zuko-like moments when Altan was clenching his fists and talking of honour, which made me smile.

Some of the plotting and pacing at times felt a bit off, but overall I was swept up by the story and the world building. I hope we do get to explore more of the world of Jade Fire Gold in the future (and the last chapter seems to hint that we might) and if so, I would love to learn more about the other nations bordering the Shi Empire and maybe explore the Dragon’s Triangle again – Bermuda Triangle but with magic which appeals to my interests immensely. I would also love to see some of our side characters some more; Tang Wei, fearsome and snarky assassin, and her girlfriend Linxi, an undercover spy in the palace, and Leiye with his mysterious past and shifting loyalties. A really strong world with a really strong cast, and an author to watch out for, considering this is a debut.

I was so excited to read this as it sounded like exactly my type of book and while I did enjoy it mostly I was a little disappointed by it. This had great potential to be amazing but the execution just wasn’t quite there. That isn’t to say that it’s a bad book, I know that a lot of people will enjoy it I just wanted that bit more, especially when it came to the characters.

The story itself is interesting, but everything happens so conveniently and quickly that there’s no build up or tension considering the story and the powers that Ahn has. Evey new aspect to the story and any trouble that the characters get into is resolved so quickly and easily that I never felt worried for them when I should have. The ending with the climax was so rushed and the time jumps that skipped over parts left me feeling underwhelmed. The beginning was slow especially the travelling parts and I feel that this should have been reduced to extend the climax more and give us more answers because I was left with a lot of answers for a book that is standalone. It was great to see Chinese folklore inspired elements in the book though.

When it comes to the characters, I actually liked the side characters more than the main characters. Ahn confused me because she just so easily accepted everything that was told to her without me but refused to trust the one person that was actually trying to look out for her. Altan was so busy trying to get revenge that he was either brooding or pining for Ahn while also denying said feelings. His revenge wasn’t very thought out because he didn’t want to become emperor but was happy to create a power vacuum which would absolutely lead to war and cause more suffering. Their romance was also rushed and had no substance, I didn’t feel any chemistry between them or felt like I should root for them. It was interesting to see how the choices they made resulted in the events at the end of the book. And they both learn how the history they are taught is not always the full truth.

My favourite character was Leiye and I just want to know more about him and his past. We aren’t given any answers about why he chose to help Ahn and I want to know more about him. I also liked all the other side characters too but again wish we had been given more information about them. There was a lot that wasn’t explained about any of them which left me just wanting more answers than feeling satisfied when I finished.

This book didn’t work for me, maybe because I have read a lot of fantasy so my expectations were higher but I do think that anyone that wants to start reading fantasy would enjoy this book and younger teens would too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dual pov elements of this book- it helped make it feel much more real and alive! Such an interesting and intriguing story.

Jade Fire Gold was an absolutely fantastic read! One of the most highly anticipated books of the year! I would say this was the best YA read for me for the year.
Normally, I don't like reading in first person present tense, but it didn't matter in this book. The story immediately draws you in. It's even better reading from both Altan and Ahn's points of view!
An epic read, this book is amazing if you're looking for something adventurous! Mythology fans will devour this one. Best read without any disturbances. You won't want to put it down!

This was a fun read but lacked a little something for me to make it an outstanding read. I really enjoyed reading Jade Fire Gold, but I found myself just wanting a little more from it, more action, more depth in the Character's their motivations and the world that they are traversing. There were just a few moments where it felt predictable and it seemed to jump quickly through events that just left events feeling a bit hollow and didn't have emotional impact.

I will say the writing is elegant and flows beautifully. The Characters are enjoyable. I particularly loved some of the side characters. They really brought an element of fun and some mystery. They kept you guessing about motives more than the main characters so I found them to be more intriguing overall. The plot, while it doesn't shine with originality offers a comfort in its own recognisable and slightly predictable way as you traverse really beautiful and detailed world building. I thought the back stories of our two perspectives were incredibly detailed and interesting and I wish more of that had made it into the plot as they felt less predictable and had more emotional depth.

I think what bothers me most is the weird insta-love plotline. The way that progresses is just jarring. It starts off as a fun flirty romance that seems like it is going to build in in a fun enemies to lovers style way but instead in the middle of the book it goes from 0 to 60 in seconds and we go from hating each other to madly in love skipping all the fun ground work that was promised in the first flirty meeting. This becomes kind of jarring as the story goes on as one of the characters pines for the other in a really disjointed fashion. It just felt to me like we lost a bit of the build up which was the exciting part especially as it hinted at the "there is only one bed" trope, a fan favourite, then did nothing with it.

It seemed to just lack depth in a few areas, it promises a martial arts movies meets Chinese culture and Confucian tenets and while it really delivers in beautiful writing and detailed world building it lacks the action. Action scenes are sparsely described compared to the mythos and they just don't seem as elegantly constructed as the rest of the book. They just feel like they are told from the wrong perspective. We would switch into the other perspective for certain fights that it would have had more of a call to action, rush of adrenaline if we had witnessed it in the perspective of the person fighting. It caused a loss in momentum which I guess is the same problem that the insta-love introduced is jarring momentum switches as weird times.

Overall, this isn't a bad read, It is fun and entertaining it just lacked some originality and had some pacing issues that took away from a well written story. I would definitely like to read more from Tan maybe delving into some of the side characters and mythology?

Superb world building and a sweeping narrative.

I loved the characters, who each had their own well developed back story. There is wonderful characterisation in this dual narrative tale. I also really enjoyed the complicated family ties and trickery, and the perils of court life.

There's a great romance alongside the action and adventure this novel is filled with.

Jade Fire Gold has a rich mythology and enticing world building - a land where magic means power or death.

The epilogue at the end has left me very excited for book two.

Jade Fire Gold is a delightful debut infused with Chinese mythology. If you loved Avatar: The Last Airbender, please, do yourself a favor and pick up this book: the vibes are perfectly on point, but with way more angst and the Zutara romance we deserved all along.

Set in a perfectly crafted world, with such a fascinating magical system, this book shines for how well the plot and the characters are intertwined to create a tightly structured story. The plot itself was quite interesting, and even if certain twists were maybe a little bit predictable I still got surprised by them.
Unfortunately, sometimes the narration dragged down a bit and it missed that “spark” that would have made me extremely enthusiastic about it, but it was still pretty enjoyable as a whole.

This book’s strongest elements are clearly the characters. I was rooting for them throughout the whole course of the story, and it was wanting to know how their fates were going to play out what truly pushed me to keep reading- I needed to be sure that they were going to be okay.
The found family dynamic in this book is a real masterpiece: from the moment the strong bonds between these six adorable dorks come together, it’s impossible to not cry at least a little bit for how heartwarming and lovely is their relationship… but I also laughed, a lot, especially during certain scenes in the last few chapters.

What I loved the most is the way how Ahn and Atlan, two perfectly balanced half of the same whole, two children who lost everything when they were too young to process it, were able to find a safe place in each other from the start, even with all the lies and false truths- there were moments between them that were seriously some of the cutest things I’ve ever read.
In a way, this is due to the fact that, at the core, they both want deeply to protect the people they love… but Atlan can’t do it anymore, and so he turned himself to search for vengeance, for a way to atone his family’s legacy and protect the country he was meant to rule. Ahn, instead, was forced to combine this desire with a power that she is afraid of, and could doom all those who she cares about and who in turn care about her.

The secondary characters are equally amazing, all of them perfectly constructed and defined- especially Tang Wei, my favorite lesbian assassin who completely obscures everyone else when she is on-page and would definitely consider herself the main character (and that’s exactly why I would marry her on the spot if she asked me).

In a way, this book feels like the classic young adult fantasy, but with certain brilliant and unique elements.
So if you are looking for an easy read to get lost in, with a dangerous quest and amazing characters, Jade Fire Gold is the perfect choice.

This debut novel by June CL Tan is such a delight to read, I couldn’t put this down at all. This is a YA fantasy with slow-burn romance and magic. The world building in this is so god and the story flowed so well, I was invested in the characters completely and with that end, well I’m thinking it’s setting us up for a sequel, I’ll be there waiting eagerly

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Her destiny. His revenge. Ahn has no memories of her past, and a secret to hide. Altan is a prince, masquerading as a foreigner, trying to reclaim his rightful throne. Both will have to come to terms with losses in their past, both will have to fight for their place in the world.

June CL Tan's debut novel is a YA fantasy set in a rich world inspired by Chinese mythology, and it combines lots of elements that I love in a story: slow-burn romance, hidden identity, magic. I absolutely loved the world building in this novel: from the barren desert setting to the sumptuous palace, this was a colourful world that easily came to life in my imagination. The prose of this story flowed well, the writing was fast-paced and easily drew me into the story - I ended up devouring Jade Fire Gold in a couple of sittings.
The epilogue leaves the story wide open and sets it up for a sequel - I'm keeping my fingers crossed, as I would love to return to the world of Jade Fire Gold.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for a review.

Dark, alluring and tense, Jade Fire Gold features a bold voice in a lush fantasy woven out of myths both inspired and imagined. Not going to lie though, I kind of wished there was more epic-scale action sets given the stakes this book had but this book had way too many points in my good books for me to actually make a big deal about it.

Highly recommended for rich character drama and abundance of superb proses (also dark plot go brr)