DNF at 30%. Interesting premise for sure, but I just could not get past the writing style. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I expected the writing to be a bit on the more easily consumable side since this is classified as "Teens & YA". World building for fantasy geared toward this age group tends to be more simple, and I love that I can just jump into the story right away. Fantasy is also what pulled me into reading at a young age, so I have a soft spot for books like this. The premise of this also sounded really interesting and like it had a lot of potential to be a fun read.

The tone of this was unfortunately very flat for me, and I couldn't really get a sense at all of what the world of this book looked like. If this *is* geared toward young adults and teens, I think it might be a little *too* simplified. It reads very "this and that and then this".

While fairly censored, I'm not sure that the sexual content in this book makes this novel appropriately classified for the age group it's listed under. I believe it's important content like this is labeled properly with the way minors have access to books with mature content at the tap of a screen. "What will the gay boy do to me now?" was a line that took me entirely out of the story, the top being that it just wasn't something I imagine being said in a flirty tone as the text intends. I personally just didn't find it tasteful. It's tough to read fantasy, a genre in which you can write absolutely anything in the world.. and you can still use the word "gay" as a negative connotation, joking or not. The use of the term "metrosexual" in a fantasy setting geared toward today's audience isn't a joke I'm sure that would land.

Describing someone by using their race as an identifier is totally fine, but most instances in this book get carried away in this. All of the following are (spoiler friendly) lines that were really souring:

"Darla kicked the Asian man in the face and he fell to the ground. The Asian rolled away, ripped his shirt off, and morphed into a giant beast."
""..the Asian monster was still attacking Darla."
"[...]he leaped and threw himself on the tiny Arab, setting him ablaze as well."
"You mock me? May Allah take pity on you, freak. A fireball formed in the Arab's hand."

There were quite a few more, but these were just the ones I happened to annotate for the sake of review. I think it's easy to discern how deeply racist this is and would come across to most readers.

This book could benefit from a lot more editing.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and author for prodviding a free copy of The Jade Necklace in exchange for an honest review.

In this novel, we follow two main characters, Clara and Robin, who come from very different backgrounds, and I appreciated how the author explored their contrasting lives. The lore surrounding gargoyles, mages, vampires, and other supernatural elements was intriguing and added a fresh twist to the story, especially since I haven't read many books that feature gargoyles in this way.

I found Robin’s chapters particularly engaging—they flowed more smoothly and were easier to follow, which made his story stand out. However, Darla’s character felt a bit underdeveloped, as she seemed to primarily serve as a way to expand on Robin’s powers and storyline.

As for Clara, I struggled a bit to connect with her. Her backstory felt somewhat disjointed, and she doesn’t have much presence in the first half of the book, even though she’s the female lead.

The romantic subplots in the first half were a bit distracting, and I wasn’t sure it was the best choice to focus on these relationships at that stage. I didn't care much to read about both MC's developing feelings for other people. It made it harder for me to fully invest in the development of Robin and Clara’s relationship once they meet, especially since the pacing was already on the slower side.

I also found the writing, particularly the dialogue, a bit stiff at times, which made some interactions feel less natural.

Overall, while there were a few aspects of the book that didn’t fully resonate with me, I can see the potential in the plot and the unique world the author has created. With more development and refinement, I think this could become an even stronger story.

The Jade Necklace by Jad Phillip is such a masterpiece. I couldn't stop reading this book. I read it in a day and an afternoon. I couldn't stop reading this. So so good.