Was it possible, Lan wondered, to be both a strong leader and a compassionate person, or were those two things opposing forces, pushing each other away?

The Green Bone Saga has been on my radar for some time and was anxious to read it, but also braced myself because my book preferences don't always align with what's popular. Jade City was a pleasant surprise in every way possible.

Lee has introduced plenty of complex layers and intrigue in this story that it's not all magic and fighting. There is a clan war that is fought in the streets but also subtly by influencing other nations, controlling politicians or influencing supply and demand to achieve clan goals. A victor won't be named on one aspect alone and it will be fun to see the story play out.

The biggest pleasure in the book was the characters. The family dynamics were very enjoyable and I liked how the characters weren't flat but also not wildly unpredictable in their behaviours too. The stakes are real and I like having concern for a character and uncertain if or how they will survive a situation. There are conversations that happen between characters and not all are explicitly written out either so there was a fun element of reading and finding out what the strategy is.

Happy to be reading a story where I find the hype justified and will gladly carry on with the series.