After reading Jade City, I was completely hooked on the characters/story and ready to dive right into this 2nd book of The Green Bone Saga, I had read and was told by some that this book suffered from 2nd-book syndrome and was just meh, but equally read and heard the opposite from others. I ended up falling hard into the latter camp.

The way Fonda Lee writes her characters has me drawn tightly into their perspectives, and I feel it all. Granted, there really aren't any good guys (so far) in this story, but I absolutely care about them - laughing and crying throughout. If you have ever watched the series The Sopranas, it is a very similar dynamic.

Normally, I would insert a light and quick read in between books with this type of heavy and somewhat dark plot line, but I am jumping right into the 3rd book - Jade Legacy. ( )

I liked this one quite a bit more than Jade City. The political intrigue was really interesting and there were many intense moments that kept me wanting to read on. I still don't feel as engaged with the individual characters as I would prefer, but there are enough satisfying moments and an interesting enough story line to make this an enjoyable read. ( )

I really liked this- [b:Jade City|43587154|Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)|Fonda Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547625704l/43587154._SY75_.jpg|55755047] was all about setting up the world of Kekon and the jade clan cultures, and with that established, War takes us to a more global perspective, as it becomes difficult to remain an insular nation post-world war equivalent. And while the clans would prefer to stick with tradition and not care about what goes on beyond the island, outside elements make that impossible (as well as lucrative, as inter-island war is expensive.)

A LOT happens in this book, and over a span of at least three years (based on how it's bookended by Anden's departure and return to Kekon). I sort of clocked passage of time through various means, but it marches on and sometimes I had to gauge the age of small child characters to figure out what was going on. I found Anden's plot most intriguing as it explored a diaspora community of Kekonese in Espenia (colloquially known as Kespenians which is neater than a hyphenated demonym), retaining some of the old ways as immigrant communities do, a snapshot of when they left but also having a modified version of their approach to Greenbone culture equivalents. Between Anden and Maro, there's also some commentary on being mixed race and how that's perceived, especially in insular communities.

I also really appreciated Shae's plot, though I'd like her to have some level of happiness at some point. The thing I liked most was how Lee approached Shae's unplanned pregnancy and subsequent abortion, as it's something I don't think we see depicted often in fiction let alone fantasy without being a Very Special Episode of a thing, and how pragmatic the character was about it which was true to who they are.

It still feels really novel to have fantasy in a world recognizable similar to ours but not quite- still a little bit mid century as we have phones and televisions, but the phones are rotary still. Also, we didn't bury our gays!

Looking forward to the consequences of Hilo's actions coming to roost as the next generation comes of age in [b:Jade Legacy|51057191|Jade Legacy (The Green Bone Saga, #3)|Fonda Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1565294729l/51057191._SX50_SY75_.jpg|72702671]. My husband tells me the time jumps are greater across that novel, which sort of makes sense because I'm sure Niko will eventually have questions... ( )

3.5 stars. I found the world building somewhat derivative and boring, and wasn’t excited about the writing, but the plot was good. ( )

Terrific. A slightly different story than the first, it goes in so many directions but Lee ensures the reader is never lost. Super readable, it's very cinematic and I found myself glued to the pages often. I never really knew which direction the story would go in, but expanding other countries/cultures into the gang war really opens a ton of possibilities. The characters continue to be interesting and worth investing in. Would love to see a movie/tv series one day. Onto Jade Legacy! ( )