Basically many things in this book could’ve gone deeper, it has a lot of potential, and I’m left hungry for more. I would’ve loved to see the characters struggle more with their morals, with the idea of power, I wanted more internal conflict, more corruption, wanted to see things taken further. What’s disappointing to me is that there were so many things to love moments, ideas, but when I look at the book in its entirety, it feels forgettable, it feels like those cool things are a bit lost in the midst of everything else… There was nothing really surprising about the plot or the characters. I was underwhelmed by it and frankly disappointed. The resolution didn’t feel satisfying to me and I’m still not sure how this ending really happened since it was so rushed.

A pretty big part of the book was predictable and lacked originality, which kept me from fully enjoying Jade Fire Gold.I really feel like pages were spent on things that didn’t necessarily matter to the plot, and this wasn’t even balanced by character development. This is told in the first person and I think there should’ve been a more obvious difference between the chapters in Altan’s POV and the ones in Ahn’s. The alternating points of view, as I often struggled to see the difference between them.This wasn’t helped by the lack of character development. I was expecting a slower development but it ended up being forced. It felt rushed, sometimes excessively cheesy for my taste. The palace was interesting to me as a place of power where people meet and scheme I was also intrigued by Altan’s background, his family history and his links with the other characters. The main relationship was not the one I was the most interested in, but I loved the side characters and the potential they had. I ended up liking who they were individually but also their friendships and the various dynamics between them.

At first, they felt very stereotypical of the genre and I struggled to connect with them and find them interesting. It definitely took me some time to warm up to them.

The characters and dynamics, especially the side characters.

Jade Fire Gold was also full of good ideas and interesting scenes, which kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I also liked how mythical creatures were included in the story, especially the phoenix, which is a creature that I’ve always been interested in. The world building was maybe not the most complex one I’ve ever read, but it was easy to understand and to imagine. Based on the blurb, Jade Fire Gold had the potential to be a new YA fantasy favorite for me. I expected an epic tale, with original characters.

For all time by shanna miles