Jade Legacy

The feeling of finishing this book can only be described as identical with that first clear deep breath of air you take after a sustained emotional breakdown. It's that cool relief and hope still tinged with bitter grief.Fonda Lee has tone in her bag. Have you ever read a book that just stressed you out so thoroughly but kept you coming back? That was every single book in this trilogy for me. From violent and bloody battles to the Sisyphean corporate meetings, how does an author manage to sustain a taut string of high tension for over nearly 2000 pages, I'll never know. And how she comes up with such gorgeous rich and varied characters, a whole WORLD of them, I can never wrap my head around.The meticulous detail she put into this entire series makes me wonder if she had a dedicated wall adorned with pins and string portioned off just to keep track of every character, every location, and every detail she has breathed to life. If ever there was a master of setup and payoff, it would be her. (Additionally and slightly aside, I feel like this is the only series I've ever read whose sex scenes actually add to the storytelling and weren't just spicy fan service.) This book in particular hit so many marks for me as a working 26 year old. I watched Hilo, Shae, and Anden grow from clueless kids roughly my age at the time I started reading to fully established and competent adults. I watched them grow families in what felt like the blink of an eye. I felt their struggles, I felt their worries, and I felt seen. I remain viciously proud of how far they've come and can only hope I can find my own clarity like they did theirs. Thank you [a:Fonda Lee 7705004 Fonda Lee https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1428795279p2/7705004.jpg] for such a fitting, tragic, and beautiful end (that final scene was GORGEOUS), to a series I'm not afraid to call the best I've ever read.