'Jade Fire Gold' by June C.L. Tan: A Blog Tour Review // Enemies-to-Lovers Romance, Chinese Mythology & An Adorable Found Family!

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the Jade Fire Gold by June C. L. Tan Blog Tour hosted by Caffeine Book Tours!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Caffeine Book Tours and HarperTeen for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from an advanced reader copy and may change in final publication.

Title: Jade Fire Gold
Author: June C.L. Tan
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pub. date: 12 October 2021
Series: DEBUT
Page count: 464
Source: Caffeine Book Tours
Genre: young adult, fantasy

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Girls of Paper and Fire meets The Tiger at Midnight in June CL Tan’s stunning debut, inspired by Chinese mythology, with rich magic and an epic slow-burn romance.

In an empire on the brink of war . . .

Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.

Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.

But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

Ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, and a captivating romance collide in June CL Tan’s debut, a stunning homage to the Xianxia novel with a tender, beating heart, perfect for fans of The Bone Witch and We Hunt the Flame.

Content warnings: self-harm (gouging, eye horror; non-graphic); child abuse (physical, verbal, emotional manipulation/gaslighting); parent death (implied, off-page); character deaths; mentions and descriptions of fantasy/magical violence (blood, war, political violence); mentions and descriptions of physical symptoms that might be triggering to those with emetophobia; alcohol consumption

Despite being a debut novel that has not come out yet, I have been seeing this book all over Bookstagram. My best friend is Malaysian Chinese, so I got introduced and fell in love with the brief look I got into the Chinese culture whenever we got the chance to meet up (since we live in different countries!). But we still get the chance to connect over Asian TV dramas and movies on a regular basis even with thousands of miles between us. Reading a book with those influences by a Singaporean Chinese author sounded absolutely magical to me, so here I am to gush about my experience reading Jade Fire Gold!

Jade Fire Gold starts with the story of how Atlan, the heir to the Shi Empire, ends up alone and orphaned in the deserts when his uncle seizes control of the throne under the guise of an attack from a neighbouring kingdom. Though Atlan survives he is lost in the desert and taken in by a friend of his father’s, Master Sun. Atlan bides his time, training his physical and magical affinities as he is a Tiensai, a people of his kingdom with magical properties who are shunned and hunted by the order of the Deiyeh priests on the orders of his uncle, who is Emperor.

When his uncle dies, Atlan plots with his friends, Tang Wei and Linxi, to find the Life Stealer, a being who can bring peace to the empire with their powers and a mythical sword during this tumultuous period of transition.

Meanwhile, we meet Ahn, an orphan girl who was raised by Ama in the outskirts of the empire in a village too poor to even garner any notice. Her biggest concern is earning enough money to keep her Ama’s health stable. But Ahn’s past starts catching up to her and she starts to realise that it might be time to figure out exactly what happened to her ten years ago when Ama found her.

Once Atlan and Ahn’s paths cross, they set in motion a grand scheme that challenges the empire’s history, their loved ones and their own feelings for each other.

Jade Fire Gold had some excellent characters! I literally loved every protagonist and side character! Ahn was amazing because I loved how she grew into her full potential from a poor orphan girl. Atlan is scarred, untrusting at the beginning but he really opens up by the end of the story. Tang Wei and Linxi were just super adorable! I would love reading more about them! Leiye and Tai Shun, both significant characters from Atlan’s past, made such big impressions on me too, and I would just love love love more about them!

I was so enmeshed in the ‘good guys’ that the villains did not really make a huge impression on me. I felt like the real challenge for the protagonists was more towards finding out the realities of the past and pushing past their comfort zones, so I did not mind the villains making such huge impressions.

Simply put, the writing was excellent. It was so smooth and the chapters were really paced. Personally, I am not a fan of long chapters, so I loved the length of the chapters here, and I love that the author did not linger on every little moment of their quest.

Also, the absolutely gorgeous lines I came across in this book? God, I want more of those! I have shared a few of those below, but gosh, some of those lines destroyed me!

As a non-Chinese POC, I did not find any of the cultural references difficult to understand though I did have to Google a few of the words. But since I had a reviewer’s copy, I am not sure if the final copy would have a glossary.

Jade Fire Gold was written in dual POV with both Atlan and Ahn’s perspectives. I loved this because the two of them came from very different places, so it was wonderful to see how they ultimately bonded and got along. The dual POV is probably the perfect way to have written this story.

Squeezing in a quest trope into a standalone fantasy is a tremendous task. In addition to the world-building, the story progression has to stay on pace as well.

Jade Fire Gold has a very strong premise. I love the idea of Atlan’s quest and how Ahn factors into it. I was pleasantly taken by surprise a few times and I count that as a good thing. The story starts out really strong and I really loved the journey through the middle of the story too. However, I did feel that the ending was a bit rushed. I loved how the story ended but could it have happened at its own sweet time? I think it could have.

But the epilogue! Be warned that the epilogue is a bit of cliffhanger because it hints at the possibility of a continuation though Jade Fire Gold is a standalone. My fingers are itching to preorder whatever the author decides to write next honestly.

Jade Fire Gold is set mainly set within the Shi Empire. I loved the history and culture I got to glimpse in this book, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more. I get the feeling the author might explore the other kingdoms if she writes more based on this universe, so I am so ready for that!

My favourite thing about this book’s world-building was that the characters had to unlearn and relearn quite a bit of their history, and isn’t that something we should all learn to do in this day and age? The Life Stealer’s history itself was pretty elusive and mysterious, but once these incidents from the past were properly dug up, they were actually quite sad and pitiful in a sense. I couldn’t help sympathising with the characters throughout the story.

I liked how the mythology was weaved into the story too. The Soul Beasts, the Jade Sword, the red thread of fate… they were fantastic components of the story. I loved the magic system too. I can see why this book was pitched as similar to ATLA because the elemental magic really felt that way.

This is an #ownvoices debut fantasy since written by a Chinese author and the whole cast of characters are Chinese-coded. There are Achillean male side characters, both badass and gentle cinnamon rolls. There are sapphic female side characters who are in a relationship. Jade Fire Gold is set in a more-or-less queer normative world.

Jade Fire Gold is a thrilling, fantastic debut #ownvoices young adult fantasy that explores Chinese mythology, finding one’s own destiny and a beautiful slow-burn romance. Read it for the beautiful world-building, the badass characters, the found family that will wreck you, and the enemies-to-lovers romance! A debut novel that had me enthralled from the first page!

Here’s more Jade Fire Gold content you should check out: Cherelle’s review, Mesal’s review, Kashvi’s Q&A with the author, Brandee’s review

The gods were cruel, and men were merely puppets in a grand play staged for the amusement of bored immortals.

Pages can be burnt; words, erased. Scribes can be persuaded to write new tales, new books. A new past to suit the agenda of those in power. History is never written by its victims.

“Just because you have the power to take a life, it does not mean you should”…

Life is but a dream, and death is returning home.

Ahn reminds me of that tree, its fragile blossoms so stubborn they insist on coming to life when there is no life to be found.

june c l tan author photo — Processed with Focos

June CL Tan grew up in Singapore where she was raised on a diet of classic books and wuxia movies, caffeine and congee. She holds various degrees in communication studies, education, and film. After teaching for a few years, she took a detour into the finance industry. To no one’s surprise, she soon realized her mistake and made her escape. Now, she resides in New York City, talking to imaginary people and creating fantastical worlds under the watchful eye of her crafty cat. She enjoys telling stories that draw on both the traditional and modern to create something fresh to the eye, but familiar to the heart. Jade Fire Gold is her debut novel.