Of Jade and Dragons

Aihui Ying has always dreamed of leaving her little village behind and joining the engineers guild. But they don’t accept women. Too bad her dream comes true at the cost of her father’s death. Ying disguises herself as a boy and, with the help of a mysterious stranger, follows the killer’s trail to the capital, where if she’s caught, it means her death. But with vengeance and dreams in mind, that won’t stop her.

Where do I start? From the first page, I was hooked. The pace is good, not too slow even though there are several parts that easily could have been, but they’re not lingered on, and the action is well placed and not constantly happening. The characters are great. None are flat, and all have their own personality and goals. Even the ones that are similar are different from each other in the ways that count. There are several twists that are lightly foreshadowed, mainly in Ying’s questions and distrust, but other clues are hidden throughout. There are some times it feels like the plot bounces around, things happen suddenly and out of nowhere.