Randomly started this one from my Kindle TBR since I'm looking for a YA fantasy and this one has dragons in the title and this one is such an accurate recommendation if you're looking for something that is synonymous to Mulan.

Of Jade and Dragons started strong with how Aihui Ying's father was found dead by an unknown assasin which triggered the domino that led to Ying taking the matter in her own hands and starting an investigation.

And after sniffing her father's room, it seems that the clues are pointing towards the acclaimed Engineer's Guild - a place where her father thrives until he left to have time with the Aihui family. But the Guild is only accepting male scholars hence Aihui Ying planned to enter the trial under the guise of a young boy named Aihui Min.

From then, Ying encountered a lot of help and struggles but the highlight is when she accidentally crossed path with Yeyang of the Aogiya clan who sponsored her for the Guild's trial.

I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and I'm particularly invested on how Aihui Ying will make it to the Guild's trial and with how she will make it until the end of the program and be certified as an engineer of the empire. Academia + political drama from the Aogiyas = one hell of an adventure that is equally entertaining and thrilling to read.

Aside from that, there is also an element of romance between Aihui Ying and Yeyang which developed unexpectedly and even if their personalities clashed at the start, it was an adventure to read how it bloomed until the end.

Also, the commentary about how our sexist society hurts the women and the deprived is topnotch! When it was comped to Mulan, my expectation is that the book will have this element and good thing it was delivered.

And yes, this is a duology and it sucks that we have to wait for a year before we know what happens next but this one is definitely worth the wait. 4stars!

Thank you Penguin Teen for the e-ARC!