Hi guys! Welcome back to my blog or if you’re new here then welcome in a whole other way! 👋 Today’s post is a book review of Jade is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton, narrated by Julienne Irons. It was gifted by Netgalley in return for an honest review but I ended up getting the audiobook using an audible credit when physically reading it myself proved to be difficult. I have it set up so that I can read netgalley books on my kindle but they oftentimes appear tampered with and do not clearly label the chapters properly so I occasionally opt for audiobooks instead which is what happened in this case. Anyway! Let’s jump straight into the review!!
Summary
For fans of Queenie and Honey Girl, a coming-of-age story about queer Black identity, love, passion, chosen family, and rediscovering life’s pleasures after loss.
Jade Brown, a twenty-four-year-old first-generation Jamaican woman living in Toronto, must find a way to pick up the pieces and discover who she is following the mysterious death of her twin sister.
Grappling with her grief, Jade seeks solace in lovers and friends during an array of hilarious and heartbreaking adventures. As she investigates some of life’s most frustrating paradoxes, she holds tight to old friends and her ex-girlfriend, lifelines between past and present. On the journey to turning twenty-five, she finally sees that she belongs to herself, and goes about the business of reclaiming that self.
Through a series of whirlwind love affairs, parties, and trips abroad, Jade stumbles toward relinquishing the weight of her trauma as she fully comes into her own as a young Black woman and writer.
Review
⭐️⭐️/5
From the beginning I noticed that the author has a captivating way of describing a setting/scene/surroundings and delving deeper into what some may deem as trivial. They breathed life into each and every detail but then that somewhat frayed when we were invited into the main characters life. I lost track of the story more than once and some of the scenes were sporadic to me, not fitting very well. It went back and forth from the past and present so many times that I became confused about where the story was and there were so many people to remember it had my head spinning.
After a while I opted for the audiobook to see if that was any better but it was still lost on me and I know it’s probably just an audiobook thing but the narrator kept switching accents on and off for different characters so I became confused as to whether or not the characters had them and who in fact was speaking, it was rather odd but maybe it was meant and I just didn’t understand.
I found myself forgetting what had just been read out and it felt like what I was hearing didn’t matter to the storyline anyway. Jade as a character confused me at times and the plot felt weak, as though none of it would amount to anything. I feel so bad for saying that but it’s just my opinion. I couldn’t connect with Jade no matter the situation, its a shame seeing as she was the main focus even tho the story did delve into other characters lives too. She seemed very closed in on herself and others only entered the equation when/if they benefitted her. I think the book could have done with a bit of Jade taking others feelings into account and that would have rounded up the story nicely.
I loved Tanya Turton’s way of writing despite this book not being for me which is why I went as far as giving it 2 stars instead of one. I measured it up against The Girls Are Good by Ilaria Bernardini which I gave 1 star and it felt fair.
And there we have it! Thank you for checking out this review! Have you read Jade is a Twisted Green before? Let me know in the comments below. I’ll see you again next Friday but until then, stay safe, take care and buh-bye! ✨️💕
Elsie LMC 