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bluelilyleest's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Chloe Gong putting me behind on my reading challenge again because her books are so damn long 😅
So, I loved it. I get why people say the second book is better than the first, because in terms of character interaction/profiles/development, it did much more. The plot was thicc, the pace was fast but still allowed for funny moments or background information, the setting and atmosphere were immersive.
Then why do I not rate it 5 stars, you ask? I ask myself the same question. I can't quite put my finger on what was lacking, and therefore you probably shouldn't take my review too seriously. It was a great retelling of what we know to be Romeo and Juliet. I think now, whenever Shakespeare's play is mentioned, I will think about Gong's Romeo and Juliet, too, and I believe that is no small feat.
So, I loved it. I get why people say the second book is better than the first, because in terms of character interaction/profiles/development, it did much more. The plot was thicc, the pace was fast but still allowed for funny moments or background information, the setting and atmosphere were immersive.
Then why do I not rate it 5 stars, you ask? I ask myself the same question. I can't quite put my finger on what was lacking, and therefore you probably shouldn't take my review too seriously. It was a great retelling of what we know to be Romeo and Juliet. I think now, whenever Shakespeare's play is mentioned, I will think about Gong's Romeo and Juliet, too, and I believe that is no small feat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, War, Death, and Suicide
Minor: Xenophobia and Misogyny
annabeth324's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Violence
sofieean's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, Death, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
serendipity421's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Murder, Violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
Minor: Drug use
pinkvogue's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
ghostsversion's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Okay this was far better. Not by a lot but still. Honestly it’s probably the fact that we already knew the characters so there was no reason to waste time on unnecessary descriptions. Straight to the chase. Even when we find out that Marshall’s father is the Nationalist General or that Rosalind is the traitor it feels more gradual. Although I will say I did not expect a re-enactment of the war scene from ACOTAR . You know which one. Otherwise I'd say this has definitely given me hope for the next books in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Xenophobia, Child death, Cursing, Grief, Blood, Medical content, Violence, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny
giulidrago's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"Combatterò questa guerra per amarti, Juliette Cai. Combatterò questa faida per averti, perchè è stata la faida a darmi te, per quanto oscura essa sia, e adesso io ti porterò via da lei." "Guarderò la paura in faccia. Oserò amarti Roma Montagov, e se la città mi distruggerà per questo, che faccia pure."
PER L'AMOR DEL CIELO.
Questo secondo volume è meno perfetto di quanto mi sarei aspettata, considerata la prova eccellente di Queste Gioie Violente; i suoi difetti sono difficilmente trascurabili, come la prima metà della storia che replica le dinamiche del primo libro (sebbene con i ruoli di Juliette e Roma scambiati), e gli ultimi capitoli troppo frettolosi se comparati al ritmo adottato in precedenza, ma per la prima volta nella mia vita ho lanciato un grido per lo sgomento a causa di un colpo di scena, quindi mi sento di dire che perdono tutto.
Il percorso di crescita di Juliette e Roma, come individui e coppia, non scade mai nello stereotipo e arricchisce l'archetipo, e ho apprezzato tantissimo come vengano indagati e presentati i loro stati d'animo, spesso contrastanti e in continua evoluzione: la rabbia di Juliette ha un motivo e non la limita dentro un cerchio invalicabile di azioni, non la rende un essere inumano e non è mai una debolezza, e lo stesso vale per la gentilezza di Roma. La graduale presa di coscienza di Juliette su quanto sia effimera e crudele contro la sua stessa gente l'eredità scarlatta, costretta al confronto dalla guerra civile tra nazionalisti e comunisti che scombina ogni alleanza e calpesta anche i sacri vincoli familiari e di protezione è stata la cosa che ho preferito di tutto il romanzo.
I personaggi secondari hanno avuto molto più spazio ed è stato bello e doloroso scavare dentro di loro e assistere alle loro scelte, sbagliate e impulsive e dettate dalla vendetta e dal desiderio di difendere i propri cari.
Chloe Gong è stata molto abile nel trattare la materia originale, inserendo con intelligenza tanti piccoli riferimenti che impreziosiscono la storia e rendono felici noi fan di Shakespeare, senza aver paura di giocarci e adattarla al suo libro. Ogni cambiamento ha un suo perchè ed è coerente con i personaggi e la storia, guidato non dall'intenzione di scioccare il lettore o di stabilire una dominanza sull'opera prima, ma di dialogare con il modello e rendere questa comunicazione ancora fruttuosa, perchè se siamo ancora nel 2023 a parlare di Romeo e Giulietta dopo circa cinquecento anni, significa che ha ancora qualcosa da dirci.
PER L'AMOR DEL CIELO.
Questo secondo volume è meno perfetto di quanto mi sarei aspettata, considerata la prova eccellente di Queste Gioie Violente; i suoi difetti sono difficilmente trascurabili, come la prima metà della storia che replica le dinamiche del primo libro (sebbene con i ruoli di Juliette e Roma scambiati), e gli ultimi capitoli troppo frettolosi se comparati al ritmo adottato in precedenza, ma per la prima volta nella mia vita ho lanciato un grido per lo sgomento a causa di un colpo di scena, quindi mi sento di dire che perdono tutto.
Il percorso di crescita di Juliette e Roma, come individui e coppia, non scade mai nello stereotipo e arricchisce l'archetipo, e ho apprezzato tantissimo come vengano indagati e presentati i loro stati d'animo, spesso contrastanti e in continua evoluzione: la rabbia di Juliette ha un motivo e non la limita dentro un cerchio invalicabile di azioni, non la rende un essere inumano e non è mai una debolezza, e lo stesso vale per la gentilezza di Roma. La graduale presa di coscienza di Juliette su quanto sia effimera e crudele contro la sua stessa gente l'eredità scarlatta, costretta al confronto dalla guerra civile tra nazionalisti e comunisti che scombina ogni alleanza e calpesta anche i sacri vincoli familiari e di protezione è stata la cosa che ho preferito di tutto il romanzo.
I personaggi secondari hanno avuto molto più spazio ed è stato bello e doloroso scavare dentro di loro e assistere alle loro scelte, sbagliate e impulsive e dettate dalla vendetta e dal desiderio di difendere i propri cari.
Chloe Gong è stata molto abile nel trattare la materia originale, inserendo con intelligenza tanti piccoli riferimenti che impreziosiscono la storia e rendono felici noi fan di Shakespeare, senza aver paura di giocarci e adattarla al suo libro. Ogni cambiamento ha un suo perchè ed è coerente con i personaggi e la storia, guidato non dall'intenzione di scioccare il lettore o di stabilire una dominanza sull'opera prima, ma di dialogare con il modello e rendere questa comunicazione ancora fruttuosa, perchè se siamo ancora nel 2023 a parlare di Romeo e Giulietta dopo circa cinquecento anni, significa che ha ancora qualcosa da dirci.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, and Violence
shelvesofivy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Torture and Body horror
Minor: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and War
archiveofrasa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
this story definitely isn't the best of this genre but it sure was entertaining.
I finished it in 3 days (2, technically, because I read until 3 am to finish it) and I was not expecting me to be kicking my blanket and silent screaming at the last 100 pages. while I do wish some things were built on more than they were, there was some really nice payoffyes, I'm talking about when Benedikt found out that Marshall was alive to things set up in the previous book. I'm glad they managed to tie the monster with the blood fued; I feel like that's one of the things I was missing in the previous book.
as for the plot twists, there were a lot and I can say that I clocked some of them very quicklyRosalind and Dimitri , but again some others I don't think were as built up as I would've wanted them to be Marshall and General Shu . they were still entertaining and I wasn't looking for a serious book to dissect the craft of. this sucked me in and I really don't know what it was about it.
definitely need to read the Last Violent Call sometime soon. I don't think I'm ready to let the main characters go quite yet.
I finished it in 3 days (2, technically, because I read until 3 am to finish it) and I was not expecting me to be kicking my blanket and silent screaming at the last 100 pages. while I do wish some things were built on more than they were, there was some really nice payoff
as for the plot twists, there were a lot and I can say that I clocked some of them very quickly
definitely need to read the Last Violent Call sometime soon. I don't think I'm ready to let the main characters go quite yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
randirush's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence
Minor: Death