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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Very slow start, but I enjoyed reading it! I love the writing style from Chloe Gong, but I almost had to dnf beause of how slow it was. I also really enjoyed the politics of the mafia!
DNF at 40%. Did not like the writing style, too much adjectives and attempts at prose
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Momentami przewracałam oczami, ale bawiłam się naprawdę przednio. Uważam, że Chloe Gong zrobiła naprawdę świetną robotę zarysowywując sytuację polityczną w Shanghaiu, który znalazł się w pazurach Zachodu. W latach 20, dwudziestego wieku, Shangai nazywany był ,,Paryżem Wschodu"- dominowała europejska moda, architektura. Rozdarcie,zagubienie Julliet jest naprawdę dobrze przedstawione
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"which shade do you bleed, madame? scarlet or red?"
these violent delights bewitched me with its red-stained streets & vicious prose. it's one of those books that reads seamlessly--like wading through a river (the huangpu river, perhaps)--and everything about it is sinister, double-faced, & sometimes achingly vulnerable. that being said, the book was really slow for me, at least for the first half. many scenes were repetitive--with their constant themes of evil and sin--and the search for the roots of the madness was only going in circles. the characters, however, did steal my heart <3
"call a truce," juliette murmured against his lips. they needed to stop. she couldn't stop. "you are torturing me."
still sobbing over roma & juliette's love story--of course, i knew from the very start that their paths were destined for disaster, but the fact that they will forever be separated by the blood feud puts a golden, lily-etched knife in me TT
also, KATHLEEN. i loved every scene with her in it.
Spoiler
i swear, when marshall died i was literally about to start screaming LOL. & benedikt's reaction was SO SAD i'm still so not over the fact that marshall has to hide the truth of his fake death from benedikt AHHHhh. just, the way those 2 connect like a puzzle piece. if benedikt believes marshall is dead, then so does the city. my heart lies in pieces.brb, on my way to get our violent ends so that marshall and benedikt can be happy & in love together T^T (please don't break my already broken heart even more, chloe gong)
4 stars. a solid, gripping debut. my throat still hurts after reading this.
"do you not listen to me when i speak? i love you. i have always loved you."
Hmmmm I think I enjoyed the concept of this a bit more than the execution, which may be mostly due to the fact that I am not the target audience of YA, but even as I type that it rings a bit untrue. I'm a huge fan of many YA books, but this one in particular felt held back by the limitations that YA placed on this narrative.
I'm a sucker for Shakespeare retellings and Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai is an incredible premise. Had this been an adult novel it could have packed the punch that the premise deserved, but the fact that it was trying to appeal to a YA audience meant that the story felt a bit watered-down and censored, with a bit more hand-holding than I would have liked. I would have loved to have read whatever this novel could have been had it been allowed explore this premise and these themes more thoroughly, without feeling like it was still trying to stay palatable for a younger audience.
I'm a sucker for Shakespeare retellings and Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai is an incredible premise. Had this been an adult novel it could have packed the punch that the premise deserved, but the fact that it was trying to appeal to a YA audience meant that the story felt a bit watered-down and censored, with a bit more hand-holding than I would have liked. I would have loved to have read whatever this novel could have been had it been allowed explore this premise and these themes more thoroughly, without feeling like it was still trying to stay palatable for a younger audience.