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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Other books I’m more interested in rn, may come back to this when I’m in a different mood
not a romeo and juliet retelling, just a fantasy story with inspiration from romeo and juliet. no chemistry between the main characters. i liked the side characters wayyy more, found juliet unlikeable and roma predictable (also he’s a colonizer, sobbing). skin deep explanation of the political climate of the city (communism bad, capitalism help people). very average book
Satt i Shanghai, to gjenger mot hverandre, og jeg skjønte ikke før 70% ut i boka at "Roma og Juliette" er nye navn på Romeo og Julie. Både trans rep. og gay rep., og kritikk av kolonisme. Jeg likte den, og må nok lese neste bok for å se hva som skjer videre. Har ingenting å utsette annet enn at jeg var ikke -hooked-.
This book was like nothing I’ve read before. But it was so good. The Romeo and Juliet vibe mixed into this dystopian version of time was surprisingly good. I love the lovers to enemies to lovers again. Definitely a slow slow burn but it was so good.
I am scared of bugs now…..
I am scared of bugs now…..
dark
emotional
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
dark
fast-paced
4.25 STARS
I had a blast reading this, there was so much I liked. Firstly, Chloe Gong's writing was top tier, I just loved her descriptions, the way she would explain characters' emotions/feelings - something about it just really worked for me.
For a duology I though the amount of detail and layering in her world building was great, it didn't feel info-dumpy at any point but you can see the author put a lot of care into creating such a rich world. I adored the 1920s Shanghai setting and honestly this just reminded me why I need to pick up more historical fantasies in the future.
Part of the reason I picked this up when I did was because of the Romeo and Juliette retelling aspect of this story and it did not dissapoint! A true enemies to lovers mixed in with the history between Roma and Juliette played out perfectly. We go in pretty early on aware of Romeo's 'betrayal' but not quite sure what it actually is, so getting to watch that unfold and the massive scene where Juliette has to put on a massive act to save everyone she cares about was a heartbreaking but satisfying conclusion to the book.
I didn't know how many marks of the original source material this story would hit but I had a fun time seeing some of those, the obvious ones such as the family names and characters' names but also the balcony scene and my favourite the poison which Juliette uses at the end of the book. I can't wait to see if there'll be any more in the second book.
I had a blast reading this, there was so much I liked. Firstly, Chloe Gong's writing was top tier, I just loved her descriptions, the way she would explain characters' emotions/feelings - something about it just really worked for me.
For a duology I though the amount of detail and layering in her world building was great, it didn't feel info-dumpy at any point but you can see the author put a lot of care into creating such a rich world. I adored the 1920s Shanghai setting and honestly this just reminded me why I need to pick up more historical fantasies in the future.
Part of the reason I picked this up when I did was because of the Romeo and Juliette retelling aspect of this story and it did not dissapoint! A true enemies to lovers mixed in with the history between Roma and Juliette played out perfectly. We go in pretty early on aware of Romeo's 'betrayal' but not quite sure what it actually is, so getting to watch that unfold and the massive scene where Juliette has to put on a massive act to save everyone she cares about was a heartbreaking but satisfying conclusion to the book.
I didn't know how many marks of the original source material this story would hit but I had a fun time seeing some of those, the obvious ones such as the family names and characters' names but also the balcony scene and my favourite the poison which Juliette uses at the end of the book. I can't wait to see if there'll be any more in the second book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
this book is kinda slow. for a mystery fantasy type book i expected to be more on the edge of my seat. but found myself really gripped at the end. might read the second book, might not.