Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix

Admittedly, I haven't read all of the Remixed Classics series (of which there are a lot now!), but the ones I have read have been great! This one is no exception! It captures the essence of the original play while putting a new spin on it. Honestly, making Romeo gay works so well for the story, and I loved the way this changed his relationship with Juliet.

The romance, of course, is fantastic, even though it includes insta-love (which is not my favorite). But you kind of have to include it if you're staying true to the original story. Of course, there's tragedy, but not quite the tragedy we get in the original play. There's more hope in this one! All in all, I just really enjoyed this gay spin on the classic Romeo and Juliet.

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aceofknives's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

I read this as an advance bound manuscript.
It's an excellent queer retelling of Romeo and juliet where Romeo is gay and juliet is asexual. Frought with the same political intrigue and fueds as the play. I loved juliets character so much. As an aro ace it was so great to see a boom with two asexual characters (the other being a side character monk). I highly recommend.

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ezwolf's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book gave me a lot of emotions and it was fantastic and I loved every moment of it. Romeo was a bit of a disaster, but I loved him for it and Valentine is just so sweet. Juliet is honestly so relatable for me too.

One of the most important things I loved was that on top of our main character and love interest being gay we are also given some good asexual and aromantic representation! There was also a great discussion with Romeo and Juliet about how even though Romeo is limited by his lot in life, Juliet is even more limited as a woman with little to no agency in their society and it forces Romeo to consider from someone else's perspective.

This is the second book I've read in the Remixed Classics series (A Clash of Steel was the first) and I cannot wait to read more of them. Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa will be next!

For those of you who are like me who see that this is a retelling of a story the main characters die and are worried about Romeo and Valentine I want to assure you that we are given a queer happily ever after.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

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