Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
A fantasy in 1920s Shanghai? Sign me up - or so I had thought. I kept reading until the end hoping that whatever I expected from this book would happen but no. All we really get is a sense of "shit's about to go down" but none of the things that happen seemed to have much of an impact on me as a reader. The characters were there, present, but I felt like I was kept at a distance from them and never got to know them in a way that would be meaningful. I've read more references to who uses what language at the moment than actually meaningful things about any of the characters. It was frustrating, actually, and I'm sad to say that I was very disappointed in this book.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was fun ig... a little boring
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence
I found myself very fascinated by the world and the politics between the rival families, but the pacing was rather off, with a very slow middle and the notion of there being a history between Roma and Juliette but not getting quite enough to really make us curious. I also found myself much more interested in Kathleen and Benedict/Marshall than I was in Roma/Juliette, so only getting the briefest tastes of their stories wasn't enough to whet my appetite.
I did love that it was essentially "true to life" with the kind of hidden notion of "maybe there's something supernatural going on but maybe it's just superstitious commoners". But we also don't get to see a whole lot of interactions with the common folk.
It felt like a long book that could have been slimmed down quite a bit. I'm definitely still interested enough to read book two though!
I did love that it was essentially "true to life" with the kind of hidden notion of "maybe there's something supernatural going on but maybe it's just superstitious commoners". But we also don't get to see a whole lot of interactions with the common folk.
It felt like a long book that could have been slimmed down quite a bit. I'm definitely still interested enough to read book two though!
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Slow and confusing. The vocab drew me crazy. Lowkey poetic.
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