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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Second read: God, it’s not even funny how much I love this book. The first half of this book honestly was boring, which I had completely forgotten when I read the first time. I was scared I wasn’t going to like it the same until the second half, then all was forgiven. I was on the edge of my seat, speeding through it while silently crying not wanting it to end, but ECSTATIC to read my favorite book again Our Violent Ends. In truth, this is probably a 4.5 star due to the slowness of the beginning but no. It’s 5 stars lol!!
First read: *no review*
First read: *no review*
Alles was mich interessiert, ist die Beziehung zwischen Marshall und Benedikt. Von da her war das Ende gut. Der Rest der Story war vorhersehbar leider.
DNF at 35% so many people on TikTok love this book and it just isn’t doing it for me. The storyline has potential but it’s just boring and the character development is flat. I’m just gonna say no.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I found the main characters to be the least compelling in this book, which made their parts drag a lot more. Juliette annoyed me so much. She acted just like a spoiled brat who could treat her workers the way she wanted just because she was "above them" in title. And her breakdown at the end about "becoming monstrous by killing innocent people" felt so forced and inconsistent. So you have no problem with terrorising your servants but the moment you accidentally kill the wrong person, that's where you draw the line? What? That kind of baseless guilt does NOT make her a good person. I'm convinced she cares for no one at all except those in her inner circle, those she loves. Not only that but she came off as incredibly arrogant and condescending, such as when she used to scoff at the fashion of other women and dressed differently because she was "not like the other girls". It doesn't matter if she, as an American immigrant, felt out of place here; it doesn't give her the right to belittle their cultural practices. Also, Roma had absolutely nothing going on for him.
Despite all that, I thought the story was fairly good and I liked the side characters a lot (specifically Benedikt and Marshall). If I read the next book it will only be for them.
Despite all that, I thought the story was fairly good and I liked the side characters a lot (specifically Benedikt and Marshall). If I read the next book it will only be for them.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I loved this book, the characters, the premise, it kept me riveted. Why then, did I give it only 4 stars? To be completely honest because I am slightly squeamish and 100% horror adverse and I would say this novel has elements of horror in it that personally, I could have done without. That being said, I absolutely loved reading about Shanghai, I loved the mystery and trying to figure out how all of the pieces fit together and I will 100% be reading the next novel. Also having played Romeo in a Romeo and Juliet play when I was younger I absolutely was blown away by Chloe's reimagining of the classic story. One aspect that I was a little bit disappointed in was that Chloe didn't dive a little deeper into was the backstory of the monster, but it is possible we will get more of that in the next book. I would definitely recommend this book!
3.5 stars, leaning to 3 more than 4.
well-written worldbuilding, believable character building & writing. i truly felt the griminess & clutter that is 1920s shanghai through the words.
there are some parts where it, weirdly, was a "show" that felt more like a "tell". too much exposition jumbled in areas, part of me feels that it may have been better if there was just dedicated flashback chapters or starting in the past instead of trying to interlace them with the present. not invested in the romance aspect as much as a romance YA should elicit, no fault of the characters, but i guess roma & juliette felt more like tense colleagues than tense past-lovers.
really good debut, not amazing or breath-taking, but really good. still well-written though, definitely will read the sequel once it's out
well-written worldbuilding, believable character building & writing. i truly felt the griminess & clutter that is 1920s shanghai through the words.
there are some parts where it, weirdly, was a "show" that felt more like a "tell". too much exposition jumbled in areas, part of me feels that it may have been better if there was just dedicated flashback chapters or starting in the past instead of trying to interlace them with the present. not invested in the romance aspect as much as a romance YA should elicit, no fault of the characters, but i guess roma & juliette felt more like tense colleagues than tense past-lovers.
really good debut, not amazing or breath-taking, but really good. still well-written though, definitely will read the sequel once it's out
dark
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
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated