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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
4.5 stars
chloe gong's writing really shines through in this book. the way she uses the shakespearean play the book is inspired by and turns it into a captivating story using chinese history is so well done and i feel like her characters really shine through in this. juliette and roma are both not necessarily good people, but their flaws make them feel relatable and real. not only did the characters feel alive, but the setting did to. when reading, i could imagine walking around the streets of this mystifying, dangerous Shanghai. and let me tell you, i LOVE when i can imagine my own little motion picture in my head as im reading
this is probably one of my most heavily tabbed books :) going to be sad when i finish the secret shanghai series because i love all of the characters, both individually and together.
also really loved all of rosalind's appearances, having read foul lady fortune before this. my girl <3
chloe gong's writing really shines through in this book. the way she uses the shakespearean play the book is inspired by and turns it into a captivating story using chinese history is so well done and i feel like her characters really shine through in this. juliette and roma are both not necessarily good people, but their flaws make them feel relatable and real. not only did the characters feel alive, but the setting did to. when reading, i could imagine walking around the streets of this mystifying, dangerous Shanghai. and let me tell you, i LOVE when i can imagine my own little motion picture in my head as im reading
this is probably one of my most heavily tabbed books :) going to be sad when i finish the secret shanghai series because i love all of the characters, both individually and together.
also really loved all of rosalind's appearances, having read foul lady fortune before this. my girl <3
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
dark
mysterious
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I didn’t have high expectations for this one. It was sitting on my shelf for a long time untouched. It was super hyped upon release and then, like anything that gets too popular, there was a wave going in the other direction. Honestly, it’s not terrible at all. I am an immersive reader (physical copy + audiobook) so my reading experience won’t be the same as others who don’t utilize immersion in their reading. The beginning feels like any other start of a book. It sets the tone between the two gangs and the two MCs. The middle does get a bit boring to me. I zoned out a couple times. Towards the end is when it was interesting for me. The findings start coming together and action starts being taken to solve the issue at hand. I will say the logistics still confuse me a bit. The leaders of these two gangs (parents of the MCs) were insanely hands off with this looming terror happening amongst both their people. I get the “monsters aren’t real” mentality, but they really didn’t seem to care that much that folks were legitimately dying in their so called city. Even when an excessive amount of people start dying, nobody at one of the MCs house was none the wiser. Anyways, I didn’t hate it and will be reading the second book. Hopefully, it’s a good ending to the series.
DNF. My complaints about this book ultimately boil down to the fact that I'm not the target audience, and the way the narrator of the audiobook read it. If I was in middle school this would probably be my favorite book.
Things I loved: a young romance story from 2 perspectives, a powerful female protagonist, languages as plot device, comments on colonialism & xenophobia, when a setting gets to be a character.
Things that frustrated me: cheesy Shakespeare connections, verbose context explanations, the way the dialogue all gets a breakdown afterward. This book felt like it was trying to do a lot and hampered itself with what felt like very self-referential comments. It felt immature, but well-intentioned.
Things I loved: a young romance story from 2 perspectives, a powerful female protagonist, languages as plot device, comments on colonialism & xenophobia, when a setting gets to be a character.
Things that frustrated me: cheesy Shakespeare connections, verbose context explanations, the way the dialogue all gets a breakdown afterward. This book felt like it was trying to do a lot and hampered itself with what felt like very self-referential comments. It felt immature, but well-intentioned.
the plot is okay but in the middle of the book, it is kind of boring to read, like nothing really happen. but instead, the conclussion near the ending feels rushed. the characters were great tho. i love how juliette is just so ruthless and cruel in order to stay relevant as an heir and especially as a girl in a gang. i love roma love/hate relationship with violent and his friendship with marshall and benedikt. and marshall and benedikt!!!!! i wonder how the 2nd book going to be, now that it is alluded that they will be dealing with the same monster
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes