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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the sequel to Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, in which we were introduced to Romeo Mahyanai and Juliet Catresou, and the city of Viyara. This book concentrates much more on Romeo and Juliet instead of Paris and Runajo/Rosaline, who were arguably the main characters of the first book.
So, as a quick recap, the city of Viyara/Verona is the last city anywhere in the world, as far as anyone in the city knows. A mystical event called The Ruining manifested as a white fog and spread over the entire world, killing everything in its path, and making the dead rise as zombies. The only reason Viyara stands is because some long-dead priestess managed to create mystical walls to protect it - but the walls are fueled by blood. Willing, sometimes coerced people are sacrificed on a regular basis to fuel the walls and keep the rest of the city safe. Juliet is not actually Juliet, but THE Juliet, a nameless girl raised and mystically bound to the clan of the Catresou, obedient to the head of the clan and bound to avenge any unnatural deaths of the family. She, however, falls in love with Romeo.
The first book plays out their love story, while seeing events around it through the eyes of Runajo and Paris. By the second book, Romeo and Juliet each think the other is dead, though Romeo has discovered that's a lie, Runajo has ideas about how to save the city from the Ruining, and Romeo and Juliet have switched sides. Her mystical bindings have been transferred to Romeo's clan, and Romeo, through guilt and remorse, has transferred his loyalties to Juliet's clan.
The second book concentrates on saving the city, the last bastion of humanity. There are zombies, and sacrifices, and sword fights, and stolen kisses. Things really get complicated when Romeo accidentally kills a Mahyanai and Juliet's mystical bindings kick in, compelling her to kill him. She operates under that compulsion for most of the last half of the book, while still being utterly in love with him and trying to fight the compulsion.
It's hard to do this book justice; the web is very complex and, like any Romeo and Juliet story, only ends in death. In Hodge's world, however, the mystical bindings on Juliet have made her a key to the land of death, allowing her to cross over while still alive. So we get a journey through Death's kingdom, and it is fascinating.
I won't say anymore, but if you like Shakespeare, and you like fantasy, you should totally read this duology.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
So, as a quick recap, the city of Viyara/Verona is the last city anywhere in the world, as far as anyone in the city knows. A mystical event called The Ruining manifested as a white fog and spread over the entire world, killing everything in its path, and making the dead rise as zombies. The only reason Viyara stands is because some long-dead priestess managed to create mystical walls to protect it - but the walls are fueled by blood. Willing, sometimes coerced people are sacrificed on a regular basis to fuel the walls and keep the rest of the city safe. Juliet is not actually Juliet, but THE Juliet, a nameless girl raised and mystically bound to the clan of the Catresou, obedient to the head of the clan and bound to avenge any unnatural deaths of the family. She, however, falls in love with Romeo.
The first book plays out their love story, while seeing events around it through the eyes of Runajo and Paris. By the second book, Romeo and Juliet each think the other is dead, though Romeo has discovered that's a lie, Runajo has ideas about how to save the city from the Ruining, and Romeo and Juliet have switched sides. Her mystical bindings have been transferred to Romeo's clan, and Romeo, through guilt and remorse, has transferred his loyalties to Juliet's clan.
The second book concentrates on saving the city, the last bastion of humanity. There are zombies, and sacrifices, and sword fights, and stolen kisses. Things really get complicated when Romeo accidentally kills a Mahyanai and Juliet's mystical bindings kick in, compelling her to kill him. She operates under that compulsion for most of the last half of the book, while still being utterly in love with him and trying to fight the compulsion.
It's hard to do this book justice; the web is very complex and, like any Romeo and Juliet story, only ends in death. In Hodge's world, however, the mystical bindings on Juliet have made her a key to the land of death, allowing her to cross over while still alive. So we get a journey through Death's kingdom, and it is fascinating.
I won't say anymore, but if you like Shakespeare, and you like fantasy, you should totally read this duology.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.
This sequel raises the stakes in a world built on bloodshed and death, and if you think things were dire at the end of [b:Bright Smoke, Cold Fire|28448239|Bright Smoke, Cold Fire (Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, #1)|Rosamund Hodge|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455542433s/28448239.jpg|41096665], well, this one is going to hit you hard. So, at the end of book 1, Runajo had parted with the Sisters to save Juliet from execution, Paris was killed by the Master Necromancer (who was also revealed, but I can't discuss it here because !spoilers!), Romeo is a fugitive, and the Catresou were implicated in having necromancers in their clan. This book starts off with an upheaval in the city's delicate balance - Lord Ineo, now having the Juliet in his custody, uses her to gain power, which comes at the cost of Catresou lives and Romeo - earnest, guilty Romeo - helps Juliet's and Paris' clansmen. But aside from all this infighting, the city is on the brink on collapse thanks to necromancers loosening the barriers that keep the living out, so Runajo also has to figure out how to save maximum lives, while also having to end the Ruining (which was her original goal).
In this book, we get additional character POV from Romeo and Juliet; we already had Runajo and Paris from book 1. It then became an exploration of which character could suffer most. Runajo, to save Juliet, has made terrible bargains - with Ineo, with the Sisters, with Inyaan - and the weight of all that responsibility is wearing her thin. Her saving Juliet meant also condemning her to commit murders that Juliet blames her for, which is why their relationship is at a breaking point (turns out making your friend into an assassin slave is not the best way to keep her as a friend, who knew?) and you know, I feel for Runajo but GDI girl, how could you do that to Juliet? Her role gets progressively lesser towards the end, as Juliet's character gains a prominent arc - for a third of the book, she doesn't even know Romeo is alive, so she has been trying to make the best of a bad situation with the Mahyanai (who are also incidentally her masters and her in-laws, yikes!) while grieving over having to kill her own kinsmen. She hates the city and the laws of their world, but also wants to save it. Her journey to bargain with Death is an emotional one - she has to overcome all the guilt placed on her, all the blood she has shed, and finally claim what she wants.
On the boys' side, Romeo is sad over Paris' death but when he finds him as a puppet revenant, he keeps trying to save him. It isn't immediately apparent, but he loves Paris as much as he loves Juliet, even if the type of love for both may not be the same. Paris' POV is mostly him trying to surface from under the compulsion he is under - he can feel Something around Romeo, but he doesn't know why. Meanwhile, we get the Master Necromancer's story, as well as the whole deal around the Little Lady, and it calls back somewhat to the original tale too, with a little twist. Even after he is defeated, the bigger problem is the Ruining, and his story arc is mostly to resolve that problem, and parts of the clues lie with Romeo-Paris and parts with Runajo-Juliet, which is why it takes some time for the story and the solution to come together.
While this story mainly is about survival in another apocalyptic scenario, the days counting down until life will be difficult within Viyara, the acceleration of sacrificial schedules and the increased tensions among the families, it is also very much a story about how much could and should be forgiven for survival. Juliet, especially, has no reason to love Viyara, or her kinsmen, but she chooses to. Runajo could let the whole world collapse, but no matter how much she thinks her heart is stone, she won't let life collapse. Romeo will even ally and charm with his enemies to save lives. Whatever they do, they know the toll of it, they know not everything is right - it is a question of finding good in a bad situation, but also realizing when the bad has outweighed the good. On an emotional level, also, this story is about friendship and found families, and recognizing that love as equal to romantic love. Romeo in book 1 was a lovesick fool, and he remains a fool in this book 2, but he also gains a family, fights for things other than Juliet. Heck, for most of this series, they aren't even together! There are some epic scenes between the two, though which are again too spoilery to discuss here. Finally, I just wanna scream about this quartet of love - who would do anything, pay any price for each other.
There were certain things that I do not know what to think of - like Vai's entire development, which on the reread of the first book had me a bit on the fence about its depiction of trans identity, if that is what it is. (Vai is a girl, but has to live as a boy because of family stuff, and she identifies as both on different occasions, but it is not clear if she's genderfluid, and it is more of a choice than what she is, so I am not really sure of anything regarding Vai at this point and it's not my lane anyway) Another thing about the whole 'bargain with Death' has me questioning why she accepts Juliet's bargain but not any from the Sisters (remember that they too offered life), and the whole nature of that land from the two viewpoints of Juliet and Romeo make me think the experience is subjective but also not? It is confusing. The ending, however, is satisfactory enough and a good conclusion to the series.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Balzer & Bray, via Edelweiss.
In this book, we get additional character POV from Romeo and Juliet; we already had Runajo and Paris from book 1. It then became an exploration of which character could suffer most. Runajo, to save Juliet, has made terrible bargains - with Ineo, with the Sisters, with Inyaan - and the weight of all that responsibility is wearing her thin. Her saving Juliet meant also condemning her to commit murders that Juliet blames her for, which is why their relationship is at a breaking point (turns out making your friend into an assassin slave is not the best way to keep her as a friend, who knew?) and you know, I feel for Runajo but GDI girl, how could you do that to Juliet? Her role gets progressively lesser towards the end, as Juliet's character gains a prominent arc - for a third of the book, she doesn't even know Romeo is alive, so she has been trying to make the best of a bad situation with the Mahyanai (who are also incidentally her masters and her in-laws, yikes!) while grieving over having to kill her own kinsmen. She hates the city and the laws of their world, but also wants to save it. Her journey to bargain with Death is an emotional one - she has to overcome all the guilt placed on her, all the blood she has shed, and finally claim what she wants.
On the boys' side, Romeo is sad over Paris' death but when he finds him as a puppet revenant, he keeps trying to save him. It isn't immediately apparent, but he loves Paris as much as he loves Juliet, even if the type of love for both may not be the same. Paris' POV is mostly him trying to surface from under the compulsion he is under - he can feel Something around Romeo, but he doesn't know why. Meanwhile, we get the Master Necromancer's story, as well as the whole deal around the Little Lady, and it calls back somewhat to the original tale too, with a little twist. Even after he is defeated, the bigger problem is the Ruining, and his story arc is mostly to resolve that problem, and parts of the clues lie with Romeo-Paris and parts with Runajo-Juliet, which is why it takes some time for the story and the solution to come together.
While this story mainly is about survival in another apocalyptic scenario, the days counting down until life will be difficult within Viyara, the acceleration of sacrificial schedules and the increased tensions among the families, it is also very much a story about how much could and should be forgiven for survival. Juliet, especially, has no reason to love Viyara, or her kinsmen, but she chooses to. Runajo could let the whole world collapse, but no matter how much she thinks her heart is stone, she won't let life collapse. Romeo will even ally and charm with his enemies to save lives. Whatever they do, they know the toll of it, they know not everything is right - it is a question of finding good in a bad situation, but also realizing when the bad has outweighed the good. On an emotional level, also, this story is about friendship and found families, and recognizing that love as equal to romantic love. Romeo in book 1 was a lovesick fool, and he remains a fool in this book 2, but he also gains a family, fights for things other than Juliet. Heck, for most of this series, they aren't even together! There are some epic scenes between the two, though which are again too spoilery to discuss here. Finally, I just wanna scream about this quartet of love - who would do anything, pay any price for each other.
There were certain things that I do not know what to think of - like Vai's entire development, which on the reread of the first book had me a bit on the fence about its depiction of trans identity, if that is what it is. (Vai is a girl, but has to live as a boy because of family stuff, and she identifies as both on different occasions, but it is not clear if she's genderfluid, and it is more of a choice than what she is, so I am not really sure of anything regarding Vai at this point and it's not my lane anyway) Another thing about the whole 'bargain with Death' has me questioning why she accepts Juliet's bargain but not any from the Sisters (remember that they too offered life), and the whole nature of that land from the two viewpoints of Juliet and Romeo make me think the experience is subjective but also not? It is confusing. The ending, however, is satisfactory enough and a good conclusion to the series.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Balzer & Bray, via Edelweiss.
Finally! The long wait (at least, long for me) for the conclusion to Bright Smoke, Cold Fire!
Paris had been my favorite character in the previous book and continues to be my favorite. I felt like the plot was a bit slow this time around and I have to admit I missed the Sisters of Thorn and their daily lives.
Several times I thought the book would conclude but it kept going. Truthfully, the most interesting stuff happened at the very, very end, within the land of the dead. I wish maybe we got more of that.
My one caveat is that this book series feels less like a Romeo and Juliet retelling and just a story that shares a few names and plot points. It's fun, especially the world-building, and the writing is lyrical as always.
Paris had been my favorite character in the previous book and continues to be my favorite. I felt like the plot was a bit slow this time around and I have to admit I missed the Sisters of Thorn and their daily lives.
Several times I thought the book would conclude but it kept going. Truthfully, the most interesting stuff happened at the very, very end, within the land of the dead. I wish maybe we got more of that.
My one caveat is that this book series feels less like a Romeo and Juliet retelling and just a story that shares a few names and plot points. It's fun, especially the world-building, and the writing is lyrical as always.
MINOR SPOILERS kinda. At last!
The previous book left off at a bleak place--friends turned against each other, and terrible things done for seemingly good reasons. I was curious how it could possibly be turned around, and whether it was in the cards to get a happy-ever-after....
I'm happy to say this story picks up with all our beloved characters and gives them the chance they're looking for to make things right.
More in-depth review to come after I re-read!
The previous book left off at a bleak place--friends turned against each other, and terrible things done for seemingly good reasons. I was curious how it could possibly be turned around, and whether it was in the cards to get a happy-ever-after....
I'm happy to say this story picks up with all our beloved characters and gives them the chance they're looking for to make things right.
More in-depth review to come after I re-read!