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2.83 AVERAGE
2.83 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Man, you live long enough and you realize you've lived in almost everyone's shoes.”
I considered DNFing this book on different occasions. Captured by the title and good-looking description, I had lots of expectations coming into this. Mixing Shakespeare with teen drama was something I had never thought of. I believe this book will be great for audiences in their late teens, but I'm concerned about the vulgarity of this book. Seeing reference of Billie Eilish and Doja Cat made me feel like an old head, lol.
Another part of this book I wasn't comfortable with was the Joseph and Alexia relationship. Knowing that it's illegal for any kind of sexual relationship for both of them and no one made an effort to say something? Nah, man.
“So like, you're the first highschool guy I've ever dated. I know that's weird, but I've only dated college guys since I was 14.”
The second half of the book started becoming interesting and I was keen on knowing what was going to happen in the end—although I saw it from a mile away.
I did enjoy the humour of this book and I laughed at the thought of Shakespeare being the Santa Claus of young love.
“Unless you're rich, a model, athlete, or a cocaine dealer, South Florida is not as glamorous as people think. It's somewhere between Hell and Purgatory.”
Thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for a review copy.
I considered DNFing this book on different occasions. Captured by the title and good-looking description, I had lots of expectations coming into this. Mixing Shakespeare with teen drama was something I had never thought of. I believe this book will be great for audiences in their late teens, but I'm concerned about the vulgarity of this book. Seeing reference of Billie Eilish and Doja Cat made me feel like an old head, lol.
Another part of this book I wasn't comfortable with was the Joseph and Alexia relationship. Knowing that it's illegal for any kind of sexual relationship for both of them and no one made an effort to say something? Nah, man.
“So like, you're the first highschool guy I've ever dated. I know that's weird, but I've only dated college guys since I was 14.”
The second half of the book started becoming interesting and I was keen on knowing what was going to happen in the end—although I saw it from a mile away.
I did enjoy the humour of this book and I laughed at the thought of Shakespeare being the Santa Claus of young love.
“Unless you're rich, a model, athlete, or a cocaine dealer, South Florida is not as glamorous as people think. It's somewhere between Hell and Purgatory.”
Thanks to NetGalley and CLASH Books for a review copy.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is an ARC, so I understand that this is a draft. Mechanically speaking, editing needs to be completed. I picked this one up because the title and the premise were very promising. I liked the structure of putting the story into five acts, much like Shakespeare’s plays. However, the name is a bit of a misnomer as the only element of Shakespeare was in the context of a meta high school project relating to Shakespeare. The author tried to create a tangled web that was reminiscent of Shakespeare’s comedies, but the relationships fell flat. The protagonist Joseph, is an interesting character, but he lacks development in my opinion. For a kid who is very stuck in his own mind, the author spends a lot of time, focusing on events in his life, rather than Joseph’s own mind. In the end, I didn’t grow to even care about Joseph and his problems.
I feel that the female characters have the potential to carry this novel, but the author does not develop them past the flat stereotypes that he uses to create the love triangle. They seemed very much like the perception of how a male views women. Although the author tried to create dynamic characters, they appear very superficial throughout the story. I felt there was more development in the relationship between Alexia and Joseph, but the author should have spent more time developing Valerie and Joseph.
I feel that the female characters have the potential to carry this novel, but the author does not develop them past the flat stereotypes that he uses to create the love triangle. They seemed very much like the perception of how a male views women. Although the author tried to create dynamic characters, they appear very superficial throughout the story. I felt there was more development in the relationship between Alexia and Joseph, but the author should have spent more time developing Valerie and Joseph.