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shaipanda's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a solid four star book for me
I didn’t love the premise as the descriptions were pretty gross and I don’t love reading about pandemics in the middle of 2 lol but overall I enjoyed this
It was super fast paced especially once you got a quarter or halfway through and I got more invested than I expected to
I’m immediately going to start These Violent Ends but idk if I’m going to read the next ones that come out (and definitely not going to buy them like I did with the duology) as I’m not obsessed and also I don’t love some of the stuff Chloe Gong has done (especially when it came to blurbing and supporting problematic books and then not making any kind of statement or anything about it to apologize in any way
I didn’t love the premise as the descriptions were pretty gross and I don’t love reading about pandemics in the middle of 2 lol but overall I enjoyed this
It was super fast paced especially once you got a quarter or halfway through and I got more invested than I expected to
I’m immediately going to start These Violent Ends but idk if I’m going to read the next ones that come out (and definitely not going to buy them like I did with the duology) as I’m not obsessed and also I don’t love some of the stuff Chloe Gong has done (especially when it came to blurbing and supporting problematic books and then not making any kind of statement or anything about it to apologize in any way
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Vomit, Racism, Transphobia, and Blood
Minor: Deadnaming, Suicidal thoughts, and Racial slurs
pun1sher's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Objectively this books has its flaws like predictable and not very advanced plot or kinda confusing magic. However at the time I've read it I loved it enough to give it 5 stars so I'm staying at that. Compelling characters, flowery language, immaculate setting, great romance. Chloe Gong has the potential to become one of the best authors out there soon if she keeps her work up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, and Child abuse
Minor: Death of parent and Drug use
faithmari's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Racism
faitherslibrary's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Violence, Blood, Drug use, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide, Alcohol, Self harm, and Torture
Minor: Transphobia
sophiejo_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.0
>> no spoilers <<
YESS FIRST 5 STAR OF THE YEAR 🥳🥳
[edit i brought it down to 4 lmao]
to be honest I went into this book expecting a five star simply because of the cover art alone, so maybe I have a bias in writing a book but I truly think it was deserving of all of those stars.
I suppose we should get the negative out-of-the-way first, so my one qualm with the book was a small lack of emotion in Chloe Gong’s writing. Don’t get me wrong she is a very descriptive author and her metaphors are amazing and some of the quotes I really wanted to highlight bc they are just so amazing. However I found that in the romantic scenes or an extra violent scenes that I was wanting a little more passion or pain and it seems that she just scratched the surface on the emotion level.
HOWEVER like everything else was amazing. For someone who’s read the Romeo and Juliet original play and watched multiple movie adaptations, it was very clear the distinction between the characters names and roles etc., but if you hadn’t read the book or even if you were just unfamiliar with it I feel like she disguised the Shakespeare part really well. And the idea was fabulous; just imagine someone coming up with a plot in 1920s SHANGHAI with GANG RIVALS AND MONSTERS off the top of their head. Absolutely fantastic. The characters were amazing and the cast was SO incredibly diverse it was pleasant to read about. It’s funny I actually ship another set of characters more than I ship Roma and Juliette but I think that circles back to the lack of emotion written in their reconnecting scenes.
to be honest the plot twist wasn’t incredibly mind breaking but that’s because I was guessing all sorts of different outcomes all throughout the book, and nevertheless it is not to say that I was not incredibly sucked in and constantly engaged with the story.
WARNING THOUGH. if you’re grossed out by insects like me… may not be the book for you ahahaha.
Anyways this was a really amazing book and I am going straight into the sequel, not because of a cliffhanger but because I want to learn more about a certain set of characters. Also this book partially inspired my bullet journal theme for February so there’s that.
>> triggers <<
death, violence, mass murder, gore, child abuse, swarms of insects
✨ best quote(s) ✨
“Even the land of dreams needs to wake up sometimes. And though there may be beauty beneath its core rot, though it is big and open and plentiful, hiding those who want to be hidden and shining on those who wish to be remembered, it is elsewhere. “This is where we belong, Roma. This is where we will always belong.” The voice quavers even with the surety of such words. They fool themselves. These heirs think themselves kings and queens, sitting on a throne of gold and overlooking a glittering, wealthy empire. They are not. They are criminals—criminals at the top of an empire of thieves and drug lords and pimps, preparing to inherit a broken, terrible, defeated thing that looks upon them in sadness.
Shanghai knows. It has always known.
This whole damn place is about to fall apart.“
YESS FIRST 5 STAR OF THE YEAR 🥳🥳
[edit i brought it down to 4 lmao]
to be honest I went into this book expecting a five star simply because of the cover art alone, so maybe I have a bias in writing a book but I truly think it was deserving of all of those stars.
I suppose we should get the negative out-of-the-way first, so my one qualm with the book was a small lack of emotion in Chloe Gong’s writing. Don’t get me wrong she is a very descriptive author and her metaphors are amazing and some of the quotes I really wanted to highlight bc they are just so amazing. However I found that in the romantic scenes or an extra violent scenes that I was wanting a little more passion or pain and it seems that she just scratched the surface on the emotion level.
HOWEVER like everything else was amazing. For someone who’s read the Romeo and Juliet original play and watched multiple movie adaptations, it was very clear the distinction between the characters names and roles etc., but if you hadn’t read the book or even if you were just unfamiliar with it I feel like she disguised the Shakespeare part really well. And the idea was fabulous; just imagine someone coming up with a plot in 1920s SHANGHAI with GANG RIVALS AND MONSTERS off the top of their head. Absolutely fantastic. The characters were amazing and the cast was SO incredibly diverse it was pleasant to read about. It’s funny I actually ship another set of characters more than I ship Roma and Juliette but I think that circles back to the lack of emotion written in their reconnecting scenes.
to be honest the plot twist wasn’t incredibly mind breaking but that’s because I was guessing all sorts of different outcomes all throughout the book, and nevertheless it is not to say that I was not incredibly sucked in and constantly engaged with the story.
WARNING THOUGH. if you’re grossed out by insects like me… may not be the book for you ahahaha.
Anyways this was a really amazing book and I am going straight into the sequel, not because of a cliffhanger but because I want to learn more about a certain set of characters. Also this book partially inspired my bullet journal theme for February so there’s that.
>> triggers <<
death, violence, mass murder, gore, child abuse, swarms of insects
✨ best quote(s) ✨
“Even the land of dreams needs to wake up sometimes. And though there may be beauty beneath its core rot, though it is big and open and plentiful, hiding those who want to be hidden and shining on those who wish to be remembered, it is elsewhere. “This is where we belong, Roma. This is where we will always belong.” The voice quavers even with the surety of such words. They fool themselves. These heirs think themselves kings and queens, sitting on a throne of gold and overlooking a glittering, wealthy empire. They are not. They are criminals—criminals at the top of an empire of thieves and drug lords and pimps, preparing to inherit a broken, terrible, defeated thing that looks upon them in sadness.
Shanghai knows. It has always known.
This whole damn place is about to fall apart.“
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Death, and Murder
s3lin's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse and Colonisation
v1rgo's review
2.75
juliette: marshall's meditating
roma: he's dead
i mean this was a smooth brained moment i don't know what to say. it was very funny. i can't really take this super seriously bc it was outrageously horny. kind of made me gag at some points but i don't want to slutshame nineteen year olds. (but on a side note i didn't get all of the pining. it's like u guys were 15 when this happened yk like u were babies. like juliette's whole oh he's as handsome as he used to be.. thing doesn't make sense. "he looks older?" sure! but like.. ?? u had a thing w this dude four years ago. ) the writing was pretty and fun you know how it is but some things did make me go hm. like juliette allegedly having "a damp feeling on her neck". like i don't really want to know what that means. or just. the fact that they were about to fuck on some bed that was probably caked with like thousands of people's children. aside from the nauseating level of hormones they didn't really feel like teenagers. marshall does slay though. kind of a knockoff of the whole wesper dynamic but i'll take it. i hope kathleen likes girls. someone should like girls in this bc SOMEONE lied to me and said the mcs were bi. i dunno just a fun little read unsure what to say. or even how to rate because it's exam week and i wasn't paying attention. i guess on a larger level i was sorta wondering what the differences in personalities were between roma and juliette and also on a more superficial level it does kinda make me cringe when _ inspired tellings like insist on using the same names. also i just didn't super think any characters were acc like well.. not flat but.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
nicamooch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.75
enjoyed the characters and character development, loved the world building but a lot about the climax and ending seemed to fall flat for me
it dragged a LOT at times and some lines feel also though they could have benefited from sitting on them a while and reworking
i’m still excited for OVE anyway
it dragged a LOT at times and some lines feel also though they could have benefited from sitting on them a while and reworking
i’m still excited for OVE anyway
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Transphobia, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Torture
korolnikolai's review against another edition
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Drug use
imaginationindex's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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
5.0
You had me at Romeo and Juliet retelling, though add some 1920's gangsters in Shanghai and unexpected diversity done right and I was hooked! Chloe Gong was able to portray a realistic setting for the cultural differences, political atmosphere and threat of colonialism of the time without running into a cliché romance plot. Speaking of the plot, did I mention there was a monster terrorizing our characters and their city too! Considering we are left on more than one cliffhanger, there will be a sequel which means more of this world (and these characters) to explore!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Gun violence
Minor: Child abuse