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litliz's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Self harm, Stalking, Suicide, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Gore, Bullying, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, and Vomit
moondaisyy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Violence
lujisa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror and Gun violence
omimogi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Body horror
m4rtt4's review
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Body horror, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Medical content
Minor: Drug use, Transphobia, and Alcohol
jeyjeyyy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really liked the historical references and it did teach me a lot about society in Shanghai at that time. However, the fantasy plots did not make a lot of sense to me. I also did not particularly care about what was happening. The romance also felt a bit bland, it was really great at the beginning but I found its ‘resolution’ a bit too easy. Kind of felt like the characters lost most of the fun aspects of their personality about halfway through… What I wanted was angst upon angst and enemies and hatred and tensionand a LOT more romance. I did not really get that. This sounds iind of bad but I wnated it to be more… toxic? I mean this is Romeo and Juliet !!
Not to say I didn’t like the book, it was just not my favourite.
Also REALLY loved the side characters, especially Kathleen and Marshall and Ben. Excited to see more of them.
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Medical content, Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Murder, Sexism, Death, Gun violence, and Violence
cnaccarato's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Misogyny, Classism, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Gore, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Sexism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, and Drug use
Minor: Police brutality, Outing, Bullying, Sexual content, and Homophobia
thehannahclaire's review
LOVED the premise, wasn’t a fan of the execution outside of the discussion of colonialism and race. I really wanted to feel connected to the characters, but I just wasn’t.
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Xenophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Gun violence, and Racism
Minor: Deadnaming, Child abuse, Colonisation, and Drug use
blyberry345's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Gun violence, Blood, and Gore
ceruleanheather's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
On the other hand, I did not particularly enjoy Juliette or Roma and found the character development to be lacking. I get that it is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, and in that respect it does okay, but I just didn't care for the main characters that much. Juliette is mean, doesn't stop to think for someone who is supposedly so smart, and obviously did not learn her lesson from 4 years ago. Roma is flat, more like ornamentation. I did like the addition of Kathleen, who was probably the best character. My favorite character in the original Shakespeare play is Mercutio, but his equivalent in this book (Marshall) just did not have the same flair. I wanted the Queen Maab speech! I did like the little twist at the end, but was not at all surprised.
I am glad I borrowed this from the library instead of purchasing it.
Graphic: Body horror