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omimogi's review against another edition
- 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 against another edition
- 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 against another edition
- 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I really liked the historical references and it did teach me a lot about society in Shanghai at that time.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 against another edition
- 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 against another edition
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 against another edition
- 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
bergha1998'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
3.75
Dark Romance, LGBTQIA+ Representation, Friends to Lovers to Enemies
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Body horror, Murder, Drug use, Death of parent, Blood, Torture, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Grief, and Death
snikhtha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
This has such a promising plot, but sadly the execution does not live up. The pacing is the obvious culprit. The plot moves at a snail's pace and each chapter barely reveals one minuscule crumb of plot point. It takes forever to get the main plot going, and none of the side plots are interesting enough to make up for it.
The other problem is Roma, and by extension, the White Flowers. They're not nearly as fleshed out as the Cai's, and they get far less screen time. Roma has no real personality besides being the love interest, and Benedikt and Marshall are just... there. In comparison to Juliette's relationships with her cousins, the White Flowers boys just don't measure up. Roma's place within the White Flowers is also murky and the gang just does not seem as threatening in comparison.
Also, the twist villain. It was obvious from the first meeting. I would like to think I wouldn't have a problem with guessing twists, but reading 400 pages just to find out what I guessed all along was anti-climactic to say the least.
Looks like this series might be DNFd. I can't take another 5 months for just one book.
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Transphobia and Xenophobia
ohgull's review against another edition
Very edgy and Mary Sue in a cringey way. For a Romeo and Juliet re-telling, you really only get Juliet in this novel. Roma had no personality whatsoever. I swear that the side characters got more screen time than he did.
Wasn’t worth powering through for me, just not compelling enough.
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Body horror and Blood