jessiereads98'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
3.75
Chloe Gong once again nailed it with the setting and atmosphere of 1920s Shanghai. I loved how she tracked the shifting the politics and atmosphere of change. The pacing in this book is great. I also just love a fantasy novel set in or based on 1920s East Asia.
The characters were well done and compelling for the most part. I feel like we got a good amount of time with all the side characters to experience the world outside the view of the two main characters, without it feeling like it detracted from the story or was a waste of time. I actually wish we had gotten more time with Rosalind. I think the story would’ve felt more complete, and she would’ve been a great counterpoint to Juliette had she been more fleshed out. I was left with questions at the end around her character and motivations.
Spoiler
I know she’s the focus of the next duology in this universe. However, her character and POV still should’ve been explored more in this book, especially given the important role she plays here.Once again, this book is a bit overwritten. There’s metaphors and heavy handed setting descriptions that are unnecessary. Some of the dialogue feels forced rather than natural for the characters and their setting. There are a few moments of cringe, but it isn’t enough to make the entire book off-putting.
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Confinement, Grief, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: War, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Suicide, Abandonment, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexism
ye_li'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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Death of parent
twobyy'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, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia, Grief, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship
packedjam'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
4.25
it’s better than the first book.
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Torture, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and War
Moderate: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
_persephone_'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
Spoiler
the first half of the book where Roma hated Juliette I wanted to sob, istg I cried happy tears when they got back togetherAnd I heard there's gonna be a spin-off duology about
Spoiler
RosalindGraphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Colonisation, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
eddine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Suicide attempt, and War
lauren_miller's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
overall, I find myself impressed by this debut duology, but not really interested in continuing on within the "Chloe cinematic universe." solid 4 out of 5 stars, ★★★★☆
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexism
lainiereads's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
100/100 stars perfect book love u miss chloe
after reflecting i’m definitely adding this to my tops 10 books, but it is honestly in my top 3 books right now, i am in love
Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Colonisation, and Blood
Moderate: War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Genocide, Sexism, Misogyny, and Kidnapping
bedtimesandbooks'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, Racism, Misogyny, and Sexism
quillify_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
CHLOE GONG NEEDS TO PAY FOR MY THERAPY BILLS BECAUSE WHAT WAS THAT ENDING!?!? WHY AM I IN LOVE WITH BOOKS THAT HAVE AN AMBIGUOUS ENDING???
*deep breath* *inhale* *exhale* POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Okay. Alright. I'm fine. I survived reading this book. I had the excuse of exams to hold off because I was scared but in the end my curiosity caught up to the trick. So here I am, wondering what the hell happened.
The characters, as always are *chef's kiss*. Alisa Montagova has become my new favourite kid. That girl deserves so much more than being kidnapped at every turn, oh my god ;-;
Ben and Mars deserve all the happiness in the world. I was having a headache because of Ben's sadness, and every time they both were close to meeting, something would happen. It felt like watching a Hindi TV serial drama in the best way, of course. Because their reunion was so satisfying. And Marshall and Juliette really did have the cutest friendship ever. Appreciate the m/f platonic relationship without any cumbersome romance.
Spoiler
Wonder why we had to be told that the boys were off living life instead of being shown all their happiness. Yeah, this is me begging for a BenMars novella ;-;I really, really, really loved Kathleen's
Spoiler
(or as I should call her now: Celia)In addition, the angst and tension between Roma and Juliette was done really well. They ripped my heart out and then stitched it together and then repeated the process. The only iffy thing was when the truth of Juliette's actions was revealed, they zoomed a bit too fast into kissing and whispering I-love-yous when Juliette had
Spoiler
killed Tyler just hours agoThe book dragged just a little bit at around the 75% mark but that's probably because I figured out who was up to those shenanigans in the city and was waiting for the mains to come to the realization. The rest of it though: the references from the Shakespeare play, the climax, Roma and Juliette and their struggle with their parents, all of it was amazing. Really appreciated the talk on colonization and the white people jokes (thank you Miss Cai <3)
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Grief, Sexism, War, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Colonisation, and Suicide attempt