Author A. N. Horton

This book describes itself as a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai with the added bonus of some fantastical monster. And then the author continuously beats you over the head with that fact for 464 pages. Their literal names are Roma and Juliette. I think that this is probably just a matter of taste but retellings are not it for me. If I know, within reason, what’s going to happen, I’m not interested. For that reason, I found it difficult to get into the love story because I’m constantly thinking “why should I care about them if I know they die in the end?” But then… they didn’t. I know there’s a book two but…

Anyway, let’s get into it.

Things I Liked:
👍 The monster was actually well done (though I guessed what it was midway through the book) and the madness was unique (if not way over described)
👍 Some really likeable characters with their own flaws and moral dilemmas. Marshall and Benedikt being my personal faves.
👍 The setting was realistic and interesting. 1920s Shanghai isn’t a setting I read a lot so it was a nice change of pace.
👍 The plot had SO MUCH POTENTIAL.

What I Did NOT Like:
👎 The writing. This author does not believe in subtlety and the style feels a tad juvenile for the genre.
👎 Every major “twist” was pretty predictable with the exception of one at the end.
👎 POVs switch so fast it’ll make your head spin
👎 There is A LOT going on. All of it is interesting but I feel like the focus was misplaced. What kind of story is this? A love story? A history of Shanghai? A monster hunting mystery? No one knows. Including the author.

Those are my thoughts. I hope they weren’t too harsh. I will say that I will probably read the next book in the series. Though that’s hardly an indication of whether I liked the first or not. I just can’t leave anything unfinished 😂