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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i tried.
the setting and atmosphere were really interesting, but juliette is just so dumb. she acts all tough ruthless, but she's literally so gullible and naive. the plot twists are so obvious
the setting and atmosphere were really interesting, but juliette is just so dumb. she acts all tough ruthless, but she's literally so gullible and naive. the plot twists are so obvious
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
review du 14/07/2022
this was not it. i can understand the appeal of this story but it didn't work for me. i was bored out of my mind while reading it, mainly because i couldn't care less about the plot. the storyline was terribly slow and predictable. it felt like nothing ever happened, and when it did, i already guessed it beforehand.
as for the characters, some of them were interesting (roma, benedikt and marshall, i'm talking about you), but the vast majority were useless and/or annoying. the worst one was juliette; she radiated some strong i'm-not-like-other-girls and "girl boss" energy that ended up getting on my nerves. i also didn't feel any chemistry between roma and juliette, which was just the cherry on the cake.
the world building was also not developed enough. the story takes place in Shanghai, but it felt like any other YA-book's fictional city. the author describes the city as if it were alive, almost sentient, but it ended up being nothing more than an afterthought. the gangs were also way too clean and proper to be believable; i've read worse things in mafia romances on Wattpad. is it because this book is labelled as YA? it could be, but i'm not convinced, not when series such as Six of Crows exist in the same genre.
i won't pick up the second book, and i will stop getting recommandations from tiktok. it doesn't do me any good.
(and i also read a really interesting thread on twitter about an article. the topic was how nowadays young authors are pushed to publish their works while still being in college, without taking some time to perfect their craft. it didn't clearly target chloe gong, but i can see why it could be applied to her work. i don't like criticizing an author only based on their age, but you can clearly feel here all the wasted potential and topics that are merely touched upon and not developed enough.)
this was not it. i can understand the appeal of this story but it didn't work for me. i was bored out of my mind while reading it, mainly because i couldn't care less about the plot. the storyline was terribly slow and predictable. it felt like nothing ever happened, and when it did, i already guessed it beforehand.
as for the characters, some of them were interesting (roma, benedikt and marshall, i'm talking about you), but the vast majority were useless and/or annoying. the worst one was juliette; she radiated some strong i'm-not-like-other-girls and "girl boss" energy that ended up getting on my nerves. i also didn't feel any chemistry between roma and juliette, which was just the cherry on the cake.
the world building was also not developed enough. the story takes place in Shanghai, but it felt like any other YA-book's fictional city. the author describes the city as if it were alive, almost sentient, but it ended up being nothing more than an afterthought. the gangs were also way too clean and proper to be believable; i've read worse things in mafia romances on Wattpad. is it because this book is labelled as YA? it could be, but i'm not convinced, not when series such as Six of Crows exist in the same genre.
i won't pick up the second book, and i will stop getting recommandations from tiktok. it doesn't do me any good.
(and i also read a really interesting thread on twitter about an article. the topic was how nowadays young authors are pushed to publish their works while still being in college, without taking some time to perfect their craft. it didn't clearly target chloe gong, but i can see why it could be applied to her work. i don't like criticizing an author only based on their age, but you can clearly feel here all the wasted potential and topics that are merely touched upon and not developed enough.)
i need to read the next book asap i don't care that people didn't like this one i did
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
