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paragraphsandpages 's review for:
Bright Smoke, Cold Fire
by Rosamund Hodge
“With every line he teaches her, the world grows a little wider. She had never known before how words could sing, how a turn of phrase could unlock a window in her mind.”
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Vai
Spoiler Free: This book is not your standard Romeo and Juliet retelling. It’s main focus isn’t even their romance, as their passionate and quick romance and their marriage has all taken place before this story is set to begin. All in all, romance barely even plays a part in this story.
What this book takes from Romeo and Juliet is the basics: it takes a city that houses two powerful and warring families, and it takes the original relations between characters. We have our Romeo and Juliet and Paris, whose names are taken directly from the text, as well as other characters from the tale, Runajo as Rosaline, Makari as Mercutio (though far from Mercutio’s original role).
Where it differs is a much longer list. Viyara is the only city that isn’t plagued by the walking dead, or revenants, and is officially ruled by the old royal line of Viyarans (though the Mahayani/Montague family is the house with true power.) It also features a sect of Sisters who are only accepted due to their ability to keep the city safe. On top of this, there is a large range of belief systems, as each clan/family within the city (and there are many) has their own set of beliefs. The Catresou/Capulets believe in afterlife and gods, while the Mahayani do not. The royal Viyarans only care about fun and the Sisters, once again, also carry a different set of belief. We even get introduced to a character that is almost the last of their own clan, with another set of beliefs. Overall, there is quite a lot going on in this book.
If I’m being honest, you cannot take this book as a whole and understand. The only way I was able to understand the story was to focus on certain pieces of it at certain times. For example, in the beginning of the story, I couldn’t even see the book as a Romeo and Juliet retelling, as then I was unable to understand and look at what was actually happening in the world. There was just too much.
Additionally, like I said above, there was also just no romance. As the synopsis suggests, Romeo and Paris end up working together/bound while Juliet becomes bound to Runajo/Rosaline. This means that the lovers of the story spend the entire book without each other, specifically presuming the other is dead and thus wishing to die themself.
The plot itself was also filled with almost too much. Both POVs of the story are set on their own paths of discovery, and therefore the reader is the one with all the pieces of the puzzle at the end. However, the way it is done is almost too frustrating, as by 50% of the book the reader has practically figured out what is going on, but the actual characters are still entirely confused.
Lastly, I’m just extremely frustrated by the ending. I’m of the mindset that a book, especially the first book, should solve some portion of the main conflict presented in said book, but leave enough unresolved for the series to continue off of. Unfortunately, this book leaves everything to be resolved later, and I’m left, as a reader, with no satisfaction in the ending, as if I only read 70% of the book and was then forced to stop. Additionally, with pacing that felt like the plot train had come off the tracks and was moving at an increasingly faster speed towards the end, the suddenness of the emergency brakes, stopping me from reaching that conclusion, just hurts my head. It just feels unfinished.
Overall, I will most likely read the sequel, as I did enjoy the world and plot and characters, but that can’t change my annoyance with how the first book was planned.
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers:
Stars (Out of 10): 6/10 Stars
Favorite Character: Vai
Spoiler Free: This book is not your standard Romeo and Juliet retelling. It’s main focus isn’t even their romance, as their passionate and quick romance and their marriage has all taken place before this story is set to begin. All in all, romance barely even plays a part in this story.
What this book takes from Romeo and Juliet is the basics: it takes a city that houses two powerful and warring families, and it takes the original relations between characters. We have our Romeo and Juliet and Paris, whose names are taken directly from the text, as well as other characters from the tale, Runajo as Rosaline, Makari as Mercutio (though far from Mercutio’s original role).
Where it differs is a much longer list. Viyara is the only city that isn’t plagued by the walking dead, or revenants, and is officially ruled by the old royal line of Viyarans (though the Mahayani/Montague family is the house with true power.) It also features a sect of Sisters who are only accepted due to their ability to keep the city safe. On top of this, there is a large range of belief systems, as each clan/family within the city (and there are many) has their own set of beliefs. The Catresou/Capulets believe in afterlife and gods, while the Mahayani do not. The royal Viyarans only care about fun and the Sisters, once again, also carry a different set of belief. We even get introduced to a character that is almost the last of their own clan, with another set of beliefs. Overall, there is quite a lot going on in this book.
If I’m being honest, you cannot take this book as a whole and understand. The only way I was able to understand the story was to focus on certain pieces of it at certain times. For example, in the beginning of the story, I couldn’t even see the book as a Romeo and Juliet retelling, as then I was unable to understand and look at what was actually happening in the world. There was just too much.
Additionally, like I said above, there was also just no romance. As the synopsis suggests, Romeo and Paris end up working together/bound while Juliet becomes bound to Runajo/Rosaline. This means that the lovers of the story spend the entire book without each other, specifically presuming the other is dead and thus wishing to die themself.
The plot itself was also filled with almost too much. Both POVs of the story are set on their own paths of discovery, and therefore the reader is the one with all the pieces of the puzzle at the end. However, the way it is done is almost too frustrating, as by 50% of the book the reader has practically figured out what is going on, but the actual characters are still entirely confused.
Lastly, I’m just extremely frustrated by the ending. I’m of the mindset that a book, especially the first book, should solve some portion of the main conflict presented in said book, but leave enough unresolved for the series to continue off of. Unfortunately, this book leaves everything to be resolved later, and I’m left, as a reader, with no satisfaction in the ending, as if I only read 70% of the book and was then forced to stop. Additionally, with pacing that felt like the plot train had come off the tracks and was moving at an increasingly faster speed towards the end, the suddenness of the emergency brakes, stopping me from reaching that conclusion, just hurts my head. It just feels unfinished.
Overall, I will most likely read the sequel, as I did enjoy the world and plot and characters, but that can’t change my annoyance with how the first book was planned.
Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!
Spoilers: