This book is a delightful read indeed. It might be a retelling of one of the bestknown plays by Shakespeare but thanks to its setting in Shanghai in the 1920s you’ll find it changed to its own unique and interesting story.
First of all, I felt like the writing and atmosphere of the book were familiar but I couldn’t quite put a finger to it as of why. It might be because it reminded me of some of the C-Dramas I’ve watched (even though they were set in the 30s and 40s), of films like “Some Like It Hot” mixed together with the musical “Roméo et Juliette - Les enfants de Vérone” (our Marshall Seo in this book reminded me a little bit of John Eyzen’s portrayal of Mercutio, but it’s been some years since I’ve seen the musical). But let’s sum this and other unknown factors up as: I got sucked into the story from the very beginning and it felt all like a film playing in my head.
Secondly, I love it, when languages themselves are a theme of sorts. Shanghai is a multicultural city with multiple languages spoken and more than one of the characters is fluent in at least two if not even more languages. So the bickering doesn’t stop in Chinese and Russian (be reminded, our protagonists’ mothertongues), it spills over to English and French. Finally my French lessons paid of! And that one Dutch word made me giggle, because I knew the thing it describes will come in handy (you’ll know, when you get there).
Furthermore, we have gangsters, knife and gun fights, sneaking, snooping and dancing and a freaking monster wreaking havoc in the city, flooding Shanghai with madness and blood. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Our lovely Juliette definitely is willing to deal with the disaster, but she’s not the only one determined to put an end to the monster and shield her gang from further harm. Roma of the enemy gang has his own people to protect and as the two former lovers decide to work together it’s not easy to predict what will wait for them at the end; rekindled feelings or even more betrayal and death? This is not your usual enemies to lovers trope (but this trope is not my expertise, so I might be wrong). One way or another, if you haven’t read it yet, I recommend doing so. You’ll be greatly entertained.
