If this wasn't on your TBR before, make sure to add it now. It's a fantastic read full of meaning, strong narrative and characters, excellent prose, and emotion.
Wow - I can't recommend this book enough. It's a beautiful mixture of Love Craftian horror, Shakespeare reimagined, history, and romance.
The setting is rich and full of robust characters - even the side characters were well-developed and likable. While the plot is a driving force - I never felt the pacing too slow - it was the character-driven narrative that really hooked me. I was immersed in each character's experience thanks to the vivid descriptions and clear presentation of internal and external dialogue.
“This was a city shrouded in blood. It was foolish to try changing it.”
Adding another layer of complexity and purpose to the story was the deftly integrated critique of Western influence and colonization. It didn't feel ham-fisted; there were times it was more explicit, and rightfully so, and just as many nuanced and tacit references of the historical implications of foreign, particularly Western, interference in China and, particularly, Shanghai. The way the critique was skillfully interwoven into the narrative served to suture me further into the story and create a more meaningful and salient book. It also chronicles the rise of the Communist party and the implications therein.
“In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens."
I could go on and on, but I would suggest reading it and enjoying the magical blend of historical veracity, cultural context, and fictional narrative.
Book summary:
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.
A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.
But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.
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