Sabriel meets Romeo and Juliet in this stunning and atmospheric novel-the first in a duology-from the author of Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound. When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched. The heirs of the city's most powerful-and warring-families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou, share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on the Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan-and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die. Paris Catresou has always wanted to serve his family by guarding the Juliet. But when his ward tries to escape her fate, magic goes terribly wrong-killing her and leaving Paris bound to Romeo. If he wants to discover the truth of what happened, Paris must delve deep into the city, ally with his worst enemy ...and perhaps turn against his own clan. Mahyanai Runajo only wants to protect her city-but she's the only one who believes it's in peril. In her desperate hunt for information, she accidentally pulls Juliet from the mouth of death-and finds herself bound to the bitter, angry girl.
Runajo quickly discovers Juliet might be the one person who can help her recover the secret to saving Viyara. Both pairs will find friendship where they least expect it. Both will find that Viyara holds more secrets and dangers than anyone ever expected. And outside the walls, death is waiting...
Initial impressions: I have mixed feelings about this one. Hodge always writes extremely unique worlds, and this one is no exception. I also felt this was the most concrete of her worlds, because something was inescapably hazy about her last two books, which I found frustrating. She takes some time to reveal the world in Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, but once she does, I actually get it. On the downside, I didn't get much of Romeo and Juliet at all (though I suppose the Romeo character is appropriately annoying and love-struck). This isn't a romance. I'm not sure it's even a tragedy. It's really an action-packed adventure about necromancy. The climax seemed glossed over, though, and I thought the story essentially just stopped. I understand it's going to be a series, but I could have used slightly more closure after the time investment I put into reading the, admittedly long, book.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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14 February, 2017:
Finished reading
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14 February, 2017:
Reviewed