Basically, I Prefer My Romeo & Juliet Retellings a Little Undead

Title: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Series: Untitled, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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 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 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 just 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. . . .

Unlike a lot of people, Romeo & Juliet has never been my favorite of Shakespeare's plays. (I go more for the brutal, cunning Macbeth.) I just don't get how overly romanticized R&J is when Romeo was infatuated with the fair Rosaline one day, only to find himself in love with Juliet the next. Fickle I may be at times, but that just rubbed me the wrong way. However, I am a Rosamund Hodge fangirl for life, and I will read anything and everything she writes.

And now that I've read Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, I'm not really sure what to do with myself. I've gotten so used to Hodge's stand-alone fantasies that it's rather shocking to be done with this book and not know how everything turns out. It's a planned duology, and I would very much like to have the next book in my hands now, but regardless of that fact, I'm still quite sure I loved this dark, bloody little novel. I absolutely love how Hodge turns the original tale of Romeo & Juliet on its head and basically makes me love her version better than Shakespeare's.

Gone are the romantic notions that Romeo and Juliet could end up happily ever after. This retelling opens on the eve of the end of Romeo and Juliet's tale and it's clear that this story is every bit the tragedy that the original play was. Especially since there are evil necromancers lurking in plain sight, wreaking their own brand of havoc while the city - the last in existence - is already plagued by revenants and reapers. And anyone who passes and is not burned upon death reawakens to become the living dead. Creepy. Imagine what this might mean, then, for our tortured lovers, if you will.

That being said, this is not a zombie book. There are no walking dead, shambling about in search of brains. Not yet, anyway. There are those who are being reanimated to do the necromancers bidding, though, and that's bad enough. And this is where our key players come in, because at the heart of the story is each of their desire to save the city from itself.

Romeo is still a besotted fool, but Paris has a much bigger role in this version. Rather than being Juliet's intended, he is her protector. Because Juliet is not just a girl. She is THE Juliet, a weapon in her own right. Even Rosaline has a starring role in this tale, though as the [mostly] unfeeling Runajo who will sacrifice herself in her determination to save Viyara. After a chain of events that none of them could have predicted, and on opposite sides of the city, these enemies from rival families form some rather reluctant alliances and it is exquisite.

I found the world-building in this book to be rather intense but phenomenal, though it may be rather dense for some readers. Everyone trapped within the walls of the city for their own safety. The lower market. The underground library. Magic and blood and blood magic. All of it was so easy to imagine with Hodge's vivid descriptions. And I loved seeing the parallels to the original tale of woe while reading a completely different - albeit still lovely and tragic - story. Obviously, there was that whole ordeal with Romeo and Juliet, but then there are the warring families, the apothecary...the duel with Tybalt that leaves Romeo a wanted man. I loved every detail Hodge kept from the original story, and I loved them even more as they morphed into something evil and dark and altogether awful.

Unlike her other novels, though, this one is not remotely romantic. Okay, maybe a teensy bit. In flashbacks. But I think the story is all the better for the absence of romance. At least in this first book. There's still so much for the characters to learn and understand, and a city to save, so it makes sense for any romance to take a backseat to the pivotal struggle at hand.

Suffice it to say, I am thoroughly impressed with this novel. That's not surprising, though, considering how much I enjoyed her previous retellings. I very much look forward to the conclusion to this Romeo & Juliet retelling, especially as I wonder if the lovers will face the same fate as in the original tale...

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

I love mythology, Hello Kitty, and T. S. Eliot. I write YA fantasy that draws on two of those things. My next novel is BRIGHT SMOKE, COLD FIRE (09/16), the first in a two-volume series about Romeo and Juliet and necromancers.

Find Rosamund:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Labels: beautiful covers, bright smoke cold fire, favorites, harper-collins, retellings, reviews, romeo-juliet, rosamund hodge

{WOW} BRIGHT SMOKE, COLD FIRE by Rosamund Hodge

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...








's Pick:



Title: Bright Smoke, Cold Fire
Author: Rosamund Hodge
Series: untitled series, book #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 27, 2016

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 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 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 just 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. . . .

Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Bright Smoke, Cold Fire is a darkly romantic and atmospheric fantasy from acclaimed author Rosamund Hodge.

I am a HUGE fan of Rosamund Hodge's retellings. HUGE fan. So I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to see that The Midnight Garden revealed the cover to Hodge's newest foray into YA retellings on Monday -- and that it was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but from the end of their tale! Oh, and it's a duology! Doesn't it sound absolutely amazing?!? And isn't that cover just stunning?!? I seriously can't remember a time when I've wanted a book more. (Okay, that's not entirely true, but I MUST HAVE IT!!!)

What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: beautiful covers, bright smoke cold fire, favorite authors, grabby hands, harper-collins, must-read, retellings, romeo-juliet, rosamund hodge, waiting on wednesday (wow)

TGIF #19 - Book to Movie

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads!  In this weekly feature, Ginger poses a question to her followers and then asks everyone to link up at the end of the post, sharing their responses.

This Friday's Question:

Book to Movie: Which book turned movie do you feel did the best adaptation? What about the worst?

If I'm being truly honest here, I'd have to say that, in my opinion, the film adaptation of the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia series -- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- was the best I've seen.  It was just so magical and beautiful and spell-binding to behold.  Most adaptations can't hold a candle to the books they're based on, but I have to say that this rendition was spot-on compared to how I envisioned the world of Narnia myself.  I recently heard an unsubstantiated rumor that the studio is going to adapt The Magicians Nephew, the very first book in the series.  The first book was my favorite, so this news is exciting, but I won't get my hopes up yet; it would be kind of odd for them to produce the stories out of order.

I don't want to bash on Twilight, but that was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of the worst version of a book turned into a movie.  However, while I was pondering that it should be a really bad adaptation, not that the movie or book itself is bad, but the actual adaptation of the story is bad, I thought of Gnomeo & Juliet.  Cute film, right?  But they got it all wrong!  The story of Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare is a tragedy...the lovers die at the end.  They didn't adapt the story...they rewrote it!  Okay, I know, it's a children's movie.  Wouldn't be right to submit the children to that ending so early in life.  It's just...I really didn't want to bash on Twilight anymore.  I may have no respect for it, but at one point, I do remember liking it.

The book-into-movie I'm most excited about right now?  Yep, The Hunger Games.  I'm waiting with bated breath...aren't we all?  I could watch the trailer over and over again.  I didn't like the casting at first -- I almost never do -- but those kids have grown on me.  I think I might actually like it.  The trailer gives me hope, anyway.  I almost always love the book better than the movie, but that doesn't mean I don't like to see how someone else envisioned it.  So, here are a few other adaptations I'm looking forward to:

Do you agree with my best and worst adaptation picks?  Did I forget one that was even worse?  ;)


Week in review -- Tempest gets a lot of attention:

ARC Tour Review - Tempest by Julie Cross
Feature: Tempest by Julie Cross -- includes clip from audiobook, excerpt of first four chapters & freebie  prequel story

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Labels: from book to screen, romeo-juliet, tgif, the chronicles of narnia, week in review