Teach the Torches to Burn was a fantastic retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It follows the plot very loosely. If you read the play, you’ll recognize a few touchstone moments, but Caleb Roehrig really cleverly fits Romeo’s romance with Valentine in to the established tale seamlessly, using gossip to move different plots forward. I especially liked this because even familiar with the source material, I had no idea where this was going.

Book Tour Stop 🎉 (A day late because a ghastly migraine took me out but we're here now with only a lingering headache).

If you'd told me that I would finally like Romeo and Juliet if it were gay, well, I probably would've believed you because duh. But if you'd told 16-year old me I would've thought you were nuts.

Not gonna lie, Romeo and Juliet has always been one of the classics that made no sense to me. It was silly and rash and it always made me irrationally angry that people romanticized these teenagers' deaths. But I was somehow still hopeful for this retelling (because it was gay).

And I was right to be hopeful because Caleb Roehrig did Romeo and Juliet right. It's a soft and sweet retelling that manages to make some significant changes (looking at you gay Romeo and aroace Juliet) without outright dismantling the original. It's a beautiful example of how well retellings can be done.

I especially loved how sweet the romance was even throughout the trials and tragedy they face. I loved Juliet and was so happy to see her remain as a character and gain some autonomy and personality, and I also appreciated the representation of true Christianity. As an atheist, I struggle with religion but it was done so inclusively and wonderfully that I really liked it. A true example of love thy neighbor and all that.

I've now read most of these Remixed Classics and can safely say this one is right up there with Self-Made Boys as my favorites of the series and I highly recommend picking it up, regardless of whether or not you enjoy the classics.

Thanks so much to @coloredpagesbt @fiercereads and @calebroehrig for the opportunity to read this and for the finished copy.

Go forth and be gay!

I love a good Shakespeare retelling, and this one made me feel so many things! I loved the dialogue between characters, and the way they made decisions the way the first didn’t!

"No one has ever told me I might deserve to be happy on my own terms, rather than just happy with what I’ve been given. No one has ever told me I might simply deserve to be happy."
This was more believable to me than two meeting each other falling in love within a few days and then dying.
Romeo isn't attracted to any of the woman he's introduced to until a very attractive young man turns up at a party. He instantly feels an attraction and they make a connection, an impossible connection.

All the while a dance he had with Juliet is putting her in question and everyone is questioning her virtue, yuck. Both of them are so miserable and form an alliance. They both can't live the life they want. They are barely adults and are under so much pressure.

Juliet is asexual and trying to find her way out of an arranged marriage while Romeo just wants to be with who he loves. This is on the edge of your seat with the same plot points but isn't quite the same ending. Loved all the side characters. All told from Romeos perspective as well.

Thank you macmillanbooks for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

...sometimes the future simply happens, and we may only choose how to live with it.

I got lucky to snag this ARC at Yallwest several weeks ago and finally got around to reading it - and honestly, I'm mad at myself that I didn't do it sooner. I'm not partial to Romeo and Juliet at all but I absolutely loved this interpretation, and I breezed through the last hundred pages because I simply needed to know what was going to happen. It's a beautiful tale filled with love, found family, friendship, and such a heartfelt romance I couldn't just get enough of it at a time where such a thing wouldn't have been accepted at all. The hints of forbidden romance, though it's not between Romeo and Juliet this time, are still woven into the story, Juliet rightfully gets her own arc that isn't simply hinged on Romeo's story, and the beats of the original tale is integrated beautifully into this interpretation in a way that made me smile and cry at once. If you like a forbidden historical romance, this one is for you.

I love this retelling! It's like the best "fix-it" fic complete with queer rep. It follows the same story line of Shakespeare's play but with unique twists - Romeo is gay and, instead of falling for Juliet at her family's masquerade, he falls for Valentine, Mercutio's younger brother. I'm fascinated by how well the author wove these new elements in with the original story, making everything feel fresh and exciting. Friar Laurence, aka the best monk and confidante, is asexual and provides counsel and support for Romeo and Juliet. Yes, Juliet is a major character in the story! She's also aroace and not interested in marrying Count Paris or anyone, and helps Romeo as he quickly becomes entangled in more Montague and Capulet drama. I love how all the main characters work together and turn this famous tragedy into a triumph!

This was the perfect book to read on a rainy Sunday afternoon. It's all I could have wanted from a gay Romeo and Juliet retelling. The romance is so incredibly sweet, and I loved that Juliet was a separate fully fleshed out character in her own right aside from the romance - she wasn't replaced. I love this kind of loose retelling - keeping certain elements of the story, and particularly a similar atmosphere, and changing other elements to update them. In this particular case, I especially loved the writing style.

Don't be surprised in a few months when I make my list of favourite books that I read in 2023 and that this book is on the list. This book just had me from the first page and never let me go. I just wanted to keep reading this book.

I am a massive fan of retellings of classic stories and this one was everything I could have ever wanted. I loved how this book took on the trope of Romeo and Juilet and kept all of the main elements of the story, but also adapted it in a way that was super unique and felt like a new story of its own. I absolutely love the original Romeo and Juliet and this story was just such a fun take on it that I had the best of time seeing this book how changed the story and what parts were taken from the original story. I found that this story just had the best balance of everything when it came to a retelling and it was just so lovely to read.

I just loved the romance and the characters in this one, Romeo and Valentine. I felt like these two were just made for each other and they had such a good chemistry and they complimented each other so well. I loved reading all of their interactions and seeing how they acted around each other, it was just the sweetest thing in the world to me.

This was just such a wonderful book to read. I was so fascinated by everything that this book had to offer and I had the most wonderful time reading this one. Even though I knew the basics of the story of this book, this book still captivated me and had all of my attention, cause I just wanted to see what would come next.

Really beautiful little romance retelling— I enjoyed this a lot and would love to have it in my classroom. I’m particularly fond of Juliet, an actual complex person in this! Love love love

I loved this! I buddy read it with a friend and we both found this to me so good. The romance was amazing and the end was super satisfying !

This book was a very interesting read and I am glad I picked it up. I enjoyed the remix of a popular classic and getting to see the characters I love from the play back in action in a different light. I enjoyed that this was only told from Romeo's POV, and I am happy that I went in blind to this one. I feel as though, if I did not go in blind, I would have held the book to higher expectations. I highly recommend going into this one blind. The retelling of this story and the changes made from the original were very interesting and I think it was a very fun read. I enjoyed every second of this one. The end was not what I was expecting as I was going through this book, but I did find myself fulfilled and happy with the way the author used the original to create this remix. I loved that this one was MM, I think it is so important that we read LGBTQIA+ books year round, and I am happy to see some of my favorite classics being retold in an LGBTQIA+ romance or storyline. The growth of the characters and the coming of age in this also played a big role in why I liked the changes of this one rather than the original. So many of the characters supported Romeo and Valentine in their journey to find each other and keep each other. Their story of making their own happiness and chasing after dreams they did not think were possible, was exciting to read, and I really want to dive into the other remixes in this collection.

Thank you to MacMillan for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is for any reader that has dreamed about reading a Romeo & Juliet retelling that 1) includes queer characters, 2) gives all the characters more importance to the story, and 3) doesn’t end in a truly traumatic way just to teach the adults a lesson.

The lessons to take away from this story are about found family and acceptance. Yes, tragic events still take place and there is still a ridiculous feud between the two wealthiest families, but the love story and compromises that are made for a happy life are the main focus. That is all I will say without spoiling all the best bits of the book.

Recommended for: readers looking for queer historical fiction; fans of Shakespearean retellings

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is, inarguably, one of his most famous plays. It is both comedy and tragedy as well as a love story between two teenagers whose lives are inauspiciously intertwined by “ancient animosities” between their families. In Caleb Roehrig’s enormously sublime reimagining of the classic tale, the patriarchy is the villain, and it’s the forbidden friendship that develops between Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet that paves the way for their happy endings.

Romeo’s and Juliet’s futures are being dictated by their fathers’ strict demands of unconditional submission. It is the crux of their individual dilemmas that what they each want cannot coexist with what is expected of them. They are, for all intents and purposes, hostages of the past and the future. Their present is one that’s fraught with intimidation and manipulation. It is when Romeo finds someone to fight for that Juliet becomes his greatest ally and a bold and brilliant adversary to the status quo.

Romeo has long known that he is not meant to take a wife. Meeting a beautiful stranger at the Capulet villa after sneaking into a masquerade ball is rife with an ethereal beauty. Roehrig weaves that spell amidst a dreamscape that is unspoiled by the reality surrounding them. When it’s revealed that the stranger isn’t a stranger at all, but Mercutio’s brother Valentine, the conflict is set in motion. It is, in fact, Juliet who is mistaken for Romeo’s infatuation, which wreaks both havoc and, ultimately, good fortune.

That Juliet is the hero of this story is not an overstatement of the facts, and I emphatically loved the twist Roehrig gave to his version of the play. She was indeed the master of her own destiny, and that it happened to coincide with a means to Romeo and Valentine’s happily ever after was the reward for the pain they all went through to get there. Friar Laurence, of course, also plays a role, as he does in the source material, and his gift for scheming and deception makes him an integral ally in the sleight of hand.

Caleb Roehrig is a consummate storyteller. I learned that firsthand when I had the good fortune of reading his YA Urban Fantasy The Fell of Dark. The kindness, compassion, and joy of found family makes Teach the Torches to Burn equally worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Teach the Torches to Burn is a unique take on Romeo and Juliet that not only gives it a fresh spin, but remains true to so many roots of the story. Even those who have never read Romeo and Juliet know the story and I think this take is an interesting mix that most people can enjoy, whether they've read the original or not.

The very first page captured my attention with the author's voice. The beginning sets the basics up for us about the dynamic of this world before being thoroughly introduced to Romeo, who is the center of the story. I think with this remix the author ran the risk of focusing too much on Romeo and disregarding Juliet entirely but I was pleasantly surprised that wasn't the route he went. She is not entirely an after-thought, having her own presence and arc. There is a kinship that grows between the two having families with similar expectations of them in the midst of a land-standing feud which I enjoyed.

I do think the meeting of Romeo and Juliet was a bit more natural-flowing than his meeting with Valentine (who becomes Romeo's love interest) but the story progresses very nicely in showing a platonic approach with Juliet. That being said, one trope I'm not very fond of is instant-love and this story hits that mark. I do think I'm in the minority on this however, so most readers will definitely enjoy their first meeting and the conversation that unfolds between them. Despite this being a dynamic, I didn't totally dislike where the story went and how everything unfolded in time. I think their personalities mesh well together, and Teach the Torches to Burn give us two main male characters who are on the softer side. Valentine being a bit more soft, though Romeo has that quality about him that I enjoy for a protagonist. Romeo deals with a lot of inner turmoil because of his sexuality and his place in society and what little choices he has, but it doesn't harden him.

I think pairing Romeo and Valentine with Benvolio and Mercutio, who are quite different personality wise, and having them so present offers another aspect that will keep readers entertained, like myself. They brought a lot of comedic relief and more casual angst to the story. And back to Juliet's arc, I see her as a more outspoken mirror of Romeo. She's fierce in a more subtle way, which I also enjoyed seeing. It shows another kind of strength for a woman character that I think should be as valued as any other character. Caleb Roehrig did this really well. In an effort to not spoil for any future readers, I will add that the direction he took with her dreams and her identity, I though was enjoyable and fit seamlessly.

The reason I ultimately held back from five stars is that I felt like the story lost a lot of steam toward the end. Even though the beginning was by no means action packed, it was moving from one place to another that was intriguing. I wanted to know how things would unfold, and once one thing was revealed, I was wondering about the next because of all the ways it could have gone. Toward the end, I felt like it was mainly discussion of plans that ran in multiple circles. It wasn't something I entirely disliked, but I did feel myself slowing down while reading and less eager to get from page to page.

I also felt like there was a bit of repetition and moments of really hammering in certain ideas and thoughts that Romeo has. Particularly about his future and everything changing from moment to moment. That is a huge aspect of the story so I understand why but I do wish some of it had been cut and more had been given to us about the Romeo and Valentine's past. Flashbacks or something to fill in some holes and add extra layers. I just felt like that was missing and found myself really wishing for some of that.

Overall, I think this is a solid story that again, is fresh but holds true to a lot of the roots of the original. There was a lot of care and consideration for Juliet that I appreciated, and characters that were good at heart that didn't feel like they were trying too hard to be good or kind or considerate or heroes. They were going through the motions and taking things day by day as they encountered them, and that was entirely refreshing.

romeo montague has to repress his true self to uphold his family’s name. this means no art and no being attracted to boys. but after a fateful encounter in the garden of his family’s enemy’s house, he’s not sure he can keep this up much longer. romeo and valentine begin a secret romance amidst the heightening conflict between the montagues and capulets, which puts them in great danger.

i don’t think i’ll ever get tired of romeo & juliet retellings, so when i heard about this remix, i was super excited to read it. i loved the originality of using another character for romeo’s love interest and keeping juliet, but making her aroace-coded. additionally, this book was just written so, so beautifully, and both kept my heart warm and broke it to pieces.

i highly recommend to anyone who loves the original story and wants a unique and achillean take on it.

“Teach the Torches to Burn” by Caleb Roehrig is a lyrical and hopeful retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story. In reweaving this tale, Caleb Roehrig has created something both beautiful and mesmerizing. The language is gorgeous, like poetry, creating visual imagery that is stunning. As I read this novel, I also found Romeo a far more compelling character than in the original, an artist with a sensitive soul. Valentine as his romantic interest is strong and vibrant as well. It is a wonderful twist on the play creating a story of resilience, found family, trust and love. 

As well as the passion that is sensuous and lovely, I found the secondary characters as fascinating as Romeo and Valentine. Juliet in this tale is far more dynamic and strong, willing to take on a far more active role in the story. Benvolio and Mercutio are wonderful. I love how much of a rogue Benvolio is but also how accepting he is of his cousin. Mercutio is far more complex and charismatic. They add to the novel, helping with the theme of found family. 

The resolution is hopeful in this story which I absolutely love, the change from tragedy and cautionary tale, to one of hope and love. If you love stories that are lyrical and hopeful, I highly recommend this lovely retelling of Romeo and Juliet, a story that features characters far more interesting than even the original play.

I loved this romance! It's full of angst and complications, I wasn't sure wheter or not it would have a happy ending! It definetely lives up to the emotional tool of the original.
Romeo and Valentino are such a sweet couple! I love their moments together, including how they talked and shared their plans with each other (which the OG Romeo and Juliet didn't, otherwise they would've lived in the end).
Juliet also has a huge role in this novel, which I greatly appreciated! She showed that she wanted more than the life layed out for her, that she wanted to follow her own path!
Mercutio, the priest and Romeo's cousin are great friends to Romeo, who help him get rid of his family and run away!
The feud between the Capulets and the Montagues is very complex, but it still follows the source material. It's sad that even though they lost their kids, they still wound't give it up.

TW.death, murder, duel, poison, implied sexual content, homophobia, sexism.

3.5 stars. This is pretty good. The characters were charming, but ultimately forgettable. The highlight of this book was definitely the prose. Since it’s a Romeo and Juliet retelling, the prose is very flowery, which is beautiful. Also, the narrator for the audiobook did a great job! He put so much emotion into the performance and it added so much to make the reader care about the characters

(3.5 stars)

Thank you to Feiwel & Friends/NetGalley for a copy of Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix in exchange for an honest review. 

Of Remixes and Romances 

I've been a fan of Feiwel & Friends' remixed classics series, both the books and the concept, for a while. Basically, authors from marginalized backgrounds take over classics and spin them so they're not so irritatingly white, cishet and dude-heavy. Here, Caleb Roehrig has taken Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet but made it gay. (Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix is still white, cis and male, though!)

As a fan of Roehrig's, I was also pretty stoked to see what he'd do with this classic play. My feelings are mixed -- the author does romance fantastically. The butterflies and stomach flips are swoony, adorable and realistic. As is realizing oneself through finally having your feelings reciprocated.

Of Realism Slowing Pacing

In his author's note, Caleb Roehrig mentions the extensive research that went into Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix, a book that is almost 100,000 words. I did appreciate the thorough approach to historical accuracy and following with the actual source material. However, the pacing was too slow, and events were often repetitive. Ultimately, book this long shouldn't feel so long.

The trouble with -- and beauty of -- remixes is we can guess which story beats will remain the same and which will change. So, to hold our focus, the storytelling needs to know where to be airtight and where to breathe -- even more so than in original material. To its detriment, Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix was one long exhale. 

Should You Read It?

Yes. Moreso than other books I recommend, Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix is imperfect. However, if you're a fan of Shakespeare or "but make it gay," it will scratch an itch. I may also be less patient a reader than many. I liked the novel, just not as enthusiastically as I was hoping. There are definitely readers out there who will love it. 

Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix is out on August 22, 2023. Pick up a copy at your local indie bookstore or library. 📚🔥👬

I love these remix stories and Teach the Torches to Burn is probably my favorite so far. I, like many others, had to read Romeo and Juliet while I was in High School and it was by far my least favorite Shakespearean play that I read. I just couldn't stand the characters and the ending didn't feel tragic, it felt like a forgone conclusion for a couple of kids in over their heads. That was not the case in this story. Romeo was such a sweet soul and I loved his and Valentines romance. Sure it still had that aspect of inst-love, but they were at least friends before so it didn't feel quite as rushed as it did in the original. I also enjoyed that Juliet still had an important role in this story, and appreciated her Aro/Ace representation.

Overall, Roeheig did a fantastic job of bringing new life to this centuries old tale. I definitely need to pick up more of his books, I read Fell of Dark and enjoyed it, but this one was on a whole nother level! I look forward to the next book in the remix series; Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite romances, so I am beyond excited for a queer retelling of the story!