This book is part of the Queer Remix series, which offers queer retellings of classic tales. This follows a version of Romeo who is dealing with navigating the societal expectations of Verona with his identity as a gay man, who needs to keep his sexuality a secret from those closest to him.

The relationships and banter between the characters is well written, and the friendships between Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio feel genuine. The main romance does suffer from a bit of instant-love, though that is unsurprising, given the source material. The standout of this novel is, in my opinion, the aro/ace representation of Juliet, who I found to be the most compelling character by far.

This entry was enough to make me want to explore more of the books in this series. The audiobook is well narrated with an engaging narrator.

I gave this 3.5⭐ rounded up to 4. Romeo and Valentines relationship was really soft and cute and i loved this.

My problem with the book is that the first 20% draggggged. It was very slow and a little repetitive. I was also nervous that it was too close to the original plot making it predictable but thankfully it changes a little.

I liked juliets characterization a lot and love the friendship that she and romeo had.

Overall i really enjoyed this read and will read more from this author in the future.

This one really had the potential to break my heart by the end but this was a lovely way to subvert the tale of Romeo and Juliet. I have enjoyed all the Remixed Classics that I have read so far and I really need to pick up some of the first titles in the series.
Teach the Torches to Burn delivers a sweet (and only mildly insta-love) romance, friends-to-lovers, some great Verona politics, Juliet Capulet DEMANDING agency, and some truly lovely prose. The audiobook on this one was also fantastic - a great mix between good narration and still feeling like you could be listening to a Shakespeare play.
You know the story of Romeo and Juliet but prepare for Romeo and Valentine to really steal your heart.

This was a cute queer YA retelling of the original classic Romeo and Juliet.
I liked that Juliet wasn’t simply replaced by a man, instead there was a new love interest and Juliet still existed and had her own story and motives. It modernised the story a little, where the females sole interest wasn’t getting a guy.
I liked the characters and the story itself still made sense with the changes.
If you read the original it was a little too predictable though and didn’t really grip me.
I really liked the narrator, he did a great job!

(mild theming spoilers)

That which we call a rose, by any other name, will smell as sweet ...

Except that this "remixed" Romeo and Juliet bears very little resemblance to the source material, by name or by substance. Teach the Torches to Burn is part of a group of "remixed classics" which take overwhelmingly white, male, western narratives of literature "must-reads", and rewrites them in the author's own culture or sexuality. It is a wonderful idea, since rewrites of well-known properties often get much more time in the spotlight than an otherwise wonderful queer and/or POC-driven narrative. This remixed classics series will, I believe, truly help lots of young folk uninterested in archaic language, to engage with texts embedded in the western cultural consciousness, but in a skin that is easier to relate to.

That being said, I found Teach the Torches to Burn to be just that -- a book written to be easily understandable by young people that is related to some classic literature. I was quite disappointed to see the minimal amount of callbacks to Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers -- no holy palmer's kiss, no heightened dramatic overtures of love-at-first-sight, and (spoilers) no tragedy. Reading this book made me miss the original play more than anything, and I almost resented Teach the Torches to Burn for using the names and places written in the great tragedy but completely gouging out the spirit.

Once I stifled my sadness and slight annoyance at the barest threads of similarity to the original classic, I tried to enjoy the story for what it is. And actually, it was sweet! Romeo is a wonderfully emotional POV character, and spares no expense in his effusive praise for his beloved. I was fascinated by the re-framing of classic Romeo's motives when seeing him in a queer light. I always love boys kissing, and this book gave me lots of that. All in all, Teach the Torches to Burn was a kind of fun romp through Verona with some lovely characters who bear the same names as some from a Shakespeare play. There was drama and love and teenagers being very teenager-like.

The audiobook narrator, Caleb Roehrig, wasn't bad! Many narrators fail to create distinct voices for each character, or build proper tension in tone of voice, but I was pleasantly surprised that I could understand who was speaking based on Roehrig's voice acting. Other than that, I didn't find Roehrig to be particularly stand-out. I personally wished Roehrig would have added more of a heightened air to the text, because the completely modern tones sort of brought me out of the time-period (this has to do with the writing as well). Overall, I would not turn away an audiobook narrated by Caleb Roehrig.

Read this book if you enjoy simple young adult fiction with queer identities, allyship, and very clear morals. Go in expecting something vaguely taking place in the setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but bearing very little resemblance to the spirit of the play whatsoever. It's a simple, sweet book that isn't Romeo and Juliet.

I loved this book! I’m a sucker for any retelling and even more for a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I loved how diverse this one was and the interaction between Romeo and Juliet. I really enjoyed listening to the audio for this one.

It's been a HOT MINUTE since I read Romeo & Juliet and while I do not remember liking it very much (which looking back says a lot about me and my views and misunderstandings of myself with regard to personal romanticism)as a ninth grader, all these many years later) but I actually quite liked this. I think I liked it more as an audiobook than I may have as a book I read due to Max Meyers being just... really good at being a Wistful Romantic (and actually, some of the vocal choices he makes reminds me of Orpheus in Hadestown), and the variances of voices and emotions he is able to produce over this cast of characters.

Loved that even though this was a gay Romeo & Juliet remix, that the love interest was a completely separate character and that Juliet was way less of a prop than she could have been in less skilled hands and instead had much more agency and surprising (in a great way) things about her that made her really likeable and gave her more agency and her own ideals and ideas and she was very good! Also I liked that the characters were older, and that this was in first person, it made the wistful romantic feelings and internal monologues that much more fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the borrow in exchange for this review.

Caleb Roehrig masterfully remixes Romeo & Juliet's story with Teach the Torches to Burn. This is the 7th installment in the Remixed Classics Series, we follow the familiar Romeo Montague, a seventeen-year-old aspiring artist who is the heir to the infamous Montague family. As the pressure for him to find an eligible wife to continue the family line builds, Romeo joins his cousin to sneak into a party hosted by their fierce rivals, the Capulets. There Romeo starts a tender romance with Valentine, the younger brother of one of his closet friends.

This is a comforting retelling of Romeo & Juliet, and Juliet's characterization is a definite highlight. The audio narrator has an enjoyable tone as well. I highly recommend purchasing or borrowing from your library!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you haven't read any of the books in the Classics Remixed series, I'd recommend changing that. Some are better than others, but Teach the Torches to Burn is one of my favorites! Roehrig manages to stay fairly true to the story Romeo & Juliet even while removing the biggest plot point: the romance between Romeo and Juliet. The basics of the story are still there: romance, death, faked death, etc, but this time Romeo is gay and falls for his friend's younger brother Valentine while Juliet becomes his aromatic friend who also feels trapped by societal expectations. I felt the narrator was a little too dramatic at times, but I still really enjoyed listening to Teach the Torches to Burn!

3 stars for audio
4.5 stars for the book itself

This book was so damn good. I loved this remix of romeo and juliet and to have listened to it on audio made it so much better.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5726639966

The way I’ve listened to EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF <i><b> Somewhere</i></b> from <i><b>West Side Story </i></b> since I finished this book is unreal.

right so, i must have seen every rendition of romeo and juliet and read it probably a thousand times, and i thought this immersive and endearing iteration was brilliant.

<img src="https://25.media.tumblr.com/44087c18ffcbf0afd491628575c3787c/tumblr_ms9f830gm21s1l7npo3_250.gif"/>

I loved Caleb Roehrig's gorgeous prose painted in between the moments of palpable enmity that threatened the lives (and the very forbidden love) of this retelling's pair of star crossed lovers, romeo and valentine. In this version of the famous tragedy, R&V's secret love is taboo for much different reasons, and i think the way Caleb's retelling utilizes the original moving pieces, providing another perspective on what's deemed a <i>subversive</i> love affair, made me have even greater empathy for shakespeare's doomed lovers. I know! That's fucking wild, but there it is! I'm in the process of gorging on every tale of R&J i can find aaaaaand there's a lot so yk see y'all when i resurface from my binge of the OG heartshredder!

<img src="https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExOXlmZDVnYWhncXk5cDBrOGczNXl1M202bm40dXd3Z3Jhamo4bHc4ZSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/EQIlRbpdee5P2/giphy.gif"/>

Anyway, back to 4TB! Everyone knows i'm an unabashed fan of sweet, adoring, butterflies in the tummy romances and this book gave me that in spades. I felt like <i><b>I</i></b> damn near fell in love ffs, so that in itself deserves 5 stars lol! I thought romeo and valentine were so precious, and i found myself holding my breath at times in anticipation of how this retelling unfolded. It was structured brilliantly, and while i could read 17329 pages more of this book out of sheer pleasure, as it stands i found the pacing to be dynamic, and the tension visceral enough to keep me in CR's thrall from beginning to end. It bears mentioning that i had started this gem in audiobook, but i ended up devouring the subsequent 80% in literary form and i found it outstanding! Right now I'm equal parts mewling heart throbbing achy adolescent pining aaaaaaaand grief stricken due to the established horrific foresight into inevitable loss, heartbreak and tragic endings. This is crazy! How dafuq am i supposed to leave my house feeling a million ways from stable?!

<img src="https://i.gifer.com/5EoZ.gif"/>

In any case, i loved this book! Absolutely 100% adored it! I look forward to getting a physical copy and rereading this book a million times because it's officially a favourite!

I'll copy and paste my review of the book I've already submitted, but wanted to add the voice actor on this audiobook was lovely. As someone who loves to read in hand and audio simultaneously this was perfect for my needs.

"Ok after sitting with this one for a second I have thoughts, some of which are me learning some of my own personal preferences when it comes to retellings.

This was my first of the Remix canon that I have read and I find the concept interesting. I love a retelling (Song of Achilles being one of my all-time favs) so I suspected this to be right up my alley. In this case, however, I almost felt the writing was held back by the Romeo and Juliet frame story. After thinking about it I really enjoyed the authors writing style and voice I just felt that it might have been better suited to an entirely original work. Like I said you could chalk this up to personal preferences, but I found that especially the language used by the characters too staunchly conflicted with the formality I've come to expect from Romeo and Juliet. I'd almost have preferred a story from this time period and with all the modern sensibilities that didn't use Romeo and Juliet as a framework. I do want to add that after reading the acknowledgments I do believe the author was successful in putting a spin on this tale that kept the focus on the feelings of the children involved rather than keeping the main theme of being a warning to parents and how there own petty biases are what lead to the destruction of their own families. And for this storyline that makes a lot more sense as it's about the queerness and love story of Romeo and Valentine.

On that note, this book gave me all the butterflies I look for in a queer romance. I got so caught up in rooting for them and their happiness. I will admit that the frame story did add to the unsureness I felt about how it would end as the original Romeo and Juliet is famously a tragedy. In this way, I enjoyed this story. It had all of the swoon-worthy romanticness I was looking for from something set in this context.

All and all I really did enjoy this one and would only be curious what this author could do with a completely original concept because I did love the writing style."

Thank you NetGalley for this digital free ARC. The narrator Max Meyers does an amazing job, and I truly enjoyed listening to this ARC. This retelling was well done, enjoyable, and a nice twist to a loved classic. It’s a great Young Adult book and will love recommending it to my YA readers.

This was a delightful queer retelling of Romeo and Juliet. While it has been years since I last read the original, I felt this retelling was true to the story in the feud between the Montagues and Capulets, the large cast of characters, the nod toward suicide by poison, and even the language which, while certainly not Shakespearian levels of archaic, gave a nod to the style.

The story was very complex and I was pleased to see that, while Juliet is no longer the love interest in this version, she is still an important character. I liked that all three of the main characters in this queer tale of rash teenage decisions were able to get a happily ever after.

I listened to the audiobook and highly recommend this book in that format. The narrator was very good and made story enjoyable to listen to.

Teach the Torches to Burn is both nothing and everything I expected it to be. It’s the story of Romeo and Juliet in the original setting with the original cast, with small twists to make it slightly different.

Romeo doesn’t know what to do with himself. It’s drawing ever closer to the day his parents are going to arrange his marriage for him, if he doesn’t find a suitable wife. And his cousin Benvolio is dead set on setting him up with as many eligible young ladies as it will take for Romeo to find his own match. But Romeo is more intrigued by the young man who appears to be new in town, and he’s afraid to let anyone know about this.

Following the original story in new ways, Romeo still meets Juliet but their bond is a close friendship instead of quick love, and true romance comes from the least likely of places. It’s a sweet story, romantic and humorous in ways I think the Bard himself would have appreciated.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends for the #gifted ALC and e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I have recently discovered i love and eagerly looking for retellings. I loved this mm twist and had no idea its part od a remix series which i immediately went and downloaded on libby. I loved the charactera and the narration was done very well.

4.5 stars rounded up

If you ever wished for a Romeo and Juliet story that was queer and a bit less tragic, you have come to the right place! Teach the Torches to Burn is a fantastic remix of Romeo and Juliet where Romeo is secretly gay and developing feelings for Mercutio's younger brother. Meanwhile Juliet is asexual and looking for a way out of a forced marriage she doesn't want. This has all the drama, the romance, the tension, and some of the tragedy of the original, but remixed in the best possible way. The writing is lovely and the entire story is told from Romeo's perspective. This retelling managed to hit all of the plot beats you want while delivering a fresh and satisfying spin on a classic. Definitely worth a read and the audio narration is great too! I received an audio review copy of this book from NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Another wonderful installment in the Remix Series! I loved this retelling of this classic tale. The ace representation was unexpected and very welcome! I enjoyed seeing the ways the author took elements of the classic tale and made them his own in this new story. The narration was very engaging and the dramatic voicing was well executed. I highly recommend purchasing this audiobook!

First off, many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for giving me the opportunity to read this book as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

I have pretty mixed feelings about this one. I was going to give it two stars, up until the last few chapters. The ending really makes this story.

I liked the updates to the plot, but the characters mostly bored me, save courageous, kind Friar Laurence and Juliet. Juliet! In every other rendition of this story I've read, I've hated her. In every other version, she's a stupid, naive child who does nothing but whine. But this version of her is wonderful! She's brave and clever and determined to be her own woman, and I absolutely love that! Also both of these characters are ace! I don't see enough ace representation, so this made me unbelievably happy. I would honestly read a book that was just about Juliet. I liked Benvolio, too, even though he was the comic relief and not too much else. He has, what, one scene that shows any depth of character? He's charming, though. Romeo and Valentine were both pretty flat, unfortunately. Romeo is a romantic artist in love who happens to be good with a sword, and Valentine is basically a manic pixie dream boy.

Now, the story, I liked. There were enough changes to the original plot that it kept my interest.

And the fight with Paris at the end was amazing! Especially a certain unexpected someone getting involved. That caught me completely by surprise! I loved it! And also the way Paris is portrayed as the big bad got a chuckle out of me, though I honestly don't know if that was the author's intent or not. Either way, I had fun reading it!

Three out of five stars!

This was an absolute treasure of a novel. It retained the atmosphere and sentiments of the original story, but I felt like I connected more with the characters and their motivations in this remixed version. Juliet's character was especially good. I also loved how this queer version of the story ended happily, reversing expectations of both the original tragic play and the all-too-common queer tragedy trope. It was sweet and romantic and thrilling. I absolutely love these remixed classics!