This book was so lovely and beautiful!! It was definitely insta-lovey, which I didn’t have a problem with. I really enjoyed the spin on Romeo and Juliet, especially seeing so many different characters shine. The plot resolved fairly quickly, and the pacing of the book was well done!

A queer retelling of Romeo and Juliet wherein Romeo’s love interest is not Juliet but Mercutio’s younger brother.

It’s fine.

Well, overall I thought this was a fantastic retelling. Casting Romeo as a gay young man really made me more sympathetic to his character. In the original it is a bit harder to take his crush on Juliet seriously since he is in love with someone else at the beginning of the play. So the love story in this retelling makes more sense and is done really well. Sometimes teenagers in love make me roll my eyes, but this romance is adorable. I also loved how Roehrig portrayed Juliet in this version. I love retellings and the best ones take the source material and make it their own - and this story did that... but I thought the ending changed too much. So I took down my rating by a star because of the ending - but some of you may love the ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance listening copy of this book for review.

This book gave me a lot of emotions and it was fantastic and I loved every moment of it. Romeo was a bit of a disaster, but I loved him for it and Valentine is just so sweet. Juliet is honestly so relatable for me too.

One of the most important things I loved was that on top of our main character and love interest being gay we are also given some good asexual and aromantic representation! There was also a great discussion with Romeo and Juliet about how even though Romeo is limited by his lot in life, Juliet is even more limited as a woman with little to no agency in their society and it forces Romeo to consider from someone else's perspective.

This is the second book I've read in the Remixed Classics series (A Clash of Steel was the first) and I cannot wait to read more of them. Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa will be next!

For the audiobook, I liked how much emphasis the narrator put into depicting Romeo's emotions, it made listening to the book feel a lot more real.

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

This book is certainly an interesting one for me to review, as in spite of me being a gigantic fan of Shakespeare and retellings or remixes of his work, I have yet actually enjoy a Romeo and Juliet retelling as a Romeo and Juliet retelling, typically I have to separate the two from each other. However, most of the grievances that I had with this book were either very personal and had to do with my particular historical fiction or Shakespeare retelling pet peeves (one particular conversation about poetry being more enjoyable when it was bad and only boring when it was good comes to mind at this moment) – or spoilers for the book that I am not going to share.
On the other hand, I absolutely adored some of the characters. This version of Juliet, who was not a romantic interest but in fact much cooler than the original Juliet, was a character that I hoped to hear more of every time that she was in any scenes at all. I also loved Mercutio but he’s impossible to hate in any incarnation of his character as far as I know. Speaking of that, it seems that the sexualities of all of the characters have been reversed from their Shakespearean versions, which I think was certainly a choice. The character dynamics and the anxieties and fears of the characters were also pretty well written.
I read this book as an audiobook, and I do not have any real complaints about the narration, as the narrator did a good job of creating character voices, although the accent choices were not what I expected (some people are American, others Italian, yet others British) despite them all being Italian other than a French guy (who sounded American)

I'm as surprised as anyone to be giving this five stars, given how vocally I tend to berate comparisons to Romeo and Juliet when they come up in literature. I wasn't sure how Roehrig would be able to pull off a remix here, especially not knowing whether the story would stick to its tragedy roots and if so, just how tragic it would get. It didn't seem likely, but given that Romeo's love interest is Valentine, a completely new character and not Juliet, I was very curious how he'd stick to the plotline, especially since it's so well known.

I am in love with what Roehrig has pulled off here. In a stylistic choice that has just enough classical grammar to make it feel not out of place in 15th century Verona but easy enough to follow, Romeo navigates finally falling in love and what that means in a world where his future and fate seems so out of his hands. It's clear the story has been updated for modern expectations - Romeo is 17, Juliet takes even more agency, discussions of virtue and chastity abound - and other plot beats have been shifted so that they fit Romeo and Valentine as lovers but Romeo and Juliet as friends and allies, but it all still works together so seamlessly.

The first half is a dizzying rush of Romeo and Valentine falling in love. This is where I especially loved listening to the audiobook, as the narrator does a spot-on job of bringing Romeo's frantic scrambling to figure out what he's feeling and what to do with it to life. I found myself laughing or exclaiming aloud at so many points that I actually switched my plans so that I would be driving to work so that I would have more opportunities to listen.

The second half is tense, as you're trying to figure out how the rest of the plot points are going to come up and how and if they will be resolved, and all I can say is that they do and they are. On the way there, there's a lot more digging into everyone's personalities, given the increased time, and while I do agree that Mercutio did get the short end of the stick on that front, everyone else is so well done and so lovely that I don't mind as much. What we do get is a gaggle of teenagers doing their best to take control of their lives and find out a way to live freely in a world where they all feel shoved into boxes or pushed around or shut out. They're all finding their way, and it's nice to see them find chances to explore that.

My one quibble would be the antagonists are all...very flat. I don't know if it was a case of trying to keep Romeo and his crew seeming as blameless as possible, or if Roehrig just didn't want to spend much time on them, but any complexity in their motives or attempts to hinder the protagonists are pretty rote and portrayed as such, aside from one small moment. But we're not here for them, I guess.

As an audiobook, I adore this. There's so much life, and while the writing isn't quite iambic pentameter, there is a lift and flow to Roehrig's writing that Max Meyers creates a current with that really pulls you through the story. He really brings Romeo's romantic daydreams and ponderings to life and makes you as the listener feel each one deeply. Each character has a distinct voice that made it easy to tell them apart, and aside from one startlingly Scottish cook, the side characters are also well done as well.

First of all, the narrator for this audiobook absolutely slayed this performance. He put his soul into it, and I think it made me enjoy the story that much more.
I typically don't reach for romance, much less ya romance, but I am so glad I did or else I would've missed out on this. I'm not a huge fan of the original Romeo and Juliet play, but this reimagining of the characters was so fresh and fun and I really enjoyed every bit of it.

Look everyone knows the story of Romeo & Juliet. In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. We all read it in school, saw the movie with Leo. However in this retelling 17 year old Romeo just wants to be an artist & instead of meeting Juliet the night of the Capulet’s party he meets Valentine and it is love at first sight. It’s unfortunately not all roses and rainbows for our boys (this is based on one of the world’s most well known tragedies after all). They are pulled into the Montague & Capulet feud & it just might pull them apart forever.

I love, love, loved this book. It did such a good job of keeping enough of the source material but making this its own thing. I loved Romeo & valentine’s chemistry and their chemistry with the other characters throughout the book as well. And I loved that Juliet was not just written out, she was right there in the middle of things with everyone else.

I 100% recommend this to everyone, even if you weren’t a fan of Shakespeare’s play. There’s enough going on that everyone will have something to enjoy.

‘Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo and Juliet Remix’ by Caleb Roehrig was a stunningly, perfectly done queer retelling of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ I can’t adequately express how much I adored this lushly, vividly written book. It was emotional, sweet, and so romantic. And the audio was gorgeously performed. Highly, highly recommend!

“𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.” —𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐑𝐨𝐞𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐠, 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, with an LGBTQ+ twist.

This was the first Remixed Classic that I have read and I am in love with them already! Written by a diverse range of authors, each book reimagines and reinvents a literary classic, bringing a fresh new spin to beloved stories.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 captures the original story of R&J with a fresh new lens, making this a great companion (or trade-up) to the original story. Told from Romeo’s POV, this remix gave depth to the overall story, brought such passion to his thoughts and feelings, and shed light on the choices he makes.

I loved how Romeo and Valentine came together, the drama that unfolded around them, and their love story! Juliet is in it ofc, but tbh I was expecting her to be a Julio (or something…rather than introducing Valentine as Romeos love interest) so that was the biggest change IMO—the story otherwise stays very true to the original.

I am so excited to discover more Remixed Classics, and would love to add the whole series to my collection!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ALC!

This Romeo & Juliet retelling takes on a big plot twist -Romeo isn't in love with Juliet, but with a young man (I won't name him to avoid spoilers). The Montagues and Capulets are feuding, just like in the classic Shakespeare play, but in this version of the story, Romeo & Juliet are friends instead of lovers. What happens when Romeo's love is someone that he is not supposed to want? Will he and his love be able to find their happily ever after together, or will it all end it tears?

I really enjoyed this book. I listened to the audiobook and I feel like the narrator did a great job. The characters are developed well, even though they are familiar (since this is a retelling) and I came to care about them over the course of the book. The atmosphere was also well-written and built, creating vivid pictures in my mind as I read. I would recommend this to anyone who likes the original play, as well as anyone simply looking for a good, romantic story.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and Caleb Roehrig for providing me with a copy of the Audiobook for Teach the Torches to Burn: A Romeo & Juliet Remix.

⭐⭐⭐✨ - rounded up - available 22 August 2023

The audio narration of this is basically faultless given the content. The fact is that having about 7 male characters in dialogue throughout the book is probably going to push any voice actors ability to create distinct and recognisable voices. Essentially, I don't think this is passing the Bechdel Test but I suspect that has a lot more to do with the options available in the source material as opposed to any creative decisions.

Long story short - was I confused exactly which male character was speaking at points? Yes but I figured it out.

This is a great rewrite of the classic. To be completely honest, I haven't read Romeo & Juliet since Year 9 English and our school didn't even have actual copies of the book and we just had photocopied versions of about half of the play. I think someone with better knowledge of the original will really be able to sink their teeth into this Remix.

As a stand alone it is a lovely story and delivers what is expected of it - a Queer retelling of a Shakespeare Classic. But it isn't just a gay romance, that's right, this story is an onion with layers of queerness throughout. Plus having Juliet in the thick of it is so lovely, she could have been completely sidelined but I really enjoyed how she was kept involved.

At this point, I am completely on board for all of the Macmillan's Remixed Classics collection!

This is the third I’ve read of this remixed classics series and I would just like to repeat my love of this whole project! That being said, Romeo and Juliet, while being an iconic story, has never been a story I’ve enjoyed, so I admit I went into this ALC with some trepidation, and I was blown away. This might be one of the only adaptations of the story I’ve ever truly enjoyed.

Caleb Roehrig stays fairly close to the original story, though I admit I haven’t read the original play since high school, so we still have the insta love; however, it made more sense to me in Roehrig’s version. When we meet Romeo, he has been struggling with his sexuality and his parent’s plans for his future for quite some time and when he is reintroduced to Valentine he is desperate to learn more about this boy, who is the first person he’s met who has similar desires to him. I loved the way he wrote Romeo’s internal monologue and how he wrote about being closeted and how the expectations of society can feel stifling especially when you’re young and may not meet fit the standards society has set for you. I also loved that he included some asexual and aromantic representation!

Roehrig’s prose gives nods to the flowery Shakespearean text while keeping it accessible for a modern young adult audience, and he keeps the pace of the original text without making the story feel too rushed.

This was good! I’m a big fan of Caleb work so I was really excited for this. I will say I feel like you need more knowledge of the original text to really get this book. As someone who only has a base understanding of Romeo & Juliet there was a lot I didn’t know. But overrall it was fun!

3.75

Thank you for the arc of this book and allowing me to read it.

Now, Romeo and Juliet but make it gay. It took about two days to listen and it was sweet and adventurous. I enjoyed the twist of the book. The fact that both Romeo and Juliet lived.

I liked Valentine added in.

I am giving it almost 4 stars because some of it was long but overall, it was a great remix

I received an Audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this. The author was able to take the story of Romeo and Juliet and make it their own in this queer remix of the story.

This book is exactly what I expected and more. It is truly a Romeo and Juliet remix, but done is a fresh, new way. The use of characters from Shakespeare’s play was artfully done, from the stars to the smaller roles. In the beginning, I wondered who our star crossed lovers would be. Then, I wondered if friendships would hold true. Were the characters the good people I’d hoped? Or would they turn on each other? Would this pair of star crossed lovers find their happy ending or would this end in tragedy too?

Oof, this kept me on my toes with all the “what will happen next?” And I am 100% here for it.

The characters were well written, the setting was what I was hoping for, and there was even a feline addition to the cast that was an utterly delightful. Once I got started, I couldn’t put the book down.

Absolutely pick this one up if it seems up your alley.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners for an arc of this audiobook. I apologize if misspelled any names or locations, I read this via the audio narration. Thanks to Max Meyers for a bringing these characters to life. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a queer retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It is the first of this series of classical queer remixes for me. Of course, it is not as good as the original, but it is very cute. Romeo is a bit annoying in his angst, but Juliet is a wonderfully strong character (as she is in the original). I very much liked Friar Lawrence's character, and regret that Mercutio is not as complex as he is in the original. The audiobook is engaging! I would recommend this to readers who like Shakespeare and love queer love stories.

Ahh this was so romantic and cute, it was not my first gay Romeo & Juliet adaptation but definitely the best, loved the asexusl representation, you don't see it often.

Thank you to Netgalley and Fierce Reads for the arc of this one!

Romeo and Juliet but make it gay!

Okay when I tell you the better you know R&J the better this is!!!! I have read Romeo and Juliet so many times because I'm an English teacher and I loved seeing all the little and big references and how things were twisted!

I think this book did a really good job retelling the original story without it feeling like a copy. The romance between Romeo and Valentine was so good!!!

Also an aroace Friar Lawrence and an aroace Juliet 🫡. I am pleased.

I had so much fun reading this and loved every second of it. This retelling series is always so good and this one is definitely one of my favorites!

CW: homophobia, death, violence, poisoning, emotional abuse