I'm always a little iffy when it comes to Romeo and Juliet retellings. Namely because insta love and needless death/sacrifices. But when I heard one of my favorite authors was writing one I knew I had to check it out. Unfortunately, BRIGHT SMOKE, COLD FIRE was a letdown and it is a sad day indeed. 
 At one hundred and twenty pages in, I was still unsure about what half of the terms in this book meant. Who was related to who again? In addition to that, I was still waiting for an actual in-depth explanation about the world building. This was a huge problem for me because I couldn't fall into the story or truly understand it. 
 Going along with that same thought, I felt the same about the characters - I wasn't invested in them. There were way too many players and not enough focus or development on any single one. In my opinion, most of them came off as super whiny or angsty, like the original Romeo and Juliet, actually. Fitting. 
 I do have to say that I didn't make it far into this one so it could have gotten better. However, the 35% that I did read didn't feel much like Hodge - gone are the beautiful descriptions from her previous books and in their place were things like "she was surrounded by a room that was white on all sides." 
 I really wanted to like BRIGHT SMOKE, COLD FIRE but instead I felt confused and apathetic towards the characters, the world, and even the plot itself.