Martha Brockenbrough

In Seattle in 1937 two seventeen-year-olds, Henry, who is white, and Flora, who is African-American, become the unwitting pawns in a game played by two immortal figures, Love and Death, where they must choose each other at the end, or one of them will die.

The Game of Love and Death

Carley Whitehead

Olivera Mitić

Okay, this one is a handful. 

First of all, everyone comparing this to the Night Circus, please stop. Except for the game element, these two books are nothing alike. 

Plot wise, it was meh. Insta love, cheesy and over the top love scenes and a completely ridiculous ending that spoiled the enjoyment of the book. An idea that had so much potential was so poorly executed that it almost hurts me. Perhaps some of it could have been improved by better editing or even rewriting, we'll never know.
Also, pretty sure there were historical inaccuracies.

When it comes to the characters...well, I'm not sure whom I disliked more. There's a huge tie between Henry and Flora. Both were so annoying, but oddly enough, in their own unique way. The problem I had with Flora was her whole "we're all gonna die eventually, so there's no point" attitude, and Henry was the absolute opposite, with his blind faith in everything, especially their love which was totally worth throwing away his ENTIRE life for. On top of that, they were somehow extreme supertalents and they practically invented music. 
If I say the main characters are unrealistic and two-dimensional, I don't even know what to say about the secondary ones. Underdeveloped doesn't even begin to cover it. 
The characters of Love and Death were the only ones who had any kind of personality, and while they did intrigue me so much (Death especially), once the ending came I was completely let down. What Brockenbrough did, no spoilers, don't worry, was completely changing some fundamental truths she tried to glue to her characters throughout the novel, which just ended up seeming unbelievable and kind of contradicting the whole point of the book. 

As far as writing goes:
1. children don't talk that way. 
2. people in general don't talk that way. 
3. seriously plastic at times
4. waaay to cheesy lines

To sum it up: could have been great, but ended up being a huge disappointment.

Zoe Murphy

b.andherbooks

Love and Death play an eternal game, selecting different players throughout time. Love never wins. Until now? Henry is a white orphan, the ward of a wealthy family who dreams of playing the bass professionally. Flora is a black jazz singer and aviator, and dreams of owning her own plane and flying it around the world. They are both pawns in the game of Love and Death, chosen at birth. They fall in love, but will they both choose each other despite all the obstacles in their lives? If they don't choose each other, Death will claim Flora's life.

I'm giving this four stars because of uniqueness of the plot, the diversity of the characters, and the loveliness of the prose. That said, there was so much going on here that I felt I needed a few hundred more pages to really sink into everything. Love and Death were my favorite characters, but I didn't quite buy the love between Henry and Flora (despite the story resting on this premise).

Zoe R

Flora and Henry were born a few blocks from each other, innocent of the forces that might keep a white boy and an African American girl apart; years later they meet again and their mutual love of music sparks an even more powerful connection. But what Flora and Henry don't know is that they are pawns in a game played by the eternal adversaries Love and Death, here brilliantly reimagined as two extremely sympathetic and fascinating characters. Can their hearts and their wills overcome not only their earthly circumstances, but forces that have battled throughout history?

The Game of Love and Death

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