Ratings:
Star Rating: ★★★★★
If This Book Was a Movie Rating: R
Review:
I AM IN AWE.
THIS WAS GOLD.
BRILLIANT, BLOODY GOLD.
IDK IF I WILL EVER RECOVER.
…
I SHOULD PROBABLY START TALKING ABT THE PLOT OR SOMETHING SHOULDN’T I.
“These Violent Delights, a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai.”
ok that’s it excuse me one moment.
*crawls into a corner and sobs with pure joy*
THIS IS SOMETHING I DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED THANK YOU CHLOE GONG.
aight let’s try this plot discussion again.
Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov. Heirs to the two gangs that rule Shanghai: the Scarlets and the White Flowers. These two heirs are bitter rivals that represent the future of the gangs and their eternal blood feud. They are warriors loyal to their families beyond death. They are leaders with the blood of each other’s gangs on their hands. They are each other’s worst enemy.
And once, a long time ago, they were lovers.
Of course, it’s been four years since those weaker times. They’ve both long since buried that part of themselves. Instead, they’ve immersed themselves in being the heirs to the most powerful gangs in China.
But the dominance of the Scarlets and the White Flowers is being challenged. Foreigners from Britain, France, and America are moving into China and Shanghai with their tanks and colonization. The Communists are gaining power, rallying workers away from both gangs while the Nationalists are trying to stop such rapid expansion. And in the midst of all this, there are rumors of monsters, and a madness spreading through the streets; a madness that makes you tear your own throat out.
Roma and Juliette both realize that if they want the gangs to stay in power, they’ll have to curb their hatred long enough to figure out a solution together.
Long enough to fall brutally in love again.
WELL THANK YOU CHLOE GONG NOW IM REALLY NOT OK.
First off, some of you may be put off by the fact that this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling.
HA.
This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling in the sense that the characters’ names are similar, the basic premise is similar, and a few famous lines are referenced.
but in every way that matters, this story is BRAND SPANKING NEW and my proud Romeo-and-Juliet hating self is LIVING for it.
The writing is GORGEOUS. Someone please tell me how Chloe wrote this as a twenty-year-old and put words together so they created such JAW-DROPPING WORKS OF ART??
Queen Chloe has SERIOUS talent omigosh.
next, this book has dual pov (it does include brief povs from select side characters).
no, no, i don’t think you heard me.
IT HAS DUAL POVVVVVV
i get to see the angst. i get to see the bloody yearning. I GET TO SEE THEM FIGHT MONSTERS AND MADNESS AND VILLAINS WHILE DYING TO KISS EACH OTHER.
*screams ecstatically into pillow*
On a more serious note, I loved how this book tackles the very real issues of colonialism, something many, many historical fiction works ignore. While such blatant culture/people/country-erasing was completely disgusting just to read about, those topics need to be addressed. I’ll let you all read the book, but thank you, Chloe.
Now. Final thing (more of a warning really): if you are terrified of bugs or can't handle an excessive amount of blood, please do NOT read this book. You will thank me later.
OK CHARACTERS NOW YAYYYYY
The entire cast of supporting characters were amazing, well-developed and SO FUN TO BE AROUND. The supporting characters didn’t exist to further the MCs lives and they all actually had their own lives *gasps*
There were so many wonderful characters I don’t have time to talk about them all, but shoutout to my boy Marshall Seo because he is the ONLY character with a sense of humor in this entire bloody book.
(i mean i love all of you but every single dang one of you was so seeeeriooouuusss *glares aggressively at Tyler Cai*)
Juliette Cai.
This girl is the definition of a killer girl boss. Put it this way: I have a strong gut feeling her and Jude Duarte would be besties ;) Juliette is strong and smart and deadly, but she has to deal with her own demons. Her years spent in America as a flapper makes her feel like she’s constantly straddling two worlds: too Chinese for America, too American for China. She never feels like she belongs.
Roma Montagov.
My boi tries to hide it beneath a cold exterior, but he is really such a cinnamon bun <33
And the THINGS he’d do for the family and the woman he loves !!!
*cries because she wants a Roma*
But Roma’s losing his father’s favor as the heir of the White Flowers. He’s too soft; he isn’t brutal enough, deadly enough, cold-hearted enough to rule half of Shanghai.
and then ROMA AND JULLIETTE??
they love to hate each other, but they hate to love even more. THE YEARNING? THE DRAMA? THE SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE? THE ENEMIES TO LOVERS? THE FORBIDDEN LOVE?
THE ACCIDENTAL HAND TOUCHES??
IM CRYINNNNNNG
chloe you will need to pay for my therapy after that complete masterpiece.
Friend me on Goodreads (yes, you, I wanna be your friend): https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/136268749-isabelle
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