These Violent Delights
These Violent Delights
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By Chloe Gong
Description
Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
'Deliciously dark' NATASHA NGAN
'Heady, smart and vicious' TESSA GRATTON
This heart-pounding fantasy romance retelling of Romeo and Juliet is set in jazz-age Shanghai and filled with intrigue, danger and betrayal.
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city in chaos.
Juliette Cai is the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang - a network of criminals far above the law.
Roma Montagov is the prodigal son of her greatest rivals, the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. He is also Juliette's first love . . . and first betrayal.
When a deadly madness strikes gangsters on both sides, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, and a monster in the shadows. And as the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns - and grudges - aside and work together.
For if they can't stop this mayhem, there will be no city left to rule.
READERS LOVE CHLOE GONG
'This was INCREDIBLE are you kidding me!! It's a friends to lovers to enemies to reluctant allies Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai and I loved it' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This is a stunning and richly-imagined fantasy with lots of bloody action, revenge, betrayal and so much more that there is never a dull moment' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A fusion of thrill, passion and devastation! I absolutely loved this tale and still in-awe of the fact that this is a debut novel! From the very beginning, the story felt grippingly intense and exciting' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I am not at all sure how I am going to patiently wait for the sequel of this book after THAT ending! A phenomenal read!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'WHAT A BOOK!! I am absolutely left wanting MORE, MORE, MORE!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
About the Author
Chloe Gong is the New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and its sequel Our Violent Ends. She is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she double-majored in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Chloe is now located in New York pretending to be a real adult.
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Good book. Interesting to learn about the country at that time and has good characters with deep stories. Enjoyed reading.
These Violent Delights is a kindle book I picked up in one of their 99p Daily Deals offers over 2 years ago and then never got round to reading; the dreaded "TikTok made me buy it" was placed proudly next to the title for a while and that instantly put me off from reading it, plus I've never found Romeo & Juliet romantic in the slightest. However the gang rivalries and the scheming & plotting within them, together with the fantastical elements, the mystery and the political atmosphere of the time frame & culture in the setting of the story is something that is new to me in books, and intrigued me enough to finally sit down and read...Going into this post; I'm trying to be firm & think more critically about the plot, and me not being a fan of YA romance in general is the only drawback that comes to mind - however the romantic element is thankfully minimal, as readers are quickly wrapped up in the inner structures of the gangs, the overarching fantastical elements, the mystery and the political atmosphere of 1920s Shanghai.I love stories set before mobiles and the Internet, because we get to experience old-school problem solving without Google to rely on for quick fixes, plus it really builds up the suspense whenever people need to contact each other but they can't just pull an Iphone out of their pocket.I didn't want to get specific about the plotlines and possibly spoil anything in either book [I like going into books knowing little about them beforehand, don't you?), meaning that this review/rambly thoughts is far away from the best summary available, so thanks for bearing with me 😳
Book came with an uneven top, quite disapointed
For me, this would have been better had it not been such a Romeo and Juliet retelling which is heavy handed throughout. Rival gangs and star crossed lovers would have been enough. But between that, a power struggle with communists, a monster and its impact on the city, and the protagonists’ backstory, it’s very packed. You’ll either love the Romeo and Juliet aspect or you won’t.
roma and juliette <3also i follow the author on social media and she seems like the nicest person ever