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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
i knew how it was gonna end but not like that šš literally was crushed ! loved it tho ! truly a great series and would definitely reread over and over again !
Okay, swoon. If you want dramatic declarations of love, you'll get them here. Also, I bought the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition, which ends with a fluff piece about Benedikt and Marshall after the author acknowledgements.
I think I wrote in my review for TVD that I don't usually like Romeo and Juliet. The play is short, and the characters annoy me. I love this duology because it fills in the gaps and gives much-needed backstory. I did have to go back and reread the last chapter of TVD, though, because I was very confused at the beginning of this book. There is a bit of a time jump between books, and I just could not remember exactly how the cliffhanger happened.
Blood feud is still happening. Monsters too. And some political stuff that is threatening the Scarlet Gang and White Flowers. I knowing the play, I wasn't sure where the author would take this next. I am very happy to have been surprised and anxious and overjoyed. This is not a very useful review, since it's for the second book of a series where I don't want to spoil the plot, but I am very satisfied.
I think I wrote in my review for TVD that I don't usually like Romeo and Juliet. The play is short, and the characters annoy me. I love this duology because it fills in the gaps and gives much-needed backstory. I did have to go back and reread the last chapter of TVD, though, because I was very confused at the beginning of this book. There is a bit of a time jump between books, and I just could not remember exactly how the cliffhanger happened.
Blood feud is still happening. Monsters too. And some political stuff that is threatening the Scarlet Gang and White Flowers. I knowing the play, I wasn't sure where the author would take this next. I am very happy to have been surprised and anxious and overjoyed. This is not a very useful review, since it's for the second book of a series where I don't want to spoil the plot, but I am very satisfied.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
9.5/10
Wow. While the first book of the series didnāt wow me a whole lot, These Violent Ends is the perfect conclusion to the story. Roma and Julietteās story continues in this sequel and while their romance is not the focal point of the story, you can feel it seep in with every decision and every feeling they have.
Iām not usually a fan of multiple POVās but it just works. It works very well and I enjoyed the dichotomy of all the characters and their motivations. Benedikt and Marshall and Celia and Rosalind and Alisa and everyone here has a perfect ending that I couldnāt imagine better.
Usually ages in these books bug me because the teens act way too mature for their age and make way too mature decisions too, but with these characters, burdened by the ruthless city and time, it all makes sense. It works.
Chloe Gong is a literary genius and her descriptive storytelling and perfect arching storylines for each beloved character gives Shakespeares original Romeo and Juliet a fresh retelling rooted in history, romance, and hatred, with a dash of monsters and madness.
*only gripe, a little fast paced at the end, even though i absolutely loved the ending <3
Wow. While the first book of the series didnāt wow me a whole lot, These Violent Ends is the perfect conclusion to the story. Roma and Julietteās story continues in this sequel and while their romance is not the focal point of the story, you can feel it seep in with every decision and every feeling they have.
Iām not usually a fan of multiple POVās but it just works. It works very well and I enjoyed the dichotomy of all the characters and their motivations. Benedikt and Marshall and Celia and Rosalind and Alisa and everyone here has a perfect ending that I couldnāt imagine better.
Usually ages in these books bug me because the teens act way too mature for their age and make way too mature decisions too, but with these characters, burdened by the ruthless city and time, it all makes sense. It works.
Chloe Gong is a literary genius and her descriptive storytelling and perfect arching storylines for each beloved character gives Shakespeares original Romeo and Juliet a fresh retelling rooted in history, romance, and hatred, with a dash of monsters and madness.
*only gripe, a little fast paced at the end, even though i absolutely loved the ending <3
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Better than the first book. I feel like the two books couldāve been a little more connected. Where it began and ended are two totally different points especially in what is important and focused on. I liked the Romeo and Juliet tie-ins more in the second. I hated Juliette in the first book and hated her parents in the second. I think making the ābad guysā just mean and hateful is superficial and they need to have more depth as to why. Juliette is one dimensional in the first book and her parents are so blah the entire duet itās hard to get invested. The second half of the second book was really captivating.
I have a lot of thoughts but don't know where to begin..
I appreciate the world that Chloe Gong has created through this retelling of Romeo and Juliet, I think it has been done well and i was drawn to it at first, especially in the first book. However, the story did start to drag and I felt that way from book 1 but looked over it because I really enjoyed Chloe Gong's execution.
However, I didn't feel the same about this one, whilst again the world Chloe Gong is simply stunning, the story just didn't have me captured, which is honestly a shame because I did really look forwards to this. The amount of time it took me to get through this book honestly says a lot, but I really didn't want to leave it unread so sped through the last 150 pages. My main issue is that it just was dragged out for so no reason, and it just got a bit boring.
That being said, I am interested in the spin off(?), so I will be looking forwards to that and definitely will be reading when it comes out in September.
I appreciate the world that Chloe Gong has created through this retelling of Romeo and Juliet, I think it has been done well and i was drawn to it at first, especially in the first book. However, the story did start to drag and I felt that way from book 1 but looked over it because I really enjoyed Chloe Gong's execution.
However, I didn't feel the same about this one, whilst again the world Chloe Gong is simply stunning, the story just didn't have me captured, which is honestly a shame because I did really look forwards to this. The amount of time it took me to get through this book honestly says a lot, but I really didn't want to leave it unread so sped through the last 150 pages. My main issue is that it just was dragged out for so no reason, and it just got a bit boring.
That being said, I am interested in the spin off(?), so I will be looking forwards to that and definitely will be reading when it comes out in September.
OKAY I KNEW THIS WAS A ROMEO AND JULIET RETELLING BUT IāM ABSOLUTELY IN PIECES
A MESS
WILL NEVER EMOTIONALLY RECOVER
On a serious note though, while I had similar issues in the flow of the story as with TVD, Roma and Julietteās relationship was crafted with such beautiful grace that you canāt help falling for them, hoping theyāll finally get their happy ending. Seeing them have to suffer so much only to finally be reunited in death really is the final crushing blow to finish off the duology. In retrospect, perhaps the fact that TVD felt a bit underwhelming made both characters shine even more brilliantly in OVE and their deaths even more heartbreaking.
(Still clinging on to the hope that Alisa really did see them at the end
A MESS
WILL NEVER EMOTIONALLY RECOVER
On a serious note though, while I had similar issues in the flow of the story as with TVD, Roma and Julietteās relationship was crafted with such beautiful grace that you canāt help falling for them, hoping theyāll finally get their happy ending. Seeing them have to suffer so much only to finally be reunited in death really is the final crushing blow to finish off the duology. In retrospect, perhaps the fact that TVD felt a bit underwhelming made both characters shine even more brilliantly in OVE and their deaths even more heartbreaking.
(Still clinging on to the hope that Alisa really did see them at the end