Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

13 reviews

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

I felt like the plot in this one wasn’t as good as the first book, but the character development was spot on. It was emotional af, though. I couldn’t handle Ben’s chapters at all.  

Fantasy, Dark Romance, Taboo, 1 🔥

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, Blood, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Police brutality, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

omg!! This book definitely exceeded my expectations and was even better than the first. The action, the betrayal, and the angst made this a suspenseful yet gut wrenching read bc even if you predicted certain things, you never knew when or if they would happen or to whom. The way the book left off at the open ending of did they or didn’t they when it came to Juliette and Roma’s HEA, Chloe Gong wrote it in a way that makes you believe they did bc it’s the ending they deserves after fighting so hard for it. This duology was so good and one I’ll always appreciate reading. I’m also glad that people insisted on reading this before starting Foul Last Fortune since it’s a connected series bc I was able to get the full backstory on the rival families and the war on the city, etc. I 1000000% recommend reading this duology if you’re looking for a high stakes fantasy Romeo & Juliet retelling‼️ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Abandonment, Classism, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Violence, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual content and Xenophobia

bluelilyleest's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Chloe Gong putting me behind on my reading challenge again because her books are so damn long 😅

So, I loved it. I get why people say the second book is better than the first, because in terms of character interaction/profiles/development, it did much more. The plot was thicc, the pace was fast but still allowed for funny moments or background information, the setting and atmosphere were immersive. 

Then why do I not rate it 5 stars, you ask? I ask myself the same question. I can't quite put my finger on what was lacking, and therefore you probably shouldn't take my review too seriously. It was a great retelling of what we know to be Romeo and Juliet. I think now, whenever Shakespeare's play is mentioned, I will think about Gong's Romeo and Juliet, too, and I believe that is no small feat. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Colonisation, War, Death, and Suicide

Minor: Xenophobia and Misogyny

ghostsversion's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay this was far better. Not by a lot but still. Honestly it’s probably the fact that we already knew the characters so there was no reason to waste time on unnecessary descriptions. Straight to the chase. Even when

we find out that Marshall’s father is the Nationalist General or that Rosalind is the traitor

it feels more gradual. Although I will say I did not expect a re-enactment of

the war scene from ACOTAR . You know which one.

Otherwise I'd say this has definitely given me hope for the next books in this series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, War, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Xenophobia, Child death, Cursing, Grief, Blood, Medical content, Violence, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny

prashiie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.0

"These violent delights have violent ends."

This story too shows similarities with Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. I don’t want to spoil it, so you’ll see when you read it. Just read it…!

The tables have turned and there’s so much chaos. In the previous book, Roma kept a secret from Juliette and protected her whilst Juliette held a grudge against Roma for betraying her. Now it is Juliette who is trying to protect Roma. So to sum it up: lovers turned enemies turned lovers turned enemies again.

It was a little frustrating, because I felt like she should have told Roma and they could have figured it out together. Like he said:

“You think so intently of protecting me that you did not consider whether I wanted to be protected. I would have rather died knowing you are as you are than lived a long life thinking you cruel.”

But of course as soon as Tyler notices Juliette’s misstep, he would swoop in and take over everything. The frictions were already escalating between the gangs, so Juliette is forced to pick a side.

There were so many emotional moments: Benedikt’s grief,

Rosalind’s and Tyler’s fate. Juliette did what she had to do to save Roma, but it broke my heart when she looked back to her past interactions with Tyler.

On the other hand, there were some very adorable moments as well, for example

when Roma and Juliette get married in secret! And the cute nicknames they have for each other! Oh, my heart…
“I take you, Juliette Cai,” Roma whispered in concentration, ”to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, until…” He looked up as he finished the knot. Paused. When he spoke again, he did not look away. "No, scratch that. To have and to hold, where even death cannot part us. In this life and the next, for however long our souls remain, mine will always find yours. Those are my vows to you.”

"Together or not at all, dorogaya," Roma whispered back. "I'm with you if we run. I'm with you if we fight."

No, I’m not crying. You’re crying!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Xenophobia

rexpostfacto's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, and Death

ye_li's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent

ourlastopus's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense 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

5.0

we can clearly see how much chloe gong has evolved as a writer in this incredible sequel; this killed me in the best way possible
ok, now i’m going back to crying

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Torture, Death, Violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Xenophobia, Classism, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Death of parent

twobyy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Violence, and War

Moderate: Death, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Transphobia, Grief, Xenophobia, and Toxic relationship

packedjam's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.25

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

it’s better than the first book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Torture, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and War

Moderate: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia