Scan barcode
miamcmillan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.0
chloe gong when i get you! you will pay for your crimes! this has me distraught! this was heartbreaking and satisfying all at once, i feel simultaneously fulfilled and empty. i consumed this so quickly i am utterly dazed. a beautiful and honestly extremely impressive second novel and end to a duology. i am SO excited for foul lady fortune my god <3 (my benmars DREAMS i love them so much !! celia this is my official proposal for marriage i can cook and clean for you đź’•đź’žđź’“ )
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Body horror, Gun violence, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Cheese and rice. I knew this book was going to be intense, but I was absolutely not prepared for how intense it actually was. I think I survived all of the other books I’ve read over the years just so this one specifically could kill me. Very rarely do books evoke such physical reactions in me; as I read, I was laughing, gasping, and my heart was pounding. I don’t think it slowed down at all during the second half of the book.
There’s not much I can say that’s spoiler-free, and honestly, I don’t have either the physical or emotional energy right now for an in-depth review. Just know that as much as I loved the first book, somehow I love this one even more. Juliette, Roma, Marshall, Benedikt, and Alisa stole my heart; Juliette and Roma in particular own my soul. I’m legit reevaluating my mental list of favorite series of all time to make room for this duology in the top five. Anything that affects me as much as this did sure as hell deserves it.
So yeah. My heart is a pulp and my brain is mush and I don’t really know what to do with my life right now. If these books weren’t already one of my main personality traits, they are now. I’ll definitely reread them at some point, but I need to prepare myself for that first. I’m eagerly (and nervously) awaiting Chloe Gong’s next book.
Representation
There’s not much I can say that’s spoiler-free, and honestly, I don’t have either the physical or emotional energy right now for an in-depth review. Just know that as much as I loved the first book, somehow I love this one even more. Juliette, Roma, Marshall, Benedikt, and Alisa stole my heart; Juliette and Roma in particular own my soul. I’m legit reevaluating my mental list of favorite series of all time to make room for this duology in the top five. Anything that affects me as much as this did sure as hell deserves it.
So yeah. My heart is a pulp and my brain is mush and I don’t really know what to do with my life right now. If these books weren’t already one of my main personality traits, they are now. I’ll definitely reread them at some point, but I need to prepare myself for that first. I’m eagerly (and nervously) awaiting Chloe Gong’s next book.
Representation
- Chinese protagonist and side characters
- Chinese trans girl side character
- Korean queer side character
- queer side character with OCD
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Body horror, Blood, Gore, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Police brutality
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
solouncapitulomas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
“It was all one and the same. It was this city, divided by names and colors and turfs, but somehow bleeding the exact same shade of violence.”
I cried, I broke apart and pulled myself back together while reading this book, I do have a lot to say but not a lot to write so I'll keep it simple:
Miss Chloe Gong, what the actual fuck?
some quotes i loved:
“Lovers turned to strangers, and it cut deep enough to bleed.”
“And what was love if all it did was kill?”
“Let the men jump. Let them be afraid of how she moved, like a hurricane intent on destruction.”
“Eternally running around trying to save a city that does not want to be saved, that is hardly good enough to be saved.”
“Nothing in this world is complicated, only misunderstood.”
“In the end, this was all that they were. Two hearts pressed as close as they dared, shadows melding into one by the flickering candlelight.”
“Ordinary things happen to ordinary people, and ordinary people settle for something that satisfies them, never knowing if there would have been greater happiness in another life.”
“Pain at that age was an eternal thing, a feeling that might never fade. It would, of course. Pain always faded, even if it refused to fully disappear. But that was a lesson that could only come with time too.”
“It sounded like a plea. A plea to the heavens, to the stars, to the forces that drew their fates.”
“A rose is a rose, even by another name, but we choose whether we will offer beauty to the world, or if we will use our thorns to sting.”
“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.”
“Who cared about values when the history books were being written? What did it matter if the history books rewrote everything in the end?”
i was listening to all to well (10 minute version) (taylor's version) (from the vault) while writing this review bc i enjoy pain
'kay, I'm out
Bye
I cried, I broke apart and pulled myself back together while reading this book, I do have a lot to say but not a lot to write so I'll keep it simple:
Miss Chloe Gong, what the actual fuck?
some quotes i loved:
“Lovers turned to strangers, and it cut deep enough to bleed.”
“And what was love if all it did was kill?”
“Let the men jump. Let them be afraid of how she moved, like a hurricane intent on destruction.”
“Eternally running around trying to save a city that does not want to be saved, that is hardly good enough to be saved.”
“Nothing in this world is complicated, only misunderstood.”
“In the end, this was all that they were. Two hearts pressed as close as they dared, shadows melding into one by the flickering candlelight.”
“Ordinary things happen to ordinary people, and ordinary people settle for something that satisfies them, never knowing if there would have been greater happiness in another life.”
“Pain at that age was an eternal thing, a feeling that might never fade. It would, of course. Pain always faded, even if it refused to fully disappear. But that was a lesson that could only come with time too.”
“It sounded like a plea. A plea to the heavens, to the stars, to the forces that drew their fates.”
“A rose is a rose, even by another name, but we choose whether we will offer beauty to the world, or if we will use our thorns to sting.”
“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.”
“Who cared about values when the history books were being written? What did it matter if the history books rewrote everything in the end?”
i was listening to all to well (10 minute version) (taylor's version) (from the vault) while writing this review bc i enjoy pain
'kay, I'm out
Bye
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Death of parent
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Because I was such a slow reader, however, the hardcover came out before I could finish, so I read the last half in physical copy.
Why is it that every time I read a Romeo & Juliet retelling, I end up bawling my eyes out despite knowing the original story was never intended to be a romantic ideal?
It took me a solid week to get through this because it's a lot of politics crammed into 500 pages. You have to pay attention to every detail, otherwise you'll be lost further down the story. It would also help to have (re)read the first book recently. I couldn't for the life of me remember which sister was Kathleen and which was Rosalind, and the mention of Celia didn't help. I haven't picked These Violent Delights since I read the eARC last year, so I definitely wasn't in the loop anymore.
You get attached to all the characters, so every chapter is a knife in the gut where you wonder who will suffer this time around. Spoiler (not really): they all get their turn.
Chloe Gong managed to flawlessly include dialogue from the original play (eg "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet") and set it in this rich historical Shangai setting that will make you feel like you're really there. Her worldbuilding is a masterpiece, and the author's note at the very end speaks to the amount of research put into her work.
Speaking about the author's note, though, I need to know what the hell she meant by setting the set for the 1930s... Is there another book set in that era brewing? Because I will buy this thing the day it comes out!
Why is it that every time I read a Romeo & Juliet retelling, I end up bawling my eyes out despite knowing the original story was never intended to be a romantic ideal?
It took me a solid week to get through this because it's a lot of politics crammed into 500 pages. You have to pay attention to every detail, otherwise you'll be lost further down the story. It would also help to have (re)read the first book recently. I couldn't for the life of me remember which sister was Kathleen and which was Rosalind, and the mention of Celia didn't help. I haven't picked These Violent Delights since I read the eARC last year, so I definitely wasn't in the loop anymore.
You get attached to all the characters, so every chapter is a knife in the gut where you wonder who will suffer this time around. Spoiler (not really): they all get their turn.
Chloe Gong managed to flawlessly include dialogue from the original play (eg "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet") and set it in this rich historical Shangai setting that will make you feel like you're really there. Her worldbuilding is a masterpiece, and the author's note at the very end speaks to the amount of research put into her work.
Speaking about the author's note, though, I need to know what the hell she meant by setting the set for the 1930s... Is there another book set in that era brewing? Because I will buy this thing the day it comes out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Torture, Murder, Gun violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Grief, Gore, Death, Colonisation, and Body horror
Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Homophobia
maple_dove's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
starrystarryeyed's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Body horror
perpetualpages's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
4.5
CWs: Depictions of blood, graphic injury, physical assault, murder, corporal punishment, and gun violence; some mild body horror; some explorations of grief; brief allusions to suicide; and references to contagious disease
Every single thing I felt for These Violent Delights I feel tenfold for this conclusion, because it simply has no business being as good as it is, and it left me in an absolute emotional tailspin more than once.
I said this when I first read These Violent Delights, but I love this re-imagining because it honors the source material without being a copy-paste recreation of the story in any way. When you dive into this duology, you are guaranteed to get the major beats of Romeo and Juliet, but they will never, in a million years, unfold in a way that you expect. This is not a version of the story that could possibly be anticipated just from comparing it to the original, and I think that’s an absolutely incredible feat.
Reading a sequel, I continue to have such an appreciation for the historical elements and the setting, especially because it’s abundantly clear that those choices were not arbitrary or make simply for aesthetics sake. The setting of 1920’s Shanghai is not only incredibly specific in a cultural sense, but it’s really important in terms of political conflict and exploring how foreign powers were converging in Shanghai during that time. The ongoing war between Nationalists and Communists that was being supported by factions of European and Russian foreigners really underscores the tension between these two rival gangs, who are also being swept up in politics themselves because of their own self-interest. Greed and hunger for power gets tied up in politics and the prevalence Western ideals, and the confluence of all of those issues makes for an epic finale that’s both urgent and dynamic.
I also continue to be fascinated by the fact that loyalties are being tested and even changing over time. Not only are the Montagovs and Cais crossing over enemy lines, so to speak, but some of them are defecting entirely or they’re facing down potential uprisings from within their own ranks. Even with central characters, you’re not always entirely sure where they stand, and they could decide to switch sides at a moment’s notice. Similarly, the push-and-pull dynamic between Roma and Juliette is intoxicating, because there’s an equal likelihood that they will kiss each other or *kill* each other—and they really could go either way at any given moment, which brilliantly heightens the narrative stakes.
“Interesting” feels like the wrong word, but there’s definitely a fascinating parallel between these contagious monsters and the COVID era that we're continuing to live through that I think is going to resonate with a lot of folks. The constant uncertainty, the way the monsters and the contagions evolve, the politics and the science behind developing and distributing vaccinations—it all feels very familiar, and I think there’s an added layer of tension in the story because of our current landscape. So it’s interesting to think about how that’s going to reflect back on this book ten years from now, twenty years from now. Even though the story is firmly historical fantasy, that social parallel is something that makes the story feel more immediate.
I can't say too much more without giving anything away, but this conclusion definitely solidified this duology as one of my all-time favorites. I so loved being back in this world with these characters. Following them throughout this epic, perilous finale absolutely shook me to my core and left me emotionally strung-out in every imaginable sense. I can definitely say this series kept my full attention and left me guessing until the very last page. If you haven't gotten a chance to start this duology, I assure you there's no better time than now, because it is absolutely worthwhile in every possible way.
Every single thing I felt for These Violent Delights I feel tenfold for this conclusion, because it simply has no business being as good as it is, and it left me in an absolute emotional tailspin more than once.
I said this when I first read These Violent Delights, but I love this re-imagining because it honors the source material without being a copy-paste recreation of the story in any way. When you dive into this duology, you are guaranteed to get the major beats of Romeo and Juliet, but they will never, in a million years, unfold in a way that you expect. This is not a version of the story that could possibly be anticipated just from comparing it to the original, and I think that’s an absolutely incredible feat.
Reading a sequel, I continue to have such an appreciation for the historical elements and the setting, especially because it’s abundantly clear that those choices were not arbitrary or make simply for aesthetics sake. The setting of 1920’s Shanghai is not only incredibly specific in a cultural sense, but it’s really important in terms of political conflict and exploring how foreign powers were converging in Shanghai during that time. The ongoing war between Nationalists and Communists that was being supported by factions of European and Russian foreigners really underscores the tension between these two rival gangs, who are also being swept up in politics themselves because of their own self-interest. Greed and hunger for power gets tied up in politics and the prevalence Western ideals, and the confluence of all of those issues makes for an epic finale that’s both urgent and dynamic.
I also continue to be fascinated by the fact that loyalties are being tested and even changing over time. Not only are the Montagovs and Cais crossing over enemy lines, so to speak, but some of them are defecting entirely or they’re facing down potential uprisings from within their own ranks. Even with central characters, you’re not always entirely sure where they stand, and they could decide to switch sides at a moment’s notice. Similarly, the push-and-pull dynamic between Roma and Juliette is intoxicating, because there’s an equal likelihood that they will kiss each other or *kill* each other—and they really could go either way at any given moment, which brilliantly heightens the narrative stakes.
“Interesting” feels like the wrong word, but there’s definitely a fascinating parallel between these contagious monsters and the COVID era that we're continuing to live through that I think is going to resonate with a lot of folks. The constant uncertainty, the way the monsters and the contagions evolve, the politics and the science behind developing and distributing vaccinations—it all feels very familiar, and I think there’s an added layer of tension in the story because of our current landscape. So it’s interesting to think about how that’s going to reflect back on this book ten years from now, twenty years from now. Even though the story is firmly historical fantasy, that social parallel is something that makes the story feel more immediate.
I can't say too much more without giving anything away, but this conclusion definitely solidified this duology as one of my all-time favorites. I so loved being back in this world with these characters. Following them throughout this epic, perilous finale absolutely shook me to my core and left me emotionally strung-out in every imaginable sense. I can definitely say this series kept my full attention and left me guessing until the very last page. If you haven't gotten a chance to start this duology, I assure you there's no better time than now, because it is absolutely worthwhile in every possible way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
More...