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melissaslibraryy'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
I gave Our Violent Ends 5 stars and to be followed by this book just solidified that Chloe Gong is officially an auto-buy author for me, bc this book did not disappoint one bit. This universe and its storyline’s are so interesting to read about especially when we get to see different characters perspectives on what’s going on politically and personally. I love that this book was more action packed than the previous duology bc I loved the spy + double agent arcs since you can never be too convinced about one’s loyalty in this ‘kill or be killed’ world. Don’t even get me started on the slow burn romance between Rosalind & Orion bc they legit had me blushing and kicking my feet from cute and intimate their interactions were especially since they aren’t physically intimate. The prolonged eye contact, them dancing and him putting on her necklace while looking at her in the mirror? Him literally beating up the man that attacked her screaming “Don’t touch my wife!” LORDDDDD I eat that shit up every fucking time and I love it 😫 One might say I loved these two a bit more than Roma and Juliette but don’t tell them that 🫣 PLUS the romantically intimate scenes from the side characters like Oliver and Celia *swoooooon*. I cannot wait to start Last Violent Call bc the ending had me screaming‼️ If the note is from who I think it is, I will cry :’) I must continue reading this series if it’s the last thing I do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, War, Blood, Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Colonisation, Grief, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Police brutality
prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
“Trauma doesn't have to lead to destruction. Trauma can be the guiding point into something better, something stronger.”
First of all, the historical aspect of this book is really interesting. The previous books focused on the Kuomintang and the Communists. Now, the Kuomintang took over and the communists are also on the down-low. The political tension is still higher than ever due to the imminent danger of Japanese invasion.
The main character is Rosalind. I wasn’t particularly invested in her in ‘These Violent Delights’ and ‘Our Violent Ends’, but that really changed with this book. She’s such an interesting character mainly because of her internal struggles. And this girl can run whilst wearing heels?! Meanwhile here I am struggling to walk on heels. The fantasy part of this story is great too. Rosalind is supposed to be dead so she now lives her life as Janie Mead. She is also Lady Fortune, an immortal assassin working with the Kuomintang to save her city and to right her wrongs. A side effect of being immortal is that she doesn’t have to sleep anymore. Imagine not having to sleep and being able to read all night long, that’s the dream…
Anyway, Rosalind knows she made some bad decisions in the past and regrets it deeply. After someone she loved and trusted betrayed her, she finds it hard to put her trust in someone again, let alone love someone again. She gets paired with Orion for an undercover mission. They have to pose as a couple and so they get married. Orion is easygoing and very social. Rosalind on the other hand is very reserved and panics as soon as he gets a little too close. The trauma is still fresh, even after all these years. Enough to say that it’s definitely not love at first sight.
“All her love seemed to emerge in an identical manner. It wasn't that it would be absent one day and then present the next. It would move in without her notice and get comfortable and conquer more and more space, and she wouldn't even know that there was a new occupant in her heart until she started wondering where all this furniture had come from and love flashed its dazzling grin at her to say hello.”
But their love story is definitely blooming and it’s indescribably cute.
“She was his guiding saint, the Polaris of his heart.”
“Your life is mine as mine is yours.”
I’m loving it!
But let’s not forget about Celia! She has been a favourite of mine from the start and one thing she mentions really resonates with me.
“Celia had never been very good at making demands. Something about it had always felt fundamentally wrong to her, she could never rid herself of the feeling that being difficult would drive people away.”
The ending though… Even if it wasn’t completely unexpected, I was a little shocked to find out who was responsible for all the misery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Blood, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Gun violence, War, Toxic relationship, Torture, Infidelity, and Death of parent
karcitis's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Colonisation, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Death
Minor: Homophobia, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Transphobia, and Car accident
kdailyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Torture, War, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Colonisation, Gun violence, Medical content, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cursing, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Child death
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