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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
These Violent Delights was a fine book. In fact, it was an objectively good book, especially for a debut for an author in her early 20s. If the first half of the book were a little quicker, and if there were more payoff from the secondary characters, I think it could have been a great book.
It's hard to describe this book, as it's a fantasy-meets-historical-fiction-meets-Romeo-and-Juliet-retelling. The R&J tie-ins throughout the book were really clever. However, a romance this book was not, since the relationship between Roma and Juliette was actually more of a sub-plot of a sub-plot than anything. I wish we had known a little bit more about their backstory, which maybe comes in book 2, but there was a lot of telling rather than showing with their relationship.
I particularly loved Juliette, though, struggling to forge her own identity as a woman and within the Scarlets gang. I thought Roma was a little underwhelming, though, and felt more like an accessory to Juliette's development than his own character.
I also loved how this book examines topics like race, colonization and the effects of communism.
The issues I had with this book were that it was quite slow at the beginning. It took a long time for the plot to develop and for the "mystery" of the book to unfold. There was a lot of gang politics that could have been shortened and side adventures with secondary characters I really didn't care about that could have been cut.
I probably won't end up reading book 2, despite it having a lot of high ratings, since it's probably just more of the same (and since I know how R&J ends, of course). But I think fans of a political YA fantasy would like this.
It's hard to describe this book, as it's a fantasy-meets-historical-fiction-meets-Romeo-and-Juliet-retelling. The R&J tie-ins throughout the book were really clever. However, a romance this book was not, since the relationship between Roma and Juliette was actually more of a sub-plot of a sub-plot than anything. I wish we had known a little bit more about their backstory, which maybe comes in book 2, but there was a lot of telling rather than showing with their relationship.
I particularly loved Juliette, though, struggling to forge her own identity as a woman and within the Scarlets gang. I thought Roma was a little underwhelming, though, and felt more like an accessory to Juliette's development than his own character.
I also loved how this book examines topics like race, colonization and the effects of communism.
The issues I had with this book were that it was quite slow at the beginning. It took a long time for the plot to develop and for the "mystery" of the book to unfold. There was a lot of gang politics that could have been shortened and side adventures with secondary characters I really didn't care about that could have been cut.
I probably won't end up reading book 2, despite it having a lot of high ratings, since it's probably just more of the same (and since I know how R&J ends, of course). But I think fans of a political YA fantasy would like this.
I hope Chloe Gong knows I'm in love with her. This book was fantastic. It was a great idea to give Roma and Juliette a shared romantic past to eliminate the insta-love that everybody criticizes Romeo and Juliet for, and it really made their romance much more interesting. I also appreciated the queer representation that I wasn't expecting. The plot was so intricate and well thought out and really kept me on the edge of my seat, and the worldbuilding was astonishing, the Shanghai that's created was so cool to read about. In my experience, a lot of YA fantasies either excel in worldbuilding, characters, character relationships, or plot, however this book did wonderfully in all four. Not to mention the plot twists which made me physically react, especially the one at the end. This book also creates a clear Romeo and Juliet retelling without being just any other retelling that we've seen a thousand times, and I actually really appreciated the deviations from the original story, particularly the fate of a certain character. This was an incredible book, and I don't know how I'm going to wait for the sequel to come out.
"The stars incline us, they do not bind us."
#1: These Violent Delights ★★★★★
This book was truly a phenomenal read. I was captivated from start to finish the beautiful plot twists and way the characters are written. I felt like I was watching a movie as I read everything was so perfectly spoken. It was amazing. I love how the author writes so much I cannot wait to start the second book in the series. That’s how amazing this book was, and the cliffhanger ending was perfect. I recommend this book endlessly to anyone who wants a phenomenal read.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
plot, ate. characters, slayed. setting, vivid. plot twists, unexpected. juliette, badass. roma, marry me.
that's all i need to say.
that's all i need to say.