Reviews with content warning for Torture - Our Violent Ends

✅ Finished Jan 17, ‘23

“Tiān nǎ” (I hope I'm using that phrase right!)

A beautiful continuation of the first story, picking up right where we left off. There's really no time for much recap so if it's been a while since you read the first one, maybe brush up on some names. This book is fast-paced, full of betrayal, violence, and yearning.

"Lovers turned to strangers, and it cut deep enough to bleed."

The monsters are still here - this time with a new master who can control them at will. The threat of the Communists, the Revolutionaries and both gangs are still around our main characters and they have to deal with the plot-twist of the last book.

Juliette and Romeo's relationship in this book was amazing. I loved their development from enemies-to-lovers and their love-hate relationship. Forced together (again) to work on solving the mystery of the monsters was great and I ate it up.

Only he knew that if he screamed I hate you, what he really meant was I love you. I still love you so much that I hate you for it.

Beyond our two star-crossed lovers, I fell in love with Alisa, Rosalind, Celia, Marshall and Benedict. Their stories were intertwined well with our main characters, and I loved all of them...Though one a lot less than the others.

Thank you to Gong for giving Marshall and Benedict a happy ending.

The relationships/romance weren't the main points of the story either. (Reminder that the original Romeo+Juliet wasn’t a romance but a TRAGEDY.) Gong does a great job of making this a historical fantasy book by tying in real events that happened in Shanghai. The politics were interesting and making no one faction the good guy/bad guy made for a great story. Her writing was descriptive and poetic, and she even quoted some of the plays dialogue in a way that fit the setting.

And even though this is a retelling, the story was full of surprises and I audible gasped at a few scenes. The ending should've been expected but still hurt.

Loved it.

She would rather hold this hope so close to her chest that it feels like a fire on its own, flickering against the darkness, flickering even where other embers burn out.

Content Warnings

hnagarne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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peachieko's review against another edition

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clairew97's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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sabrinz's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

Book 2 continues a few weeks after the ends of book 1.
The threat of more monsters hangs over Shanghai and Roma is convinced by Juliette's charade that she has killed Marshall. However, the two crime lords want their heirs to work suddenly work together to find a blackmailer who threatens to unleash more of the monsters. Soon, the blackmailer becomes the least of Roma and Juliette's problems as the powder keg that is Shanghai is only seconds away from exploding.

Buckle in for book 2 because there is a LOT going on and hardly a moment to catch your breath. It's a great conclusion to this take on Romeo and Juliet.

Content Warnings

khnleesi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.0

i am convinced that NO-BO-DY knows what ugly tears are better than Chloe Gong's readers.
you might think you know what it means to cry your heart out over fictional characters, but trust me, you don't!!

-1 star for some small plot holes & also because i wasn't always fully concentrated while reading, but apart from that i have nothing else to say except that i couldn't be more grateful for writers, story tellers- ARTISTS- to create/express their creativity through films/paintings/songs - and here, through novels- because by doing so, they end up making our lives (a tiny bit) better <3 thank you thank you thank you!!

❛ TOGETHER OR NOT AT ALL ༉‧₊˚

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