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lectricefeministe's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Blood, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Grief, Gun violence, Gore, War, Classism, and Colonisation
ladygetslit's review against another edition
- 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
There will be hatred. There will be war. The country will fight itself to pieces. It will starve its people, ravage its land, poison its breath. Shanghai will fall and break and cry. But alongside everything, there has to be love—eternal, undying, enduring. Burn through vengeance and terror and warfare. Burn through everything that fuels the human heart and sears it red, burn through everything that covers the outside with hard muscle and tough sinew. Cut down deep and grab what beats beneath, and it is love that will survive after everything else has perished.
My Personal Opinion: It is a rare sequel that lives up to the first installment, but Our Violent Ends managed to blow me away. This book has everything: political intrigue based in Chinese history, queer and trans representation, family drama, mysterious monsters, loyal friend groups, and (of course) star-crossed love.
My Teacher Opinion: this would be an amazing replacement for Romeo & Juliet, although I may ruffle feathers by saying so. I do think the duology would be best for an upper level high school class, due to the pretty heavy violence and complexity of the political plot lines.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Colonisation
takarakei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gun violence, and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Gore
Minor: Colonisation
ourlastopus's review against another edition
- 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
ok, now i’m going back to crying
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
shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
sunlit_music's review against another edition
- 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
Chloe Gong writes about colonialism and war so passionately and intelligently, and seeing how civil war was tearing Shanghai and other parts of China apart was just devastating.
The power shifts and politics are well set up, unpredictable and extremely clever. There's nuanced portrayals of racism, sexism and lgbt+ themes. Not a single word is wasted.
The prose is beautiful, brutal, energetic and flowing. Dialogue moves seamlessly and the characters' banter is witty and clever.
I just did not want to walk away from the characters, I love them so much.
All the characters are so layered and nuanced, and change over time like real people, I feel like I know them.
Roma and Juliet's sacrificed so much, I just wanted them to be happy together and alive, but the tragic ending for them made sense, even though it's heartbreaking.
Alisa is so lovable, she lifts my mood. I don't know if there's going to be a sequel about her, but if there is, I'd totally read it.
Benedikt and Marshall are so incredible and love each other so much. They risk their lives for each other and their friends and are so tender and funny with each other. I just can't express how much I love them.
Kathleen is selfless, fierce and unstoppable, and she is fantastic. She is so underrated.
Plotting was phenomenal, with triumph and tragedy stemming from the characters' actions. All believable, all heartbreaking.
Descriptions of Shanghai are so raw, heartfelt and sincere. Also loved the contrast the rural town of Kunlon presented, it sounded like such a beautiful and peaceful place.
The ending is devastating, but also hopeful in a way. All is not lost, and Roma and Juliette really did save many lives.
I love how tenderly and sensitively this book portrays grief and loss, and how Roma and Juliette are determined to end their families' toxic blood feud.
The ending totally wrecked me, but it was worth it. This book is a fitting conclusion to the 'These Violent Delights' duology and a worthy retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
Moderate: Violence, Death, Colonisation, Medical content, and Suicide
Minor: Child death
eve_reads's review
- 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
4.5
⁕ Gong takes the beloved enemies-to-lovers trope and raises you enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-and-back-to-lovers-again FLAWLESSLY. She doesn't ignore the conflict between their families and political parties, but builds that tension into every scene between them. It's an agonizing slow-burn with the greatest payoff.
⁕ This sequel was even more enriched with historical context than These Violent Delights. I've never read a book in this setting before and loved learning about/researching 1920's Shanghai.
⁕ [spoilers] I love the small bit of hope that Gong concludes this duology with. She still honors the authentic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet but also makes space for the reader to explore other possibilities for her main characters.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping, War, Cursing, Classism, and Colonisation
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Torture, Grief, Confinement, Colonisation, and Blood
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
_persephone_'s review against another edition
- 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
And I heard there's gonna be a spin-off duology about
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Cursing, Blood, Colonisation, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Alcohol, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Sexual content