Reviews - These Violent Delights

18.6k reviews for:

This is an example of a well done adaptation, they managed to increase diversity without making everything seem so forced and unnatural. The mystery felt so satisfying and well done, the way that everything was linked and came to surprising yet understandable conclusion, at least for part one. Friends to lovers to enemies to lovers to enemies, that says enough. I loved or hated every character they all left such lasting impressions it was amazing, for example Tyler deserved death, it’s one thing that I hope they keep from the actual play. Everything I recognised a character that came from Romeo and Juliet or the little reflections back the play I got all giddy, such as the famous “last” words of mercucio, who I am also obsessed with. Rosalind was kind of annoying but in a way that I can understand, she fears for the life of her and her sister more than a bout of loyalty. I loved loved loved Kathleen, I just did. As was the case for Juliet I love a strong female lead with her own flaws, the type that makes people cower just from the sound of her voice, also her ability to control a situation and how damn smart she is. She is my aspiration. Roma was cute, he wasn’t overwhelming but I do like him. Ben and marshall were so damn adorable, dealing with their unwritten love for each other, if they do not end up together I will be so mad. The cai parents were great as well, they felt so very royal, in contrast to lord montave the annoying twat. Now normally I would hate the miscommunication trope, in fact I still do, but gongs way of using it to build suspense is so amazing she truly just won’t let anyone be happy- my kinda person. The plan with Marshall was ingenious.

katharinem012's review against another edition

4.0

I finally finished this book after nearly three months

sara8393's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous 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: Complicated

catto's review against another edition

2.0

i tried.

the setting and atmosphere were really interesting, but juliette is just so dumb. she acts all tough ruthless, but she's literally so gullible and naive. the plot twists are so obvious

alltimeliz's review against another edition

3.25

adventurous dark medium-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

worldroamer's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

coraelie's review against another edition

1.0

review du 14/07/2022

this was not it. i can understand the appeal of this story but it didn't work for me. i was bored out of my mind while reading it, mainly because i couldn't care less about the plot. the storyline was terribly slow and predictable. it felt like nothing ever happened, and when it did, i already guessed it beforehand.

as for the characters, some of them were interesting (roma, benedikt and marshall, i'm talking about you), but the vast majority were useless and/or annoying. the worst one was juliette; she radiated some strong i'm-not-like-other-girls and "girl boss" energy that ended up getting on my nerves. i also didn't feel any chemistry between roma and juliette, which was just the cherry on the cake.

the world building was also not developed enough. the story takes place in Shanghai, but it felt like any other YA-book's fictional city. the author describes the city as if it were alive, almost sentient, but it ended up being nothing more than an afterthought. the gangs were also way too clean and proper to be believable; i've read worse things in mafia romances on Wattpad. is it because this book is labelled as YA? it could be, but i'm not convinced, not when series such as Six of Crows exist in the same genre.

i won't pick up the second book, and i will stop getting recommandations from tiktok. it doesn't do me any good.

(and i also read a really interesting thread on twitter about an article. the topic was how nowadays young authors are pushed to publish their works while still being in college, without taking some time to perfect their craft. it didn't clearly target chloe gong, but i can see why it could be applied to her work. i don't like criticizing an author only based on their age, but you can clearly feel here all the wasted potential and topics that are merely touched upon and not developed enough.)