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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
These Violent Delights - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I have to be honest. I did not think I'd like These Violent Delights as much as I did. I've been wanting to read this for over a yearend man, it did not disappoint. Chloe Gong has swept me off my feet from the first word and I would like to applaud her for that. Congratulations to Chloe Gong for delivering such a masterpiece.
The writing in These Violent Delights is some of my favourite ever. It has a very poetic feel to it, which I loved so much. It works perfectly within the context of the book, it being a Romeo and Juliet remake and such. I might even like it more than the original R&J...
The portrayal of Shanghai was utterly amazing as well. I love how everything is based off of the real life situation of the city back in the day. Small little details such as clothing, the jobs people had, who owned the factories... everything fell into place, everything was just right.
I absolutely adore the characters and everything about them. Something I very much liked was how morally grey almost every major character is. Which makes sense considering the stuff they have to do, but you get my point. I love how Juliette is a badass who will not hesitate to put a bullet through someone, but she's still a female of her time. She'll be wearing a qipao with her guns, and I like that a lot about her. Roma felt a bit more bland to me than Juliette, but I still liked him nonetheless. My favourite characters have to be Benedikt and Marshall, just for the way they interact with each other.
As for the plot, I'm completely flabbergasted, in a good way. I heard many good things, yet I didn't expect it to be this good. The description of the people growing mad and clawing their throats out is disgusting and gory, but my lord, I loved it. It adds a bit of excitement and darkness to a story that, admittedly, wasn't very happy to begin with, but this adaptation really lifts it to a new level.
I have to be honest. I did not think I'd like These Violent Delights as much as I did. I've been wanting to read this for over a yearend man, it did not disappoint. Chloe Gong has swept me off my feet from the first word and I would like to applaud her for that. Congratulations to Chloe Gong for delivering such a masterpiece.
The writing in These Violent Delights is some of my favourite ever. It has a very poetic feel to it, which I loved so much. It works perfectly within the context of the book, it being a Romeo and Juliet remake and such. I might even like it more than the original R&J...
The portrayal of Shanghai was utterly amazing as well. I love how everything is based off of the real life situation of the city back in the day. Small little details such as clothing, the jobs people had, who owned the factories... everything fell into place, everything was just right.
I absolutely adore the characters and everything about them. Something I very much liked was how morally grey almost every major character is. Which makes sense considering the stuff they have to do, but you get my point. I love how Juliette is a badass who will not hesitate to put a bullet through someone, but she's still a female of her time. She'll be wearing a qipao with her guns, and I like that a lot about her. Roma felt a bit more bland to me than Juliette, but I still liked him nonetheless. My favourite characters have to be Benedikt and Marshall, just for the way they interact with each other.
As for the plot, I'm completely flabbergasted, in a good way. I heard many good things, yet I didn't expect it to be this good. The description of the people growing mad and clawing their throats out is disgusting and gory, but my lord, I loved it. It adds a bit of excitement and darkness to a story that, admittedly, wasn't very happy to begin with, but this adaptation really lifts it to a new level.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Um, WHAT!? I AM SIMPLY DECEASED. RIP ME, I DIED DEAD.
I don’t even know where to begin, this book was FANTASTIC.
One disclaimer I have is that it wasn’t quite a 5 star read because of how violent and gruesome it was. Usually, violence doesn’t bother me and I can passively skip through it, but this was… a lot. I would suggest passing on this read or skimming through certain parts of it makes you uncomfortable. While it does add a lot to the story and heightens the intensity and urgency, it can be nauseating.
Otherwise, everything else about this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The plot, the politics, the relationships and dialogues, the intricacies of the world, the world building itself—it was wonderfully written. I’m not one to care about book politics (or real ones, tbh), but it was fascinating. The complexities of the Scarlets and the White Flowers was just as interesting as the madness or the plans to stop it. The world itself had so much depth and was so intriguing to learn about, especially the parts that were based off the real history of China in the 20s.
One thing I appreciated so much was how Juliette and Roma stayed true to their heartless reputations. In many books, when a character is said to be unbelievably evil or callous, you never really see them act on it. Juliette, especially, proved her reputation true several times, yet remained lovable. While Roma seemed a bit more tender hearted to me, his character was exactly how the world building made him out to be. Their relationship was also incredible, at times adorable, and ultimately full of all the betrayal and love you’d expect from the heirs to the two most important gangs.
That ending though. That’s all I’ll say without spoilers. IT’S WORTH THE ENDING. I have NEVER been that invested in a book to the point where I was legitimately sitting up, screaming, kicking my feet, and yelling “NO” over and over. I don’t think there were many slow or boring points, but everything leading up to the ending was perfect and mind blowing.
One last thing I loved was the connections to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although there was (understandably) things changed to fit the setting, much of the plot stayed true to the inspiration, yet was still shocking and full of plot twists. I love how characters from the play were incorporated with different names, yet still kept the same qualities as the original. Amazing.
Overall, I would recommend this to everyone who loves Romeo and Juliet, enemies to lovers (back to enemies, then back to lovers), plots that leave you thinking about the ending hours after reading, betrayals and dramatic deaths, and PLOT TWISTS TO THE EXTREME. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
I don’t even know where to begin, this book was FANTASTIC.
One disclaimer I have is that it wasn’t quite a 5 star read because of how violent and gruesome it was. Usually, violence doesn’t bother me and I can passively skip through it, but this was… a lot. I would suggest passing on this read or skimming through certain parts of it makes you uncomfortable. While it does add a lot to the story and heightens the intensity and urgency, it can be nauseating.
Otherwise, everything else about this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The plot, the politics, the relationships and dialogues, the intricacies of the world, the world building itself—it was wonderfully written. I’m not one to care about book politics (or real ones, tbh), but it was fascinating. The complexities of the Scarlets and the White Flowers was just as interesting as the madness or the plans to stop it. The world itself had so much depth and was so intriguing to learn about, especially the parts that were based off the real history of China in the 20s.
One thing I appreciated so much was how Juliette and Roma stayed true to their heartless reputations. In many books, when a character is said to be unbelievably evil or callous, you never really see them act on it. Juliette, especially, proved her reputation true several times, yet remained lovable. While Roma seemed a bit more tender hearted to me, his character was exactly how the world building made him out to be. Their relationship was also incredible, at times adorable, and ultimately full of all the betrayal and love you’d expect from the heirs to the two most important gangs.
That ending though. That’s all I’ll say without spoilers. IT’S WORTH THE ENDING. I have NEVER been that invested in a book to the point where I was legitimately sitting up, screaming, kicking my feet, and yelling “NO” over and over. I don’t think there were many slow or boring points, but everything leading up to the ending was perfect and mind blowing.
One last thing I loved was the connections to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although there was (understandably) things changed to fit the setting, much of the plot stayed true to the inspiration, yet was still shocking and full of plot twists. I love how characters from the play were incorporated with different names, yet still kept the same qualities as the original. Amazing.
Overall, I would recommend this to everyone who loves Romeo and Juliet, enemies to lovers (back to enemies, then back to lovers), plots that leave you thinking about the ending hours after reading, betrayals and dramatic deaths, and PLOT TWISTS TO THE EXTREME. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
Definite debut, poorly written, predictable, silly when it shouldn't be and boring when it shouldn't be. So much emphasis in the wrong places, so little where it should have focus.
Have the second book handy... cliffhangers suck!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ms. Chloe is going to give you a story and a storyline. You will leave her books knowing about the main characters, side characters, and the random ones in the middle. Her world building has never missed! What is missed.. a little romance and that's fine. 4 stars because I do feel like the book dragged on a little.
3.5/5
the characters and ships? amazing impeccable gorgeous. i just expected more from the plot but i'm excited for ove
the characters and ships? amazing impeccable gorgeous. i just expected more from the plot but i'm excited for ove
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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:
No
This was a decent read. I think though it felt like it ended abruptly and at points the plot felt very slow. I think it could have been all one book with whatever book two is.
Overall though good writing and setting and an interesting Romeo & Juliette retelling with really nice refs back to Shakespeare.
Overall though good writing and setting and an interesting Romeo & Juliette retelling with really nice refs back to Shakespeare.