Reviews tagging 'Torture'

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

35 reviews

superstar_y2k's review

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

this book is not as complex as it seems to be (or rather has the potential to be) 
this book speaks on colonialism, racism and white supremacy, murder, betrayal, politics, and other humanitarian topics but somehow oversimplifies and brushes off those topics to follow a clumsy mystery where our romeo & juliette must work together despite their previous murderous betrayals.  see, the thing about shakespeare’s romeo & juliette is that the reader wants to root for them.  roma & juliette cai aren’t likable characters that i felt didn’t actually love each other.  
i could go on, but honestly there are many other reviews i’ve seen that correspond to the way i feel, so i won’t beat a dead horse

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Death, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Blood, and Torture

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gore, Deadnaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

bergha1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

This is a very dynamic book, both the characters and the plot. I knew it to be a Romeo and Juliet retelling in China between gangs. What I didn’t realize before reading it was how much of it revolves around an outbreak. That part of the book feels very fantastical. I also really liked that Roma and Juliet were older and had past history set before the book. 

Dark Romance, LGBTQIA+ Representation, Friends to Lovers to Enemies

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Body horror, Murder, Drug use, Death of parent, Blood, Torture, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Grief, and Death

archiveofrasa's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

A solid 4 stars. I can just about see why people disliked this, especially if they're more devout fantasy readers, but it was honestly a fun ride for me. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and I think this book proved to me that I will eat anything up if the prose sounds nice. This will probably break down if I put my literacy hat on, but it's off for now to let my brain rest lol

Admittedly, I think I would've been more invested in Juliette and Roma had there been flashbacks to them falling in love. I think they're both interesting characters in their own right and the complexities of their relationship are entertaining, so I hope they further develop in the sequel!

The fact the plot drove me more was surprising since I am ultimately a character person at heart, but the setting did a lot for me. I don't mind if there are better representations out there, I very much enjoyed it here. Can't wait to get back into it in the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Transphobia, and Racism

Minor: Medical content, Death of parent, and Torture

c_ary's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Gore, Violence, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Classism, Body horror, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Xenophobia and War

memoirsofabooklover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

i enjoyed this more than i thought i would. i liked the modern retelling of romeo and juliet, &

that they already had a past & were aged up so it was a new take, despite it being obvious they’d end up together.

majority of the plot was predictable with a few unexpected twists in there. quite political; so took me a little longer to get into it but was relevant to the story. i liked some of the side characters, they added depth to the story and it was left in a way that i want to read the sequel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, War, Xenophobia, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Alcohol, Bullying, Racism, and Grief

julswk's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The relationship between Juliette and Roma does not have much buildup in the book, rather it relies completely on what happened 4 years prior which we only get slight snippets of, but not enough to make me care for the characters.

We are told they're in love but not really shown.

Because of that their relationship falls quite flat.

Juliette's character also relies heavily on the implication that she is ruthless and has a reputation, but I wish the author let her be more violent and unhinged throughout the book. Especially during her fights.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Death, Torture, Pandemic/Epidemic, Body horror, Gun violence, and Gore

Moderate: Deadnaming, Blood, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Police brutality, Stalking, Vomit, and War

ecarpenter06's review

adventurous dark tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

These violent delights have violent ends.

Roma and Juliette: the heirs of rival gangs with a vendetta against each other, forced to work together to save Shanghai. The recipe for a perfect novel. 

 This is one of the best YA books I’ve ever read. It was thrilling, riveting, and had me fully invested in the characters. The world building was fantastic and believable, the descriptions made the entire city come to life as I read. 

The ending made my heart ache, I’m relying on the sequel to give them at least a moment of actual happiness. They deserve it, they deserve each other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcohol, and Murder

ppixxie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This take on Romeo and Juliet is so fun and refreshing! I really loved all the characters, the setting, and the mystery in the book. The romance and tension between Roma and Juliette was fun to read too. Definitely gonna read the second book when I can 😌

I loved the body horror + gore in this book but definitely check people's cw beforehand if you need it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Alcohol, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Racism, Police brutality, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, and Death

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, Terminal illness, Torture, Addiction, Death of parent, Classism, and Transphobia

Minor: Homophobia and Drug use

hiraeth_'s review

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really loved the concept of the story and the different characters. Because the story is set in Shanghai in the 1900s and I haven't read many books about that, it took me a while to get used to the setting but in the end i couldn't put the book down. The author's mixing of fantastic and "real" elements felt very natural as well as the balance between mystery, action, political and family related themes and romance.

Personally I would've preferred it if there was a little bit more clarity in the different storylines and mysteries, but I guess that is also the appeal of this book. Still, at times it felt a little bit all over the place. I also wished we knew more about Juliette's and Roma's relationship before she left Shanghai. That would've made their story even more interesting and authentic. 

Also, for the ppl who want to read it bc it is marketed as a romeo and julia retelling: there are many elements that are similar, but i would say it is a very loose and vague retelling :). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Violence, Torture, Sexism, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Colonisation, and Child abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Misogyny

clairew97's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Murder, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Torture, Grief, Abandonment, Misogyny, Gun violence, Alcohol, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail