Reviews tagging 'Grief'

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

70 reviews

prashiie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

“A love like theirs was never going to survive in a city divided by hatred.”

It took me a while to really get into the story and the insects and how they are described deserve a trigger warning! At first it was disgusting to read about the insects and it grossed me out, but luckily it got better.

This story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in Shanghai in the year 1926. The main characters Juliette and Roma are the heirs of feuding families and are expected to put their own family and gang first. But something weird is happening in Shanghai and it’s up to them to protect the city, together. However, from the start it is clear that there is some bad history between them.

“She could have reminded him of what he did four years ago, pushed the blade of guilt in until he was bleeding.”

As the story proceeds, we get to know what happened between them. They are both interesting and strong characters. I also really liked Marshall and Celia!

What shocked me the most is China’s political turmoil at that time and how much racism Chinese people faced by foreigners not only in America, but even in their own country. I could sense the resentment the author feels, rightfully so!

“Foreigners built parks and demanded the Chinese keep out. They poured funds into the city, and though China was never formally a colony, that was precisely what was going on in Shanghai: segment after segment being colonized.”

I’m glad to have read this book, because the background of this story was very educational! Now I’m curious to learn more about the history of Asia.

I’m so happy Marshall is still alive. I was ready to give up on this series when Juliette shot him… Great twist, Chloe Gong :)

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Xenophobia, Violence, Stalking, Sexism, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Colonisation

Moderate: Transphobia, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: War, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Beware of a detailed description of insects attacking humans!

caseythereader's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Transphobia and Racism

akane_readsyt's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Transphobia, Racism, Police brutality, Child abuse, Dysphoria, and Body shaming

jessiereads98'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

3.75

Overall this was really enjoyable. A unique take on Romeo and Juliet, but maybe the best one I’ve read in being both recognizable and tolerable. Chloe Gong successively captures the atmosphere of the setting. There does seem to be the occasional anachronism, but nothing glaring or intolerable. Juliette came off as the badass heroine that YA stories often strive for without seeming flat or cringey. My biggest criticism would be that this is definitely overwritten in parts. There’s many instances where the prose could be simplified and tightened up. 

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, Medical content, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Police brutality, Child death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Xenophobia

cyndi1966's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense

• 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Violence, and Toxic relationship

chronicacademia's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Death, Child death, and Self harm

Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, Classism, Blood, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Drug use, and Violence

thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

3.5

Hey look, I finally read this! It wasn't quite my thing? A bit more horror-y than I expected. But I'll still read the sequel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Racism, and Colonisation

Moderate: Medical content, Grief, and Transphobia

Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, and Deadnaming

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.

---

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

dianaschmidty's review

adventurous challenging dark funny informative mysterious medium-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Death, Gore, Blood, Colonisation, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, War, Death of parent, and Drug use

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.

---

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