A review by elislittlelibrary
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

This is (as far as I can remember) the second Romeo and Juliet-retelling that I read and loved. It took me some time to get into this book, but it really paid off! I liked the writing and really loved the setting. The world-building was well done and, even though there is magic involved, the world felt quite realistic. While, as has been mentioned, this is a Romeo and Juliet-retelling, the plot did not feel romance-heavy, which I personally really enjoyed. And the romance plot that was there focused a lot on connection, which I also tend to like. 
There are various plot twists in the book. I did guess some of them (
Paul Dexter, the usage of Doodskus for example
), though this did not take away from the plot, so I didn't mind!
The book puts a strong emphasis on language aspects, as well as the use of different languages (they are used throughout the book, often just words or phrases, sometimes sentences), I LOVED that!
Also, this book ends on a cliffhanger and I really have to read the sequel!
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