A review by mrtvavrana
Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

3.5

I was so excited to read Our Violent Ends, and I was afraid of being disappointed. But I think the book was even better than These Violent Delights.

The story picks up a few months after the first book ends and slowly brings us to the inevitable conclusion of the duology. Or does it?

I think the first half of Our Violent Ends was extremely slow. Not much was happening, and there was an unhealthy dose of miscommunication between the characters. I am not a fan of that.

Both Roma and Juliette were quite annoying, constantly talking and thinking of killing each other and protecting their gangs but then betraying everyone over and over again. I did like that we got to see more of Mars and Ben,/spoiler> and we also could witness the beginning of their romance. I really hope they will one day get their own book.

What I did not like was how Rosalind sort of became the villain for a while. Juliette treated her so harshly, as if she herself was not betraying her family. I also was not satisfied with where the story went—the chapters at the end were utter chaos. Everything falling apart, everyone dying and running away and betraying their friends. I had to keep track of what was happening because it was too much.

The ending was, surprisingly, pretty nice. I really liked how Gong wrapped everything up and left us, readers, some space to wonder what comes next. I cannot wait to dive into the Foul Lady Fortune duology in 2025.

All that being said, I really enjoyed the These Violent Delights duology. I think it is a nice dot behind my 2024 reading journey.