A review by claudiamacpherson
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is yet another book that booktok hyped up and I just...didn’t like. I even bought it, because the cover was beautiful and I’d heard so many good things, but it only took a few pages for me to get annoyed by the writing style. I love retellings of classic stories, and the premise of this seemed so interesting—1920s glamor! Shanghai! Rival gangs!—but once I started reading I was pretty disappointed by the whole creepy bug concept. I’m not a fan of gore, and so there were a few scenes that I really wish I could’ve skipped past.
I did really like the Benedikt/Marshall relationship and I hope that we see more of it in the next book (because, yes, even though I didn’t like this book I’m still going to read the sequel).
 

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe of the ending):
It was a bit of a cliffhanger! Definitely not happy, and even though it’s only the first half of the duology, I’m not surprised—this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, after all. I am interested to see whether Gong sticks to the original ending in the sequel, or if she’ll decide to spin it in her own way.

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