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msavayoung 's review for:
These Violent Delights
by Chloe Gong
Um, WHAT!? I AM SIMPLY DECEASED. RIP ME, I DIED DEAD.
I don’t even know where to begin, this book was FANTASTIC.
One disclaimer I have is that it wasn’t quite a 5 star read because of how violent and gruesome it was. Usually, violence doesn’t bother me and I can passively skip through it, but this was… a lot. I would suggest passing on this read or skimming through certain parts of it makes you uncomfortable. While it does add a lot to the story and heightens the intensity and urgency, it can be nauseating.
Otherwise, everything else about this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The plot, the politics, the relationships and dialogues, the intricacies of the world, the world building itself—it was wonderfully written. I’m not one to care about book politics (or real ones, tbh), but it was fascinating. The complexities of the Scarlets and the White Flowers was just as interesting as the madness or the plans to stop it. The world itself had so much depth and was so intriguing to learn about, especially the parts that were based off the real history of China in the 20s.
One thing I appreciated so much was how Juliette and Roma stayed true to their heartless reputations. In many books, when a character is said to be unbelievably evil or callous, you never really see them act on it. Juliette, especially, proved her reputation true several times, yet remained lovable. While Roma seemed a bit more tender hearted to me, his character was exactly how the world building made him out to be. Their relationship was also incredible, at times adorable, and ultimately full of all the betrayal and love you’d expect from the heirs to the two most important gangs.
That ending though. That’s all I’ll say without spoilers. IT’S WORTH THE ENDING. I have NEVER been that invested in a book to the point where I was legitimately sitting up, screaming, kicking my feet, and yelling “NO” over and over. I don’t think there were many slow or boring points, but everything leading up to the ending was perfect and mind blowing.
One last thing I loved was the connections to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although there was (understandably) things changed to fit the setting, much of the plot stayed true to the inspiration, yet was still shocking and full of plot twists. I love how characters from the play were incorporated with different names, yet still kept the same qualities as the original. Amazing.
Overall, I would recommend this to everyone who loves Romeo and Juliet, enemies to lovers (back to enemies, then back to lovers), plots that leave you thinking about the ending hours after reading, betrayals and dramatic deaths, and PLOT TWISTS TO THE EXTREME. I can’t wait to read the sequel.
I don’t even know where to begin, this book was FANTASTIC.
One disclaimer I have is that it wasn’t quite a 5 star read because of how violent and gruesome it was. Usually, violence doesn’t bother me and I can passively skip through it, but this was… a lot. I would suggest passing on this read or skimming through certain parts of it makes you uncomfortable. While it does add a lot to the story and heightens the intensity and urgency, it can be nauseating.
Otherwise, everything else about this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The plot, the politics, the relationships and dialogues, the intricacies of the world, the world building itself—it was wonderfully written. I’m not one to care about book politics (or real ones, tbh), but it was fascinating. The complexities of the Scarlets and the White Flowers was just as interesting as the madness or the plans to stop it. The world itself had so much depth and was so intriguing to learn about, especially the parts that were based off the real history of China in the 20s.
One thing I appreciated so much was how Juliette and Roma stayed true to their heartless reputations. In many books, when a character is said to be unbelievably evil or callous, you never really see them act on it. Juliette, especially, proved her reputation true several times, yet remained lovable. While Roma seemed a bit more tender hearted to me, his character was exactly how the world building made him out to be. Their relationship was also incredible, at times adorable, and ultimately full of all the betrayal and love you’d expect from the heirs to the two most important gangs.
That ending though. That’s all I’ll say without spoilers. IT’S WORTH THE ENDING. I have NEVER been that invested in a book to the point where I was legitimately sitting up, screaming, kicking my feet, and yelling “NO” over and over. I don’t think there were many slow or boring points, but everything leading up to the ending was perfect and mind blowing.
One last thing I loved was the connections to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Although there was (understandably) things changed to fit the setting, much of the plot stayed true to the inspiration, yet was still shocking and full of plot twists. I love how characters from the play were incorporated with different names, yet still kept the same qualities as the original. Amazing.
Overall, I would recommend this to everyone who loves Romeo and Juliet, enemies to lovers (back to enemies, then back to lovers), plots that leave you thinking about the ending hours after reading, betrayals and dramatic deaths, and PLOT TWISTS TO THE EXTREME. I can’t wait to read the sequel.