A review by clumsyqueenie
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

5.0

“Was the line between enemy and friend horizontal or vertical? Was it a great plain to lumber across or was it a high, high wall—either to be scaled or kicked down in one big blow?”

Rating: 5/5
★★★★★

I'm so mad I didn't already pick this up. But nevertheless, I'm a complete emotional mess right now.

These Violent Delights is one of those books I was reluctant to pick up at first, but did anyway due to the hype surrounding it. And I'm glad to say that I'm not disappointed in the very least.

If you thought this book is a Romeo-Juliet retelling taking place in a historical setting with a very YA plot (like I did), you are so wrong. This is honestly a blend of romance, thriller and fantasy. And the prose is just marvellous; the metaphors and the poetry were perfect.

Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov are the heirs to the two gangs ruling Shanghai; the Scarlets and the White Flowers. As Juliette returns from abroad, she is to take over the Scarlets soon enough, and has the markings of a ruler. But then there are reported sights of a “monster” and there's a madness sweeping over the city, leading to people tearing their throats open. And without the cooperation of the gangs, they wouldn't know the end of it.

This novel is fast-paced and has a good amount of mystery to it, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. I absolutely loved how the author wrote the arcs of the characters (minor ones too!), fleshing out the characters making them realistic as possible. Personally, my faves were Benedikt and Roma, I admit I didn't really like Juliette, but she was a great protagonist nevertheless and was definitely well-written.

I absolutely devoured this book, and would definitely recommend this to everyone!