Review – These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights, Book 1) by Chloe Gong (4.5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: November 17, 2020
ISBN-13 : 978-1534457690
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in These Violent Delights duology
Source: Got in Owlcrate
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
“The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.
A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.
But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the These Violent Delights duology. The second book comes out mid-Nov 2021 and will be titled “Our Violent Ends”. I got a copy of this book in my Owlcrate last year.
Thoughts: I really ended up enjoying this a lot. It started a bit rough for me, I am not a huge fan of “mobster” fantasy per say. However, the 1920’s Shanghai setting was fascinating and really won me over. Then there were the super creepy (and pretty gross) bugs that made this actually lean towards a horrific Lovecraftian vibe. This really surprised me and wasn’t what I was expecting from this book at all….and I LOVED IT!
The characters, even the side ones, dwell in a very grey morale area. I enjoyed them, even if I didn’t like them or their actions much. I did feel like Juliette’s character was more filled out and had more personality than Roma did. Roma was a bit blase to me but did grow on me some as the story progressed.
I really enjoy Romeo and Juliet retellings and the fact that this was in such an interesting setting which such a crazy horror vibe really blew me away. After the first few chapters (which I did struggle with some) I was completely engaged in the story. I ended up enjoying Gong’s writing style a lot as well; it has portions that are beautifully written and portions that are incredibly viscous and the contrast worked very well for this story. I am eagerly awaiting “Our Violent Ends” and am happy I waited to read this first book since “Our Violent Ends” releases in just a couple weeks!
My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really enjoy Romeo and Juliet retellings and this was an awesome one. The setting was unique and well done and I loved the Lovecraftian horror vibe to this (totally wasn’t expecting that). If you are looking for an intriguing historical fantasy set in an exotic location, in an interesting time, and with creepy horror elements I would highly recommend this.
