Review – Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights, Book 2) by Chloe Gong (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 512 pages
Publisher:‎ Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: November 16, 2021
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1534457720
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the These Violent Delights duology
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

“The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.

After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on a mission. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.

Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.

Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.”

Series Info/Source: This is the second (and final) book in the These Violent Delight duology. I borrowed this from the library to read.

Thoughts: This is a complex story with a lot of politics, violence, and a dash of monster madness. As a result of her actions in the first book, Roma completely misunderstands Juliette for a good portion of the story. As happens in a lot of these YA novels; Roma and Juliette end up forced to work together which brings up a whole bunch of stuff from their past and has them questioning the longstanding feud between their families.

I really enjoyed the setting; it is complex and historically interesting. Yes, there are fantasy elements here but you also learn about the history of the Nationalists. The push and pull between the White Flowers and the Scarlets are intriguing and watching them fight each other while another outside force threatens is intriguing and was very well done. Watching Roma and Juliette try to balance their family commitments with their feelings was also fascinating.

I do have some small quibbles towards the end of the book…things got a bit too twisty and started to feel long. The pacing could have been a bit better and things could have wrapped up a bit faster without so much running back and forth. I also thought the ending felt incomplete and kind of ambiguous, however I did kind of expect this so the way it ended wasn’t a huge surprise.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall this was a creative, fast-paced read that takes place in an amazing alternate historical Shanghai. I loved the inclusion of the monster-madness and found the history of Shanghai to be intriguing. The characterization was well done too. All in all I really enjoyed this whole duology and would recommend this story if you enjoy historical fantasy; I would especially recommend this if you find the idea of a historical fantasy set in 1920’s Shanghai as fascinating as I did.