Fantasy

These Violent Delights

These Violent Delights

  • Downloads：7827
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-10-09 00:16:06
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Chloe Gong
  • ISBN：1529344530
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane， this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai， with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River。

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。

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Reviews

The。Book。Monster ，

This was a book club pick for September and also one of my most anticipated reads。The year is 1926 and it's set in Shanghai。 My first thought was， oh that's the time of Great Gatsby， which made me instantly fall in love with the time period。 Even though the fashion in Shanghai was different， the MC of the book brings that unique American style into the story。Speaking of her， Juliette is one badass woman。 She is definitely the highlight of the book and I loved the way Gong envisioned her for us。T This was a book club pick for September and also one of my most anticipated reads。The year is 1926 and it's set in Shanghai。 My first thought was， oh that's the time of Great Gatsby， which made me instantly fall in love with the time period。 Even though the fashion in Shanghai was different， the MC of the book brings that unique American style into the story。Speaking of her， Juliette is one badass woman。 She is definitely the highlight of the book and I loved the way Gong envisioned her for us。The writing style is beautiful and very descriptive， so be prepared to know every detail of the scene you're reading about。 If that's something you love you can't fail with this book。 I'm more of an action fan， so at times descriptions were a bit much for me， but I can still appreciate them。As for the premise of the story， I absolutely loved it。 It's mysterious and plot twisty and has that "fear of the unknown" factor throughout。 You can't be certain who to trust or what might happen until the very end。 And who doesn't love to be kept on their toes？The characters are well thought out， slowly build up and have a potential into becoming an unlikely gang everyone will love。 I'm saying Six of Crows love。 There's also a romantic element， but it's not the main focus。The setting and the mood of the book are perfect for autumn。 I highly recommend it to lovers of thrillers and mysteries who want to try something new。 And of course to all my fantasy lovers out there， who still haven't read it。 。。。more

Ekene ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 There's no feeling like finally getting to a book that's been haunting you forever， been put on pause for various reasons， and then you finally get through and read it。 It's like 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿When I first heard about this book， Romeo & Juliet （the blueprint of forbidden love & angst） set in 1920s Shanghai with the two families as Mafia rivals？ Literally， I was like GIMME GIMME GIMME。 Finishing it now， I have some thoughts。 Pros:-Strong debut。 Let's just take this in。 The author was in her early years o There's no feeling like finally getting to a book that's been haunting you forever， been put on pause for various reasons， and then you finally get through and read it。 It's like 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿When I first heard about this book， Romeo & Juliet （the blueprint of forbidden love & angst） set in 1920s Shanghai with the two families as Mafia rivals？ Literally， I was like GIMME GIMME GIMME。 Finishing it now， I have some thoughts。 Pros:-Strong debut。 Let's just take this in。 The author was in her early years of undergrad working and finishing this novel-The idea for it。 Again， Romeo and Juliet， 1920s， mafia rivals。 Like。。。。what more could a person who loves both angsty love and mafia AUs want？-Strong execution。 I think Chloe did a good job of having Romeo and Juliet elements without it being a full-on retelling， which isn't easy to do。 -Juliette Cai。 Juliette Cai。 Juliette Cai。 BossBitch Energy。 BossBitch Queen。 Who's very skilled with her knives， which I'm a sucker for。 Biggest highlight of the book。 Strongest point of the book。 I loved her。 -Great commentary on racism， even on one's ownland and how they're considered outsiders。 Oh the irony。 Cons:-Roma Montagov。 For all of Juliette's fleshed-out dimensions and layers， Roma just felt flat。 Like really flat。 -For a story based on one of the greatest love story， I didn't get much of the love。 I'm not saying I wanted every page to be overwhelming with love， but for them to be exes who are still in love I didn't get that vibe。 At least not until。。。。。70% in。 -It's a book that if you read， you need to read through completely。 One thing I noticed was that when I was reading， I was in it。 When I paused， I found it easier picking up other things。 -Audiobook narrator wasn't the best。 Certain parts， she was good。 Others。。。not as much， so physical or ebook reading is the best method 。。。more

mae ，

I love this book and really like Juliette cai ， she's a woman who is very genius and I can't stop reading this book I just love it so much “I fear your father would shoot me in the face。”“Oh， and you don’t fear that I would do the same？ It would appear my reputation doesn’t precede me。”“Juliette，” Roma said。 “You have power。” I love this book and really like Juliette cai ， she's a woman who is very genius and I can't stop reading this book I just love it so much “I fear your father would shoot me in the face。”“Oh， and you don’t fear that I would do the same？ It would appear my reputation doesn’t precede me。”“Juliette，” Roma said。 “You have power。” 。。。more

Apple Nocom ，

Plot: 5/5Characters: 5/5Writing: 5/5Impact on me: 4/5

hannah ☾ ✿ ，

4。5！！ time will tell if i lift my rating to a five because chloe gong really did THAT。

minke ，

i。need。the。sequel。

Brooke ，

This book was marketed， to me at least， as an enemies to lovers。 So when it started to deep dive into this whole mystery thing I was not as impressed。 sure it was fun and I enjoyed it but it just it wasn't what I was wanting from the book。 But， I loved the way they incorporated 1920s and the whole culture of so many different places and the way that they switched their languages and cultures throughout the book， it was so cool and one of my favorite parts。 I also loved how through a lot of the b This book was marketed， to me at least， as an enemies to lovers。 So when it started to deep dive into this whole mystery thing I was not as impressed。 sure it was fun and I enjoyed it but it just it wasn't what I was wanting from the book。 But， I loved the way they incorporated 1920s and the whole culture of so many different places and the way that they switched their languages and cultures throughout the book， it was so cool and one of my favorite parts。 I also loved how through a lot of the book they didn't get back together immediately。 It took a while before they got comfortable with each other and as soon as they did there was something in the back of their mind reminding them of what happened， which I thought was very realistic for two characters for a lot of history beforehand。 Additionally， the representation throughout this book， even though it was extremely subtle， made me really happy and I was glad that it wasn't one of those books that made it their whole personality。 The way they also perceived gangs and talked about them and showed how they were was very realistic too。 Overall it was a fun and enjoyable read but I wanted a little bit more from itP。S I loved the way she portrayed Juliette 。。。more

Leslie Ginn ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in Shanghai during the late 1920s。 This book is not quite what I was expecting。 While Romeo and Juliet is not my favorite Shakespeare play （by far） I actually really enjoyed the way that the writer handled that aspect of the story。My biggest complaint is that the 1920s setting feels out of place and unnecessary。 This is written in a very contemporary manner with very contemporary language and speaking styles for the characters。 It's also being marketed as This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in Shanghai during the late 1920s。 This book is not quite what I was expecting。 While Romeo and Juliet is not my favorite Shakespeare play （by far） I actually really enjoyed the way that the writer handled that aspect of the story。My biggest complaint is that the 1920s setting feels out of place and unnecessary。 This is written in a very contemporary manner with very contemporary language and speaking styles for the characters。 It's also being marketed as fantasy which it's。。。。。 not。 While I am not an expert on different genres per se I do read enough historical fiction to know what it sounds like。 Writing a historical fiction like a contemporary kept me from being able to be drawn into that time period hence the lower rating。 There's a lot of criticism that I could list for the writing in general （you can't scream out in pain after your throat's been ripped out。） While I don't know that from personal experience I also don't feel the need to fact-check this。 There was one specific Firearms reference towards the end that I was skeptical about， but after speaking to my local firearms expert I feel confident in its validity。 All in all it wasn't terrible even considering the writing style itself。 I enjoyed the characters and the storyline well enough that I plan to finish out the duology assuming I can get the audio book from my library。 。。。more

Tanja ☾ ，

“Memories were beastly little creatures， after all—they rose with the faintest whiff of nourishment。”“She…hoped。 And hope was dangerous。 Hope was the most vicious evil of them all， the thing that had managed to thrive in Pandora’s box among misery， and disease， and sadness—and what could endure alongside others with such teeth if it didn’t have ghastly claws of its own？”

Aasha ，

I need the sequel right now :（

isabella ，

It was incredibly difficult to get through the first quarter of this book， but alas I have finished this beauty。 Ever since the announcement of its release I have been enraptured by this book and by Chloe Gong herself， and even despite my qualms with the first quarter， it is still a five star book in the end and I cannot wait for my copy of our violent ends to arrive。 Thank you for bringing such a wonderful story into the world， to the real life Juliette Cai，

Devon ，

Ah I really liked this！！ The plot was okay， action a little slow in the first three quarters of the book， but I really enjoyed last few chapters。 I like Juliette and Roma， but I like Ben and Mars even more！！！！ Can’t wait to see what’s in store for them all 😝

Monte Price ，

Overall I see why so many people found this to be a stunning read。 I think that Gong executed a lot of the tropes included the best I've seen them done; even tropes that weren't for me。 The reason I can't bring myself to rate this higher is more a series of little things and one major thing。The major thing is simple。 I don't think that this book needed to be a duology。 I felt that a lot of this first book， while enjoyable to read and massively entertaining， didn't do much。 Either for setting up Overall I see why so many people found this to be a stunning read。 I think that Gong executed a lot of the tropes included the best I've seen them done; even tropes that weren't for me。 The reason I can't bring myself to rate this higher is more a series of little things and one major thing。The major thing is simple。 I don't think that this book needed to be a duology。 I felt that a lot of this first book， while enjoyable to read and massively entertaining， didn't do much。 Either for setting up the events of this book， or laying the ground work for something in a book to come。 Juliet especially seemed to lack things to do。 Her only aim the whole book is to investigate the illness， and while she makes some attempts to do so， a lot of it doesn't really read like an investigation and instead read like a person talking about needing to investigate and annoyed about it。Roma， while a little better， felt bland。 I didn't understand how an action he'd taken that was major in terms of scope seemed to leave no real impression on his character。 Especially when that action was as big as it was and ran as counter to his belief as it did。 It also just felt grossly self serving and played as though it was really in service of another character。 Outside of that though， I never really felt like I had a grasp on him the way I did Juliet; a character who did seem to have been changed by the decisions she made over the course of the novel。I will continue on with the sequel to see what comes of things， so on some level I'm definitely invested。 And I would keep an eye out for what Gong does next， it really does come down to how the execution of the story was handled for me。 。。。more

sian ，

SO FREAKING GOOD AND THE END AHHHHi’m gonna need that sequel right now

nina ，

WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT ENDINGGG ？？？？？？？？？？？？？？？

Hiba Hussain ，

ROMA ROMA ROMA ROMA ROMA ROMA also romajuliette ‼️💔‼️😘🤠😘😈😘⁉️😈😍😍

Addiɘ。 ，

I swear I was about to 🔪🔪🔪 Juliette-------4。5 stars

drish ，

THIS BOOK IS SO INSANE LIKE THR ROMAJULIETTE THE PLOT EVERYTHING ABOUT IT WAS SO PERFECT？？？ I LITERALLY COULD NOT STOP TURNING THE PAGES LJKE AND THAT ENDING？？？ NEED BOOK 2 ASAP PLS

saturn ，

this book （obviously） took me a while to read just because of my schedule and then the fact that it was a bit slow at the beginning but overall， this book was amazing and i can’t wait to read my ARC of our violent ends

Charlotte ，

I'm twelve and have been a very avid reader since I was 5。 I go through hundreds of books a year and find it very hard to find a book that 1， is interesting and keeps me wondering what is going to happen and 2， a book that has balance。 Ms。 Gong couldn't have done a better job， this book is one of a kind and something you don't come across often。 When people here about books with a Romeo and Juliet theme they immediately think of a hopeless romantic。 To be honest I was very skeptical when I bough I'm twelve and have been a very avid reader since I was 5。 I go through hundreds of books a year and find it very hard to find a book that 1， is interesting and keeps me wondering what is going to happen and 2， a book that has balance。 Ms。 Gong couldn't have done a better job， this book is one of a kind and something you don't come across often。 When people here about books with a Romeo and Juliet theme they immediately think of a hopeless romantic。 To be honest I was very skeptical when I bought the book and sat down to read it。 I've read a few Romeo and Juliet based books and wouldn't recommend a single one of them。 I'm not one for fast romances that end quickly。 This book though finds the balance between a poisonous story about hatred and undying love but also narrates a dangerous， captivating life as a gangster in the early 20th century。 Both of her main characters are extremely powerful but also vulnerable in there own ways at the same time and there relationship is extremely dynamic and unexplainable， for me the one line that explains it is， ‘The stars incline us， they do not bind us。’ That line singularly defines the complication of there relationship but also there indomitable love， it is heartbreaking but also gives room for pondering， is it to be or not。 On the contrary there is the line， “I was raised in hatred， Roma。 I could never be your lover， only your killer。” Which was heartwrenching and I'm sure left every reader on the edghe of there seats in anticpiation for what was to come。 In all These Violent Delights is definitely one of the best books around currently and for someone who enjoys romance but also likes drama and a lot of stress when you reading this book is it。 。。。more

maddie ，

I NEED MORE

Guille ，

¡AL FIN TERMINO！Tengo que admitir que la primer mitad fue demasiado tediosa， y la segunda no fue espectacular。 Sin embargo， me gusto bastante。 Me encariñe con los personajes， pero no con todas las perspectivas。 Realmente se volcan tediosas。 Creo que es un libro con muchísimo potencial y que la escritora también tiene muchas cosas para seguir mejorando。 （Además， suma puntos por ser inesperado; esos plot-twists del final 👌， me gusta que me tomaron de sorpresa siendo compatible con que haya podido ¡AL FIN TERMINO！Tengo que admitir que la primer mitad fue demasiado tediosa， y la segunda no fue espectacular。 Sin embargo， me gusto bastante。 Me encariñe con los personajes， pero no con todas las perspectivas。 Realmente se volcan tediosas。 Creo que es un libro con muchísimo potencial y que la escritora también tiene muchas cosas para seguir mejorando。 （Además， suma puntos por ser inesperado; esos plot-twists del final 👌， me gusta que me tomaron de sorpresa siendo compatible con que haya podido proveer ciertas cosas）Dentro de todo， lo disfrute。 Aunque considero que podría haber sido mucho mejor。 Sinceramente， esperaba más （y eso es mi error）。 Creo que gran parte de este sentimiento viene a la débil construcción y caracterización de los personajes y la mayoría de las relaciones entre ellos， un modo de escritura subdesarrollado y la trama （desde la historia previa al inicio， la caracterización del espacio y tiempo narrativo， hasta los distintos elementos propios al conflicto de la obra como lo es la "locura"）。 En algún momento de la vida， voy a desarrollar más estas ideas。 Por ahora， nos quedamos con esto。Pd: Me olvidaba de decir que debo destacar que me gusto el tratamiento de temáticas imperialistas。 Nada， eso。 。。。more

kelsey ，

being completely honest， the ending bumped my rating upi was so worried there for a second holy shitalso yes my favorite characters are the secondary ones what about it （and roma）

π ，

AAAAAH！ JADI。。。。。 ENDINGNYA GIMANAAAA？ 😭

Jia ，

I loved this book！！ It was a great mixture of action and romance and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out in November。 I loved how the author modernized the story of Romeo and Juliette and put her own spin on it。 Instead of it simply being Romeo and Juliette set in a more modern era， there are many other interesting elements that the author adds in。 I honestly couldn't put this book down once I started reading it。 I loved this book！！ It was a great mixture of action and romance and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out in November。 I loved how the author modernized the story of Romeo and Juliette and put her own spin on it。 Instead of it simply being Romeo and Juliette set in a more modern era， there are many other interesting elements that the author adds in。 I honestly couldn't put this book down once I started reading it。 。。。more

Emily ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Okay， I’m sorry， but this book was written like wattpad on steroids。 （Not that I’m not into it）As a reader I found the amount of spelling， grammar， and all around writing mistakes in this book baffling and I felt the need to put it down almost immediately; yet as a mentally unstable and completely concerning person I had to stick with it。 The end result left me with this :It’s not terrible， but it’s not that amazing either。 This is one of the most “luke-warm” novels I have ever read。 I did enjoy Okay， I’m sorry， but this book was written like wattpad on steroids。 （Not that I’m not into it）As a reader I found the amount of spelling， grammar， and all around writing mistakes in this book baffling and I felt the need to put it down almost immediately; yet as a mentally unstable and completely concerning person I had to stick with it。 The end result left me with this :It’s not terrible， but it’s not that amazing either。 This is one of the most “luke-warm” novels I have ever read。 I did enjoy the story though。 I always love reading new stories and seeing the diversity in different authours imaginations。 I am very glad that Chloe Hong has such a vibrant imagination and felt she needed to share her thoughts and feelings。 I just feel my little English-buff heart break each time I read through her work。 She’s still a hound author though， so hopefully with time and a few good seminars Chloe will catch on that most people want a well thought out and spellchecked book。 All of this said though， I am still VERY excited to read the newest book in the series。 What？ The plot is so intriguing！<3 。。。more

anoushka ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book took me so long to read。 My reading slump has been unnecessarily long and with school starting I just didn't have time to read。 That set aside， this book was a huge roller-coaster。 "Despite Juliette's position as the heir to the Scarlet Gang， they would never simper after her in such a manner。 She was a girl。 In their eyes， no matter how legitimate， she would never be good enough。"I absolutely loved this book。 Everything was perfect， from the way feminism was portrayed， to the way Chlo This book took me so long to read。 My reading slump has been unnecessarily long and with school starting I just didn't have time to read。 That set aside， this book was a huge roller-coaster。 "Despite Juliette's position as the heir to the Scarlet Gang， they would never simper after her in such a manner。 She was a girl。 In their eyes， no matter how legitimate， she would never be good enough。"I absolutely loved this book。 Everything was perfect， from the way feminism was portrayed， to the way Chloe Gong wrote about colonization。 "The invaders couldn't erase the people already living within the area they decided to call their own， but they could erase everything else。"Paul Dexter literally wanted to make me rip my head off， he was so annoying。 Speaking of characters， I really wanted to read more of Benedikt's backstory。 The tension between Benedikt and Marshall is so intense and I want to know more about it in the sequel。 I also want to know more about his anxiety， because he definitely has some。"People made him sticky。 People made him think about his words twice as hard and sweat when he didn't pick them right。"LET'S TALK ABOUT ROMA AND JULIETTE。 This is probably the most badass couple I've ever seen and I am going to talk about it for the rest of my life。 "Do you not listen to me when I speak？" he answered shakily， his lip quirking up。 "I love you。 I have always loved you。" The plot was amazing and I CAN'T WAIT TO READ THE NEXT ONE！！！！ 。。。more

Paula ，

one the best retellings i have read since percy jackson。the book was good， interesting and easy to read except when the author used palabras way too pomposas。the political aspect was something that i was not expecting， but i don't complain。i wish that some scenes where longer and others shorter; i needed a bit more of humour， and more back story of some characters。 some things were a little too convinient too。i'm still excited to read the next part， even tho we all know how is going to end， or m one the best retellings i have read since percy jackson。the book was good， interesting and easy to read except when the author used palabras way too pomposas。the political aspect was something that i was not expecting， but i don't complain。i wish that some scenes where longer and others shorter; i needed a bit more of humour， and more back story of some characters。 some things were a little too convinient too。i'm still excited to read the next part， even tho we all know how is going to end， or maybe miss gong surprise us all and shake things a little more。no está demás decir que shakespeare would have said that ha muerto poca gente， more people need to die， this is tragedy à la anglais。 。。。more

Sherilyn ，

The writing， the atmosphere， the themes that were shown in this book， the plot， the characters was all *chef’s kiss* I think the one flaw really I had was Roma and the romance a little bit。 Roma was just too meh for me compared to everyone else， but everything was written so well I had to give it 5 😭

Elle ，

SO GOOD

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=These Violent Delights

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=These Violent Delights&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,These Violent Delights&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0