These Violent Delights
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- Create Date：2021-09-14 07:50:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- 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。
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。
Reviews
A
，
SO GOOD，！！
Alyn
，
DNF at 30%。 Skipped to the end to confirm my theory， I was 100% correct。 Zero regrets about skipping to the end。Predictable and the story itself didn't transition well。 There are parts where they'd just jump to another place， leaving me confused because I felt like maybe I missed something。 I'd rewind and listen again and no， it's not just me。 The setting does change abruptly。 I like Juliette。 She's pretty badass。 Disliked Roma， he felt really one-dimensional every time he appeared in the book。 DNF at 30%。 Skipped to the end to confirm my theory， I was 100% correct。 Zero regrets about skipping to the end。Predictable and the story itself didn't transition well。 There are parts where they'd just jump to another place， leaving me confused because I felt like maybe I missed something。 I'd rewind and listen again and no， it's not just me。 The setting does change abruptly。 I like Juliette。 She's pretty badass。 Disliked Roma， he felt really one-dimensional every time he appeared in the book。 So why did I stop reading？ Honestly didn't care for the story anymore。 Didn't like the setting， didn't care for most of the chars， the story is only like Romeo and Juliet with the similar names and feuding family。 If you read this book expecting a retelling of Romeo and Juliet， stop。 。。。more
Birte
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I heard a lot about this book， so I was intrigued but simulatenously wary， because hype can be a pushover and for me this was kinda the case。 I BR this with some friends and none of us loved this。 There was for one the names。 I just really saw no reason for the names of the main characters to be so similar to Romeo and Juliet， even if it's inspired by it。Then， sometimes the characters felt a bit like they were acting their age and then a lot of the time they weren't and it just didn't fit togeth I heard a lot about this book， so I was intrigued but simulatenously wary， because hype can be a pushover and for me this was kinda the case。 I BR this with some friends and none of us loved this。 There was for one the names。 I just really saw no reason for the names of the main characters to be so similar to Romeo and Juliet， even if it's inspired by it。Then， sometimes the characters felt a bit like they were acting their age and then a lot of the time they weren't and it just didn't fit together。 I also think， this book fell into the category of the female character being overkill cold-hearted ish。 Not quite， because we do see her have feelings， but it just felt cliché to me， how Juliette behaved constantly。Then there's just a small thing， but Juliette is 18 and can speak like six languages and there is literally no explanation for some of them。I did like though， how the author portrayed the influence and audacity of the Western countried moving in and behaving atrociously to the Chinese people。 And while it wasn't really that much in the forefront， the conflict that will have a huge impact between the Communists and Nationalists， was interesting to see in their kind of beginning stages。 。。。more
jojo
，
The first couple of chapters were quite hard for me to get through， but thank god i kept on reading because i ended up being so invested to the story。 Chloe gong， i better see romajuliette get their well deserved happy ending or its on sight！！！！！
Claire Spardel
，
Kept my attention， but it is obvious a college kid wrote it- the novel feels very immature。 The author rambles along too many plot avenues and fails to flesh out any fully。 I found the monster threat odd and the romance was very half-baked。 The publishers really overemphasized the Romeo and Juliet retelling idea。
Vinnie
，
I obviously read this book because of the enemies-to-lovers trope， but it took me days to finish this book oof。 The main reason I am rating this 3 stars is because of how long it took me to finish it。 I think I would've enjoyed the book more if I read it quickly and in one go。 I really enjoyed 70% of the book， but began to slow down later。 A few comments:- This book was more plot-driven than character。 - Since this series is a duology， I expect more from the characters in the next book。- I hope I obviously read this book because of the enemies-to-lovers trope， but it took me days to finish this book oof。 The main reason I am rating this 3 stars is because of how long it took me to finish it。 I think I would've enjoyed the book more if I read it quickly and in one go。 I really enjoyed 70% of the book， but began to slow down later。 A few comments:- This book was more plot-driven than character。 - Since this series is a duology， I expect more from the characters in the next book。- I hope for more Marshall x Benedikt moments - I felt that Roma x Juliette's relationship was a bit dry。 For most of the book， they hated each other until later when they talked it out。 But still， I felt that there was no chemistry between them。 - But I absolutely loved the plot and setting。 The insects made me scared and shiver。 Imagining those insects crawling on your head is frightening。 I also liked the setting of Shangai， the history and language。 - Random， but I really love the covers。 They are so intricate and beautiful - The white serum was a very nice foreshadow for the ending。 I can't wait for the reveal when Roma， Benedikt realize that Marshall is alive。 hehe - I really liked Alisa， so I hope to see her more in the next book- While some parts of the "investigation" was confusing （Larkspur， Qi Ren， and Archibald - tequila shot guy）， the plot twist reveal was interesting。 But I have to say it wasn't that surprising。 If Paul is dead， I wonder who the antagonist is going to be in the second book。- Lord Cai did mention a traitor in the inner Scarlet Gang - I hope it's not Rosalind （I don't think it will be， but who knows） After reading this book， I realized that there should be more enemies-to-lovers trope books with m/m or f/f。 Overall， the book was decent。 。。。more
jo
，
WHAT THE FUCKKKALAFBB
Steph L
，
more of a 3。5。。。 found it lacking in places！
Truc
，
as someone who prefers character-driven stories， i was hoping we'd get more from the characters but alas this was more plot-driven。 i wasnt really feeling the chemistry between roma and juliette either， which made it hard to root for them （as a ship）。 the writing was nice though！ i appreciate the descriptive writing for the most part but。。。 disclaimer that i wasnt expecting insects in this story and i have a major phobia so i was quite。。。 shocked by the insect parts， to say the least。 BUT thats as someone who prefers character-driven stories， i was hoping we'd get more from the characters but alas this was more plot-driven。 i wasnt really feeling the chemistry between roma and juliette either， which made it hard to root for them （as a ship）。 the writing was nice though！ i appreciate the descriptive writing for the most part but。。。 disclaimer that i wasnt expecting insects in this story and i have a major phobia so i was quite。。。 shocked by the insect parts， to say the least。 BUT thats entirely on me for not double checking the content warnings HAHA SO i tried to put that aside to focus on the story。 for things that i did enjoy: the worldbuilding is definitely its strength， i was pretty absorbed into this world of 1920s shanghai。 i loved how this book really addressed the blatant AND subtle（！！） effects of western colonialism and white privilege too， there were moments that were so sad and left me heartbroken seeing what was happening to shanghai and all the people/characters。 i was generally more interested in the side characters （particularly kathleen and marshall）， but those bits of the individual， internal struggles with identity got me。 have to also appreciate that all the characters had very distinct， differing personalities。 speaking of characters， love that we have trans rep and mlm rep too， particularly since this is a historical fiction novel！ anyways， although the plot was pretty predictable and i instantly picked up on the upcoming plot twists， i definitely wasnt expecting that very last cliffhanger。 definitely going to pick up the sequel just so that i know what happens （and if we get the same tragic ending as the og r&j）。 3。5 stars！ 。。。more
Serge
，
2。75/5 I read this book as a BR with The Fantasy Guild Book Club。 “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？” In the 1920's， Shanghai is a divided city。 Divided not only within its own residents， with two gangs， one Chinese， The Scarlet Gang and the other Russia 2。75/5 I read this book as a BR with The Fantasy Guild Book Club。 “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？” In the 1920's， Shanghai is a divided city。 Divided not only within its own residents， with two gangs， one Chinese， The Scarlet Gang and the other Russian， The White Flowers， who are engaged in a blood feud that has been going on for years， but also among foreign forces who came to Shanghai and are attempting to split the "treasure" they came across amongst themselves。 On top of it all， the Communist faction is restlessly stirring amid these forces， trying to bring power back to the workers who are the victims of all these power plays。 As if all of this chaos wasn't enough， a mysterious monster has been sighted in the city and has been linked to a madness that leads people to tear their own throats out。 In these turbulent settings， a retelling of Romeo and Juliette takes place。 This time， the two lovers are the respective gang leader heirs of the two opposing factions， Roma （this story's version of Romeo） being the heir of The White Flowers and Juliette， who has kept her name here， being the heiress of The Scarlet Gang。 Since these two gangs are arch enemies， it's obvious that this love story is a typical forbidden one， with many obstacles standing in the way of their love。 “Her feminine beauty was a concept as fleeting as power。 If she acquired a tan， put on some weight， and let a few decades pass， the street artists would not be rendering her face to sell their creams anymore。 Chinese and Western standards alike were arbitrary， pitiful things。 But Juliette still needed to keep herself in line， force herself to follow them if people were to look up to her。” There's no doubt that the setting is very turbulent and exciting， and you can feel the tension in the air just by reading about our characters going about their daily business。 Any small wrong look can trigger a shooting spree and cost lives， so the stakes are high。 That ever-present background tension helps make this book not boring to read， and can make it a page turner。 Despite that however， I wouldn't say there's much of a plot going on。 Most of the plot seems to be a background setting to give us time between Roma and Juliette and their interactions， sprinkled with some secondary POVs every now and then。 Roma and Juliette's chemistry wasn't the best， and for the most part， I blame this on the fact that Roma was a very bland and flat character。 His entire personality felt muted， and no matter how many POVs we had of him， I didn't feel like I've read enough of him to truly feel him as a character。 His entire existence seemed to be for the sake of moving Juliette's plot forward。 Juliette had a much more vividly described character。 If characterization was some form of life juice， Juliette had a disproportional abundant filling while Roma's was severely under-filled。 If Roma had a little bit more of a personality to him， that give and take with Juliette's intensity would have been nicer to read。 “Memories were beastly little creatures， after all—they rose with the faintest whiff of nourishment。” There was an intentional choice by the author of making Juliette the more dominant and assertive and powerful partner， which is completely fine， but I wish she had more to her than just her brutality and her inability to control herself from slashing someone's throat whenever they piss her off。 The mystery behind the disease and the "big reveals" that took place were entirely predictable and lackluster， and failed to incite any excitement in me。 The secondary characters were pleasant to follow， but I expected more from them。 Some plot elements felt unresolved and incomplete， like （view spoiler）[Rosalind's jealousy and hostility towards Juliette。 In the end， she had a meltdown but we never saw it develop into anything more because she just disappeared and didn't appear again。 （hide spoiler）] Some character choices were also very dumb， for example， （view spoiler）[Juliette using the claims of an obviously shady stranger to make her decision on who the true monster was， and immediately going to kill him without any further investigation。 （hide spoiler）] Some overly hyped up elements like （view spoiler）[the Communist revolt （hide spoiler）] ended up being underwhelming， and things felt too easily resolved。 It's important to note that this didn't really feel like a "fantasy" book， even though it was marketed as such。 There was really no fantasy at all， just some paranormal phenomena in an alternate contemporary setting。 So I will not be adding this to my fantasy shelf。 Overall， I felt pretty lukewarm about this book。 It didn't give me a lot of negative feelings but just some sighs of slight disappointment every now and then。 I wish the chemistry between the two lovers and the forbidden love aspect was a bit more intense， to make up for the other plot elements that I found to be underwhelming。 The end of this book did make me interested in reading the sequel， which I probably will， and I hope some of these elements are improved in the next one。 The rating I'm giving to this book is an "it was ok" 2 star rating， with my actual rating being a 2。75 stars。 “This place hums to the tune of debauchery。 This city is filthy and deep in the thrall of unending sin， so saturated with the kiss of decadence that the sky threatens to buckle and crush all those living vivaciously beneath it in punishment。” ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]> 。。。more
marie
，
looking forward to the second book 😿😿😿 julietteroma angst and betrayal supremacy4。25 ☆
Ozzy☆
，
I need book 2 now or else I will riot。 This is definitely my best read of September。 Holy Guacamole
Kaylee
，
So this took me a significantly longer time to finish than other books but that just makes me fun and unpredictable。 Anyway， this is a really really good YA enemies to lovers slow-burn read。 You have the angst and the pining and the death and then more angst。 The rating is lower because even though a good amount happens in the book it felt a bit slow to me？ I'm just not made for the mystery build up。 I also wasn't a fan of the inconsistent chapter lengths。 But other than that， a great read and c So this took me a significantly longer time to finish than other books but that just makes me fun and unpredictable。 Anyway， this is a really really good YA enemies to lovers slow-burn read。 You have the angst and the pining and the death and then more angst。 The rating is lower because even though a good amount happens in the book it felt a bit slow to me？ I'm just not made for the mystery build up。 I also wasn't a fan of the inconsistent chapter lengths。 But other than that， a great read and can't wait to finish the second book and be in more pain。 。。。more
Elena L。
，
[4。5/5 stars]Shanghai， 1926 - there is a blood feud between Chinese Scarlet Gang ruled by Juliette Cai's family and Russian White Flowers by Roma Montagov， once Juliette's first love。 THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS is an inventive reimagining of Romeo and Juliet。Blending fantasy and historical fiction， Gong delivers a chaotic， split and lawless Shanghai in a time of political turmoil and factionalism， with rivalry between gangsters， political parties （Nationalist against Communist） and ambitious foreign [4。5/5 stars]Shanghai， 1926 - there is a blood feud between Chinese Scarlet Gang ruled by Juliette Cai's family and Russian White Flowers by Roma Montagov， once Juliette's first love。 THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS is an inventive reimagining of Romeo and Juliet。Blending fantasy and historical fiction， Gong delivers a chaotic， split and lawless Shanghai in a time of political turmoil and factionalism， with rivalry between gangsters， political parties （Nationalist against Communist） and ambitious foreigners。 Colonialism， imperialism， politics， patriarchy and communism are themes thoroughly digested and handled well。 In addition， a rampaging and deadly monster is running rampant。The historical events and setting feel channeled in the chapters - they are vivid and immersive。 I appreciated the female characters in this novel， strong in representation and presence。The plot unravels steadily in many layers and not until the last 100 pages that more action and adrenaline are injected into the story。 I enjoyed the revelations （even the predictable ones） and the cliffhanger at the end made me crave for the conclusion right away。 To my amazement， the personification of hunger and precarious working conditions was smartly executed。 My critique is that I was less emotionally engaged with the secondary characters and I thought that their parts， despite its importance， could have been shortened。 Finally， the author's note was a very informative complement to the narrative。To sum up， this debut is an addictive journey of violence， passion and betrayal that one will have to go on in small steps。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more
Dusti Dolly
，
I finally had to DNF this because it is so boring， I can't finish it。 There's a lot of telling how bad ass the main character is but no showing in the way the character behaves。 Being hatefull， and mean all the time doesn't make you badass， it just makes you hatefull and mean。 I finally had to DNF this because it is so boring， I can't finish it。 There's a lot of telling how bad ass the main character is but no showing in the way the character behaves。 Being hatefull， and mean all the time doesn't make you badass， it just makes you hatefull and mean。 。。。more
Chris Hanson
，
Upped to a four star solely because Chloe Gong mentioned Gansey in the acknowledgements and I went feral
Valerie Nikolas
，
My bad for not realizing this was YA until over halfway through。 I don’t think I would have chose it if I had， since at age 28 I’m not interested in 400+ page books of the genre。 All of my criticisms can be attributed to this book being YA， such as the characters seeming way too powerful for their ages and all seeming a bit static。 That being said， I admire Chloe Gong’s writing SO MUCH。 She is a really gifted， talented writer and would love to read books of hers geared towards older audiences。
Natalie
，
4。25 ⭐️i thought the writing in this book was beautiful， especially for a debut novel by a young author！ i loved the way chloe set the scene in 1920s china， and i just thought the premise & storyline were both fabulous。 i will say that it was quite slow for the first quarter of the book， and i do wish that more had been said about roma & juliette’s past relationship because i felt like prior to the halfway point， there wasn’t much chemistry between them。 all that aside， i think it tells a great 4。25 ⭐️i thought the writing in this book was beautiful， especially for a debut novel by a young author！ i loved the way chloe set the scene in 1920s china， and i just thought the premise & storyline were both fabulous。 i will say that it was quite slow for the first quarter of the book， and i do wish that more had been said about roma & juliette’s past relationship because i felt like prior to the halfway point， there wasn’t much chemistry between them。 all that aside， i think it tells a great story in a unique way， and i will definitely be grabbing book 2 when it comes out in november！ 。。。more
Antonija
，
'These Violent Delights' autorice Chloe Gong jedan je od najvećih hitova u posljednjih par godina i moram priznati s pravom。 Moram biti iskrena， prvi put sam čula za nju na TikToku。 Booktok je poludio za ovom knjigu， što u meni automatski izaziva sumnjičavost。 Potom kad sam saznala da je ovo svojevrsni remake Romea i Julije。 Dovoljno da me odbije， ali s druge strane sama radnja se činila brutalno zanimljivom。 Šangaj， 1926。 godina。 Grad koji se suočava s 'invazijom' velesila， bande koje pokušavaj 'These Violent Delights' autorice Chloe Gong jedan je od najvećih hitova u posljednjih par godina i moram priznati s pravom。 Moram biti iskrena， prvi put sam čula za nju na TikToku。 Booktok je poludio za ovom knjigu， što u meni automatski izaziva sumnjičavost。 Potom kad sam saznala da je ovo svojevrsni remake Romea i Julije。 Dovoljno da me odbije， ali s druge strane sama radnja se činila brutalno zanimljivom。 Šangaj， 1926。 godina。 Grad koji se suočava s 'invazijom' velesila， bande koje pokušavaju preživjeti nadolazeća vremena， a dok ispod vrela promjena društva， tehnologije i struktura pojavilo se čudovište zbog kojeg ljudi sami sebe trgaju vrat。 Autorica Chloe Gong je brutalno dobro odradila posao。 Likovi su izuzetno dobro razrađeni i iznijansirani， radnja je brza no postoji dovoljno trenutaka za razvoj likova i njihovih odnosa。 Apsurdno veliki plus ide autorici što su njezini likovi opisani na način da ja uistinu mogu povjerovati da su oni postojali u tom vremenu， a opet s problemima koje muče ljude i danas。 Ta transcedentalnost je nešto što je uspjevalo poprilično dobro i Shakespearu （doduše， ne u Romeu i Julija - ali ja osobno imam jako puno problema s tom knjigom）。 Mnogi su joj zamjerili brutalnost i vividne opise smrti。 Osobno s tim nisam imala problema。 Štoviše， bilo je zanimljivo pročitati knjigu u kojoj mi vidimo posljedice 'čudovišta'。 Nema poante uljepšavati situaciju ako pokušavaš uvjeriti čitatelja da su svi u opasnosti i da je ona realna。 。。。more
Bel
，
✨QUÉ FANTASÍA✨Recuerdo que este libro lo compré porque estaba rebajado y no sabía siquiera de qué iba （sí， soy una compradora compulsiva） pues， bien， ¡la mejor inversión de mi vida！（No os preocupéis， el inglés no es muy difícil y， además， lo van a traducir， así que todo bien）Para empezar ¡vaya trama más maravillosa！。 Al ver que era una retelling de Romeo y Julieta pensé que no me iba a gustar， pero ha sido todo lo contrario: he amado cada segundo de lectura que he tenido Hay similitudes con el c ✨QUÉ FANTASÍA✨Recuerdo que este libro lo compré porque estaba rebajado y no sabía siquiera de qué iba （sí， soy una compradora compulsiva） pues， bien， ¡la mejor inversión de mi vida！（No os preocupéis， el inglés no es muy difícil y， además， lo van a traducir， así que todo bien）Para empezar ¡vaya trama más maravillosa！。 Al ver que era una retelling de Romeo y Julieta pensé que no me iba a gustar， pero ha sido todo lo contrario: he amado cada segundo de lectura que he tenido Hay similitudes con el clásico， como la rivalidad entre familias y el amor prohibido。 Sin embargo， el resto es muy diferente。En este libro lo que más predomina es la acción， ya que la rivalidad entre la familia de Juliette Cai （los Scarlets） y Roma Montagov （los White Flowers） viene por sus territorios en China， pues ambas familias son bandas de gansters enfrentadas。 Por ello es que nuestros protagonistas luchan hasta el final por no caer， aunque nunca se les ha dado bien。La historia de ambos es preciosa a la par que dramática。 Ambos se autoconvencen de odiarse， pero ¿lo hacen de verdad？ Lo descubrirán en el momento en el que aparece una enfermedad a la que llaman locura。 ¿Así？ ¿De la nada？ Sí， así es， porque el motivo de la enfermedad es el monstruo del río。 Ambos bandos deben unirse， pues las bajas se dan en ambos territorios。 ¿Hay unión？ Sí， pero no por parte de los jefes （y padres）， sino por los hijos， quienes actúan a las espaldas de sus familias por el bien de su pueblo。 Además， para rematar la historia， ¡hay representación LGBTIQ+！。 He amado este dato， a la par que me ha sorprendido。 Hay un personaje transexual y se descubre a mitad del libro （más o menos） ¡y no me esperaba que ese personaje lo fuese！ Además， desde un principio he amado a dos personajes por sus escenas y a mitad del libro me meten una escena cuya tensión se puede palpar， por lo que es muy probable （al menos， quiero pensar eso para poder estar feliz） en el próximo libro podríamos ver una relación homosexual。 Diría que estoy preparada， pero no lo estoy。 Si me dan esa pareja， creo que lloraré y releeré cada escena 15 veces antes de pasar de página。En definitiva， aunque el libro no se centra en el romance， es un libro que se disfruta leer， que mantiene en vilo con la investigación sobre la enfermedad y el monstruo。 Hay varios giros de trama que he amado y creo que es un libro que cualquiera podría amar （siempre y cuando no sea sensible， pues hay algunas escenas muy sangrientas） 。。。more
Sandy （Ms Reads A Lot）
，
Is this really a Romeo and Juliet retelling？ There certainly some similarities to the original story but far more differences！ Now having said that， it was still an intriguing story。 Roma Montagov and Juliet Cai have a long history from childhood and it isn’t a happy history。 The story is set in the city of Shanghai and follows Roma and Juliette as they are reunited against a madness infecting the city！ Forced to work together， the team struggles to reconcile past events and feelings while tryin Is this really a Romeo and Juliet retelling？ There certainly some similarities to the original story but far more differences！ Now having said that， it was still an intriguing story。 Roma Montagov and Juliet Cai have a long history from childhood and it isn’t a happy history。 The story is set in the city of Shanghai and follows Roma and Juliette as they are reunited against a madness infecting the city！ Forced to work together， the team struggles to reconcile past events and feelings while trying to keep the city from ruin。It was a fairly fast paced story with lots of twists and turns。 This is clearly the first in a series as the story was unresolved！ I will probably pick up the next in the series。 。。。more
Kyleigh
，
I wanted to love this book， but the writing style was not for me， the characters were pretty boring， and the plot felt very repetitive with a pretty predictable ending。
Catherine
，
Actual Rating: 4。25/5⭐️
Larissa
，
4。5*
Coral
，
This was a fun historical fiction story with a touch of creepiness。 The backdrop of this Shanghai in the 20s was amazing - I love the crime family aspect the author created。 A great read， although I do wish this story could have been wrapped up in one single installment instead of being lengthened into a series。
Thay Kaizer
，
Melhor coisa que eu fiz pela minha saúde mental em 2021 foi já ter comprado a sequência desse livro na pré-venda。
Katie Brackman
，
4。25 Stars
nibha
，
i would just like to thank ms chloe gong for the absolute SERVICE she gave us with this book😍 i can’t believe this is her debut novel？？？？？？ she’s done what shakespeare failed to do😁😁her writing is AMAZING mate the amount of quotes in this book i want framed i want tattooed SHES SO GOOD W HER WORDS😩 i am not a person anymore i am just a bank of romajuliette quotes ty😁😁❤️🩹the ！！！REFERENCES！！！ in this book to the original play were so fun i absolutely loved reading them they were such a blast ms c i would just like to thank ms chloe gong for the absolute SERVICE she gave us with this book😍 i can’t believe this is her debut novel？？？？？？ she’s done what shakespeare failed to do😁😁her writing is AMAZING mate the amount of quotes in this book i want framed i want tattooed SHES SO GOOD W HER WORDS😩 i am not a person anymore i am just a bank of romajuliette quotes ty😁😁❤️🩹the ！！！REFERENCES！！！ in this book to the original play were so fun i absolutely loved reading them they were such a blast ms chloe gong is so clever😋😋i loved all the characters （except tyler， tyler can choke🥰）。 especially girlboss juliette and bestie marshall <3the enemies to lovers trope was ACTUALLY well written？？/？/？？？ this folks is what i mean by enemies to lovers ok😍😍 all the tropes they served>>> 😮💨😮💨 just the fact that it was set in 1926 and shanghai with gangs was enough for me tbh 😔YEAH tvd had so many things i look for in a book i loved reading it yes i love i love😭😭 AND THAT DAMN ENDING？？？？？？？ november needs to hurry tf up i am not ok so many emotions at once😔😔 OH YEAH AND WE BETTER GET MORE BENEDIKT AND MARSHALL IN THE NEXT BOOK PLS😭🙏🏼 。。。more
April
，
3。5 stars rounded down to 3 for now！Bit of a slow start and dragged in some places but the last half/third really took the home run （Thank goodness I was aware of this being a duology so that cliffhanger was expected。。。） and I'm glad that there was no skimping on the 'enemies' portion of this- Was interesting to see the contrast of Juliette reconciling her Western experiences with her upbringing vs Roma in the shadow of somewhat filial piety and fear。。。。 looking forward to book 2 ！ 3。5 stars rounded down to 3 for now！Bit of a slow start and dragged in some places but the last half/third really took the home run （Thank goodness I was aware of this being a duology so that cliffhanger was expected。。。） and I'm glad that there was no skimping on the 'enemies' portion of this- Was interesting to see the contrast of Juliette reconciling her Western experiences with her upbringing vs Roma in the shadow of somewhat filial piety and fear。。。。 looking forward to book 2 ！ 。。。more
Raya
，
one of the best books i've ever read （view spoiler）[BEYOND glad that Marshall's not dead （hide spoiler）]reccomend to everyone！！ one of the best books i've ever read （view spoiler）[BEYOND glad that Marshall's not dead （hide spoiler）]reccomend to everyone！！ 。。。more
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