Fantasy

These Violent Delights

These Violent Delights

  • Downloads：3510
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-05 14:53:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Chloe Gong
  • ISBN：1529344522
  • 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。

'Heady， smart， and vicious， These Violent Delights strikes every note with precision， layering romance and politics into a roaring 20s Shanghai of both monsters and monstrous imperialism' Tessa Gratton， author of The Queens of Innis Lear

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Reviews

Kat Elle ，

"Even the land of dreams needs to wake up sometimes。"—Chloe Gong， These Violent Delights Once a certain book was hyped and well-loved in the community， I always have this high expectations no matter how hard I try to stir away from it。 Thus， it could also be set for disappointments。 My reading experience of These Violent Delights has the same story。 Not that it wasn't worth its hype （because it definitely is worth it）， but it was because I was expecting something in particular and I was given a d "Even the land of dreams needs to wake up sometimes。"—Chloe Gong， These Violent Delights Once a certain book was hyped and well-loved in the community， I always have this high expectations no matter how hard I try to stir away from it。 Thus， it could also be set for disappointments。 My reading experience of These Violent Delights has the same story。 Not that it wasn't worth its hype （because it definitely is worth it）， but it was because I was expecting something in particular and I was given a different one。More thoughts on Trihoes Live Discussion at @trishupaper's channel。PS。 I'm a Benedikt-Marshall shipper。 。。。more

Syed ，

I loved this book！ It was constantly a pleasure to read。 The ending was a tad bit underwhelming but overall just an absolute joy。

Olivia Prather ，

good but the first half was very boring

Fae With a hat ，

Loved it。

Juliette Syta ，

i ADORED These Violent Delights。 Where to start？？ Romeo and Juliet retelling？ Main character with the same name and spelling as mine？ Enemies to lovers？ All there。 And so much more。 I loved every minute of this story and honestly， it feels pretty good to be anxiously awaiting a sequel again。 Chloe Gong is so insanely talented with the characters， plot， dialogue， all of it。 It was fast-paced but also took time to develop an amazing cast of characters。This book does it all。 Read it。 now。

Paulina ，

I cannot believe I have to wait until November for the sequel 😭

Laura ，

DNF at 80pgs。 It was too slow paced for me， too much description not enough showing

Alix ，

When I was in high school， we read Romeo & Juliet。 My teacher talked nonstop about themes of foolishness， impulsive youth， and kids confusing passion or lust with love。 When I was in college， we read Romeo & Juliet。 My professor talked nonstop about themes of foolishness， impulsive youth， and kids confusing passion or lust with love。 They never talked about what made Romeo and Juliet that way， or what an act of rebellion it was to love in a city of hate， or how conflicted they must have been， or When I was in high school， we read Romeo & Juliet。 My teacher talked nonstop about themes of foolishness， impulsive youth， and kids confusing passion or lust with love。 When I was in college， we read Romeo & Juliet。 My professor talked nonstop about themes of foolishness， impulsive youth， and kids confusing passion or lust with love。 They never talked about what made Romeo and Juliet that way， or what an act of rebellion it was to love in a city of hate， or how conflicted they must have been， or how they were given increasingly narrow choices until tragedy struck。 That is by far the most intriguing part of Chloe Gong's THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS。 The '20s Shanghai setting and the horror/romance/historical drama mash-up are awesome， but it's the way the characters are explored （in context！！） that makes it really interesting。On the surface， it's a pretty simple， familiar plot。 Exes-turned-enemies Juliette and Roma are on opposite sides of a cruel feud， but when a supernatural horror begins stalking the city， the feud has to take a backseat to stopping the danger that threatens them all alike。 The whole cast of characters has clear parallels with their Shakespeare characters， with a few changes。 What elevates it isn't the aesthetically pleasing setting， but the deeper themes。 Who knew Romeo & Juliet would make such a good starting point for a heartbreaking story about colonialism， racism， exoticism， and other -isms that， a century later than the book's setting， are still raging rampant。 The idea of what or who decides a person's identity is explored in complex ways that really give insights into the characters。For the most part， it's a pretty predictable plot， but that's ok by me。 I think the mashup of genres could have been a little smoother， too， but with more books in the series to come， I expect these rough edges will be better the second time around！ 。。。more

Lauren Mukavitz ，

This book took me a while to get into it， but once I was， I don’t think I took a single solid breath till I finished the book

Ora Solomons ，

WOW， this had such a fascinating concept！！！ Chloe Gong does a brilliant job of making the reader imagine every scene， and she really transports you to Shanghai。 Great character development- I can't wait for the next book！！ WOW， this had such a fascinating concept！！！ Chloe Gong does a brilliant job of making the reader imagine every scene， and she really transports you to Shanghai。 Great character development- I can't wait for the next book！！ 。。。more

Jasmine Wilks ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Set in 1920’s Shanghai， described as a Romeo and Juliet retelling we follow two main chatacters: Juliette and Roma。 In different gangs we learn about how they must join together despite their differences to fight an evil monster killing Shanghai’s resident。 I’m not a huge fan of retellings but because of the fantasy element being the monster lurking it was enough for me to give it a go。 Honestly i was not the biggest fan of this book， for me that last sixty pages or so were the best in the book。 Set in 1920’s Shanghai， described as a Romeo and Juliet retelling we follow two main chatacters: Juliette and Roma。 In different gangs we learn about how they must join together despite their differences to fight an evil monster killing Shanghai’s resident。 I’m not a huge fan of retellings but because of the fantasy element being the monster lurking it was enough for me to give it a go。 Honestly i was not the biggest fan of this book， for me that last sixty pages or so were the best in the book。 I’m not a big fan of the main characters， the side characters or the chemistry between any of them。 I do have to say that Chloe Gong does have a good writint style especially for the ending which the last few chapters and the epilogue I loved。 The ending left in such a good cliffhanger that hasmad3 me question whether to pick up the second book once its released or not。 。。。more

Abigail ，

This is definitely one of the best YA books I've read！！！ I can easily give every aspect of this book 5 stars， including the characters， the plot， and the writing。 And of course， I love enemies to lovers tropes， and this book definitely did not disappoint。 To be honest， I tried not to set my expectations too high for this book， but even if I did， it still would have flown easily over my expectations。 If you think you might not like this book because you don't really like Romeo & Juliet or are not This is definitely one of the best YA books I've read！！！ I can easily give every aspect of this book 5 stars， including the characters， the plot， and the writing。 And of course， I love enemies to lovers tropes， and this book definitely did not disappoint。 To be honest， I tried not to set my expectations too high for this book， but even if I did， it still would have flown easily over my expectations。 If you think you might not like this book because you don't really like Romeo & Juliet or are not familiar with the story， don't worry！ Aside from the fact that it's set in Shanghai and not in Italy， there are a lot of distinctions between the two stories， and it's definitely a different world。 Lastly， women empowerment！！！！！！ ❤️ Now give me Our Violent Ends or I might literally die waiting 😭 。。。more

Carla A ，

I am 100% certain I would have liked this more if I read it 10 years ago。 I get why people liked it， it just doesn't do it for me。 If you read a lot of ya then you might find that this story feels predictable and some of the inclusivity feels forced but there are still plenty of teens that I would recommend this to。 I am 100% certain I would have liked this more if I read it 10 years ago。 I get why people liked it， it just doesn't do it for me。 If you read a lot of ya then you might find that this story feels predictable and some of the inclusivity feels forced but there are still plenty of teens that I would recommend this to。 。。。more

Kaz Brekker and the Darkling's Whore ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 this was not for me let's just say that。。。 I didn't like it。。 I was getting bored everybody gave it either 5 or 4 stars but for me its 2。 I loved it the first half but when it got to the middle it started dragging。 But I still read it even tho I was skimming through it and can't believe a little bug did all that to those people。 Imma still read book 2 so I can see what is gonna happen bc the last part of the book got me shooked like NOT AGAIN！！！ this was not for me let's just say that。。。 I didn't like it。。 I was getting bored everybody gave it either 5 or 4 stars but for me its 2。 I loved it the first half but when it got to the middle it started dragging。 But I still read it even tho I was skimming through it and can't believe a little bug did all that to those people。 Imma still read book 2 so I can see what is gonna happen bc the last part of the book got me shooked like NOT AGAIN！！！ 。。。more

Marines Acevedo ，

You had me at Romeo and Juliet's retelling set in 1920's Shanghai！ I have had this book on my TBR since the time of release last year but finally got to read it。 This was such a great story， with fantastic characters and very fast-paced， one of my favorite YA of the year。 That ending！！ I can't wait for the next book that has a release in November 2021。 You had me at Romeo and Juliet's retelling set in 1920's Shanghai！ I have had this book on my TBR since the time of release last year but finally got to read it。 This was such a great story， with fantastic characters and very fast-paced， one of my favorite YA of the year。 That ending！！ I can't wait for the next book that has a release in November 2021。 。。。more

Mari Bianco ，

I loved the ties to Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET， but this reimagined story of star-crossed lovers set in Shanghai in the 1920s wasn’t as good as I had expected。 I did like that it told the story of Juliette and Roma， the daughter and son of the heads of two feuding gang families， after their young love didn’t work out because （instead of killing herself） Juliette was sent to America。 The tantalizing tension between Roma and Juliette was real and palpable， but the “madness，” a contagion that s I loved the ties to Shakespeare’s ROMEO AND JULIET， but this reimagined story of star-crossed lovers set in Shanghai in the 1920s wasn’t as good as I had expected。 I did like that it told the story of Juliette and Roma， the daughter and son of the heads of two feuding gang families， after their young love didn’t work out because （instead of killing herself） Juliette was sent to America。 The tantalizing tension between Roma and Juliette was real and palpable， but the “madness，” a contagion that spreads throughout Shanghai killing all in its path （much like RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON）， didn’t fit in the narrative。 Juliette and Roma take on the burden of finding the origin of the madness， and they must put aside their former love and their families’ rancor to work together in hopes of saving their people。 Parts of the story were page-turning， like the scene where Roma and Juliette go shot for shot with a gangster in exchange for information and the police raid that follows， but others dragged on。 I liked Juliette’s character as well。 She was a strong， smart， sarcastic， and cynical badass who took on her role as future head of her family’s dynasty with confident determination。 Overall， I’d recommend it to those who loved the original ROMEO AND JULIET， because that’s the only reason why I held on to the end。 。。。more

Paula ，

3。5*For a Romeo and Juliet retelling， this was an excellent book。 I appreciated how the author named her characters close to their original names and showed dedication to her inspiration rather than only using the plot。 Of course， that made the plot quite predictable for the most part but the author was able to put in new twists with the setting and an unusual antagonist。Regarding the protagonists， I have to admit that I had a hard time connecting to Juliette。 I understood her anger and her moti 3。5*For a Romeo and Juliet retelling， this was an excellent book。 I appreciated how the author named her characters close to their original names and showed dedication to her inspiration rather than only using the plot。 Of course， that made the plot quite predictable for the most part but the author was able to put in new twists with the setting and an unusual antagonist。Regarding the protagonists， I have to admit that I had a hard time connecting to Juliette。 I understood her anger and her motivations but she never seemed capable of being cool-headed in important situations and showed no emotions in situations in which it would have been helpful。 Still， Roma was just a sweet-heart and I wished we have gotten more chapters from his PoV。Now， one thing I disliked was that both our heirs were/are in danger of losing said spot as heir。 In my opinion， it would have been a more powerful plot device if it would have been only used once。 （view spoiler）[Also， some things were entirely too obvious。 For example， I'm about 90% sure that our dear Rosalind is the spy。 And， of course， that Paul was the one behind the sickness was rather apparent。 Maybe I just read too many YA books？Nevertheless， I did love the possible side romance between Benedict and Marshall。 This leads me to the finale of this book; I'm really glad that Marshall did， in fact， not die as he would have in the original story。 （hide spoiler）] Overall， I'm glad I picked this book up and I will eagerly await the second instalment。 。。。more

Cailin Norris ，

I really did enjoy this book， however I was hoping for more of a romance while hunting a monster。 The book also did slow down quite a bit in the middle。

Mia Richards ，

This book left me sobbing。 SOBBING。

Deena ，

Started out to be an excellent read， but bogged down about a third of the way in。 I found myself plowing through just to get to the end。 And with one exception， I was disappointed with the ending。3 1/2 stars because of the twist at the end。

Tammy （PeachGirl13） ，

I’m blown away that this is a debut novel tbh。 It was an action packed， well plotted story with lovely writing。 I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would。 I can’t wait to read the sequel， Our Violent Ends。

addie ，

IM JUST STRAIGHT UP IN SHOCK RN BUT 5 STARS GREAT BOOK

Hana | Hana Rosey ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I thoroughly enjoyed this story – from the plot， the characters， and the era， Chloe Gong created a world I was addicted to and didn’t want to leave once I finished the last page。I’ll be honest， when I first ordered the book it was purely for its stunning cover。 Being on bookstagram all the time， this book was everywhere。 Once it came time for me to read it， I was scared it was going to be one of those ‘pretty on the outside but no substance’ books but boy was I wrong。I read this book in February I thoroughly enjoyed this story – from the plot， the characters， and the era， Chloe Gong created a world I was addicted to and didn’t want to leave once I finished the last page。I’ll be honest， when I first ordered the book it was purely for its stunning cover。 Being on bookstagram all the time， this book was everywhere。 Once it came time for me to read it， I was scared it was going to be one of those ‘pretty on the outside but no substance’ books but boy was I wrong。I read this book in February as a read-along with my friend Sierra。 I really enjoyed the preface: a Romeo and Juliet retelling based in 1920s Shanghai and about two gangs。 Already， I loved the synopsis but didn’t realise I would be so knee-deep on the first page。In the prologue， you are hit with something so fantastical and paranormal that you have no other choice than to be all in。 This whole fantasy aspect carries on throughout the story which adds an element of suspense I really enjoyed。As someone who is obsessed with R+J， I loved all the references to Shakespeare’s play。 Something I think that translated over really well was the gang aspect。 While it doesn’t necessarily translate directly from the original， the Capulet’s and Montague’s are definitely a type of gang， what with their readiness to feud over thumb biting and other trivial things like that。 What I would’ve loved it if the mental instability of the protags was heightened。 Obsession and co-dependency weren’t prevalent in TVD， the psychosis that goes along with trauma was and I loved to read the exploration of that from the main characters。There was great representation in this book， too。 Asian and Russian protagonists。 A transgender character。 An implied gay character。 Such a broad range of characters that you don’t come across very often， particularly in one book so I really applaud Chloe for working so hard on them。The relationships between characters were strong too， more than Julliete and Rome。 The friendship between Juliette， Kathleen， and Rosalind was great。 The brotherhood between Marshall and Benedikt was *chef’s kiss* and they probably had my favourite relationship of all。 Their witty banter increased the pace of the story when I felt it was going a little too slow。My favourite part of this story was Juliette。 After finishing ToG last year， I’ve found out that I love a strong female character and Juliette is the epitome of that。 Her no-nonsense attitude was great and I really loved her smart mouth。 She’s depicted as the soon-to-be heir of the gang and I love how her feathers never seemed to be ruffled in the face of conflict within the gang as well as out of it。 She’s a bad bitch！ 。。。more

Emilia ，

This book is a masterpiece。 IT DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SO GOOD。 But also I think I'm going to tear up my own throat If I have to wait until november for the sequel to come out This book is a masterpiece。 IT DOESN'T HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE SO GOOD。 But also I think I'm going to tear up my own throat If I have to wait until november for the sequel to come out 。。。more

Devon ，

A Romeo and Juliette retelling in 1920s Shanghai is every bit as fun as it sounds。 Gong capture the drama and emotion of Shakespeare classic while making it her own。 This book is fast paced。 The setting vibrant。 And the characters are easy to fall in with and to root for even through all their violence and ambition。

Zoe Huffman ，

i enjoyed this a lot more than i thought i would。 my only problem is that throughout the book， Juliette is a tough and badass character， but then in the last like 100 pages i feel like she takes on more “damsel in distress” qualities。 she started to lose her grip on her independence once her relationship w roma started heating up。 but that ending was 10/10 and i will be reading the sequel。 marshall and benedikt BETTER be getting together in the sequel。

Sara ，

DNFI wanted to love this book so much， everyone has been hyping it up and even though I'm not a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet。。。I gave it a shot。 I forced myself to read about halfway and then gave up。 It definitely feels like a debut novel， and while there are parts that I liked about it。。。I was just。。。bored？ The parts between Roma and Juliet were pretty good but everything else about the world building etc。 felt so overly described。 Not to mention the constant description of people ripping thei DNFI wanted to love this book so much， everyone has been hyping it up and even though I'm not a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet。。。I gave it a shot。 I forced myself to read about halfway and then gave up。 It definitely feels like a debut novel， and while there are parts that I liked about it。。。I was just。。。bored？ The parts between Roma and Juliet were pretty good but everything else about the world building etc。 felt so overly described。 Not to mention the constant description of people ripping their throats。 We get it。 I'm pretty disappointed by this read。。。 but yeah。 I just couldn't get into it。 I see why people like this book， but just ain't my style。 。。。more

isa ，

3 stars solely for juliette cai and the quotes about how white men suck

BooksWithBrie ，

I’m definitely not okay and I’m gonna need to process this book because it just played with my heart。 Review coming on my bookstagram: BooksWithBrie

Laura ，

Fun and interesting。 Honestly most impressed with the breadth of languages the MCs know。

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