These Violent Delights

A retelling of Romeo and Juliet with Russian and Chinese gangster in Shanghai with an added mysterious monster causing people to rip out their own throats. Sometimes the source material references are a little bit too much on the nose (Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai are not exactly names that leave much to the imagination) but the change of setting and added supernatural elements give a really fun twist to what could have been a dreary romance. The relationship between Juliette and Roma forms the core of this story and it is a well told enemies to lovers story - you get a really good grasp of their emotions, loyalties and frustrations through the course of the book. The Shanghai at the start of the revolution setting adds some extra interesting tension. The fly monster thing is well worked in in a way that doesn't require much in the way of supernatural and gives an air of believability to the whole affair.

I don't know if I expected to enjoy this as much as I eventually did. Romeo and Juliet seems to be something that has been done to death but Chloe Gong has provided some fresh and interesting takes on its concepts.

I am not a fan of retelling but I have to say it was a great surprise. This is suppose to be a retelling of Romeo & Juliet and in some aspects it is... but I wish I didn't know. Because it doesn't really add to the story.
Shanghai in the 20s, what an amazing and interesting time to tell a story. Gangs, drug traffic and speakeasy... loved the atmosphere and ended being hooked. You want to solve the mysterious events happening and know more about our heroes pasts. I also learnt a lot about Shanghai and it made me curious to learn more about this city story.
Highly recommend.

So, how do I start this...uh...gimme a second.

I heard all the hype about this book.
1920s Shanghai...Romeo and Juliet retelling...the author is literally a uni student as well as a bestselling author...Chinese Juliette and Russian Romeo...slow burn...enemies to lovers...
I heard it ALL.
I was convinced from the start really but my library didn't have a copy yet so I either had to wait ages for an e-book OR I could spend money and buy it.
I did the latter. And oh boy am I glad.
I was in a reading slump when I first started this book so it felt slow and tedious to read (at that point, all books did because despite reading books on and on, I still felt like I was just in such a slump) so I put it down temporarily and I focused on my other books.
Y'all I am going to scream about this book till the end of time.
First off, the White Rose gang. Something I am incredibly picky about are Russian characters in a book. These were perfect.
The reason I say this is the author used the correct last name ending for the different characters. Roma's, obviously a guy, last name is Montagov. Alisa's, his sister, a girl, last name is Montagova. The correct ending! And I cannot stress this enough!
I really loved the Russian words thrown in because I actually understood them haha. Re: the word “chudovishe” which means monster. Also Roma calling Juliette “dorogaya” had me in my FEELS. Dorogaya means dearest btw.
I can't exactly comment on the Chinese representation but I did enjoy Gong's representation of being Chinese (or simply Asian) in America/The West and then coming back home and feel alienated in a different way. I think, no matter where from Asia you are, that is something that Asians who come to “the West” all feel. That they are obviously different and are often made fun of, either for their looks, their language, their food or their name. And then if we ever go back home, relatives might make fun because you are now too “westernized”. But I think that is a conversation for another time.
I loved the allusions to Romeo and Juliet even though the play definitely isn't my favourite from Shakespeare (Macbeth still remains superior) and I enjoyed guessing which characters from this book lined up with the characters from the original play.
I also got an ARC of Our Violent Ends which, I believe, comes out in November (not too long from now actually) and I read like the first two chapters and let me tell y'all...

I was actually pretty upset initially because so many of my friends got the arc of this book while I didn't, and I was jealous that they were raving about a book I couldn't read. It took me this long to finally get to it because naturally, the waitlist at my library was long and but definitely worth it.

I can't say I've read any Shakespeare but I do know the basics of some of his popular works because I've seen the movies. So even if I don't know how close to the original Romeo Juliet this retelling is, I felt that that author managed to capture the vibe of two feuding gangster families perfectly well. The writing is very beautiful and evocative, digging into our hearts and making us feel everything the characters are, as well as the horror of what's happening in the plot. The pacing is also breakneck, with everything happening quickly and I was left worried about what was gonna happen next. But the best part of this book is totally the setting. The world of 1920s Shanghai, on the cusp of modernization due to partial colonization by the British and the French and the entitlement and contempt with which the foreigners treat the locals; and the political turmoil between the Nationalists and Communists which might result in a revolution any day, is captured perfectly and tugs at the heartstrings powerfully of those of us readers who have similar feelings about our own colonial history.

Juliette and Roma are such compelling characters to follow along, especially Juliette. She is bold and ruthless, deserving of her title as heir of Scarlet Gang who loves her city and people, but she is also angry about having to confront her complicated feelings about Roma. He on the other hand really longs for a better, less bloodthirsty world and to be honest, it broke my heart because it was obvious that this world would swallow him whole for standing by his principles. The author does a marvelous job letting us feel the tug of war between their hearts, the endless yearning and the slow rebuilding of a truce, and it was a delight to read.

There are also many side characters and it was so much fun that we got short POV chapters from them as well. I particularly enjoyed Kathleen, Juliette's cousin who is one of her greatest supporters and always tries to help her, no questions asked. Benedikt and Marshall who are Roma's BFFs also share a very bantery dynamic which was a breath of fresh air in between very intense scenes. There were also quite a few characters who can be termed as loose cannons and I can't wait to see what more havoc they will wreak in the future.

In the end, this is a book that blends many genres perfectly - it's a historical fiction that explores themes of colonialism with lot of heart; it's a thrilling mystery where the characters have to work together to find the monster before more people are killed; and it's a brilliant rivals to lovers second chance romance which is brimming with yearning. If all this can't convince you to pick up this book, then I don't know what will. And now I'm left with dread about what's gonna happen in the sequel because the author left the story at a major cliffhanger and all I can do is wait.

Ok ... I was not feeling it. The book is a Romeo and Juliet retelling which can be one of the reasons that I didn't love it as much.

The book did have such great premise, but I felt liked it lacked and was a bit too slow at points.

Edit: after thinking about this book for a day, I noticed I only liked the last chapter. I didn't care about the characters at all. Just no.

just finished with this one. it was - okay. it wasn't bad but i really felt bogged down by the writing style which i wasn't a fan of. all that excessive description and unnecessary metaphors and similes... i started off not caring about the romance but really interested in the central myster of it all. by the end, i don't think i really cared about anything, not the monster or the bugs, or the politics, least of all the romantic shenanigans. and i think the decline of my interest was really just cos of how excessively wordy and dramatic it was. to illustrate, there was one part where Marshall lit a cigarette and it was described as “flaring up like a miniature star”. i specifically kept that in mind cos i wondered if there was a point for that metaphor but there wasn't one in the end. or like when Alisa talks about how she is so familiar with Shanghai - “Alisa Montagova had memorized almost every street in Shanghai. In her head, instead of dendrites and synaptic nerves, she fancied there lived a map of her city, overlying her temporal lobes and amygala pairs until all that she was made of was the places she had been.” like, that is just way too extra for me.

i guess i just kept on going because i was still at least a bit interested in how closely the author was going to follow the storyline of R&J. i certainly did not expect her to end it with the Tybalt/Mercutio thing but then pull a twist on that with Marshall surviving the same way Juliet had in the play. i also thought that the bugs was a way for there to have been a lot of death in the book but without it having been carried out by the main families/characters, so we can blame all that death on a third party instead. we hear a lot about the two gangs killing each other but don't actually see a lot of important people die at each other's hands tbh.

another redeeming point about the book is that it had occasional moments where it talked about the struggle of having been brought up with two or more different cultures, and i think it was done so well because it resonates with the author's life, being a Shanghainese brought up in NZ i believe. i did enjoy what she had to say about how Juliette changed her name to fit in in America, but then slowly lost touch with her actual Chinese name, which is something still very relatable to a lot of people today. some of the Chinese terms used in the book was a little stilted and awkward (and some had wrong hanyupinyin too) but overall i like that she didn't explain every single one of them and just let its meaning be inferred.

so overall... i guess maybe a 2.5 stars from me?

DNF'd at 33%

One word: Boring.

I had to force myself to read a chapter a day just to make some progress in the book which not a good indication for a compelling read. The author has a tendency to ramble on about details not important to the plot that make choking the book down really difficult.

My other complaint is the two main characters. I found myself disliking both Juliette and Roma and personally, it super hard for me to read a book with characters I cannot relate to or even want to root for.

I mean the story was fine. The plot definitely has potential to be a really solid retelling of Romeo and Juliette that is unique, creative, and set in a really promising setting, but its the little details that make this book super hard to pick up and stick with.

I got about halfway through this audiobook before I decided to abandon it. I'm not sure if it was narration or the story itself, but I just couldn't get into it.

This was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in the 1920s Shanghai. Maybe it was too much action and animosity between the characters that turned me off. And the “monster” that was causing the madness.

Maybe it was too out there. Whatever it was, this is on my DNF shelf.

Wow, this book was something different! I've never read anything like this before and I really enjoyed it. I don't think I would've normally picked it up, but I got it in my Fairyloot box and I was so excited when I started reading it.

A story about two rival gangs, forbidden love and a monster that roams the streets of 1920 Shanghai, this book kept getting better and better. I really enjoyed all the information about Chinese culture, the whole vibe of the book and the fact that it's a Romeo and Juliet retelling (if the names Roma and Juliette didn't already make that very clear).

The plot twist were good, the pace of the book was good and it made me want to keep reading and reading after finishing chapter after chapter. The ending left me speechless and I hate the fact that I have to wait for the next book to come out, but I kind of loved that cliff-hanger.

Chloe Gong is amazing! She created a Romeo and Juliet story that is creative and fun, but also suspenseful. I remember some of the plot points from the play, so I kept wondering how that was going to show up in the story. That was so clever! It kept me on the edge of my seat. The illness and struggle for power were both good motivators for action and tension. I can’t believe it took me this long to read this book!

2,5⭐️
Für mich bleibt es ein Standalone.
- die Story hat mir gefallen war mir zu aber etwas kindisch
- es kam bei mir keinen kaum spannende Momente
- und die Charaktere mochte ich nicht wirklich, außerdem gab die Liebesgeschichte nicht für mich

daher bleibt es wohl das einzige Buch dieser Autorin für mich. Auch wenn ich das Cover sehr sehr liebe

DNF/opgegeven na ±32 %

Ik vond het idee en de algehele setting van dit boek erg leuk, maar ik kon niet echt in de schrijfstijl komen, die erg inspannend en vermoeiend was. Het verhaal ontwikkelde zich erg traag en kon me niet echt boeien. Het kon me gewoon niet schelen wat er gebeurde met de plot of de personages.

Wat een gaaf concept! Ik vond dit boek echt heel erg vet. Het concept van de insceten die een zieke verspreiden en de Romeo en Juliette retelling was echt cool gedaan. Er waren wel stukken dat ik niet snapte waarom ze dat erin heeft gedaan.
Het was een 400 blz boek, maar voor mijn gevoel hadden het er makkelijk 300 kunnen zijn geweest. Maar overall echt een gaaf boek! Soms waren de details ook wel erg gedetailleerd.
De schrijfstijl is erg fijn en ik wil heel erg snel deel 2 lezen, want het eindigd met een mega cliffhanger...

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!!!

A Romeo and Juliet retelling but set in 1920s Shanghai. Normally, none of that would have been appealing but the reviews got me. I actually really enjoyed Shanghai setting and the little bits of mandarin sprinkled in here and there. With mandarin as my second language, it was relatable on another level. I can't wait to read more

I went into this book with high expectations. Everyone I follow was raving about it, and how could I not be excited for a 1920's-Shanghai-gangster-Romeo and Juliet retelling? Ultimately, I was pretty disappointed in the book.

Throughout the story, there were a few major plot twists and reveals. However, I was able to see all but one of them coming. This is not a brag. I am normally always surprised by plot twists because I never try to figure out a story. I like being surprised. But this one had such obvious reveals, I assumed the characters already suspected or knew these things. The concept of the plot was interesting enough. I just think that the reveals were too predictable and were let downs when shown.

The romantic relationship wasn't believable to me. I think this is just me outgrowing some YA stories. It was just hard for me to believe that these 2 teens fell in love at age 14-15 and were still feeling it 4 years later. Also, the reason for their split was too easily forgiven in my opinion once revealed. It almost felt instant even though there was death involved.

Ultimately, I think the concept of this book was really fun and the writing was pretty good. However, I think the book fell far short of my expectations.

it's difficult for me to articulate how i feel about this book but to be fair if i hadn't read this for my 24 hour readathon challenge then i probably would have dnfed it half way.

the only thing i found interesting in this book was the description of shanghai, but other than that, it seemed too mundane. like the gangs are described so scary and powerful but honestly it didnt live up to its name, it felt like it was all names and no games (???).

2.75