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inkstainedwhispers 's review for:
These Violent Delights
by Chloe Gong
Going into this book I was skeptical. Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet have been ruined for me after being made to study them for so many years in High School. However this book was everything I could have wanted in a retelling of a classic.
Set in 1920s Shanghai, we follow our two main characters Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai who like in the original play come from two rival families, which in this case are represented in the form of the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers. Our two main characters are forced to come together in order to fight this unknown ‘monster’ who is going around killing those dear to both Roma and Juliette. But unlike in our orignal play, this book is very much an enemies to lovers retelling. So If you’re like me, someone who enjoys seeing two people who hate each other finally succumb to their feelings for one another, then you are going to LOVE this.
Like the play this book deals with love, loss, and betrayal as well as a huge spoonful of mystery, monsters, and a dash of gay romance. One of the things i really appreciated is how beautiful Chloe writes. Her ability to describe the world we are presented with was simply magical. My favourite example of this from the book is the following quote “They say Shanghai stands tall like an emperor’s ugly daughter, its streets sprawling in a manner that only the limbs of a snarling princess could manage. It was not born this way. It used to be beautiful”
As well as excellent writing I adored the characters. Juliette is strong willed, smart, brutal yet caring. Roma is still a bit of a mystery to me, but gives me that I’m a bad boy with a heart vibe. But if there was one character I fell for the most, it would be smooth( definitely gay for Benedikt) Marshall. I loved the little Romeo and Juliet Easter eggs scattered across the novel and all in all can say this has been one of my all time favorite reads in a looong time. My only complaint being a lot of the characters sometimes speak in French, Russian and Chinese so it would have been good to have some sort of translations as to what was being said. The cliffhanger was also a total shock, but one I enjoyed
Set in 1920s Shanghai, we follow our two main characters Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai who like in the original play come from two rival families, which in this case are represented in the form of the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers. Our two main characters are forced to come together in order to fight this unknown ‘monster’ who is going around killing those dear to both Roma and Juliette. But unlike in our orignal play, this book is very much an enemies to lovers retelling. So If you’re like me, someone who enjoys seeing two people who hate each other finally succumb to their feelings for one another, then you are going to LOVE this.
Like the play this book deals with love, loss, and betrayal as well as a huge spoonful of mystery, monsters, and a dash of gay romance. One of the things i really appreciated is how beautiful Chloe writes. Her ability to describe the world we are presented with was simply magical. My favourite example of this from the book is the following quote “They say Shanghai stands tall like an emperor’s ugly daughter, its streets sprawling in a manner that only the limbs of a snarling princess could manage. It was not born this way. It used to be beautiful”
As well as excellent writing I adored the characters. Juliette is strong willed, smart, brutal yet caring. Roma is still a bit of a mystery to me, but gives me that I’m a bad boy with a heart vibe. But if there was one character I fell for the most, it would be smooth( definitely gay for Benedikt) Marshall. I loved the little Romeo and Juliet Easter eggs scattered across the novel and all in all can say this has been one of my all time favorite reads in a looong time. My only complaint being a lot of the characters sometimes speak in French, Russian and Chinese so it would have been good to have some sort of translations as to what was being said. The cliffhanger was also a total shock, but one I enjoyed