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cunningempress 's review for:
These Violent Delights
by Chloe Gong
OOOH! SO PRETTY, SO AMAZING! GIVE ME ANOTHER!
This review does NOT contain spoilers.
This book is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It's set in 1920's Shanghai and Juliette and Roma are both heirs to gangs. This book is amazing and fantastic!
First, I love the enemies to lovers trope and here it felt genuine. Roma and Juliette truly hate each other. And they don't just hate each other because they're supposed to, but because they hold personal grudges against each other. And they don't just magically turn into lovers overnight. The whole book is full of angst and hate.
Second, there are so many FEELS! Do you remember the good old days when we used to say "I can't even" or "I ship them so hard"? Or is that just me? Does that still happen? Anyway, both of those apply to this too. I don't remember the last time I was actually screaming at a book or curling on the floor in agony, afraid of what's going to happen next.
Third, there's queers too. There's a hint of gay romance. And then there's a trans character.
Fourth, there are multiple POVs to the story. In some cases I don't really like that because it often means that some of the characters have the most boring storylines ever but in this case it fits. Here the different POVs bring more depth to the story. It's mostly Roma's or Juliette's POV but every now and then the story centers around a different side character.
Fifth, I love how much I learned. I haven't read a single book about Shanghai or even China so I learned tons of things from this book. I have a vague idea about how Shanghai came to be the city it is today, but I have never actually looked into it. This book was obviously written to a Western audience without much knowledge of Chinese/Shanghainese tradition or history. I happen to have an interest for politics and history so all the politics of this book was just a cherry on top. Love it.
Who would I recommend this to?
- Anyone who loves a good enemies to lovers trope
- Anyone who wants something fast paced
- Anyone who wants diversity (LGBTQ+, POC)
- Anyone who wants a book with a strong female lead
- Anyone who wants to read a book NOT set in English-speaking country
- Anyone who doesn't mind feeling dumb when they realise how little they know about different countries
This review does NOT contain spoilers.
This book is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. It's set in 1920's Shanghai and Juliette and Roma are both heirs to gangs. This book is amazing and fantastic!
First, I love the enemies to lovers trope and here it felt genuine. Roma and Juliette truly hate each other. And they don't just hate each other because they're supposed to, but because they hold personal grudges against each other. And they don't just magically turn into lovers overnight. The whole book is full of angst and hate.
Second, there are so many FEELS! Do you remember the good old days when we used to say "I can't even" or "I ship them so hard"? Or is that just me? Does that still happen? Anyway, both of those apply to this too. I don't remember the last time I was actually screaming at a book or curling on the floor in agony, afraid of what's going to happen next.
Third, there's queers too. There's a hint of gay romance. And then there's a trans character.
Fourth, there are multiple POVs to the story. In some cases I don't really like that because it often means that some of the characters have the most boring storylines ever but in this case it fits. Here the different POVs bring more depth to the story. It's mostly Roma's or Juliette's POV but every now and then the story centers around a different side character.
Fifth, I love how much I learned. I haven't read a single book about Shanghai or even China so I learned tons of things from this book. I have a vague idea about how Shanghai came to be the city it is today, but I have never actually looked into it. This book was obviously written to a Western audience without much knowledge of Chinese/Shanghainese tradition or history. I happen to have an interest for politics and history so all the politics of this book was just a cherry on top. Love it.
Who would I recommend this to?
- Anyone who loves a good enemies to lovers trope
- Anyone who wants something fast paced
- Anyone who wants diversity (LGBTQ+, POC)
- Anyone who wants a book with a strong female lead
- Anyone who wants to read a book NOT set in English-speaking country
- Anyone who doesn't mind feeling dumb when they realise how little they know about different countries