These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is a re-telling of Romeo and Juliette set in 1920's Shanghai with the addition of fantastical, almost sci-fi elements. The concept for this book is was first attracted it to me. Being set in China gave it a unique angle that I haven't seen done before. Within this book there were moments a beautiful description, particularly in the first half of the book. It was a very fast paced novel and I flew through it.
That said, it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I found it difficult to relate to the characters, and felt that the romance elements were not explored deeply enough, and so didnt seem realistic (not that they were particularly realistic in the original Romeo and Juliet). I was please to see some LGBTQ+ themes included, but again, I felt that they were too subltle, and would have liked more from those characters points of view.
Overall an enjoyable read.