Have you ever been in a life slump that was also a reading slump and nothing, literally nothing could've helped you out of it? Usually, no matter what book I pick up during times like these, I either end up DNFing or not liking them. But the power of These Violent Delights hits different, because despite of my life/reading slump situation, I enjoyed this book A LOT.

I have been eager to read this book ever since I laid eyes on the cover, and realized it's a Romeo & Juliet gangster retelling set in the golden era of the 20s IN SHANGHAI. So many aspects of this book were calling me to it. I am obsessed with the enemies-to-lovers trope, and I was curious to read a Romeo & Juliet retelling. I love gangsters in movies, and honestly the best gangsters are from a time of parties, cigarettes, flapper girls, and suits. However, I never really read anything like this. I just enjoyed watching it. (And to be honest, this book deserves a TV adaptation... but we get to this later) And if you know me, you know how much I love to learn more about other places, other cultures, other mythologies, or other histories that the common ones my teacher taught me at school. So to be able to read about 20s gangsters in Shanghai was just something I couldn't pass.

The setting surely didn't disappoint, and gave me so much more than I expected. As I mentioned, the history of Shanghai isn't really something that was on my school curricula, and therefore I had no clue about the influences, the struggles, and the situation the people faced during the 20s. But Chloe Gong takes the readers' hands, and gives us a great look into historical Shanghai, weaving it perfectly with the horrific monster she introduces in the book. I often found myself so intrigued, and wanted to know even more that I kept stalking Chloe's Pinterest walls, wikipedia articles, and google for better insights. Not that they were necessarily needed, but I love when authors spark my interest even beyond the story they tell. Also, in additon, there is an Author Note at the back that explains quickly what it looked like in Shanghai during the 20s, and I could hug every author who does things like that.

Not only did Chloe Gong excite me with the setting, the knowledge she provides, and the atmosphere, but the writing was just so beautiful, I had to reread the prologue just to really prepare myself for the rest of the story. I have always been a very visual reader, imagining everything I read, needing the visual depiction in my head to really get sucked in to a story. Sometimes it's easier to do so, sometimes it takes more time for me to project the right scenes. With Chloe's writing, everything came so natural. I could picture the setting, the emotions, the story as if it were a great movie playing out in front of my eyes instead of pictures I conjure in my mind.

Despite the fact that this is a retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet which could've given away some of the general plot, I never felt smart enough to figure things out or was able to see things coming. As much as I thought that I knew what I was getting into, I ended up not knowing at all what I was getting into, and the plot kept me turning the pages like crazy.

However, the best aspect of this book (and I know I named very good ones already) were the characters!!! Juliette Cai is one of those female protagonist you fall in love with while you fear she could slit your throat if you breathe in the wrong direction, and here I am applauding her for that energy. Her wit, her sass, her character were just *chef's kiss*, and she immediately made it on my list of favorite badass ladies. And then there's Roma Montagov who just needs to be protected at all costs. HAVE YOU HEARD ME? At all costs! I loved his character. While I was expecting someone more ruthless, and let's be honest the ruthless ones are more easily welcomed in my book boyfriend harem, this boy has stolen my heart with his dreams, his hopes, his good heart, and .... *swoon* just because he is Roma. At first, I couldn't really see how I could obsess over this ship with Juliette being the ruthless, calculating heiress that takes everything at every costs, and Roma acceptin ghis position as an heir, but not really putting his heart in it. But Juliette and Roma work perfectly as a team, they complete each other in such a genuine way, and I was so happy to see a constellation like this. And this is not where it ends. Nope. Because apparantly it's not enough to love just these two. *sigh* Benedict and Marshall were definitely stealing the show a lot of times, and I'm just as eager to find more about these two White Flowers, as I am if it comes to Kathleen - Juliette's cousin and member of the Scarlet Gang. Chloe Gong has not only created a ship full of tension that killed me most of the time, but also has made me fall in love with the secondary characters that I can't wait to see where their story continues. Every single one of them feels so naturally to read about, and the diversity rep in this book was amazingly executed.

But there needs to be a "but", and I hate that it does, especially because this comes more from my life slump situation. If I had read his book at any other time, this review might have not needed the "but", ... but here it comes. While the plot was intriguing and had me turning the pages, there were also times where I wished things would have progressed faster. Often I found myself not as excited about a new clue, and wished for some more Juliette and Roma action that came primaly out of my need to release the freaking tension that these two were masters in. Sometimes, it was too easy for me to put the book aside ... and in combination with my life/reading slump that lead to me not picking up the book again soon enough.

This is why I did nothing but struggle when I had to decide what to rate the book. 4 stars? 5 stars? Who knows. My brain didn't work, and I kept going back and forth. However, I did settle on 4.5 stars at last as I don't think any other book would have brought me as much joy in a situation as the one I'm currently in, and honestly I'm already counting the days for the sequel Our Violent Ends to release. I NEED ANSWERS AND I NEED ROMA TO BE PROTECTED. ARE YOU LISTENING.

If you want to know more about what I have thought about this book, say "hi" to my instagram ( @drawingandreading) where I and @_ckarys discussed These Violent Delights for our monthly #booktalkwithwifey readalong live chat!