“Don't you find it interesting that these types of crimes against women - whether it's violence, sexual assault, rape - are the only kinds where we force the victim to make a case of their own innocence before even investigating?”

When I read the summary for These Violent Delights, my first reaction was how incredibly timely this story is …. My second thought was that I needed to read it.

Windmere School for Girls is an elite girl’s private school in LA. Dr. Copeland, chair of the English Department is loved by all. He’s a romantic at heart and has found his home at Windmere. Parents loved him, the administration loved him, and his students loved him too.

What many don’t know is that he has a penchant for young girls… the ones who are intelligent, yet quiet and for years and years he preys on them with no one the wiser. That is until one former student decides she can no longer keep quiet.

I really appreciated the story Namkung tells, and the way it unravels. After the first student shares her story, several others come forward and unlikely friendships are made and dismantled, families are torn apart and lives are ruined.

Namkung’s journalist background is very much apparent through the telling of this story. Told in multiple points of view, as a reader you get facts/perceptions from the girls affected as well as the journalist telling the story. The one person we never hear from though, Dr. Copeland, is a bit frustrating, and I suppose that is life… so many of us want to know why someone does something and will never get the answers we need. With These Violent Delights, Namkung really delves into the ways that those who are meant to protect us fail and how that can affect us in the end.

Overall, this was an interesting story, but I never really connected with the characters on the level that I typically like to. While I sympathized with the characters, I wanted a bit more depth to them and I wanted more depth to the relationships.

This is an important novel because of what it explores and Namkung presents it in a way that is thought-provoking and honest. While there were aspects I didn’t love, I think it’s absolutely worth a read to understand the #metoo movement as well understand the long lasting impacts abuse can have for those who have experienced it.

Very well-written timely novel about predatory relationships. I enjoyed the story line and feel that the book's message will resonate with many women who have been groomed by con artists into unhealthy relationships.

Wow! What a book! These Violent Delights is intense. It focuses on subjects that most people would shy away from. The author didn't shy away from anything. Instead, she paraded it around in from of the readers.

This book felt as though it was taken directly from the headlines. What does a school do when one of their own turns out to be a predator? Do they remove the monster or do they sweep the issue under the rug and pretend it never happened? How are the victims treated? What happens when the school in question is full of the children of the rich and powerful? All these were addressed in this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Griffith Moon Publishing for giving me a ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It was very well written and maintained a decent speed. The characters developed nicely. It was a beautiful piece of work and I would love to read more by the author. I am giving this book Four Stars because it was very well done but I had to stop and set it aside at times because of the subject matter.

InkedBookDragon

These Violent Delights is an intricate, carefully-written story of the sexual abuses that many woman face, along with the complexities and seemingly endless complications that come with it. This book does this by telling the story of three women's struggles to come forward and have their accusations taken seriously and fairly. I have incredibly conflicting thoughts about this book, so let's start with the things I liked.

The subject matter of this book is so important. As mentioned, These Violent Delights focuses on the stories of three women who were sexually abused by the same man--an educator-- when they were teenagers. We are seeing scenarios strikingly similar to this everyday, and it is disheartening to see people who either don't believe victims or who feel that it is okay to further harass the victims. This aspect of the book was all too accurate.

Namkung clearly did her research on these topics and took extreme care to tell this story with the utmost sensitivity and, at times, brutal honesty that they deserve. Her writing is sharp and poignant at many times,drawing clear points to many effects that often come with sexual abuse, such as victim-shaming and other difficult obstacles. I am incredibly impressed with the content itself and how realistic the entire story and circumstances were.

What I didn't like about this book was that I didn't really care about any of the characters. I sympathized with them and everything that happened to them, and their circumstances also made me think more about other women in this same position, but the characters themselves just had no life. It was presented in a very exemplary manner to me, as if this book was solely written to send a message and forgot to include characters and writing that draws the reader in to be emotionally invested in the story, and thus make the story truly successful at sending its message. I just wanted more from this book.

Much of the content of this book is given in newspaper articles, letters, etc., which got a bit dreary at times. I felt certain areas were rushed or not fully given the time and effort that they should have, which was slightly frustrating. I really just wish that this book had been written in a more engaging and accessible manner since the topic is so incredibly important.

Overall, I've given These Violent Delights three-and-a-half stars. I loved the message of this book and I would heartily recommend it for that alone, but the story itself just lacked the depth and emotional investment that it needed, and for that reason I had to dock some stars from its rating.

It has been a while since I have read women’s fiction or anything in the literary fiction genre, but These Violent Delights by Victoria Namkung intrigued me. While the title, from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, was interesting, it was the novel’s exploration of the struggles of women, the pressures of society and how women are treated in the face of adversity that really made me pick this up.

These Violent Delights is a compelling read, packed with information and thorough research on sexual assault victims and trauma. The story is narrated by four women, one being a prominent journalist and the other three are victims of assault by an English high school teacher at Windemere School for Girls. Through these multiple perspectives, the novel offers a greater exploration of sexuality, victimisation and what it means to be a woman in modern day society.

The novel takes a strong stance on the rights of women and young girls, making a point about children needing to feel safe and secure in their school environment. The core of the novel shines through as we dive deeper into the investigation, unearthing the stereotypes and societal expectations of women. The novel reads like a court case; it commences with journalistic approach to set alight the investigation from the initial inklings of denial to the sentencing of the perpetrator. It is also drenched in facts and knowledge about rape culture and the credibility of women.

However, I found some aspects of the novel to be almost too informative in the way it was presented. I felt the novel dragged when the women’s stories are told in long rambling paragraphs, in newspaper articles, letters and social media. I simply didn’t enjoy the long chunks of dialogue and italicised text, especially during group discussions where I felt the dialogue was too formal and structured.

I also found I couldn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. While they were distinct in characteristics and personality – I liked reading about Caryn and Sasha in particular – I only cared about them in regards to their strength in facing their trauma together.

Overall, These Violent Delights is a novel relevant to our time, especially with the circulation of the hashtag #MeToo and the fight for women’s rights against rape culture. It is an insightful and sober tale that deals with the hardships of trauma, sexual abuse and how to come to terms with it.

A sexy, tawdry affair that could rock this dance community. Sexy, dangerous, and dark.

In view of what is going on in the media lately regarding the abuse of women, this book comes at a very opportune time. Windermere, a private all-girl school, is also where Professor Gregory Copeland has for years taught English. But he has also been abusing some of his young students, and this journalistically-written book exposes his transgressions in all their sordid reality.

Another day, another DNF...
Despite its incredibly important subject matter, I just couldn't force myself to continue to push through this book. The sexual assault of teenagers by their teachers is an horrendous area of our society that we, as a wider community, need to educate ourselves more on, but I wouldn't at all recommend that people do so through the blunders of These Violent Delights. It is incredibly badly-written, the dialogue is just filled to the brim with phrases that actual people would never ever say and the characters are far too self-aware that, at most points, the book reads more like a terrible cacophony of both non-fiction and manifesto than an attempt at a novel.
Also - I get that the teacher in-question is the head of the English department or whatever, but I definitely feel as though the title is more than a little inappropriate for the subject the book talks about. I mean, Romeo and Juliet, really?

A little repetitive throughout; but has a strong message.

These Violent Delights handles the very personal and intense topic of sexual abuse with passion and grace. A young woman interning at a newspaper chooses to reveal her story of sexual abuse years earlier at an elite private school. This begins the story of others coming forward, Following these women's stories and continuing thought the trial of the teacher who abused them gives the reader some sense of closure,. But these women will live or die with having been sexually abused.

This book is a very timely piece on women coming forward to report historic abuse and the reactions of those they know and those they don’t online. The story is very well written, and most of all realistic.

The characters are likeable, believable and many women will be able able to relate to them and their stories. I went through a range of emotions reading this, the most common being angry. Not only at the acts themselves, but when the characters are reading online comments and mail from people who are judging them, which are the hate and non-belief of victims we see every time victims of abuse and harassment come forward.

The ending of the story is heartbreaking, but again honest and what happens in many cases.

“Don’t you find it interesting that these types of crimes against women- whether it’s violence, sexual assault, rape- are the only kinds we force the victim to make a case about their own innocence before even investigating?”


This book discusses child abuse and rape culture in general in one of THE BEST ways i have seen to date.

The author clearly did her research, clearly had a lot to say and a lot of real and honest and good options on the topic.

BUT it reads more like newspaper articles or very dry nonfiction. Which is not to say thats a bad thing. I actually enjoy both. BUT its marketed as something different. And so a lot of readers will be put of with the very, very dry writing and the not at all flowing style this story is told.

Of course that is not the most important thing about this book!

But it is an important factor that has to be mentioned when reviewing and rating a book like this. If its hard to read even if it talks about a topic everyone should read and talk about? That has to be mentioned and taken into consideration.

Because sadly?
This book is not for everyone. And not because of the topic. But because of how it is written.

Because the topic? That has to be for everyone, for the topic this book is a MOST READ.

But sadly the writing, the characters and the plot outside of the issues it discusses is pretty lacking sadly. And if it would have been about such an important topic as rape and abuse which i am personally very passionate about this book would have gotten a very low rating.

Still, because it discusses the topic of rape and abuse, especially in young children so wonderfully and from all sides? It deserves people to read it and give it a shot and work their way through the dry writing.

There should be more books like this, that take a real topic, a real issue and talk about it, point out the issues, point out the problems and make them relatable and realistic and available for more people.

Because as it is shown in the opening quote from the book and from other moments in the book: why is it that nobody cares for you to prove that you have been robbed? But if you say you have been violated you have to prove it? How come nobody speaks up positively for someone stealing in the same way they speak up for an abuser? How come ANYBODY speaks up positively for an abuser? And how come the abused ALWAYS have to defend themselves?

This book is an important read and i do think everyone should give it a try even if its a hard topic, but because of that its so important for many people to read it.

But i wish it would have been co-written with someone that knew how to completely suck you into the story and make you actually FEEL with the characters to take this story even deeper, make it more emotional and with that more unforgettable for the readers!

This book couldn't be much more ripped out of the headlines at the moment, dealing with issues of sexual assault by a predatory high school teacher with multiple young women groomed to be his targets. I thought it was reasonably well done, speaking as someone who is professionally steeped in this subject as well. The multiple voices and perspectives make clear that there is no one type of woman who is harassed or targeted, as the women involved were all very different from each other. And the plot unfolded as countless ones are unfolding these days, with one person coming forward and opening the floodgates for several others, as rarely are these incidents confined to a single person. Sometimes it all seemed a little too pat, but maybe because the same excuses and reactions and denials happen in virtually every case, regardless of how many #metoos are involved. I have a tiny quibble with the title -- yes, I know it's from Shakespeare, but some may not, and it almost conveys a different kind of book than one where young women are selected by a trusted and popular teacher for sexual relationships when they are 15. But all in all, this book was a good fictionalized treatment of an issue we cannot think about too much right now. There couldn't be better timing for the release of this book.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Well, the upcoming release of the novel, These Violent Delights, by Victoria Namkung could not be timelier. Women all over the world are using the hashtag “Me Too” to make the world aware of the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment. Dozens of celebrities are naming Harvey Weinstein’s abuse of women. Kevin Spacey is currently in the news for his behavior towards an underaged boy. So, this book is coming out at just the right time.

These Violent Delights delves into sexual abuse issues within an elite private school setting. After a young journalist pens her story about her male teacher coming on to her and her requests for help from the school being dismissed, other women come forward with their own stories about the same teacher.

The problem is that this teacher has a fantastic reputation. He is a stellar teacher, a husband, a father, a churchgoer, and apparently, a man who preys on young women. So, the school decides to keep him in his respected position rather than listen to the initial student who accuses him of misconduct. (Don’t think this happens? It does.) This novel revolves around the young journalist, her mentor at work, and two other abused women working to bring him down.

For me, this story read more like nonfiction than fiction simply because this type of thing happens all the time. All. The. Time. I can use the #metoo hashtag, as well as many of my female friends. So, the book, while fictional, was just a reminder of the stories I’ve lived or the stories I’ve heard.

I like the author using fictional characters and a swift plot to talk about something serious. The book is designed to make you talk. It will make you angry. It will make you feel things you don’t want to feel.

The author does a wonderful job of showing just how easily we dismiss these types of occurrences and why it is so dangerous. It will make you think twice before you try to ignore or dismiss these claims in the future. And, if that is the author’s whole point, then good for her!

However, I will say, I HATED the ending. HATED IT. I should have known when the title comes from Romeo and Juliet quote “These violent delights have violent ends” that I would not like the ending. But, I still was not prepared. And, it felt icky. But, I think the ending is designed to make you talk.

The best books cause reactions. This one could not come at a better time.

At Windmere, an elite all-girls school, an English teacher is accused of sex crimes with some of the young women he taught. The entire community is rocked to its core and sides are drawn, some refusing to believe it and others coming out with stories of their own.
This was a very timely book. with all of the attention in the media focusing on men who abused their power to take advantage of those younger and under their control. This book gives you a lot to think about.

I have to start out by saying that the cover of this book is gorgeous, and I'm sure it will look even better in person. That simple fact is what initially drew me to this book.

The subject matter of this book is incredibly relevant right now (#MeToo anyone?) and These Violent Delights gets straight to the point. The book focuses on 3 women that have had a relationship with a teacher at the private school that they went to, and one investigative reporter that is helping tell the world the story.

I don't want to say too much because I think it is best to read this book for yourself, but abuse is something that really makes me angry and we need books like this one to "get the word out" so to speak. I think it is incredibly important that girls and women alike understand that it is SO important not to stay silent when you have been abused. So many women say nothing and live in hell for the rest of their lives thinking they somehow brought it upon themselves. I know it can happen to men and boys as well, but this book is definitely more focused towards the women. That is not to say this book is bashing men either, but rather making you aware of what it is like for women that get abused as children or as adults.

This book read like a nonfiction book for me which made it even more moving than it already was. There was also a bit of humor as well which was a nice respite from the heavy subject matter.

The only thing I did not like about this book (and why I couldn't rate it past a 4) is because the dialogue in this book is incredibly confusing. I seem to be the only person that had an issue with this, but the way the author wrote the dialogue out made it very hard for me to understand who was speaking at times and it was very frustrating.

Other than that this book was hard-hitting, and the writing was easy for me to get into.

"These violent delights have violent ends" is one of my favorite lines from Romeo and Juliet, and so I knew I was going to love this book! Of course the author is alluding to how quickly teen love can flourish and often--just as quickly-- implode, as the young lovers in Shakespeare's play commit suicide believing the other is dead. When Caryn, a young intern for the Daily Journal brings her story to Jane, the seasoned and well-respected journalist, Jane realizes it is a story that must be told for Caryn has accused her ex high-school English teacher, Dr. Copeland of attempting to seduce her. When the story hits, several other young women come forward and things get messy--as they always do in a scandal such as this involving underage girls and older men. So relevant to today in the wake of the Cosby and Weinstein debacles, the novel is gritty, realistic and pulls no punches. It's a truly accurate portrayal of the guilt, regret, pain, sadness--and often poor mental health--suffered by the victims. This is a book that every parent and adolescent should read as it sheds light on a subject all too common in today's society!

This book grabbed me right from the beginning. It is also very timely, with everything in the real world. I feel like I would have liked a little more background and character development at the beginning, instead of jumping right into the story. But, it was still very good and would definitely recommend!

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my honest review. This was my first experience with NetGalley and I am very pleased.
These Violent Delights by Victoria Namkung hit home for me. Victoria Namkung did a wonderful job on portraying how society acts when dealing with rape or assault. I related to the characters and the frustration and pain they felt.
From the moment I started reading I could not put this book down. As the story went on I just kept getting frustrated with the fact that the school did nothing for these poor girls. Which is another part I can relate to. How women are meant to feel at fault or put all the blame on the girls. I’m so happy that there was justice in the end. Only negative thing I have to say is I wish there was more of an ending, I would love to know what happens further into the future with the characters and know if Mr Copeland ever got that letter or his reaction to the letter.
Overall, this book was a perfect read. I will definitely recommend this book to my friends.