This immersive and engaging book will delight a wide variety of readers. I adored the new twist on a timeless story. The writing is vibrant and will keep the reader turning the page. Highly recommended!

The setting of this novel is part of its selling point for me: 1920's Shanghai. I have heard it described as a Romeo and Juliet scenario. But it is much more. There are rival gangs, yes. And lovers torn apart as well. But the characters' struggle to serve family and themselves, to deal with their shared history, to define who they are, in (for them) the modern world is at the center of the story. The addition of the supernatural element at the heart of the action felt practically intrusive.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this incredible book!

These Violent Delights is one of those rare books that has an amazing premise AND lives up to the promise of that premise. It's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with 1920s gangsters set in Shanghai, with some fantasy elements thrown in as well in the form of a monster who is causing a deadly sickness in the city. As if that premise wasn't enough, the character development and world-building are fantastic, and I especially appreciated how much thought the author gave to the supporting characters, both in terms of their roles in the original Romeo and Juliet, and how she represented them in These Violent Delights. The book also has several unexpected plot twists that deviate just enough from the original to keep you guessing, but work well within the context of the Romeo and Juliet story. Even if you've never read Romeo and Juliet, or aren't deeply familiar with it, you will find a lot to love in These Violent Delights. It's truly an amazing read, and I definitely recommend it to fans of YA, fans of Shakespeare, and really anyone who loves a good story with great characters!

This book was unfortunately just OK for me. I had a lot of hype surrounding it from friends, which made me so excited to jump in and read!

I love enemies to friends/lovers. Obviously that's a major trope that I die for. And it was done well - there was tension and action and a lot going on throughout the story. I found it difficult to keep up with and hard to relate/connect to. I didn't find myself liking either of the gangs or being partial to one or the other.

The cover art on this is stunning. I have to absolutely give the publisher that! I think I would enjoy this moreso as an audiobook, it's just a feeling. The writing was a bit dense and there was a lot of filler for me, and maybe the action was just something I wasn't in the mood for at the time.

The storyline is a classic and I thought it was interesting enough to finish and not DNF, so that's something!

**Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**

I dove into These Violet Delights with a frenzied zeal, eager for a monster, some gangsters, and a retelling. Unfortunately These Violent Delights suffered from that unfortunate syndrome of having everything going for it: a gorgeous cover, an intriguing synopsis, some killer blurbs, but it still managed to fall flat. I read up until the 54% mark and ended up skimming to the end (hey, I had to know what was up with the monster!).

The concept of the story is amazing, but the execution fell flat. The narrative had a tendency to lag and go off on tangents. It took me three weeks to hit the 34% mark because there was too much detail and focus on secondary characters. I mean, a whole spiel about one of the characters wanting to paint the perfect circle? It killed the pacing and took away from the whole monster/gangster focus.

I really loved the representation in the book! There was a trans character, and a couple of queer characters. I wasn’t expecting that in a 1920s Shanghai setting, but it was great! Overall, I think with some refocusing and tightening up on the storyline, this one would be a killer book! Unfortunately the lagging pace is what killed it for me.

Savage. That's the only word I can use to describe this book: absolutely savage. A unique retelling and adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but with a lot more bloodshed, These Violent Delights goes four years beyond the events of Romeo and Juliet. Except it's written in 1920s gangland China. And except that there's a monster. And a lot of insects. And did I say there was a lot of bloodshed?

Roma Montagov is the heir of the White Flowers, refugees from Russia who've found a newfound home in Shanghai. Juliette Cai is the heir of the Scarlet Gang, one of the first and largest gangs in Shanghai despite its constant change in hierarchy. Once upon a time, right as they came of age, they were in love. The silly giddy love of teenagers and they thrived in it. Until, as all teen relationships go and as the play we all know and love has gone, their relationship ends. However, it's much different in that neither of them dies this time around. Instead, we see our main female lead sent to New York City for four years, coming back right at the time where everything in Shanghai is changing.

Just so you know, I'm not kidding when I say this is a savage, bloody, and brutal book. Take everything you know about Juliette being a whiny, overindulged, and spoiled child and destroy it; she is now a dark, neck slicing, gun wielding, never regretting badass of a character. She knows she deserves to be the heir and should be the one that takes over for the Scarlet Gang, but several people, including her own family, don't agree with that. The same goes for our main lead, Roma, who is as much her equal has a main male lead has ever been. He can keep with her, which isn't something we see often. Our disaster murder babes are capable of anything...except maybe the giant water monster and the infectious insects causing people to rip their own throats out. Yes. Exactly. Not only are we slicing throats, people are doing it to themselves!

The historical background in this novel is fantastic! It sets the space and allows the reader to truly immerse themselves in the historical events they know well from the 1920s. Our characters are stuck in the intersection of several major things and each of them are addressed in regards to what our characters are encountering. The language was gorgeous, with description being added that wasn't overwhelming, but just right. I will say there was something missing. I can't place my finger on it, but despite the beautiful language, the kickass characters, and the overall tone of the novel, there was something that made me not as excited to finish it as I wanted to be. It may be that I wasn't in the mood for it. It may be that it was more historical that I expected. It may just be that something was off. I'll leave that up to you as the reader to decide. Regardless, it's a great novel and I know it deserves to be in every library or bookshelf.

This was such an atmospheric and intriguing read. I love how the setting kept me anchored in Shanghai and I never felt like I left. All the main characters are endearing - Juliette, Roma, Benedikt, and Marshall - and I especially enjoyed that they weren't all 16 years old and closer to the age of a college student. The historical parallels combined with the fantastical elements were extremely interesting and well done, especially with the lore surrounding the main antagonist and how it operated within the story. This book definitely has tropes and predictable corners that you could see coming but the pace was easy to follow and the description was very beautiful, especially in relation to the city and the culture. I also really enjoyed the tackling of topics like colonialism, racism, misogyny, colorism, etc. This is definitely a series I am excited to know more about!

Disclaimer: I got this in exchange for a review from NetGalley. So this is a Romeo and Juliet set in 1926 Shangai where there is The Russian White Flowers and the Scarlett Gang. Juliet is the heir of the Scarlett Gang. It's a story of first love and betrayal for these eighteen -year olds. Honestly, this is my favorite retelling of Romeo and Juliet.

There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book. Who doesn’t want to experience the 1920’s in a different location than New York. I’m also always ready for a retelling of any Shakespeare play. Although there are definitely positives about this book, I still though I would have liked it a bit more than I did.

The prologue is our first look at the crazy, mysterious things that are to come. This isn’t your average Rome & Juliet retelling, let me tell you! The author does a great job of creating a world and making the retelling unique and her own. The names of some characters are still relatively the same as the original so it is easy to figure out who is who if you have read the original which I liked.

The book also has multiple point-of-views which is always a plus for me. I like to be able to get different perspectives and since this has two different gangs, it helps to fill in gaps.

The characters are diverse but some felt a bit flat in areas. I did like them overall though.

The plot is filled with gangs, communists, and a crazy monster lurking from the river. At times the book is quite violent (hence the name I guess, haha.) I did like how mysterious the plot was but this is where I kind of lost interest. There isn’t ever much to go off of until the end and by then you think everything is done and over with but guess again. I am not sure where book two will go when it comes to the monster but I can partly see where the romance will go. It is Romeo & Juliet after all. Maybe I’ll be wrong with my suspicions.

Overall, it was good but it just didn’t wow me.

“She … hoped. And hope was dangerous. Hope was the most vicious evil of them all, the thing that had managed to thrive in Pandora’s box among misery, and disease, and sadness—and what could endure alongside such things with such teeth is it didn’t have ghastly claws of its own?”

In my head, the Romeo and Juliet feud will always be one of gangsters. Whether the idea was implanted in my head by the Leonardo DiCaprio movie or just bloomed from common sense, I will never know. Still, I see no other logical way to explain the shoot-at-sight enmity that brewed between the Montagues and Capulets. Either way, These Violent Delights improves the Shakespeare classic wonderfully; let me count the ways.
First off, the Shanghai setting is just phenomenal. The racial and colonial tensions throughout the plot give it so many new layers. (“The British sip away on their tea and claim they invented it. Think again, fool. The Chinese were brewing tea before you even had a king.”) Not to mention that the vibrancy of Asia is just so rich, especially when compared to dull feudal European towns. I said what I said. Also, the numerous different cultures mingling in the city mean that the characters all speak so many different languages, and that gave me a lot of good vibes.
Aside from that, the monster/madness angle also brings a lot to the plot. It gives Juliette something tangible to run after. The mystery is hooking enough, but not overly complicated. It’s a real threat, but Juliette makes solutions pop out even when everyone around her is giving up.
The most irritating thing about Romeo and Juliet is just how addicted they are to each other, and how stupidly they act because of it. These Violent Delights solves all of that. We are served a story of a girl who must collaborate with her enemy in order to save her city, her family. They’ve already done the star-crossed lovers bit, and it ended terribly. They’ve moved. Juliette has the same thought process as me; she’s determined not to go down that path.
Aside from Juliette and Roma, the side characters are all developed wonderfully. Instead of being used as props for the plot, they are each fleshed out fully and given their own stories. At no point did Marshall, or Benedikt, or Kathleen, or even Alisa feel unimportant. If I had to choose, I’d say any of them were more interesting than either Juliette or Roma. Juliette is more like the narrator; we project ourselves into her shoes. And Roma is just the de facto love interest. She loves him, and we don’t question it. Both of them are insanely relatable though. (“Roma was too exhausted to argue. If all the gangsters in this city were constantly as tired as he was, the blood feud would come to a complete halt within the hour.” “There was a direct correlation between her willingness to be civil and the distance between them. With him several strides away, she wanted to commit homicide a little less.”)
Overall though, These Violent Delights provided a very clever Romeo and Juliet retelling. The plot, setting, and characters all brought something to the table, and it was a great read overall.

Another 5 star read for me. I loved this beautiful, atmospheric, and DARK take on Romeo and Juliet. It definitely lives up to the "Violent" in the title and I am totally here for it. Blending Shakespeare with folklore and fantasy wasn't something I had a lot of faith in, but this blew me away. Excellent, and nothing like anything I've read this year. Highly recommend.

"This heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River."

It's magical. it's delightful, it is written by a powerhouse of a young talented author. PUT THIS ON YOUR TBR!!

Now when I say twisted retelling, I seriously mean twisted. I thought I was prepaared for what would happen. I mean, it’s Romeo and Juliet, right? Oh, gosh. It was so much more than that. Not only do we have these star crossed lovers in rival gangs… but there’s also this wild (sort of graphic) disease that is spreading throughout the city and monsters and murder? It was wild!

Forget teaching Romeo and Juliet in schools, they should make this required curriculum instead because you get history but also entertainment and tragedy and just *chef’s kiss* star-crossed lovers. You know what class this would be perfect for? World Literature. I took a World Lit class in 10th grade and it was paired with AP World History and this would have been just PERFECT for that.

BUT I DIGRESS

Whenever I read a retelling or a book inspired by something, I love seeing parallels between the original text and the new story. I also love to see the story spun in a unique way. And this? This book was just GENIUS. It took the original play and turned into something completely new while also keeping elements of the original and making them even better and juicier and darker.

Juliette is the heiress of the Scarlet Gang but she was sent to the States for a few years and when she returns to Shanghai she has to deal with trying to solidify her role in the family, but also wrestle with the identity issues that I related to a lot. She talked a lot about how she’s too American for Shanghai, but too Chinese for America and wow, I felt that deep in my soul. But on top of that, Juliette is an incredibly interesting character. I loved reading in her perspective because not only could she shoot or stab me (and I’d thank her) but she is also emotional and calculated and just overall really badass.

Roma is the heir of the White Flowers and he has this air of mystery to him in the beginning. But he’s a total sweetheart?! I have to admit, I had to grow to really like him, but maybe that’s because I was biased from being Scarlet Gang. The two leads contrast each other really well in my opinion, but they also had these similarities that made it so easy to want them to be together. The TENSION. oof.

I also loved that we get a glimpse into some side characters like Kathleen and Benedick and Marshall. I don’t want to elaborate too much about them because it was honestly a really cool surprise to see them spotlighted and see their importance in the plot as the story went on.

I really thought that this was just going to be about rival gangs and drama and blood feuds and then all of a sudden I’m sucked into this twisted story of people (GRAPHIC CONTENT) suddenly getting possibly attacked by a monster and dropping dead by clawing their throats out. Honestly not something I knew would happen and yet, I was here for it completely.

If I didn’t read at the most inconvenient times, I probably could have finished this in one or two sittings because it was just so interesting. I loved how the history and politics were intertwined with this story. And on top of that, it was just so immersive. Honestly, I can’t get over how this book was such a cool blend of murder mystery and historical fiction and maybe a little sci-fi fantasy. Like seriously genius.

On top of that, we get that star-crossed lovers romance where you crave for them to just KISS ALREADY.

I don’t even know how to end this review because I just want to gush about how I would theorize how things would wrap up and none of my theories ended up coming true and it was seriously mind blowing. Everything you think might happen… well, prepare to just be completely thrown off and surprised.

I would recommend this to anyone that likes Shakespeare retellings with incredible twists, a book that blends genres, enemies to lovers to enemies romance, and a thrilling ride. If you’re a fan of complex and morally grey characters, betrayal, contagion, female leads that aren’t afraid to just go off and male characters that are just a little afraid of shooting you but they will if they absolutely have to, and that one trope where one person hold up a gun to shoot the other but you also just want them to kiss already and you can feel that tension then definitely pick this book up!

I have been sitting on this ARC for MONTHS – I am not kidding. I reached out to the publisher way back in June, and received it in July first week! Why didn’t I read it sooner, you ask me? Because I was absolutely terrified of not having anything good to read after I finished reading it🙈

I finally read it a few weeks back, and as expected, I absolutely LOVED it. Now let me tell you, romance is a genre I read extremely rarely, and like even more rarely. But I do like a good angsty romance in the plot, with loads of yearning, and These Violent Delights had that on point.

I did not go into this book expecting to be surprised by the plot, but there were still quite a few good plot twists in there. I love the new, refreshing feel and the almost supernatural twist to the well-known Romeo-Juliette story. Most of the plot is a slow-burn, but the last 30% of the book is an absolute roller-coaster.

The setting for this retelling is literal *perfection*, and Chloe Gong has done a brilliant job bringing it alive. The turbulent political climate of 1926 Shanghai is fraught with tension and power struggle. Blood flows freely as people are at each other’s throats at the drop of a hat. Amidst all this, even the glitz and glamour of the city takes a dark and sinister form. It makes you almost forget that Juliette and Roma are in fact, just 19-year olds who are innocent at heart but have been exposed to way too much bloodshed too early in life.

The protagonists, Juliette Kai and Roma Montagov, 19 year old heirs of the two ruling gangs of the city, are the most perfect star crossed lovers, one all fire and fury and the other calm like water. Even though I usually balk at the idea of the “star-crossed lovers” and fate standing in the way of two people clearly meant to be together, it was delivered so believably in These Violent Delights that my heart actually ached. The city and its blood feud is a monster in itself that drives people apart and breeds darkness in their hearts.

While the characters of Juliette and Roma are quite well-developed and their romance and yearning was EVERYTHING, I really wished I got to know more about the side characters, especially Rosalind and Kathleen. Kathleen is a trans-woman and whatever little I got to know about her character was quite interesting, so I really hope I get to see more of her in the sequel. Marshall and Benedikt had their own story going on which I thoroughly enjoyed.

It’s the 1920s All of the magic and beauty of the flappers age but make it China and make it violent.

Gong’s book takes some work up but ones it grabs you it sucks you in and won’t let go.

The characters in this book were super dynamic and thrilling. Even though I knew what archetypes to expect and they fit the mold pretty well, I still found myself wondering what each one was going to do next. This Romeo and Juliet retelling slides modern style characters into the early age molds, the characters names are all mostly similar if not identical to the original text, so it’s easy to fill the roles in your head.

Overall, I really wanted to love everything about this book, but I had some serious qualms. For one, the prologue was a bit rough for me. It didn’t grasp my attention or anything AT ALL. Also, the story fell a little TOO hard into the retelling mold, taking away most of the surprise. At some moments, I felt almost like I was reading West Side Story (already a R+J retelling with gangs).

I’m giving this book 3 stars, but it is probably a 3.5 star read for me. There are A LOT of shining moments for me. The majority of the book showcases the author’s creativity and unique take on the story. There were just a few spots that fell kind of flat. I did go to college to study Shakespeare, though, and I am a seriously hard critic, I will definitely be buying this book in paperback when it is available.

I was really excited for this book, and I truly appreciate how it acknowledges its roots in Romeo & Juliet without being overly predictable. However. This may be my covid-19 attention span, but I felt like there were too many elements to this story that watered down a great premise. I powered through and made sure to finish the book, but I felt like I was missing some terrific elements because I was getting tossed between the love story(/ies), the gangster story, the sisterhood story, the power struggle story, and the bonus Fangoria spectacular stuffed into whatever small cracks that were left in the storytelling. The end leaves the readers wanting more, but I'm not sure if I want it.

Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights is one of the buzziest titles of the final few months of 2020 - and with good reason. It's one of the most surprising books you'll encounter this year, a story whose contours feel familiar, but that manages to tell an old tale in an entirely brand new way.

On its surface, Gong's novel is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, but one that is utterly unlike any you've seen before. Here, Shakespeare's tale of forbidden love and tragic misunderstandings is reimagined as an epic gangland opera. Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov are the heirs of the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers, respectively, the two warring factions struggling to control Shanghai in the 1920s, as Bolsheviks, French forces, and other foreigners pour into their land.

These Violent Delights is a story of present-day cooperation and previously forbidden love between rivals which, if discovered, could cost both Roma and Juliette everything they have. But it's also a period story of a roiling, changing city that's struggling to hold on to the things that make it unique even as it adapts to a constantly shifting world. The shifting culture of Shanghai informs the day to day existence of all the characters in this story, as its competing gangs try to hold on to their territories and traditions in the face of encroaching French soldiers, Communist party members, and capitalist businessmen.

Though These Violent Delights is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, it's not a paint by numbers adaptation in any respect, and you certainly don't need to be terribly familiar with the play to enjoy this story. For fans of Shakespeare's work, there are plenty of Easter eggs and shoutouts in the novel - certain characters who double as familiar figures from the play, plot elements that pop up in unexpected places, and similar structure and pacing throughout. But even if you barely remember much beyond the basics of the originally, you'll find these characters compelling.

Full review on Culturess.com closer to release!

This book is a fantastic twist on Romeo and Juliet. Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai are heirs to rival gangs in Shanghai in the 1920's. The city is on edge various nations are creeping in with their own national interests along with communists and the entire city is a powder keg. When bugs start coming out of the river and causes people to tear their throats out Juliette and Roma agree to work together to stop the deaths and devastation of the city. They have a past involvement to get over and a mystery to solve but when their attraction, bugs, death and rival gang status what else can go wrong for them both. This is a story full of action, mystery and a fantastic setting that will make you keep guessing until the final page. My only problem is the cliffhanger ending that makes me want the next book right away (that's more my impatience than anything that the author has actually done).

This is a beautifully dark and diverse romeo & juliet retelling that takes place in Shanghai in the 1920s! After the first chapter, I knew I was going too be hooked. I fell in love with the lush descriptions of Shanghai and the details of the time period. But what really got me was the immediate and tick tension between our two main characters, Roma & Juliette.

This is a second chance loved story, in a sense, which I typically tend to avoid as they are not something I overly enjoy, but Chloe Gong really knocked this out of the park. For most of the book, you, as the reader, are unaware and completely on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what happened four years ago that tore them apart. Their very first moments on screen and filled with angst and pressure and bottled emotions and, thankfully, it never really dies down from there on out.
Roma is the heir to the Russian gang, the White Flowers while Juliette is the heir to the Shanghai native gang called the Scarlet Gang. Of course, between these two gangs we have hatred and bloodshed, going back decades before Roma and Juliette were even born.

The plot and the directions this story took were definitely unexpected. I loved the scientific elements, especially being that this takes place in 1926. It was super intriguing to hear about the developments in science and health at that time.

I truly adored all of our side characters. We had so much diversity and it filled my heart with happiness

I can see the passion Gong put into this story. it bleeds through the page in the most passion way. I am beyond excited to see more of Roma and Juliette and to see how their story continues to unfold.

3.75 stars but I'm bumping it up to 4 stars.

Juliette Cai is the heiress of the Scarlet gang and has matured into a stong and slightly scary badass. She returns to Shanghai after many years in America to find that the city has changed. It's alliances no longer fully remain with the Scarlet gang; the French, communist powers and more oversee foreigners are staking more and more claims on their land.

With all these political unrest an unknown madness is spreading through the city, making people rip at their necks until they bleed to death. The madness and danger are spreading and Juliette Cai does not know what to do. Her parents turn a blind eye, her relatives question her power as the heiress she as nowhere to start.

Roma Montagov is the heir to the White flowers, the rival gang with the Scarlets. Juliette has a past with him she rather not relive, but she has no choices if she wants to save her city.

Asian representation? check.
Beautiful writing? check.
Some romance waiting to be developed? check.

Chole Gong is an author who gets it right, even more, impressive as it is her debut novel. The book's language and the writing style was beautiful, lush, and detailed that I was transported onto the shanghai streets with the overhead sunset illuminating the buildings.

The romance between Juliette and Roma was perfect. I loved how there was this grey area depicting both of the love interests. They understood that neither of them were in the right or in the wrong, they were just dealt the hand of cards and had to live with it. The pain as well emulated in their dialogue and actions was spot on!

The plot I had a little trouble with and that was where I docked some stars off. I understand the author had to chop this book off somewhere so she could write another book but this whole madness thing with the monster really should of been resolved or slightly resolved in the f400 pages of this book. It dragged quite a long time and I really hope that the second book is not just a continuation of this madness stuff; I need some new action.

Solid start of a series and debut novel by Chloe Gong!