These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong Book Review
“I cannot fathom it . . .you destroy me and then you kiss me. You give me a reason to hate you and then you give me a reason to love you. Is this a truth or a lie? Is this a ploy or your heart reaching for me?”
(pg. 349)
About
Author: Chloe Gong
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
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Synopsis
The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.
A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.
But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
Review
Spoilers Contained Below
To the violent delights,
Romeo, oh Romeo, where art thou Romeo? Or whatever the Shakespeare play is known to say 😅.
To be quite honest, I don’t know if it was just the culture of the school I went to, but Shakespeare was never a prominent work of study. I read Romeo and Juliette in ninth grade and did a gosh cringe-worthy play that will never see the light of day because I have no idea where it is now, but I can’t say I was a complete fan of the whole 😵 *cut throat sign* lovers plot because I had no idea that’s what happened in the play. It shook me for sure when I first read Romeo and Juliette. It’s not that I didn’t like the play, I just didn’t feel obsessed with it or connected to the storyline as it seemed mainland culture was. I don’t know.
These Violent Delights is a Romeo and Juliette sort of tale with an Asian murder mystery twist. I honesty got The Infernal Devices meets Stalking Jack the Ripper Vibes. I loved TID, but Stalking Jack the Ripper was a bit more challenging for me to get into.
With all this being said, none of what I am about to say about the book has anything to do with me being against the author or the story. I genuinely think that Chloe Gong is a phenomenal writer and that she kept wowing me with her prose of words and the way she captured a feeling without naming it. I loved loved loved her writing style and how she mixed gory descriptions with metaphors that a reader would not only understand, but feel. I just was very stunned by her writing because it was beautiful and had a golden finesse, if you will. It was honesty, really great writing because, you know, sometimes writing can be very normal or state this or that or use over used lines, but every one of Chloe Gong’s sentences felt new and fresh, it was refreshing. So honestly, BRAVO 👏🏼👏🏼!
I know some people don’t like what they call “froo froo or fluffy” writing, but I LOVE fluffy writing because it’s so much more descriptive and captivating. I mean, reading that a character didn’t realize she held her breath is not as interesting as reading something like “Places like these were already suffocating. It did naught to add more weight upon the pillow pressed to their faces” (pg. 68). I mean, that sentence was so intriguing and well-written, it was insane.
Now, here’s the thing, again, I’m not a big Shakespeare fanatic and I really wanted to like this book based on all the rants and raves I’ve been hearing about These Violent Delights on bookstagram. however, if I’m being honest, this book was not my favorite. Now, now, it’s not because the writing was not good, the storyline was just really hard for me to connect with or get into. Most of the book moved at a glacial speed and there wasn’t really anything that made me shocked expect the fact that it was mentioned Juliette was fifteen or something at one point, and considering how she was a cold-blooded, lethal killer, I could not imagine. Like that was literally the thing that threw me off the most. The other parts about the plot with the whole monster mystery really wasn’t as intriguing or interesting to me because I just didn’t understand the point of the monster or the whole mystery behind it. I I wasn’t invested in the mystery as much as I wanted to be.
I just felt like there was this big bugged monster on the loose who crawled into people’s hair like cooties and they clawed at their throats. I mean, morbid and definitely not a fun time for sure, but I just wasn’t interested in the monster. I thought the monster was going to be this huge TMI kind of monster or like a demagorgon or something 😂 . You know, a monster. But we had monster lice 🙈 and it didn’t seem like a huge deal until it affected Alisa.
Gosh, when Alisa started to scratch at her head, I was like, Chloe Gong would not!!! But she did!!! She did Alisa dirty 😅! I would have had to sue if Chloe Gong killed off Alisa’s character because she seemed like such a sweet, fun, misunderstood girl who just wanted to be part of the action; it was probably why Alisa climbed through the vents or eavesdropped on conversations—-she just wanted to be included or to feel important. So when she got effected, I literally wanted to cry for Alisa because she was one of the only characters I actually really liked.
That’s not to say I didn’t like Juliette or Roma. I just wasn’t super invested in them.
Juliette gave me cold-hearted, lethal, and regal vibes. She did what she had to as the heir of the Scarlet Gang and she didn’t let anyone intimidate her. The Scarlet Gang is one of two gangs in Shanghai, and the gangs have more say than the law. You were either a Scarlet or a White Flower, and no in between. If a person was one one territory, they would attack you and vice versa. It was kind of wild the extremes of how they would attack each other and how the police feared them enough to stay out of it. I still wonder why they even had a gosh darn feud because I genuinely believe that when people think about the root of why they are fighting, they wouldn’t even remember why. For teh Romeo and Juliette parallel, I appreciated the sense of the two houses with the two gangs. I also laughed with how Roma was the Montagov’s rather than the Montague’s and Juliette the Cai’s rather than the Capulette’s. Clever.
I admired her no shiz and no fear attitude because being a woman in this world, no one takes you seriously, so I couldn’t imagine what being an Asian women back in the 1920s must have been like for her. I liked how everyone feared and respected her—how it’s sad that those two sentiments often have to be intertwined for anyone to take a person seriously. However, I was under the impression that Juliette wasn’t always a lethal killer and had a heart under this rock solid facade.
I felt like there was a time Juliette was more human and kind, but then the feud changed her—-hardened her to be protective and defensive of those she loved and herself. We got glimpses of a backstory with how Roma and Juliette used to be friends where they would meet up and pretend to be villagers in the market to get away from the heaviness of the family feud. They used to laugh and be best friends because when they were together, they weren’t a Cai or a Montagov, but they were just two kids who understood each other. Naturally, they fell in love and then he parents found out. Later on, it was revealed that Roma did plan the attack against Juliette’s Nurse and the other house workers because his dad told him that he would either have to kill Juliette or be banished or kill himself. Roma couldn’t kill Juliette, so he made an even complex choice to attack the Nurse so he didn’t have to kill the woman he loved and he could still be in the good graces of the White Flower gang; if he staged an attack against the Scarlet Gang, the attack showed his loyalty to his father/the White Flower.
In all honesty, this gang business was DUMB 🤪. Not that I’m saying Chloe Gong wrote the gang business as dumb, just the anger behind these two gangs was ridiculous. I mean, why did they hate each other again?🤪
Yea, I hear crickets too.
I don’t know!
Juliette and Roma LOVED each other and the dad’s first reaction was that Roma had to kill her 😵???? Ummmm, someone needs to get help because that is not okay! They should have been supportive of their son or at least try to understand his relationship because if his son loved her, then that’s all that should matter. Not this dumb feud. That’s the thing that always gets me—how people can let their hatred blindside them to love. It’s always going to hurt someone in the end and lead to a path that no one wanted to go down the first place, but was shoved down because they had to. Roma and Juliette deserved better. I mean, Roma shouldn’t have even had to make the choice to kill Juliette or be banished to even come to the decision to attack the Nurses.
But I get why he did it, he loved her. But that’s not love if he hurt the people you love.
That’s disgusting.
Revolting if you ask me 😅.
And not the fact that she also kind of betrayed him by giving up the secret location where his mom was staying, which was how the mother was murdered in cold blood. Now that’s INSANE. This whole eye-for-an-eye thing was INSANE and didn’t need to happen if they just pulled an Elsa and let whatever the heck they were angry for GO!
She was shipped off four years ago after an attack on the Nurses and other house workers home on the Scarlet Gang’s ground. The attack was initiated by The White Flowers, specifically Roma who left a note saying that he did it. I also liked how there was a glimpse of the Nurse character similar to Romeo and Juliette. But nothing really kills young love, then actually killing people around you that you love 🤪.
But I get it, Roma had a difficult choice, and he chose her because he loved her.
However, I felt like we knew they loved each other and were hiding their true feelings because of what happened in the past, but I didn’t feel like they loved each other. I felt like we were told and we assumed that they had to love each other, when I really wanted to feel that love connection between them. I just didn’t. And I don’t say that to be mean or rude, I just didn’t feel the love between them currently. Because I could understand how they loved each other in the past, and gosh, I really wished we had more backstories of how they were friends and loved each other because it would have helped with understanding their friendship better to know why they still had that love for each other. We only got glimpses of flashbacks, which were nice, but I wanted more. I wanted to understand the ins and outs of their relationship and how they got to a place of loving each other to the point that the betrayal really stung Juliette.
Roma betraying her was one nick in why she turned into a cold, lethal woman because she had grown to be protective of the people she loves and her heart. I don’t blame her for wanting to protect herself when someone she loved and trusted killed those she loved and acted like it was some sort of consolation prize. It’s difficult not to trust someone like that again and to put up those defenses. I wanted to know a softer Juliette because I can tell she’s in there. I hope we see more of that softer version of Juliette who allows herself to fully love and trust. I also hope we see more of Roma and Juliette interacting without animosity or that feuded tension between them—-how they interact without the weight of other’s anger on them.
“Was the line between enemy and friend horizontal or vertical? Was it a great plain to lumber across or was it a high, high wall–either to be scaled or kicked down in one big blow?”
(pg. 235)
I also quite enjoyed Marshall and Benedikt’s characters. They were a fun duo that balanced each other.
Not me, literally thinking of Benedict from Bridgerton because Benedikt had the same artistic vibe 😂. But, yea, not going to lie, Benedikt gave me similar vibes as Benedict Bridgerton as being the peaceful eye in the storm, a bit chaotic in the creative side, but a generally chill person. Also, where else Benedict Brdigerton doubts his art, Benedikt, knows that he’s a great artist and craves it. I also liked Marshal because he was a bit more bold and acted on his head, but Benedikt kept him in line from doing anything dumb. I liked that moment when Juliette and the Scarlet Gang met with the White Roses to discuss temporarily pausing their feud to work together in solving the monster case. Tyler said something dumb or was doing some thing dumb as Tyler does and Benedikt pulled his gun first because Benedikt knew Marshall was going to pull his gun, but Benedikt wasn’t going to shoot—the way Benedikt anticipated what Marshall was going to do and reacted before Marshall can do something regretful.
I would like to see Marshall, Benedikt, and Roma’s interaction a bit more because we only saw them interacting a few times, and it was more business-like than actual friendship. I wanted to see them banter or talk to each other about dumb things that teenage boys talk about. You know? I was missing the banter or feeling the relationships between them. I also must say, if Marshall and Benedikt have a thing for each other, I am HERE FOR IT. I mean, they are the romance I am pinning for 👏🏼!!!
I also liked that Chloe Gong included Rosalind and Kathleen’s characters because they were also quite interesting to be introduced to. I liked how with Rosalind’s character I could tell she wanted more than to be just another pretty face that danced the night and day away because that was her role in the Scarlet Guard. She wanted to do more and be more—to be part of the action just like Juliette. She never felt like she was of much significance or worth to the Scarlet Guard because she never had a huge role like Juliette. I understood how Rosalind felt because she was a strong woman that no one gave enough credit for. I also understood how she feared that the Scarlet Guard wouldn’t fully protect her because her last name wasn’t Cai. Lord Cai trusts those born into his bloodline rather than those who enter it, so Rosalind and Kathleen always feared the Scarlet Guard’s extent of protection when they knew that Lord Cai would never put them first.
Kathleen was an interesting character too because she snuck around and did all these secret information missions for Juliette. It made me wonder what kind of secret business Kathleen had to have all these connections. I also liked that we got to read some of her backstory, which was kind of confusing to me in the sense that Rosalind and Kathleen had another sibling, a sister who passed away when they were younger. However, Kathleen used to be a the younger brother, but when the sister passed away, Kathleen took the sister’s name and everyone thought that the younger brother passed away. The part that confuses me is the whole dynamic of who was alive and who people thought passed away—people thought the brother passed away when it was really the sister. However, thinking about the context of the story, I believe it probably was the least unfamiliar for Kathleen to take her sisters name because people were not as understanding or accepting of transgenders in the 1920s. But I liked how we got to know Kathleen more, and I hope we can learn more about her and Rosalind’s family.
Tyler the cousin who thought he was going to be heir sucked butt.
I didn’t like that guy.
What a prick.
Acted like the sun shined out of his butt and people had to bow to him or something just because he was a male. I think Juliette needed to knock him off his high horse. But it makes sense given the time, that Juliette wasn’t taken seriously as the heir to the Scarlet Guard because she was a woman. People trusted and listened to a male’s voice more in the past, and some (a lot) would say today too. But I loved how everyone did respect Juliette as the heir to the Scarlet Guard. I mean, they more so feared her dad’d wrath if they rejected Juliette as the heir and treated her like shiz, but no one can say fear doesn’t do wonders. Also, if there wasn’t that fear factor, Juliette had proved through her ruthlessness and leadership that she was fit to be the heir because she was more calculated, thoughtful, and powerful as a leader than Tyler would ever be. Tyler’s the type of person who just ran his mouth and was all big talk but wasn’t all that. He just wanted to make himself feel like he was all that, and I mean, at least he had main character energy for himself. But I just didn’t like how he thought he was better than Juliette because of their gender when gender has nothing to do with a persons capability or ability.
It kind of sucks how the gangs determined many things and how Roma didn’t even want to be part of a gang. Roma being a White Flower, the heir to the Whiteflower’s was more so out of protection rather than duty; He just wanted a simple life to protect his family and having a title and reputation to his name made people fear him. People knew not to mess with Roma or to disregard his word because he was going to be the leader of an influential gang. What bothered me though was how Roma obviously didn’t like the role he played in his life—he was just dragged into this gang business and had to make all these difficult decisions that he probably didn’t want to make but had to because that was his life now. I think it just sucked for him because no one wants to get dragged into their parents shiz because that’s not our shiz to figure out, but yet somehow it always falls on the child’s shoulders—the child’s responsibility. I just wanted more for Roma than this future gang leader that he felt like he had to be in order to protect his sister—that it was fear of not having a title that made him fear not having the title in the first place.
I also didn’t like the Dexter’s, especially Paul Dexter. A bunch of desperate weirdos if you ask me 😂.
WHAT A WEIRDO when Paul showed Juliette these creepy detailed paintings of her because hew as so enraptured by her beatify and that he loved her 🤮. UMMMMM, can someone say CREEPY! And the audacity he had to be bothered when Juliette was like, “That’s no the shape of my nose.” Bro, he shouldn’t have even been painting her like a creep. I mean, I’m glad he had a muse and that he loves someone, but dang that was weird. I mean, dude couldn’t read the room to know that Juliette absolutely did not have a thing for him and just wanted to use him for information about the Larkspur and the monster vaccine.
Not going to lie, but since this book released during a pandemic, it’s hard not to think about this book in the context of a pandemic with the “monster” and the “vaccine.” I can only imagine how different my perspective of These Violent Delights would have been if I had read it in 2020 when uncertainty was at an apex 😅. Things are very much still uncertain, but gosh, 2020 was something else.
The whole Lakspur plot was semi-interesting, but it wasn’t really captivating because I felt like there was no action. Roma and Juliette did go around Shanghai and interrogated different people and everything, but there was not as much kickbutt fighting or mystery in it to fully enthrall or invest me in the storyline. I just didn’t feel the stakes of the situation. I know people were losing their lives and that is a very high stakes situation, but I wanted to know the purpose behind the monster and why go through all this trouble to create a monster and a vaccine and make it this whole mystery just for money. But I mean, doesn’t money drive many people.
And then in the end, they needed up killing Zhang Gutai because some mysterious Wizard of Oz like person called the Larkspur told them that Zhang Gutai was the monster and created the whole thing. First of all, the whole mysterious evil guy behind a curtain like he’s the Wizard of Oz, should have been a huge red flag in the first place because how freaking weird. And also, that should have been another red flag with how easy that guy gave away information because it was obvious that he was pinning everything on Zhang Gutai because it was easier. I mean, even I knew that. Justice for Zhang Gutai 🤪. He wasn’t even given a chance. I understood that Roma and Juliette were desperate and trusted any and all leads, but they could have really thought through their escapades before doing something irrational like, I don’t know, killing someone without interrogating them.
“She could barely tell the difference between the times when she was fighting and the times when she was barely holding herself together, crumbled pieces staggering forward, step-by-step.”
(pg. 381)
It all just felt too easy too with how they killed Zhang. I mean, nothing went back to normal—nothing changed when they did so.
It kind of surprised me that the Dexter’s were behind everything, or at least part of everything because they were creeps and gave me bad vibes. However, I just didn’t feel any wow factor with the big revelation or the action at the end because the whole story built up very slowly to get answers that weren’t that I felt coming. Also, can I mention how bad Roma and Juliette’s timing was to decide that in the middle of fighting and trying to save Shanghai that they wanted to reconcile and become the iconic star-crossed lovers they were destined to be 🤪. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy for them that they finally got their heads out of their butts to realize that they still love each other in all these small ways, but I just was kind of laughing with how they were kissing in the middle of the fighting and all the gore. But I also didn’t really care for their kiss or reconciliation, because again, I didn’t feel like there was much context for their relationship for me to connect with their love. I don’t know. I was missing some banter, some backstory, and some chemistry.
I did think it was kind of kickbutt how Juliette basically faked killed Marshall at the end. She did it as a show of faithfulness to the Scarlet Guard because Tyler was trying to gang up on her to reveal her as the traitor of the Scarlet Guard. I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but the way he was so selfish and put his ego before his family was wrong. He was really going to kill her for her own gain to be the heir of the Scarlet Guard just because he thought himself more capable and powerful than Juliette because she was a woman. I didn’t like Tyler. But I was convinced for half a second that she really did darn killed one of Roma’s good friends—practically a brother. I could tell what she was doing though—she was protecting her reputation but also to get Roma to hate her and forget about her. I think the latter was what she was trying to do because she knew how risky it would be if they loved each other and were together because it would end badly between both gangs. So it was easier to come across as the cold-blooded killer who murdered his best friend and have him hate her than for him to love her and do something that hurts himself because of her. A true Romeo and Juliette situation.
“He chose me. She had believed him callous, believed him to have performed the greatest possible betrayal when she had offered him love.”
(pg. 361)
In some sick, twisted way, this could have been Juliette’s if-you-love-them-set-them free moment because I do think Roma still loved her. I don’t think he ever saw her as a monster despite how many lives she took or the menacing things she has done because he knows just as well as himself the role they both have to play as heirs.
The questions I have about how long Juliette will keep Marshall hidden before someone finds out that he is still alive? I also am curious if Marshall and Juliette will become closer or become friends because she is the only one who knows he’s alive, so they will have more time to banter and communicate. I hope that Benedikt discovers that Marshall’s alive and that revelation brings them closer together because Marshall and Benedikt truly do balance each other, and I love the partnership they have together.
I also want to see more of Rosalind stepping outside of her role as just the dancer at the club. There’s a fire in her that wants to kick butt and I know she can, so I hope that we get to see her with a more active role in the next book. I also want to know more about Kathleen’s backstory and to see her go on intelligence missions fo Juliette. I hope to also see the three girls work together more—to see their dynamic—and to have banter and very kick butt bada** women boss scenes 👏🏼!!! They should whoop Tyler’s butt off his high horse while their at it. I think the only way to put Tyler in place is to humble him 😂 because Juliette isn’t going to let him become heir if she can help it.
I want to see more of Roma’s interaction with Alisa because I loved Alisa. I also want to see Roma’s interaction with his father because his father is incredibly tough on Roma and that has created a tense relationship with heavy expectations. I would love to explore Roma’s feelings more about being the heir and the anger he harbors for his father and these gangs. If anyone is going to step-down from the gang business, I think it will be Roma because he really doesn’t like the role he plays and would live a simple life in a heartbeat if it meant his loved ones were safe. I genuinely feel bad for him because he didn’t ask for this lifestyle, but yet he has to endure it. If Shanghai wants to beat this monster that is still around—-now all released—then, the two gangs have to put aside their differences to work together because team work does make the dream work 😅. I also don’t know if Chloe Gong is truly going for a Romeo and Juliette kind of ending, but . . . . 🙈
I hope not!
For Roma and Juliette’s sake, I hope Chloe Gong gives them the ending they deserved where they can be together and the gangs put aside their differences for the common good. Because honestly, just like in life, people are better when we work together because we can accomplish more if we put aside our differences to realize we are all the same and want the same things and we can do that by working together. Working against each other is exactly what people want because it focuses our energy on our anger and hate towards each other where other higher government powers think we are placated or complacent, when we are not. We shouldn’t be angry at each other, but at the root of the real problem. In the case of this book, they are fighting this metaphorical and literal monster, where they need to put aside their anger at whatever they are angry with and just work together to stop it. Imagine how much stronger they will be.
I do like to think Chloe Gong will write a happy ending for Roma and Juliette and they will be together and live in a cottage someone in rural Shanghai just like Roma dreamed. I would also like to tap into a softer Juliette because she’s in there and I would like to see her when she is not trying to live up to what everyone expects of her.
I also think there should be more conversations between Roma and Juliette about what exactly they share and their relationship. I think he needs to find forgiveness or truth in what she did because she “killed’ his friend. I also would like more backstories to understand the love between them—the innocence of young love. I think it would be cool if they shared moments in the next book that mimic the escapades they would take together when they were younger. That way we can see them rekindling that childhood love. I also want to hear more banter or kick butt action moments because there was a lot of going in circles and not many things being said or done, not even at the end. So I wanted more action, love, humor, and exploration of the characters. All this to say, These Violent Delights wasn’t not a good book, just things that could have made the book stronger, but still a fairly good fantasy Shakespeare retelling.
Anyway, what was your favorite part of the book? Least favorite part? What did you think of the book?
What is your favorite work of Shakespeare?
Let me know below in the comments as I love hearing from you all 💕
I hope you have a beautiful day whenever and wherever you might be reading this 😊.
And as always, with love,
Rating
3.24 Full Bloom Flowers
Characters: I really liked Alisa and wanted more of her 😅. But I don’t know. I didn’t feel a connection to any of the characters to the point that I was fully invested in them.
Plot: The whole monster mystery plot wasn’t for me because there was no mystery or purpose to the monster and what it wanted
Writing: Chloe Gong is an excellent writer who knows how to capture a feeling or a sentiment in such a fresh and captivating way! ♥️
Romance: If I knew what Juliette and Roma’s connection was when they were younger, it would help me better understand their current connection because something was missing for me