These Violent Delights

While falling along the rim of a Romeo and Juliet retelling, this dive into Shanghai during the 1920's allows for so much more than an intriguing tale.

Juliette has spent the last four years studying in the U.S. and returns to take her place as future heir to the Scarlet Gang, who rules Shanghai and is at constant odds with a Russian gang, White Flowers. While she's no stranger to the ruthlessness involved, she's soon faced with more than the already difficult task of gaining respect. Add an ended but once intense relationship with a potential heir to the White Flower gang, and she's got her hands full. But things aren't done there. She needs to fight to keep her status in a very violent and unforgiving world...and that as a monster has show more crept up into Shanghai and started to kill people with random reason. But monsters aren't Juliette's greatest concern.

The writing in this book is very well done. It is beautifully worded...and sometimes, with a touch of structure which almost reminds that Juliette doesn't have English as her own mother tongue. She's from Shanghai, through and through, but broader and more world-minded thanks to her studies abroad. And she's tough. She knows what being the heir to the gang means, and she has no qualms about taking on this role. So, yes, it's a violent book, and she's not a gentle woman. And yet, she's hard not to like.
Roma, on the other hand, is the softer of the two.

The parallels to the original tale are clear, but there is definitely enough originality to this retelling to keep it more than interesting. Juliette and Roma might have a true-love romance...if the bloodshed, family politics, territory wars, and monsters would allow a sweet romance to occur. But then again, Juliette isn't a sweet romance kind a girl. There's simply too much gore in this book to every qualify as sweet.

The world building is very well done, and this was probably my favorite aspect of the book. It's rich enough to make every scene vivid and draws in enough history to make it feel realistic to the time. I especially appreciated the building up around colonialism...not just for setting purposes, but the author incorporates many of the feelings involved. The mix of various backgrounds and fights to find foothold...or keep foreigners from gaining too much...creates an intriguing historical glimpse alongside the main plot.

It's an interesting read and not just for Romeo and Juliet fans (which....if I'm allowed to admit it...I'm definitely not) Still, I enjoyed this read quite a bit. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
0 🌶 (YA)

These Violent Delights is a dive into another era and another world, through the lens of a Romeo & Juliet re-telling. Set in 1920s Shanghai, the star-crossed lovers are from rival gangs that run the city. One gang comprised of a local Chinese family with roots running old and deep in Shanghai. The other comprised of Russians that had fled the Bolshevik Revolution and decided to settle far far away from Moscow.

The author seamlessly blends the reinvention of an old tale with additional layers of clashing cultural identity, political upheaval, threats of white colonization, and a mysterious madness plaguing the city. Through a story set over a century ago, we can see the relevance of culture wars and show more the the battle for racial supremacy still running rampant today. So often as an American reader we see those clashes as Black and White, but diving into this story gave an important perspective in the mindset of other cultures and groups that have had to fight off the ever looming entitlement and power-hungry nature of the colonizing / enterprising white man.

I loved the view into not just Shanghai as a setting, but also Chinese & Shanghainese culture that this book provided. The author paints such a vivid picture of every aspect, from the different neighborhoods to the stark cultural divides drawn across sectors of the city.

I'm very happy that there is another book in this duet, since we left off on a bit of a cliffhanger. If you're in the mood for an exciting read with complex turns, a decent amount of violence, a badass set of female lead characters (the male ones aren't bad either), and an incredible setting, this book is for you. show less

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ /5
0 🌶 (YA)

These Violent Delights is a dive into another era and another world, through the lens of a Romeo & Juliet re-telling. Set in 1920s Shanghai, the star-crossed lovers are from rival gangs that run the city. One gang comprised of a local Chinese family with roots running old and deep in Shanghai. The other comprised of Russians that had fled the Bolshevik Revolution and decided to settle far far away from Moscow.

The author seamlessly blends the reinvention of an old tale with additional layers of clashing cultural identity, political upheaval, threats of white colonization, and a mysterious madness plaguing the city. Through a story set over a century ago, we can see the relevance of culture wars and show more the the battle for racial supremacy still running rampant today. So often as an American reader we see those clashes as Black and White, but diving into this story gave an important perspective in the mindset of other cultures and groups that have had to fight off the ever looming entitlement and power-hungry nature of the colonizing / enterprising white man.

I loved the view into not just Shanghai as a setting, but also Chinese & Shanghainese culture that this book provided. The author paints such a vivid picture of every aspect, from the different neighborhoods to the stark cultural divides drawn across sectors of the city.

I'm very happy that there is another book in this duet, since we left off on a bit of a cliffhanger. If you're in the mood for an exciting read with complex turns, a decent amount of violence, a badass set of female lead characters (the male ones aren't bad either), and an incredible setting, this book is for you. show less

I’m really not having a good year when it comes to YA. And I was so excited for this one, too! Though I’m not big on Romeo and Juliet, the representation and the setting of this one (1920s Shanghai, rival gangs, a monster on the loose) had me desperate to get my hands on it.

Content warnings:
- fatphobia
- child abuse
- insect swarming & infestations (very detailed)

Representation:
- the main character and many secondary characters are Chinese
- two secondary characters are gay/bi men
- a secondary character is a trans woman
- a secondary character has OCD (at least, as someone with OCD, this is how it seemed)

In 1926 Shanghai, two rival gangs with a blood feud control much of the city. The French and the British have what’s left. Communism show more and nationalist groups are simmering among the chaos, too. To make matters worse, a monster is spreading a contagion wherever it goes. In the middle of all this is Juliette Cai, heir of the Scarlet gang, and Roma Montagov, heir of the White Flowers gang.

Former sweethearts who were torn apart by distance and tragedy, Roma and Juliette will have to put the blood feud and their own hatred aside to work together, solve the mystery behind the monster, and figure out how to stop it.

It seems wild to give this only two stars when I loved so much about it, but it was a struggle to finish this one. I DNF’d it several times before pushing up my sleeves and getting back into it.

But I’ll start with what I loved:
Over everything else, I loved and appreciated all the notes about colonialism, the city being torn in every which way and how the characters felt about their home being occupied, etc. I can absolutely tell so much heart and research went into this novel and its setting.

And though I did have problems with the writing style (more on this later), there were little glimpses of really strong writing here and there. If Chloe Gong just took a little more time to edit, her writing could be gorgeous. I think the biggest problem this book has is a lack of good editing -- which is partly the author’s fault, partly the editor’s. I know editors are being underpaid and getting less and less time to edit, so while I’m inclined to give them a little more slack, this book really, really needed more editing.

This all brings me to what I didn’t like:
Unfortunately, there’s a lot. I’ll mention the writing again, more specifically. It takes about twenty words to say what could be described in one or two, and it gets stuck on specific phrases that are repeated over and over throughout the book (I should’ve counted how many times “her heels clacked on the floor” was used).

I also don’t think the omniscient pov did the story any favors -- it made it so the mystery behind the monster was ruined from the very beginning. We as the audience know everything before the characters even start to piece things together, which makes for a frustrating reading experience.

But above all, the characters and their dialogue made me want to put the book down, despite what I loved about it. Though I know Juliette is supposed to be a strong badass, she came across as a spoiled brat throwing tantrums and treating others awfully (“Miss Cai, can I help you with anything?” “Help me like this--” With one hand, Juliette mimed her lips zipping shut. / “How long have you been wiping at that table for?” [... Juliette wipes the table three times and cleans it] “Use your elbows. It’s not that hard.”).

Their dialogue switches from being period-appropriate to being something straight out of the 21st century: “I do not know his name, nor have I seen his face”; “I do not know what it is you speak of” existing alongside “Get out of my face”; “I think this is simply my resting expression”; “Too soon?” “Way too soon”.

I feel horrible to critique so much, but I can’t not mention the showing vs telling, probably my biggest issue with the writing (and editing). We are constantly told what people are thinking, but seldom shown -- and what we’re told doesn’t always match up with the characters’ actions.

The constant telling gets in the way of the storytelling (especially the backstories -- so much backstory … even of minor characters, backstory that doesn't affect the plot or story or characterization in any way. It feels like it’s part of the author’s character sheets, and she just wanted to get it across to us in some way, but it doesn’t work). Because we’re constantly told about how Roma and Juliette used to be lovers, we never actually understand their relationship in the present.

One more mention, and then I’m done, I promise: the ending also ruined any chance of me picking up the sequel. It ended in exactly the same place as it began. Roma and Juliette hate each other again, the second book will have the same plot as the first (people dying from the madness, trying to figure out how to stop it), and the characters have not gone through any major changes. It’s so frustrating.

But I applaud Chloe Gong for being able to get a book published in college. This book is so well researched, has beautiful and meaningful representation, and shows many glimpses of beautiful writing. With some editing, she’s going to go far. I may not pick up the sequel, but I will most likely check out what else she writes. show less

Take a cup of history flavored with Shanghai, China in the 1920s, half a cup of rival gangs with a violent history of killing each other, a quarter cup each of varied foreign intervention and rising Chinese communism. Blend well, then add a dangerous romance and top with a truly horrific monster that seems to appear and disappear at will. Let age nicely for 400+ pages before tossing a couple dandy gotchas, setting you up for a sequel. This describes this book nicely. It's a dandy, not only for the setting, but for how the plot elements blend, confuse and reveal. I'm definitely on board with what comes next.

I was attracted to this novel by the story (retelling of Romeo & Juliet) and the setting (1920s Shanghai), and on both counts, this book delivered. The story is definitely rooted in Shakespeare's play, but Roma and Juliette are more mature and more committed to their families' rival business interests in this version. They have a history as lovers, but a future as leaders of their own respective factions in Shanghai's gangs, and they are only reluctantly working together in this book to bring down a monster determined to destroy the entire city (a plague on both your houses, anyone?). Overall, this book made for a refreshing take on a very old story and I particularly loved the vividness of Shanghai in the 20s.

“How many more faux monsters would be torn down with unbidden violence in their path toward finding the real one? How was she any different from the killers that lurked in this city—the ones that she was trying to stop?”

Without any preamble, These Violent Delights has you falling into one familiar character after another—realizing without realizing the connection to Shakespeare’s archetypal characters. There’s the obvious Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai, but then it took me halfway through the book before I realized that the White Flowers scientist Lourens was the adaptation of Romeo’s herbalist Friar Laurence. None of these characters are cookie-cutter replicas of their Elizabethan counterparts, which made this a fresh show more read.

Like the prologue to Romeo and Juliet, which alludes to more hate and violence than love and romance, These Violent Delights also focuses more on the feuding in this 1920’s Shanghai gangster-ruled setting. In this version, it’s years after the original tragic ending where the only deceased counterpart characters are the Nurse and Lady Montague. We’re given snapshots of flashbacks to fill in the gaps about what has occurred to start and fuel the feud, as well as the alluded betrayal between the two main characters. This original plot pits Roma and Juliette, heirs of the blood-feuding gangs, against one in another in control of the city they love; however, they come together to fight a new sci-fi enemy—a monster that’s being unleashed on both Scarlets and White Flowers alike.

This story is at its best when the plot moves along without all of the muddled political dissection, which doesn’t seem to happen until the last 100 pages or so, and when the characters move beyond their single-layer trope, which, again, doesn’t happen until the last 100 pages. Juliette Cai portrayed as a cold-blooded killer doesn’t work until we see her struggle with one of the novel’s most essential questions: Do you have to become a monster to fight a monster?

Even though the middle seemed to drag rather mundanely, enough movement and intrigue occurred at the end that made me want to know what will happen next in this series—a series meant for ninth-graders. This first book is the perfect mix of Odysseus’s sea monsters lurking beneath the water’s edge, Romeo and Juliet’s lovers star-crossed above, and Lord of the Flies’ transcendental question of humans being the real monsters within. show less