I couldn't get into this or find it interesting at all. I was really hoping to like it.

"The stigma around sexual abuse, and child sexuality in general, is pervasive, and survivors often mention not coming forward sooner (or ever) due to deep shame, confusion, and an unyielding fear of not being believed."

This was definitely a hard review for me. I'm choosing to go with 4 stars because of how well the story shows the effects of sexual assault in women of all different ages and how important this topic is. But a part of me really wanted to give this 3 stars because of the writing style and how difficult it was to get through because of it. Regardless, I would very much recommend this book to someone.

These Violent Delights is a story of three women who were all sexually assaulted by the same professor at a private school who is loved dearly by the community. It shows how difficult it is for someone to come forward and out their assaulter and how vigorously the community would attack those who came forward.

This book will make you want to scream out in anger and cry at the same time. The injustice and hardships all women and men who have been sexually assaulted face are real and happen every day. And to anyone. Our three women are all from different social background and races, although they all did go to a private school, this book shed a light on the fact that anyone could be sexually assaulted.

There's not much I can say other than: Read This. The only downfall was the writing style. At times scenes didn't flow together, and the writing style felt more like a report. Though you feel for the characters and the traumatic experience they all went through, you don't know much more about them; I didn't have any emotional connection to them and wasn't invested in them besides wanting justice for them.

So if you're one who doesn't have to like the characters to enjoy a book then you would probably really enjoy this. However, If you're someone like me who needs that, it might be a struggle to get through. Overall, it was still worth it based on the subject content and it will make you much more aware of the struggles victims of sexual assault go through.

Thank you to NetGalley and Griffith Moon for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this book when I first started reading it. Obviously, it was a familiar topic considering the #metoo stories out there but I felt that this book didn’t quite live up to its potential. The book seemed more like a mash up of scripts for a dramatize police show than literature. It almost felt like the author was scrambling to put together a book that was relevant to the current societal climate.

I also found it a little disturbing how little emotional development the characters went through. This is suppose to be a pivotal and potentially healing point in their lives but it felt more like this was just an average day-in-the-life for these characters. When the book ends (and it ends with some drama) it felt very premature.

The writing in the book is fairly average. I will say that the author did her legal research because she had all the Penal codes down pat and she’s not afraid to use them. In the chapters that were especially legal-heavy I tended to skim the pages more because it didn’t really add to the story. I would’ve been fine with 2 pages on the sentencing and the rest of the chapter on the characters.

Overall, this book had the potential to be great but it fell a little short for me.

This book was not an easy read. Very topical in the current climate, it really makes a lot of the issues women are facing right now hit home and become more personal. It follows the perspective of multiple women involved in a situation where a teacher is accused of inappropriate sexual conduct with students over a number of years. It follows a journalist who supervises the woman who makes the first accusation, as well as multiple accusers of the teacher who come forward once the initial accusation is published. Through these perspectives, the reader gets to see what it feels like to be an accuser in the public eye, and, friends, it’s not pretty. This book was honest and real, and made me think a lot about my own perceptions of things I see in the news. It tackled everything from how vigilant accusers have to be with their social media accounts to discussions about the nature of victim blaming and potential false accusations.

The book’s characters are all well-developed, and It’s good to have Jane’s perspective on the outside, as well as the accusers’ perspectives. It shows how different people deal with trauma, and how trauma affects us over the rest of our lives, especially when it’s compounded trauma. It also shows the ability of women to support each other in the worst of times, and shows how common experiences link us together. With the way things are today, the relationships the women form were truly bright spots in this read.

If you can handle it, this book is a read that’s well worth it. It’s not easy to get through, and at times, it makes you just want to yell at the world. What I liked about it is that it’s fiction that makes you re-examine your own ideas, and helps you work through some of the ugliness in our world. I read it all in one sitting, which was hard, but it was also hard to put down.

Note: I received a copy of this book from Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This dealt with the subject matters discourses both sensitively and authentically but that wasn't enough to immerse me in this story. Whilst I appreciated what it was attempting to do I found the writing a little dry for my taste and this distanced me from the emotions of the piece, on times.

First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Griffith Moon Publishing for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. The material in this is all too familiar with everything going on right now. Sexual abuse allegations are popping up left and right, and one quote in this hits the nail on the head.

"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 about their own innocence before even investigating?"

If that isn't a good freaking question, I don't know what is. It goes on to say:

"If someone told you their car or iPhone was stolen would you believe them and try to help, or make them prove it to you? I'm serious. If someone walked in the office right now and said they were hurt and needed help, would you need an investigation and a prosecutor to bring charges and a judge or jury to convict them before you attempted to assist them? Why do you think this is?" More silence. "I mean, really, why do you think this is? Do I have to spell it out?"

Victims of sexual assault are more likely to keep the secret than come forward. And it's because they become the ones on "trial". What were they wearing? Were they drinking? Why were they at that place alone? She probably just regrets doing it so now she's trying to make herself look like a victim. She will sleep with anyone and has slept with everyone, she's just lying. And yes, sometimes even....he's a guy, guys always want it. He wasn't raped.
It's disgusting. And it disgusts me.

It's not just men who say these things either. Women constantly tear each other down and apart. How can we expect men to respect us when we barely even respect each other?

I'm getting off topic of the book, but this is such an important topic that I can't help but ramble a bit. This happens to be a story about a teacher exerting his power over teenage girls. It's told from the viewpoint of 3 of his victims and a reporter who is breaking the story. It's wonderfully told. I highly recommend this to everyone.

*3.5 stars*

This timely novel is about Windemere, an elite all girl's high school, whose beloved English teacher has been accused of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior, and much more. Caryn, a journalist intern, begins this fictional tale of #metoo with a first-person piece of how Windemere brushed aside her allegations against Dr. Copeland. It soon becomes clear that Caryn is just one of many girls Dr. Copeland behaved illegally toward. These Violent Delights follow the POVs of Caryn, two other women assaulted by Dr. Copeland, and Jane March, an acclaimed journalist at the newspaper Caryn interns at. We see what happens as the accusations are brought forward to the school, and then to the LAPD. There are supporters, and there are those anonymous voices who claim the women are doing this "for attention" or "were asking for it."

There are a lot of very good, poignant aspects about this book. It is a frank discussion of how this happens every day, both in public and private schools, and how often the schools do nothing to protect their female students. It is easier to pretend that the students are lying, instead of actually delving deeper into the accusations. Victoria Namkung has a background in journalism, and there is a very journalistic tone to this novel, which makes her points very crisp and clear. I appreciated that; this is a conversation that our culture, so insistent on victim-blaming, desperately needs to have. I also really liked how diverse the characters are -- Caryn is part Korean-American, and Eva is Hispanic. Sexual harassment/assault happens to women regardless of race, which this novel highlights.

What keeps me from giving it a higher rating is this same journalistic tone. Instead of really feeling close to our characters, they seem less like full-bodied people, and more like distilled subject matter. Even their way of speaking are often nearly identical, although these women come from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. I also wanted to feel the age differences between these women. Jane March is approaching her 40th birthday, while Caryn, the youngest protagonist, is still in college. Yet all the voices felt very much the same.

That said, I do believe that These Violent Delights is worth reading. Cases of teachers overstepping boundaries and harassing/intimidating/assaulting students pop up in the news every day. This novel is a good way to begin having conversations about why this keeps happening, why victims are vilified, and what we can do to stop it.

*Thank you to Griffith Moon Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC*

Thank you for letting me read this. It wasn't really my thing, but I gave it a try. The writing was good and the characters were okay. I don't usually read books like this, so it's more of a it's me not you.

Though the style and content of this book is just average, "These Violent Delights“ by Victoria Namkung reveals its value through a socially important topic that is openly spoken - exposure to sexual abuse, and also hiding this problem from the public. The author brings us a worrying statistic that simply left me speechless. Did you know that in only about 350 of 1000 rape cases the crime is reported to the police? That only in about 60 of those cases there will be an arrest? That in only ten cases the perpetrator will be accused, and that only 5 perpetrators will serve a prison sentence, although without any real rehabilitation that could prevent the repetition of the crime? Aren't these data shocking? And do you imagine how many cases are left undetected at the very beginning?
The heroine of this novel is a young, wealthy girl who decides to use the last days of her internship in prominent newspapers to write an essay about the events that follow her from high school days. As a student of a reputable school, she was exposed to the inappropriate sexual behavior of one of her favorite professors. Although the case was reported to the leadership of the school and for which there were also indisputable evidence, the teacher was never punished, and for years later the perpetrator continued to work in the same workplace.
The essay disclosed numerous and very different comments from the public, but also encouraged other victims to share their stories. Its basic purpose, to prevent the perpetrator from repeating the crime and protecting the potential new victim, has slowly begun to be realized. With the advancement of the case we learn the stories of other young victims, whose lives have not only been altered because of their experiences but often completely destroyed. And the worst thing is that all that happened at the place that needed to provide protection, security and education for them. Isn't this really one of those topics we need to know more about? A topic that should not be a taboo... This book has certainly made a step in that direction and that's where lies its value. So, because of that, maybe we should be able to ignore not so perfect style and plot of the novel.

Let's address the obvious first... that title, that cover! Stunning. I received an ARC of this novel, but if I'd been browsing in a bookstore, that cover would have grabbed my attention right away. I would have been open to buying it before I even knew what it was about, and the blurb would have sealed the deal.

"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 about their own innocence before even investigating?"

That quote features in the beginning of the book. I read it three times. I highlighted it. I shared it on Good Reads. When I'm highlighting five percent into a book, I know I'm in for something great.

This book is moving, powerful, and feels very topical. It details every last bit of a crime coming to light. An intern at a large newspaper named Caryn has a story to share, and it's personal. When she was only fifteen, her professor instigated a "relationship" with her. Because he wasn't punished, at first the reader may assume she didn't tell anyone, but she did. She told her parents, and they told the school. Still, nothing happened. That has never seemed right to her, and she thinks it's time the exclusive private school explains itself, and Dr. Gregory Copeland pay in some manner for his crimes.

She has help from a journalist she works with and greatly admires, Jane, who supports her every step of the way... and soon she has more allies in more women that were victimized by Copeland. Though their experiences vary in some ways, their stories are similar... clearly, this beloved English professor has a penchant for his teenage students and has had for years.

Not everyone believes the women, and of course the usual questions are raised. Why didn't they go to the police when it happened? Why wait until now? Why make such a public accusation? Maybe they have a personal vendetta against him, and are seeking to ruin his life for some other reason. Maybe the reporter just wants to make a name for herself. While this book is fiction, it doesn't read like it. It is extremely realistic about what the women have to deal with and the vitriol they face from the masses.

I think it's an important book and certainly worth the read. I'd rate it a 4.5 out of 5. My one niggle with it is the way the dialogue is written. Sometimes it was hard to tell who was speaking. I did really enjoy the different perspectives, but I think they could have been a little clearer. The story is told using everything from narrative to newspaper articles to comments and emails. That made it feel even more like something non-fiction you were watching unfold.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Griffith Moon Publishing, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I enjoyed reading this book - despite the subject matter. It is tightly written and doesn't just skim the surface of such an important and relevant issue that too many women have experienced. It is a powerful read.

Victoria Namkung’s novel, These Violent Delights, concerns a scandal involving a private school for girls. The novel asks questions about the consequences of our actions. If bad things happen, someone pays. But is it always in the way we expect? Can justice ever be achieved even if society and the Law intervene?

The novel centres on a handful of women in an sexual abuse case involving the very popular Dr Copeland, the chair of the English Department at Windermere, a private school for girls in Southern California. At tuition of $38,000 a year, parents expect their children to have an excellent education in a safe environment, but everything goes to hell when newspaper intern, 22-year-old USC Journalism student, Caryn, confides in veteran reporter Jane that years earlier, Copeland made inappropriate comments to her followed by emails, and sexual overtures. Even though Caryn contacted the school administration about the situation, it was basically just covered up.

These Violent delights

Caryn, feeling strongly that her story should be told, writes an article about the problems at Windermere but doesn’t name the teacher. Soon several other young women approach Jane and Caryn with their stories. Copeland abused his position and his access to young, vulnerable girls for years.

In these days of social media and “online reaction,” all hell breaks loose. Caryn is vilified by some members of the public and lauded for her bravery by others. As more victims speak out and the story widens, Windermere administration is forced to publicly respond via a ‘Special Investigative Committee.’

There were times when I wasn’t sure where the story was taking me, but overall, the plot takes a predictable course. While many aspects of the story are black and white, interesting gray sections, the politics of the ‘Special Committee’ and “organizational loyalty,” (a term that I’d never heard before) remain unexplored. Institutionalized/organizational wrong doing, which must be the foundation problem here, still comes down to a few decisions made by one individual. Possible thought processes are mentioned rather than explored when it comes down to the choices made by this individual.

Although the story unfolds via the voices of several female characters, Dr Copeland remains a murky figure. These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends a phrase from Romeo and Juliet lingers over the novel with a sense of impending dread. These young women are permanently damaged–some much more than others. Dealing with the acknowledgment and shame causes a great deal of distress and pain, and ultimately, sadly, there seems to be very little ‘won.’

These Violent Delights is a book that takes a difficult subject (rape in general and child molestation particularly) and presents clearly all of the ways society makes it hard on victims who come forward.
That said, I expected a novel and got a sermon. This is not a book you need to read if you already have any understanding of how rape culture works. The author does not show, she tells. Repeatedly. It felt like she was really afraid we might miss the point if she wasn't extra explicit in giving ways that every female character in the book had faced sexism and rape culture and said something witty about why it was bad.
That said, I do appreciate that she let her characters be different from each other and didn't force us to see them as angels throughout.

This book focuses on current events like sexual assault. This books focuses on women coming forward after the fact to accuse a former high school teacher of sexual harassment.

The book is much to swallow, but it is carefully written! These violent delight talks about the wrongness of a teenager/ teacher relationship, and what it can do to the psyche of every still evolving human being. It is a hard topic, but I think the author handled it very well! She used different stereotypes of characters to explain every side of this dilemma and in some sections really spoke to my heart!
In my opinion it is a good book with an important message to tell! Never be afraid to tell the truth, and never let someone else tell you, how you should feel about yourself .
But sometimes it was a bit slow and there weren’t many surprises for me, on the bad side.
If you want to read a book about the victims of sexualism and abuse, this is just the right book to explain the insight of their feelings and what it changes inside them!

Honestly more of a 3.5 for me story wise but the authors writing style is very good so upping it to 4.

With a title like it has I picked this up thinking it would be more of a thriller, wrong on that. This is adult fiction that at times feels like non-fiction. Not my normal wheelhouse but I really ended up enjoying this.

The story feels right in line with our current climate and the prevalence of men in power being accused of inappropriate sexual actions towards women. In this story multiple women come forward with experiences of sexual relationships with a teacher.

I actually really liked the fact that the story focusing on the women and their experiences as compared to the teacher. This made it feel more personal and less exploitive. However some of the characters were still really hard to connect with, while you feel for them you don't necessarily feel them.

It did a great job showcasing the long term effects abuse has on people. I also really liked that this was not a "man-bashing" read, I think it makes the story more impactful and believable.

The relevance of this book as of right now, December 2 ,2017 would be ironic if it wasn't something that has been an ongoing problem for hundreds of years.

These Violent Delights by Victoria Namkung hold no punches. It gets straight to the point. This is a book about victims of a predatory popular teacher at a private all girls school. Alternating chapters between victims and a talented reporter, the story unfolds quickly.

This isn't an easy book to read. There are stories of a man taking advantage of young women and the aftermath. We learn how the assaults and manipulation of one single man affects the lives of these women.

There was a really profound sentence that I liked. "These men don't know the first thing about the violent truths of being born female." What a statement. What a statement to make in 2017.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and Victoria Namkung for the opportunity to read and review this book.

These Violent Delights is a deep, multi-faceted novel which touches upon a very emotive issues: teacher relationships (of a sexual nature) with pupils.

This subject matter is, of course, very pertinent to today’s issues, and though it might not be right to say it is an ‘enjoyable’ read, I did nevertheless enjoy it as it was engagingly written and very interesting. There was plenty of suspense, but it wasn’t a mystery because the reader knows from the beginning what has happened to certain people and who did this to them, but you’re never sure if Dr Copeland is going to get what he deserves - and, as the novel goes on, more and more of the teacher in question's behaviour is revealed.

These Violent Delights is an interesting - and at times, shocking too - read and I found it made me consider how I'd react to this, both as a young impressionable girl still at school and also as an adult, knowing how topical this issue is today. It's easy to see why someone very young would not know how to react, but not at all easy to see why the school in question would not take more direct and immediate action.

The story incorporates developments from a journalistic perspective and from the perspective of the victims themselves which I thought was really impactful. Both accounts are horrifying in their own way - we learn of some of the awful responses the public, school and other people have to the story breaking, and of course learning more about the calculated grooming by Dr Copeland himself is also really disturbing. The story presents everything in a realistic way and at some parts the story really hits home. I would recommend this to anyone looking for an interesting, thought-provoking read.

The subject matter of this book is very important and also very topical with all the sexual harassment stories in the news recently, but I don't think this book brought anything new or interesting to the discussion. From the premise I thought this would be set on campus and that the student comes forward with allegations of sexual harassment while she is still at school, which I thought could be really interesting, but that was not the case. It actually takes place some years later and was more like a news story as we follow the main character deciding to bring her story to the public, and what follows from then is very predictable and as you would probably imagine a story like this playing out. This could have still been an interesting read if the characters were written better but unfortunately they were very flat and cliched. The fact that a character with tattoos and dyed hair is the one with mental issues is such a lazy stereotype it's insulting. I read the whole book so I could review it fairly but I really had to force myself at times to get through it. I felt that certain parts of the story were interesting and could have been expanded upon, whereas other parts should have been edited down. Overall I didn't think this was an enjoyable or an important read.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect when going into this book. I loved the cover and when I skimmed the blurb, it definitely seemed like something up my alley. While the book had several positive points, it was overall underwhelming for me and kind of fell in the middle of the road as far as enjoyment went.

Overall, the message in the book was great. It was extremely supportive of survivors from all over the spectrum -- the MC often feels guilty and like her assault wasn't "bad enough" and is quickly disagreed with by the other characters. I also like how all of the survivors were their own people, they had different experiences, different histories, and different reactions. It demonstrates that anyone can be a survivor and that there isn't one "right way" to deal with things.

I felt like the writing itself could have used some more work. I didn't feel emotionally connected to any of the characters, and so the book wasn't as hard-hitting for me as it should have been. There was a romance that felt largely out-of-place to me and I wasn't sure why it had been included. There was some stuff toward the end that I felt was mostly for the sake of shock value and that added very little to the story, for me anyway.

I wouldn't steer anyone away from this book if they're interested, but I also don't see myself recommending it to anyone. I feel like there are better portrayals of assault survivors out there to read.