So here’s the thing -- I love Romeo and Juliet. Like, I really love Romeo and Juliet. Having done a degree in English Literature, I’ve read a fair amount of Shakespeare, and I will stand by Romeo and Juliet as my favourite of his tragedies, if not his plays overall. I know that it’s considered too “mainstream” by a lot of more academic folks, and that the internet is full of hot takes about how it’s actually a stupid story about stupid teenagers doing stupid things, and I’m the type of person who gets irrationally overprotective in response, ready to trot out a whole “in defense of” presentation at a moment’s notice. Zeffirelli and Luhrmann’s film adaptations, West Side Story, Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, High School Musical -- I’ve seen all the adaptations. My point is, I love this play. And what’s immediately clear, reading These Violent Delights is that Chloe Gong loves it too.

Before I start singing her praises, I should establish that if you are someone who does not like the original play [I will not make any remarks about taste here because all opinions are valid blah blah blah] you will still be able to enjoy These Violent Delights. It’s inventive, original, and stands up formidably well on its own. But if you, like me, like Chloe Gong, love the original play, you’ll appreciate this novel’s love for its source material on another level. One of the most striking things Gong manages to do is capture the very particular pacing of the original play, which is no small feat given she’s extrapolating a single five-act play into a two-novel series. Most people are aware of the incredibly tight time frame of the original play, where all the action plays out over a matter of days. But an equally important part is the atmosphere of summer, the heat and languorousness simmering with tension that explodes in the play’s second half. Gong’s novel is fast-paced and action packed, but feels character driven and intensely drawn-out at the same time. Part of this is the fact that in These Violent Delights, Roma and Juliette have already met, fallen in love, and then fallen out for reasons unknown to us. The innocence and newness of first love that Shakespeare depicts has already happened and been shattered, and when we meet the characters, their edges have sharpened and their hearts have hardened. There’s a parallel narrative that unfolds, between Roma and Juliette’s first meetings and them in the present, and it perfectly encapsulates the balance between sweet romance and intense danger and betrayal that the play thrives on.

Roma and Juliette themselves are excellent leads; I fell in love with them each straight away. It’s worth noting I adored both original characters in the play as well and genuinely feel as though the pair of them are unfairly maligned. Gong adapts them wonderfully, however. We get to know both of them intimately as individuals -- calculating, determined, knife-wielding Juliette, and gentle-spirited, conflicted, guilt-burdened Roma -- and also develop a profound understanding of how their relationship affects and shapes the pair of them. Gong takes the blood feud from the play and elevates the conflict to an even more intense level; it’s not just Roma and Juliette’s circumstances and families keeping each other apart, but the weight and impact of their own decisions and pasts.
The love story is probably the single most important facet of the play, and I cannot stress enough how obsessed I am with Chloe Gong’s adaptation of it. I don’t know how she made this even more painful and angsty than the most famous tragic love story of all time, I don’t know how she managed to capture the spirit of the original while crafting an agonising, addictive slow-burn, but she did. Roma and Juliette had me open-mouthed and clutching at my chest like and old woman at her pearls more times than I can count. It took me way longer to get through this book than it would have because I had to reread Certain Scenes three, four, five times back-to-back because they were just so…*clenches fist* AH! She completely gets the spirit of the original couple, which is that they bring out new depths in each other, enable new sides to their characters -- they make each other better, more hopeful people.

I have to also call out the cast of supporting characters. All of them are dynamic and fascinating, but Benedikt and Marshall are stand out favourites of mine. I can’t say much about them without dropping some spoilers but once again, Gong takes a crucial but small element of the original play and nurtures it into a multi-faceted and fully realised winning aspect of her own novel.

Perhaps the most innovative aspect of These Violent Delights however is the setting. The backdrop of Shanghai in the 1920s is vivid and enthralling, brought entrancingly to life by Gong. It’s fully-fleshed out enough that it acts as another character in the play. The dynamic of all the different ethnic groups clashing in one city along with the political upheaval is fascinating, and makes the idea of gang warfare and blood feuds feel instantly more immediate and pressing. The introduction of an element of fantasy feels seamlessly, naturally integrated into the world of the book without overshadowing the real-world political and personal conflicts at work. They all tessellate, working together to create a constant tension and fast-paced, quickly unfolding conflict throughout.

And finally, I have to talk about the ending. No spoilers, but if there was anything that pushed this book firmly into 5-star territory, it was the last two chapters of the book. It was unpredictable while making perfect sense, it made me audibly gasp and sent my mind immediately start racing to come up with theories for Book 2. And it was an unimaginably inventive and audacious adaptation of one of the original play’s most famous plot devices; you feel truly as surprised as original audiences must have felt by Shakespeare’s original play.

That is ultimately the best part about this book. If there’s something I love more than Romeo and Juliet, it’s retellings -- fairytales, classic novels, historical events… I’ve read retellings of them all. And Chloe Gong does expertly what all the best retellings do. She doesn’t simply transpose her source material into a new setting, she engages with the spirit of the original and in doing so crafts a story that is entirely and beautifully her own. She elicits the same response in her audience that Shakespeare would have elicited in his by taking the heart of his story and making it entirely her own, and I cannot recommend this book strongly enough.

Much like everyone else I follow, I’ve been so hyped for this book for so long. When I received the eARC (thank you, Simon Teen, you’ve made my year!), you know I had to drop everything to read it, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I finished it! These Violent Delights retells the story of Romeo and Juliet against the backdrop of 1926 Shanghai.

Juliette Cai has just returned to Shanghai after four years abroad. She’s adapting to how the city has changed in her time away and reinforcing her role as the heir to the Scarlet Gang while also avoiding Roma Montagov, the heir to the White Flowers. There’s bad blood between them, not just because they’re heirs to rival gangs, but also because Roma’s the reason she had to leave all those years ago. Meanwhile, a monster in Shanghai awakens and a mysterious madness sweeps across the city…

I honestly don’t even know where to start in reviewing this book. I genuinely loved every bit and piece: the characters, the prose, the worldbuilding. All of it was so stunning and for this to be Chloe Gong’s debut? Astounding. I can’t wait to read anything else she writes.

The prose instantly enthralled me; it set a lilting tone to the book, a deadly lullaby that pulls you in until you can’t pull yourself away. I’d say I couldn’t put this book down, but that would be a lie. I had to keep putting it down so that I could stare into space because the intense yearning was making me scream.

I absolutely loved the characters! Juliette is out for blood and will do whatever it takes to keep her reputation up. After being away for so long, she fears that her own people see her as too Westernized, something I think a lot of diasporic Asians can relate to. Instead of giving in, Juliette leans into her American dress and hair and English while maintaining that she hasn’t lost her edge. Meanwhile, Roma is struggling to keep his father’s respect even though he doesn’t really want to be heir to the blood and violence that come with the White Flowers. However, he knows that being on top is better and safer than being anywhere else, so he stays.

Naturally, there were other characters who play major roles, such as Juliette’s cousins, Kathleen, Rosalind, and Tyler; Roma’s cousin, Benedikt; and their friend, Marshall. I loved having these characters’ points of view as well. They helped flesh out the plot in addition to giving us more perspectives of the world. Also, I would do anything for all of these characters (except Tyler, he sucks).

Also! There’s such wonderful representation in this story. Of course, Juliette and the rest of the Scarlet Gang are Chinese, as is the author. The White Flowers are primarily Russian although Marshall is Korean. Kathleen is trans and is fully accepted by her sister and her cousin; Benedikt is gay.

I felt fully immersed in 1926 Shanghai. Gong does a brilliant job of setting the scene without info-dumping about the history or the gangs’ hierarchy. Also, the atmosphere felt dark and gritty yet bright and lively, much like Shanghai itself. Communism and colonialism definitely plays a part in this book and I found it very well handled. They’re working on keeping foreigners away, namely the British and the French, and they’re trying to maintain the impact of the gangs. You really feel both Juliette’s and Roma’s devotion to their city; it’s more than where they live, it’s their home, and they’ll defend it till their last breath.

The plot was also enticing. Juliette and Roma, along with their cousins and friends, have to secretly work together to discover the underlying causes of an illness that’s sweeping the city. This story took so many twists and turns that I never knew what would happen next.

Okay, now onto the part that made me scream almost every other page: the romance! Of course, this is a Romeo and Juliet retelling so we have the star-crossed lovers trope. Add in the fact that Roma and Juliette are exes and this story becomes more “enemies to lovers to jilted exes who are even bigger enemies now to lovers” and yeah I could go on. They were together four years ago until one of them betrayed the other, and in the aftermath, Juliette was sent away and Roma fell from his position as his father’s favorite. This added a whole new layer on their dynamic because not only do they have to hate each other because their families are rivals but now they actively hate each other because of this betrayal.

Now Juliette and Roma are meeting again, but there’s still that tension lingering between them, particularly the knowledge that they’ve hurt each other before and can easily do so again. They’re dancing around each other in a knife fight, each waiting for the other to strike first. You could feel the yearning wafting from the pages, and frankly, I was not okay! This dynamic, as well as the “you’re the only one who knows what it feels like to be in my position” part, always gets me, so I couldn’t help but fall in love with the two of them.

I’ll be honest and say that I hesitate to compare a book by an author of color to ones written by white authors, but I feel like it will make an easier comparison and will reach a wider audience if I do so, so just know that I don’t make these comps lightly. If you liked the adrenaline of Six of Crows, particularly the “this is my city and only I get to say what happens to it” mindset, you’ll love These Violent Delights. Also, if you like the kind of tension from Jude and Cardan from The Cruel Prince, you’ll definitely love Juliette and Roma. However, please know that this book is ownvoices for the Chinese representation and deserves to be recognized as such.

A brilliant debut from Gong, These Violent Delights is one of the best books of the year. It tells the story of Romeo and Juliet, this time in 1926 Shanghai amidst gang rivalries and a mysterious illness. I loved everything about this book: the characters, the prose, the romance. In short, it was simply a masterpiece. Much like the play that inspired it, These Violent Delights is a gorgeous read that will stay with you for ages to come. Please add this book to your to-be-read lists and preorder it today!

*Spoiler free*

I have a confession to make. I don't think I've read Romeo & Juliet all the way through. I'm not sure if I've ever even seen a movie adaptation. I know the basics, but I'm pretty sure that's it. (Don't tell Chloe, I'm sure she would find me.) So, of course I wanted to read this Romeo & Juliet retelling! I knew it was set in Shanghai and I knew there would be knives and gangs. That was basically all I needed to be ready to jump into this book head first. Trigger warnings: blood, violence, gore, character deaths, explicit description of gouging self (not of their own volition), murder, weapon use, insects, alcohol consumption, parental abuse

This is the kind of book where I sort of just want to open my mouth and let the words expressing my love tumble out with abandon. But I also kind of want to organize them, try to put them in a order that does this book justice, because yes, I loved this book a whole lot. So, this will probably be a lot of me just word vomiting, but also trying to configure sentences that can express how good this book is.

Alright, I guess I'm starting off with characters and I guess we're starting off with screaming. I LOVED EVERY SINGLE ONE SO MUCH. I loved Marshall, I love Juliette, I love Roma, I loved Benedikt, I loved Kathleen, I loved Alisa, I loved Rosalind, I loved them all so much. Each of them had so much to love about them. Juliette was fire hardened to rock, a spark away from pulling a knife on anybody. Roma was full of pain, but has such a sweet and caring heart. Benedikt was quiet and reserved, with his own problems carefully tucked away. Marshall was hilarious and basically a giant dork. Alisa doesn't have a super huge role, but I still loved the stealthy little 12 year old. Kathleen is awesome. And she's TRANS. She's trans and she's there and she's just being awesome. It was so wonderful to see. Rosalind is bitter (I think there's still so much to her character that hasn't been revealed yet), but she also has this strong loyalty to her.

And these characters have some of the best relationships. Roma and Juliette have history and their history is rough. They hate each other, but they also yearn for each other. And they hate that they yearn for each other. And since Gong is spectacular at writing pain, their relationship was one of flint seconds away from being struck. Benedikt and Marshall are also two dorks who are amazing at being dorks together. Seriously, I completely fell for them. There's also amazing friendships and familial relationships and complicated relationships across gang lines. Not only were the characters amazing, they way they interacted made every single one of them so much better.

Going into this, I wasn't expecting a mystery. I'm not sure why. But, I feel like it worked my favor. I was so distracted by the characters and gang conflicts and the dangerous beauty of Shanghai, that when things were revealed I could only grasp my hair with stress. All this to say, this book so many interweaving plots from rival gangs trying to one up each other, to madness that makes people rip out their own throats, to monsters lurking in the river. And each and every single one got the time and attention it needed to make it feel fleshed out and developed. Not a single one felt like it was left hanging or more could have been done to it. It truly was masterfully done.

Also, the writing was spectacular. It was bright and flowy and just made everything come alive that made everything in the book seem like it belonged exactly where it was. It gave the book the feel of knives flung into walls and seeping redness. Plus, there were some truly magnificent lines throughout.

This is random but I'm inserting it here anyway. THE COVER HAS SO MUCH MORE MEANING AFTER READING IT AHHH.

I truly loved everything about this books. I loved the moments filled with sharp knives and tilted chins, the sweeping writing that left me breathless, and the plots that shocked me to jaw drops and stressed hair grasping, the two gangs at each other throats, two dorks dancing around their feelings, two other dorks dancing around their feelings but with more pain, monsters lurking in surprising depths, madness rushing through streets, and so many insects. Truly, I loved this book.