This book sounded like all kinds of weird, and that's what attracted me to it. I'm not a big Romeo and Juliet fan, and you don't have to be to enjoy this story. There's a lot less romance than you'd expect from such a retelling. The best thing about this book is the dark and creepy atmosphere. If you want to be transported, you'll definitely get that here. I'm curious to see where the next book is headed.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Pros-A neat, reimagined version of Romeo and Juliet, Strong Characters, worldbuilding
Cons-Took way too long to get going (with worldbuilding/character descriptions), then stopped just as things were getting interesting.

I am always down for a good re-telling. Now, when we add in 1920s Shanghai, Shakespeare, and madness? I simply cannot resist. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is an excellent young adult historical fantasy. Personally, I devoured this book and cannot stop recommending it. Also? I wish I had the second book right this instant.

These Violent Delights is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Set in 1920s era Shanghai, this is the story of Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov. Juliette and Roma were once lovers but are now enemies. They come from rival gangs. Juliette’s family runs the Scarlet gang which is comprised of Chinese people. Roma’s family runs the White Flowers which are comprised of Russians. Meanwhile, there’s also the Communist faction as well as the foreign colonizers. The book opens with a person down by the docks who tries to rip their own throat out.

It seems this delusion which makes people want to rip out their throats is spreading, putting Shanghai at risk. So, Juliette and Roma, enemies, must unite to find out what exactly the issue is and put an end to the madness. We get perspective from Juliette, Roma, Juliette’s cousin and more characters. It was cool to see the connection between the side characters and the play which this is based on.

Chloe Gong’s debut is a winner. It is a story that is unique and complex. The pacing is never slow or overlong. Also, there’s a good amount of action to keep you satisfied. Plus, there’s the world building. Reading These Violent Delights made it easy to picture Shanghai of the past and the competing factions. Yet, this book does not shy from topics like colonialism, gender, politics, and more. I also liked how much of a twist it provided on Romeo and Juliet. Finally, it takes the story and making it new again.

This has become one of my favorite re tellings of Romeo and Juliet and...I've read a lot. It was an unexpected time to take place and setting for that matter. It was very original for it being a re telling. Will definitely recommend to my students.

I partly blame my low rating on reading this book while starting the fall of 2020 school year in a pandemic. But honestly, I never felt the urge to read it. I never connected with any characters. The character names in this spin-off were too d sad I liar to actual Romeo and Juliet names, which is too cheesy for high school readers. I don’t quite get the point of the monster other than adding a mysterious element. It was well written, but I just didn’t connect.

This whirlwind of a novel is a grand retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliette Cai is in line to inherit the Scarlet Gang, one of the two gangs who rule 1920’s Shanghai. Juliette has spent the last few years in New York City, making her both a native of Shanghai but also partly an outsider. Upon her return to Shanghai, strange things start happening. A contagion is sweeping the city, causing those who catch it to tear out their own throats. Juliette is determined to figure out what is actually happening, a desire that causes her to have to work with her former lover, Roma, who is the heir to the White Flowers, the rival gang. After being brutally dumped by him, Juliette is wary of whether Roma is telling the truth. But when his own sister succumbs to the contagion, the two begin working together in earnest, encountering murder, death, monsters and much more.

This book is full of so much depth and such brilliant world building that it is nearly impossible to believe it’s a debut novel. Gong writes with real skill here, managing the pacing of the book beautifully, slowing it at appropriate times and allowing it to dash madly at others. The result is a book that sweeps up readers, offering them a glimpse of a fictional Shanghai that dazzles. Gong also riffs on the original very cleverly, not tying herself too tightly to Shakespeare but close enough that there are glimpses of that tale throughout the book.

The two main characters are marvelously driven and willing to kill people along the way. Gong does not soften the ongoing blood feud or what it has cost both Juliette and Roma. She also makes Juliette the one more likely to resort to direct violence, which is dynamite. The puzzle at the heart of the book is complicated and strange, leading directly to the next book in the series.

A dynamite first book in a dazzling fantasy series. Appropriate for ages 14-18.

Disclaimer: I received the e-arc from the publisher and then bought my own copy! Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: These Violence Delights

Author: Chloe Gong

Book Series: These Violence Delights Book 1

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: Asian ownvoice main characters

Recommended For...: ownvoice readers, ya readers, fantasy lovers, classic retelling lovers

Publication Date: November 17, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, gore, death, romance, monsters)

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Pages: 464

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: I really loved this book! The book had me hooked from page 1 and I read the whole thing within a couple of hours. The book is fast paced and a whirlwind from start to finish. The romance was amazingly well done and I love stories where the couple already has dating history. The character development was well done and the world building was amazing as well. I also really liked the story and how it evolved from a Romeo and Juliet retelling to a monster book!

The only issue I really had was that the monster wasn’t well utilized in the book in my opinion. I liked how it was concepted and how it sounded, but I didn’t see much of it in the book until the end and then it became a bit more complex that had me bewildered.

Verdict: I loved it! Highly recommend!

I enjoyed this. I think that the character development was good. The story had a decent pace and it kept my attention too! I would recommend.

These Violent Delights has a brilliant premise: Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov are both heirs to rival gangs in Shanghai during the 1920s as the Communist Party is gaining popularity. Juliette's family is Chinese, and Roma's is Russian, and the cultural conflicts are an interesting addition to this classic story. Juliette and Roma are a bit older, and they have dated previously. That relationship ended when the family feud resulted in violence and backstabbing. Now, there is a mysterious illness that is sweeping the streets of Shanghai, and these two star-crossed lovers have to work together to prevent the illness from killing their city.

At the beginning of the book, I absolutely loved it: there were so many references to Romeo and Juliet, and I relished in finding them. As the novel continued, I struggled a bit with the pacing and supernatural elements of the story, and although the ending certainly lends itself to a continuation of this story, I wish that it had been a stand-alone novel rather than the beginning of a series.

Initially, when I picked up this book, I ended up DNF-ing it, because it didn't quite pull me in. I think I just had the wrong expectations though, because I expected this book to be way more fantasy-heavy. After a while, I felt like I was really missing out, and I decided to revisit it, with the right expectations this time. And I'm so glad I did, because this was such a good read!

The reason why I really did want to read this book, even after a rocky start, was its amazing premisse; Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai with a monster. And it's exactly as cool as this sounds. The writing style is really fantastic: a little on the dense side, but in a really good way, which just makes you want to read the book out loud. The plot was a little on the slow side as well, and I tend to really enjoy that in a book if I'm in the right mood for it, which I really was this time. I really need the sequel now!

if i told you a few years ago that there was a romeo and juliet retelling set in the 1920s shanghai with gang blood feud, monsters, and insects, you wouldn't have believed me. BUT NOW IT'S HERE AND IT'S A MASTERPIECE. these violent delights captivated me at the very first page. chloe gong is a storyteller who knows how to set a creepy and atmospheric tone to her book which makes it even more entrancing.

i can say that this book lives up to its great premise. it was mysterious and intoxicating at the same time. it also serves extreme yearning™ vibes. now roma and juliette are on my otp list along with other fictional ships that make me feel things. it's also heavy with history and charged with politics. these two factors definitely added more layers to the story.

i didn't give it full five stars because i think some characters were not that fleshed out. i was also a bit confused with the switching of perspectives but all in all this is still a great story that awakened my love for mysteries! AND I LOVE THE SLOW BURN AND THE HEAVILY CHARGED YEARNING AND MUTUAL PINING. im basically trash for these tropes now.

HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

"What if Romeo & Juliet were adults who were working together in 1920s Shanghai to kill a monster?"

Sounds like a crazy premise, but it works in Gong's Shakespeare adaptation.

Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov are former lovers and current heirs to their family gangs (the Scarletts and White Flowers). The two gangs have fought for generations over territory in Shanghai but when both are being attacked by an unknown force- something that causes people to scratch out their own throats, Juliette and Roma team up to save their families.

This was a very creative use of Shakespeare's work. I loved getting to know 1920s Shanghai as a setting. Adult Romeo & Juliette is something we rarely get to see. All in all a fun book and I will definitely read the next in the series.

This book is a Romeo and Juliet retelling that is set in the 1920s in Shanghai. A murderous illness is spreading and two heirs of opposing criminal gangs, Juliette and Roma, are now forced to work together to keep the people of Shanghai safe.

I was pleasantly surprised by much of this book. Not only is the writing regularly breath-taking, but the plot was perfectly paced, the world exquisitely painted, and the cast of characters spot-on. There were a lot of deeper themes embedded in this story that really heightened it in a way that both taught me some history, and had me shaking my head over white people. We really were *cough* are *cough* the worst when it comes to power imbalances. Talk of colonialism in Shanghai, communism, and overall cultural identity help shape both the world and the characters running it.

Reading These Violent Delights is over 400 pages, but it doesn’t drag at all. The suspense kept me turning pages, and the build-up was executed well, culminating in an incredible climax. The story provoked a lot of visceral reactions from me because it doesn’t pull any punches. It’s an immersive sensual and emotional experience.

I was expecting this one to be good and it was! It's a retelling but it's totally unique. I'm excited for the sequel.

Despite the lovely writing and the atmospheric setting, this 1920’s Shanghai Romeo and Juliet retelling was a bit of a miss for me. I was so looking forward to this book and I’m bummed that I didn’t enjoy it more. Obviously it has a ton of good reviews so other readers are enjoying something I didn’t.

For me a great book has to have a writing style I enjoy, good world building, engaging characters, and an intriguing storyline. For me TVD really only had the first two so it was really hard to stay interested in the story.

Chloe Gong is clearly a talented writer and there were many beautiful lines throughout the book. I loved the vivid descriptions of Shanghai which created a very clear picture of the world these characters inhabited. I loved what it had to say about colonialism and the simultaneous xenophobia for the colonized peoples in the home country. And I also felt like I got a bit of a history lesson about Communism in 1920’s China as well as the opium trade.

Despite the writing and great world building, It took me forever to be interested in any of the characters or the story. While I liked Juliette, she felt somewhat one dimensional to me for the first half of the book and I couldn’t bring myself to care about Roma at all. I also wish that I had been shown early on why they were enemies instead of just being told. For some reason the teases of the demise of their relationship just didn’t keep me interested. By the time they did start to develop more it was already 50% of the way through the book and it just felt a little too late.

And then there is the story itself. I was just bored! This book is long, much longer than your usual YA and I think I was just expecting a bit of a quicker pace. Again, it wasn't until I was over 50% in that things started to get interesting. I really just wanted to DNF for a lot of it. I’m not sure if the topic of a monster hunt just wasn’t enough to keep me interested or if it was the fact that I knew it was a “monster” while the characters struggled to figure it out. It definitely took away the mystery knowing more than the characters did. Obviously there was more to the monster than we are told but I just got bored waiting around for that to happen.

Overall, I thought the writing was good, the world was well crafted but I just didn’t enjoy the long drawn out story or connect with the characters.

Backdropped by 1926 Shanghai humming with life and debauchery, These Violent Delights follows Juliette Cai, heir to the Scarlet Gang, who watches angrily as her city falls further into the clutches of white foreigners. Equally as worrying as the threat of colonialism is the sudden appearance of a monster that causes people to tear out their own throats. The only way Juliette can defeat the monster and save her people is to work with Roma Montagov, heir to the rival Russian White Flowers and the boy she once loved—before he betrayed her.

This book was one of my most anticipated releases for 2020, and it’s safe to say it did not disappoint. I can already tell that it’s going to end up on a lot of people’s “best of 2020” list, and it’s clear why. With an arresting exploration of colonialism and compelling characters to obsess over, this debut historical fantasy marks Chloe Gong as an author to look out for in the coming years.

Gong’s writing brings 1920s Shanghai to life in all its glittering glory. Her beautiful prose is full of details that make you feel as if you yourself are walking down the crowded streets of the city or sitting in the back of a lively nightclub, but in a way that doesn’t bog down the story. I have difficulty reading books that are descriptive because they tend to be overly flowery and slow me down, but Gong’s writing flowed easily and allowed for an immersive reading experience.

Before settling in to read this book, I’d predicted that I would fall in love with Juliette Cai—and I was right. She is cunning and ruthless, unafraid to do what she has to protect her people, and wholeheartedly invited to step on me. Juliette was also sent to live and grow up in the US for a large part of her life, and I loved the portrayal of how she struggles with feeling out of place in Shanghai, from her style of dressing to her name to the way she speaks her language, even though she is far more Chinese than the white foreigners around her.

Roma Montagov, on the other hand, wholly surprised me. Forgive me for liking a white boy, but he’s someone who is much less rough than he appears to be and doesn’t like violence even though he’s the heir of a gang, and… I love the types of characters who put on masks like that. He’s surprisingly tender and caring for the people he loves in a way that isn’t quite as fierce as Juliette’s.

Of course, in a Romeo and Juliet retelling, you expect an angsty romance bound to tug at your heartstrings, and that’s exactly what you get. The lovers to enemies to lovers trope was executed fantastically, and their tension and history paired with yearning and longing that couldn’t be suppressed made a painfully exquisite combination. It felt like Gong was tantalizing me with this romance, each scene between Juliette and Roma a breath held in fear of what might move in to the space between them that wasn’t hatred for each other.

There were also several side characters who I fell in love with: Juliette’s cousins, Kathleen and Rosalind, and Roma’s two righthand men, Benedikt and Marshall. They get a few of their own POV chapters, and though Marshall and Kathleen were my favorites, I loved each and every one of them! They all have such distinct personalities, from a perfectionistic artist to a dance performer to a witty flirt, and I can’t wait to see more of them in the sequel. (Kathleen is a trans girl, Marshall is Korean, and I think a romantic relationship is definitely developing between Benedikt and Marshall!)

What I truly loved about this book, though, was the way it thoughtfully portrayed and commented on Western imperialism. It is as much of a threat to the people of Shanghai as the monster preying on them (and you might even argue that it’s more horrifying, in a more subtle way), and it’s heartbreaking to see Juliette and other Chinese people feel so helpless about the foreigners making a home in a city that is not theirs to carve a place into. There’s a particular layer revealed that shows even more how insidious and deeply embedded the West is in this city and many other non-Western places, and it genuinely gave me chills when I was reading.

Gong also wove the theme of loyalty into the threads of this story—loyalty to your people, your gang, your family—and how it is challenged when you dare to love your enemy. Something I found particularly interesting was how loyalty came into play with family in the gang, as family is one of the most important things you can value in Asian culture. This and other things truly showed how originally white stories can be enriched when taken and retold by authors of color with their own twists and bringing in their own background.

I personally was not entirely into the monster antagonist, as I was more interested in the idea of the foreigners as the villains, but the other areas of the story, most notably the characters, more than made up for it, a testament to how well-written the book was overall. I also had some problems getting into the book at first; it took me about until halfway to feel fully invested in the book (though I do blame part of that on the fact that I was in a reading slump), but once the book had me hooked, it did not let me go.

While the story as a whole is thrilling, the ending in particular is full of action and excitement, tinged with heartbreak and the shattering of dreams. When I turned the last page, I lay on my couch in silence with a feeling in my chest akin to the release of a held breath, a sense of awe washing over me as the full weight of the book and everything in it sunk in. Gong lets the novel finish on a cruel cliffhanger, and the wait for the sequel will be long and painful, but completely worth it.

I adored Juliette and Roma and lost my mind over their romance, and I was in awe of the way this book expertly tackled colonialism and Western influence. These Violent Delights is a beautifully written, haunting tale of how the West seeps into every place, even when people are determined to shut it out, paired with the tragic story of two lovers who seem destined to have everything around them fall apart. I can’t wait for others to fall in love with it just as I did.

A Romeo and Juliet retelling set in Shanghai, this book captures one's imagination and perfectly conveys the danger of the politics at play. While most retellings frame the story different but remain true to the overall story this one took some liberties and added some delightful twists. I don't recall there being a monster in the original, but it was a welcome new idea in this book.

While the romance is lagging and mostly muted, the action and stakes are clearly portrayed. The rival gangs dealing with the turbulence of the politics at play in Shanghai in the 1920's is acutely felt. I adored all the bits and pieces of Romeo and Juliet thrown in to this great monster book.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong should be required reading for all, it is a mesmerizing take on the classic tale of Romeo & Juliet. This book grabbed my hand and never let go and I was sad when it ended only because I never wanted it to. Chloe Gong made herself an auto-buy author for me after reading this one, I will read anything she writes.

Even if people have never read Romeo & Juliet or Shakespeare, These Violent Delights makes a name for itself and many readers will fall in love with it. One of the best books of 2020 in my opinion.

These Violent Delights was a book high my list of most-anticipated YA reads of the year, so I was super excited to finally get my hands on it!

This turned out to be a really interesting read for me because, while I thought a lot of things about it were really great, there were also some components that I thought kind of missed the mark.

First, I have to start out by saying that the premise of this book is superb. 1920’s Shanghai?! Warring mob families?! A mythical river monster?! Sign me up. I will NEVER say no to speakeasies and magic!

I also really enjoyed the huge ensemble cast in this book. Juilette and Roma were fun romantic leads that embodied the forbidden love YA trope perfectly. I also really loved all of their friends, and thought that their warring families - The White Flowers and The Scarlet Gang - were a fascinating component to the story as well.

Overall, I think that the wonderful cast and rich setting that Gong has created in this book shows what an immense talent she has for world building. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that my favorite part of this book was the world itself!

However, the one thing that really didn’t work for me in this book was the Romeo and Juliet retelling. These Violent Delights has so much going on - a river monster, a plague, organized crime syndicates with a decades-long blood feud, a city with a complex history and even more complicated political climate, and a huge cast of characters - it didn’t need anything else and some of the aspects of the retelling felt forced and clunky.

There is so much potential for future books in this series and so many directions that they could go in… I feel like they are only going to get better as they go and I am definitely excited to see what happens next!

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When you tell me, "Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920's Shanghai with rival gangs", I'm going to pick that book up immediately! I was not disappointed by this retelling, it was the perfect combination of action, deception, and love, while having a sinister edge.

The setting, 1920's Shanghai, was immersive and the characters were dynamic and wholly fleshed out. I never questioned the motives of our two main characters, Roma and Juliette, because it was clear what their driving force were from the very beginning. Juliette and Roma often led with their emotions, though Juliette was clearly more outwardly driven to hasty decisions, whereas Roma was more inwardly reflective. I also found myself growing attached to many of the side characters and adored Kathleen, Benedikt and Marshall

One of my favorite aspects of this story is the examination of colonization and racism during the 1920's. There was an emphasis oh white settlers trying to take over and "enlighten" the surrounding community. It was disturbing but a driving factor for a few of our characters. At one point a British character tells Juliette she speaks English so well, stating that she doesn't have any trace of an accent, as if this is what dictates someones ability to understand and have a grasp on the English language. Further, this character was pointing out that the only way for certain language to be accessible is if the speaker passes as native speaking. There was also and interesting emphasis on the ways in which Western culture has shaped Juliette and how she often chooses to stand out by wearing and leaning into Western culture. I appreciated this aspect of the story.

My one complaint was that the pacing felt a little off to me and there were moments I had difficulty suspending my disbelief. That being said, I am intrigued by how the next book in this series will play out, especially with many of the questions I have surrounding certain characters and their possible betrayal.