Review: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

These Violent Delights

Chloe Gong

(These Violent Delights #1)

Publication Date: November 17, 2020

Hardcover, 464 pages, Hodder & Stoughton

Genres: YA, Historical Fiction, Paranormal

Goodreads

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. 

 

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

My Review

Romeo and Juliet as two rival gang members? In 1926 Shanghai? With paranormal elements? Sounds like a blast, right? For some of it, it was.

These Violent Delights is a unique idea with a unique location not seen very often in western young adult publishing, but something in the book just seemed to be missing. The exposition was kind of dry at times, even though the information about foreign powers interfering with Shanghai's political backdrop was super important to real events, the story kind of read like a history book in spots. Juliette Cai's narration was often the most dense, even though there were multiple POVs in the book.

There was also a lot of description of the city and political backdrop, which is completely fine, but as a character-reader, I felt like the characters' individual personalities didn't get to shine with so much description. The gang elements were kind of the same way. I went into this story expecting some heavy tension between the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers, but I never really felt like any of our main characters were in danger at any point. Maybe some of the side characters, but not the two protagonists. And, more importantly, why do these kids just get to run around? Shouldn't the head of a major criminal operation have guards for their kids or keep tabs on them somehow? Maybe I'm modernizing the fictional story too much...

Now, to the actual Romeo and Juliet, a.k.a Roma and Juliette. Roma wanting to stop committing violent acts and Juliette being all about the gang life was a dichotomy I loved and did not expect going into These Violent Delights. Juliette was pretty fierce, but, as I mentioned, her exposition was looooong. She also had the longest chapters. I was disappointed that when the two characters were together, there was never enough tension and angst between them. I never really felt their love and longing (something that seems crucial in an R&J retelling), even though I wanted to. However, I was very happy with the diversity Gong added to the story in terms of her side characters. I may continue with book two just for more Mars and Ben content.

Personally, this book simply missed the mark somewhere. I honestly wish it had solely been a historical romance retelling of Romeo & Juliet without the whole paranormal/bug aspect. A proper gang war story would've been bada$$ and allowed for some true tension. Instead, it turned into a weird monster hunt. Unfortunately, the ending was all about the paranormal elements and the gang war storylines barely played a part, so the big cliffhanger has me hesitating to pick up the sequel.

All in all, I give Chloe Gong major, MAJOR props for writing something so unique and intriguing. Even when I wasn't super invested in the story because of exposition, I still found myself learning about 1926 Shanghai. Sadly, I think I went into this book expecting something that I just didn't get. Hopefully other readers will have better luck.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book for myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.