These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Genre: YA Fantasy
Blurb (on back of book): 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 OPINION: ****
I've been meaning to read this book for a while now especially since I heard it's a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in Shanghai, China. I'm not the biggest R&J fan but the tragic love story trope will always get me. I ended up really liking this book, even though I don't normally read fantasy and especially not YA fantasy. It was very similar to most other YA fantasy books I've read but there wasn't anything about it that made me want to cry or grind my teeth against a brick wall.
We follow the two heirs to the biggest gangs in Shanghai, Juliette Cai of the Scarlet Gang and Roma Montagov of the White Flowers. I found a lot enjoyment in trying to figure out which side character represented which original R&J character and seeing where the plot was similar or different.
This book is centered around fighting a monster that is spreading a disease around Shanghai, targeting anyone and everyone. Juliette and Roma, childhood friends turned enemies, are forced to work together to try to combat the disease and save their city. To be quite honest, I didn't really see the chemistry between them...
I love a good enemies to lovers, we all should know by now. However, this one wasn't really my favorite. I normally am a fan of the fantasy e-t-l because they're actually enemies rather than just people who hold stupid grudges against each other for no reason. But Roma and Juliette weren't my favorite couple. I have nothing against them but I just didn't really feel the passion and angst I was hoping to feel. It might also have something to do with them being childhood friends first and then us having to constantly guess at what went wrong until they told us at the end. I don't like that trope and I especially don't like having to wait to find out why the hell the enemies are enemies.
The setting of this book was my favorite part. I loved reading about 1920s Shanghai and Gong did a great job of describing all the different aspects of it, even the made-up parts. The setting did not disappoint and the history major inside of me was constantly observing the history included within this book.
Juliette was a strong, independent woman with a killer instinct which I loved for her. She had no shame in doing what had to be done but instead of falling into the role of villain, her conscience and guilt kicked in and redeemed her (partly) in my eyes. She definitely understood her role as a female heir and how she had to put in twice the work just to prove herself (which sucks, but is accurate).
Roma played the kinder role, which I find both surprising and pleasant. He doesn't kill unless he has to (the bare minimum, y'all!!) and he seems to care about others. I felt bad for him because of how misunderstood he was but at the same time, what he did is still kind of his fault..
I loved the side characters and think they deserved more. Kathleen and Rosalind have such important and interesting identities that I can see a lot of potential for that I hope to find in the next book. Benedikt and Marshall were my favorites <3 Absolutely love those two. I can't wait to see more of them and their relationship in the next book!
The monster plot and all of the other side characters was kind of hard to follow at times, but that is probably my fault because I read this book in between like three others.
We end on a cliffhanger, which I'm never the biggest fan of. I'm struggling through the second book but it's taking longer than expected. However, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a tragic fantasy romance!
Main Character: Juliette, Roma
Sidekick(s): Kathleen, Rosalind, Marshall, Benedikt
Villain(s): Monster, betrayal, etc
Fantasy Elements: This is a YA fantasy novel with fantastical elements.
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