"These Violent Delights" contains a mixture of fantasy, romance, and historical fiction. The main characters are Roma and Juliette- a more modern and powerful version of Romeo and Juliette. Each is heir to their gang and the love between them cannot come true. Juliette trusted him once and that led to bloodshed. The betrayal Juliette feels makes her believe that she will never love Roma again. But the madness that's killing her men forces them back together to find the cause. I think I would've liked to see a little more into their past relationship since the book doesn't show much of that. The side characters, especially Benedikt and Marshall, were also just as lovable. The author drops little hints of their relationship for readers to pick up on. The author adds different languages such as French and Chinese into the dialogues to make it feel more real. I know enough Chinese to understand the untranslated phrases Juliette uses throughout the story! Chloe Gong also very colorfully illustrates the setting of Shanghai in the story. The way the people and the buildings are described makes it feel even more real."
About This 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.
