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clairew97's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
sydneyluxford's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
THE WAY I KNEW EXACTLY HOW IT WAS GOING TO END AND I STILL HAD THE NERVE TO CRY. I AM LITERALLY BROKEN RIGHT NOW. I really don’t get why Miss Chloe Gong had to put me through that? I don’t know if I did something to offend her, but it was truly uncalled for.
Juliette and Roma have my whole heart, for real.Gong better have a trick up her sleeve and they better not have actually died because I am too sad. I actually don’t know why the ending shocked me when it’s literally a Romeo and Juliet retelling.
Despite the ending, the moments between Juliette and Roma were so fucking good. It was definitely a step up from the first book, which I felt was lacking. I don’t know how I’m going to recover from this. The way they always found their way back to each other despite being literal gang rivals and having all odds against them 🥲😞.
Bro, Benedikt and Marshal are SO CUTE. The love confession from Ben at the end had no business being that cute when the stakes were so high:
Juliette and Roma have my whole heart, for real.
Despite the ending, the moments between Juliette and Roma were so fucking good. It was definitely a step up from the first book, which I felt was lacking. I don’t know how I’m going to recover from this. The way they always found their way back to each other despite being literal gang rivals and having all odds against them 🥲😞.
Bro, Benedikt and Marshal are SO CUTE. The love confession from Ben at the end had no business being that cute when the stakes were so high:
“I’ll say it however many times you want. I’ll romance you until you get sick of me. I am horrendously, horrendously in love with your dreadful face.”
I actually don’t know how I’m going to be able to read Foul Lady Fortune KNOWING that Rosalind was the cause of all of this. She better redeem herself.
Juliette and Roma are literally The Great War by Taylor Swift.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Hate crime, Suicide, and Colonisation
valeria_balzan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Chloe Gong has not missed on delivering a thrilling, fantasy and romance filled adventurous novel.
All of her hard work and setting in the previous novel was a good foundation for this novel, and I dare to say that it was better than the last one. The prose of the author was just excellent in the telling of their forbidden love story against their feuding families.
Roma and Juliette's moments when the world isn't watching them have my whole heart. It's the bittersweet moments when they know what their fate is, and don't know whether they want it or not. Especially the pinky promise scene.
It's more negative aspects are the very thing I criticized on the last one and that is that sometimes the prose get's lost on the action and it's hard to know what is happening.
Overall I think it is a very solid book. l loved it.
All of her hard work and setting in the previous novel was a good foundation for this novel, and I dare to say that it was better than the last one. The prose of the author was just excellent in the telling of their forbidden love story against their feuding families.
It's more negative aspects are the very thing I criticized on the last one and that is that sometimes the prose get's lost on the action and it's hard to know what is happening.
Overall I think it is a very solid book. l loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
It's a war, what did you expect?sunlit_music's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is one of the greatest books I've ever read, and it nearly broke me emotionally.
Chloe Gong writes about colonialism and war so passionately and intelligently, and seeing how civil war was tearing Shanghai and other parts of China apart was just devastating.
The power shifts and politics are well set up, unpredictable and extremely clever. There's nuanced portrayals of racism, sexism and lgbt+ themes. Not a single word is wasted.
The prose is beautiful, brutal, energetic and flowing. Dialogue moves seamlessly and the characters' banter is witty and clever.
I just did not want to walk away from the characters, I love them so much.
All the characters are so layered and nuanced, and change over time like real people, I feel like I know them.
Roma and Juliet's sacrificed so much, I just wanted them to be happy together and alive, but the tragic ending for them made sense, even though it's heartbreaking.
Alisa is so lovable, she lifts my mood. I don't know if there's going to be a sequel about her, but if there is, I'd totally read it.
Benedikt and Marshall are so incredible and love each other so much. They risk their lives for each other and their friends and are so tender and funny with each other. I just can't express how much I love them.
Kathleen is selfless, fierce and unstoppable, and she is fantastic. She is so underrated.
Plotting was phenomenal, with triumph and tragedy stemming from the characters' actions. All believable, all heartbreaking.
Descriptions of Shanghai are so raw, heartfelt and sincere. Also loved the contrast the rural town of Kunlon presented, it sounded like such a beautiful and peaceful place.
The ending is devastating, but also hopeful in a way. All is not lost, and Roma and Juliette really did save many lives.
I love how tenderly and sensitively this book portrays grief and loss, and how Roma and Juliette are determined to end their families' toxic blood feud.
The ending totally wrecked me, but it was worth it. This book is a fitting conclusion to the 'These Violent Delights' duology and a worthy retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
Chloe Gong writes about colonialism and war so passionately and intelligently, and seeing how civil war was tearing Shanghai and other parts of China apart was just devastating.
The power shifts and politics are well set up, unpredictable and extremely clever. There's nuanced portrayals of racism, sexism and lgbt+ themes. Not a single word is wasted.
The prose is beautiful, brutal, energetic and flowing. Dialogue moves seamlessly and the characters' banter is witty and clever.
I just did not want to walk away from the characters, I love them so much.
All the characters are so layered and nuanced, and change over time like real people, I feel like I know them.
Roma and Juliet's sacrificed so much, I just wanted them to be happy together and alive, but the tragic ending for them made sense, even though it's heartbreaking.
Alisa is so lovable, she lifts my mood. I don't know if there's going to be a sequel about her, but if there is, I'd totally read it.
Benedikt and Marshall are so incredible and love each other so much. They risk their lives for each other and their friends and are so tender and funny with each other. I just can't express how much I love them.
Kathleen is selfless, fierce and unstoppable, and she is fantastic. She is so underrated.
Plotting was phenomenal, with triumph and tragedy stemming from the characters' actions. All believable, all heartbreaking.
Descriptions of Shanghai are so raw, heartfelt and sincere. Also loved the contrast the rural town of Kunlon presented, it sounded like such a beautiful and peaceful place.
The ending is devastating, but also hopeful in a way. All is not lost, and Roma and Juliette really did save many lives.
I love how tenderly and sensitively this book portrays grief and loss, and how Roma and Juliette are determined to end their families' toxic blood feud.
The ending totally wrecked me, but it was worth it. This book is a fitting conclusion to the 'These Violent Delights' duology and a worthy retelling of Romeo and Juliet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, and Colonisation
Minor: Child death
sambashua's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
If you liked book one, book two is an amazing pairing that brings the chaos and tragedy of the R&J story. While opening up an interesting world for what is to come afterwards. I would definitely suggest picking it up, if that’s the case for you. However, I am on the other side where I was anticipating Book 1 forever and felt bored and disappointed throughout it. While Book 2 gives some character development and explains some of the GAPING context holes, for me, it still wasn’t a WIN. I’m glad I gave the second book a chance, but the blood feud remains nonsensical, Roma & Juliette continue putting each other above everyone else EXCEPT the people that they DO NOT KNOW who they feel the need to protect for no reason but the city is “theirs” and they feel responsible… For a mess they did not create. The length/pacing of this was too drawn out for me. And it made all the parts that could have made this a 4/5 star read for me feel lost in all the other plot lines, characters, etc. I’m tired. I never want to dive into this world again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
amiably's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
saoreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm just glad it doesn't have a fixed ending. Somehow, there's that hope and that hope that could provide even a little bit of a silver lining that the sacrifices were worth it. It displayed a lot of realistic analogies, especially on bouts of inciting war, which have become more prevalent with the pandemic since the first book was released in 2020, and how it wasn't all about the blood feud and physically taking over cities, but a metaphor for biological warfare through the form of a monster. Or how the main cause of evil wasn't uprooted (there's some truth in that, only the ones who seemingly caused harm at the very moment and not in the long run). I have to properly process this book because it evoked in me various emotions: it made me giddy, made me mad, made me feel sappy, and made me badly detached. This book had an obvious denouement, but at some point, life still goes on and this tale continues to live on, and maybe that's how love is made eternally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War