Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

18 reviews

jessiereads98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

3.75

This was a great ending to the duology. It strays enough from the original Romeo + Juliet while maintaining the themes to create the perfect balance for a retelling. 

Chloe Gong once again nailed it with the setting and atmosphere of 1920s Shanghai. I loved how she tracked the shifting the politics and atmosphere of change. The pacing in this book is great. I also just love a fantasy novel set in or based on 1920s East Asia.

The characters were well done and compelling for the most part. I feel like we got a good amount of time with all the side characters to experience the world outside the view of the two main characters, without it feeling like it detracted from the story or was a waste of time. I actually wish we had gotten more time with Rosalind. I think the story would’ve felt more complete, and she would’ve been a great counterpoint to Juliette had she been more fleshed out. I was left with questions at the end around her character and motivations.
SpoilerI know she’s the focus of the next duology in this universe. However, her character and POV still should’ve been explored more in this book, especially given the important role she plays here.


Once again, this book is a bit overwritten. There’s metaphors and heavy handed setting descriptions that are unnecessary. Some of the dialogue feels forced rather than natural for the characters and their setting. There are a few moments of cringe, but it isn’t enough to make the entire book off-putting.

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linblythe_pub22's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense fast-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

4.75


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guessgreenleaf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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hnagarne's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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rexpostfacto's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.75


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lectricefeministe's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5


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ye_li's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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ourlastopus's review

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adventurous emotional 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

5.0

we can clearly see how much chloe gong has evolved as a writer in this incredible sequel; this killed me in the best way possible
ok, now i’m going back to crying

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packedjam's review

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adventurous dark 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

4.25

😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

it’s better than the first book. 

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eve_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

 Overall Thoughts:
⁕ Gong takes the beloved enemies-to-lovers trope and raises you enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-and-back-to-lovers-again FLAWLESSLY. She doesn't ignore the conflict between their families and political parties, but builds that tension into every scene between them. It's an agonizing slow-burn with the greatest payoff.

⁕  This sequel was even more enriched with historical context than These Violent Delights. I've never read a book in this setting before and loved learning about/researching 1920's Shanghai. 

⁕ [spoilers] I love the small bit of hope that Gong concludes this duology with. She still honors the authentic tragedy of Romeo and Juliet but also makes space for the reader to explore other possibilities for her main characters.

To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
 

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