Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

20 reviews

jessiereads98's review against another edition

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.

Spoiler

I 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Confinement, Grief, Body horror, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: War, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Suicide, Abandonment, Homophobia, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexism

ashbreadin's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Death, and Child death

Moderate: War, Torture, Murder, Homophobia, Drug use, Violence, Alcohol, Suicide, Transphobia, and Death

jenna2234's review

dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book made me cry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Death

Minor: Homophobia

dianaschmidty's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mass/school shootings, Colonisation, Gore, Medical content, Murder, War, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Homophobia

Moderate: Confinement, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Kidnapping

Minor: Police brutality

andatherrin's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, War, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

hnagarne's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Grief, Police brutality, Classism, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Genocide, Kidnapping, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Homophobia and Deadnaming

ye_li's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: Death of parent

packedjam's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Torture, Genocide, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, and War

Moderate: Trafficking, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia

woolgatherer's review

adventurous dark fast-paced

4.25

This was a fun way to wrap up an overall great retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Our Violent Ends had as much of my attention as I was able to give between everything happening in my life as of late. Like These Violent Delights, I truly appreciated Gong’s spin on a classic love story and some of the creative liberties she took in the sequel. With that said, I think after reading this and having had time to mull over the first book, it’s safe to say that I was more invested in the characters than anything else. The plot of Our Violent Ends felt more scattered than its predecessor, had some loose ends, and it felt as though the book served more as a means to satisfy readers’ desires to see how things come together for the characters while the happenings of Shanghai were somewhat of an afterthought. Thankfully, the delightful thing is that Gong really knows how to breathe life into her characters in such a refreshing and exciting way.

From what I gathered, Gong seems to be working on another Shakespeare retelling, and I look forward to what she’ll come up with next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, War, Death, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Body horror, and Kidnapping

Minor: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Homophobia

auudrey's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Minor: Homophobia