meg_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? N/A
3.0
The angsty romance in this story was GOD TIER. Anytime our main characters were together prior to Roma learning the truth about Marshall was just so fucking good I'm obsessed. The plot itself of the story felt a little to jumbled and rushed, like there were too many moving parts that took away from the overall story. Also the way that this story so cleverly follows the Romeo and Juliet retelling without it being predictable was literally so well done. Overall, would definitely recommend this one (as long as you have a strong stomach and don't have a severe phobia of bugs).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Murder, and Violence
kate_woollams's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Blood and War
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content
kdailyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
This was a striking and engrossing book. I don’t want to say I enjoyed this second book more than the first one, because there is a lot of dark and heartbreaking things that happen and I feel odd saying I “enjoyed” it. I was definitely highly engaged. I wanted to read this book whenever I had a free moment. I wanted to read it when I didn’t have a free moment. I felt like the first book in this duology was a little slow in pace at first, whereas this second one felt nonstop the whole time. This book is somehow both extremely plot-driven and character-driven, and both the plot and the characters destroyed me. Even though I knew this was a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, I wanted to know so badly what would happen. How close of a retelling it would be - would the ending be faithful? Or would Roma and Juliette (as I found myself hoping) survive somehow? And of course, I wanted to learn the answers to this retelling’s specific questions and mysteries. The book ends on a heart wrenching, but still somehow hopeful note. Our Violent Ends is incredibly well-written. I will be reading anything and everything else Chloe Gong writes. I also greatly appreciated the author’s notes at the end of both books discussing historical context, and am interested to learn more about this time period in Chinese history.
If you read this book (or the first one), be sure to look for a complete list of content/trigger warnings because there are many. Some major ones - gun violence, self-harm (due to monsters), violence to children, fire, neglect, and torture.
If you read this book (or the first one), be sure to look for a complete list of content/trigger warnings because there are many. Some major ones - gun violence, self-harm (due to monsters), violence to children, fire, neglect, and torture.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Torture, Self harm, Blood, and Gun violence
writingcaia's review
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.5
Roma Montagov from the White Flowers Gang and Juliette Cai from the Scarlet Gang have been thorn apart by bloodshed in the past, but four years later, after being exiled in NY, Juliette is back to Shangai. And, just as things heat up in the blood feud and when a creepy monster that sheds hundreds of horrid lice-like ones to infect people into tearing their throats out prowls the streets of their town. It is this common threat to both their people that will have Juliette and Roma come together again, now with not but resentment in their hearts, or so it seems, but they’ll have to put their hatred aside and team up to take down their mutual threat. However, nothing is made easy for these two, love and hate runs close to the skin, the blood feud always in the path of their love, and the monster not as easy to deal with as they hoped especially when they have to run against time to save their loved ones.
This a slow to medium paced story, anchored both in the historical events of the 20/30’s in Shangai, revolution, communists, nationalists, foreign invaders, gangsters all making the streets of the town run red with the blood of the people, and it’s also a retelling of the famous Shakespearean love tragedy Romeu and Juliet.
I’ve to say it wasn’t the easiest book to dive into, thankfully there’re the Montagov and Marsh who were all so endearing and made me keep going, eventually I came into syntony with the story albeit dreading how close to the original it would stick to.
Soon it became a riveting read and continued until the end, with plenty of bloodshed, monsters, hate, betrayal, murder, and of course love to conquer all odds.
I can’t say how close it cut to the original tale without spoilers, I can only say there’re a few plot twists related and unrelated with the Shakespearean tragedy.
Overall a 4.5⭐️ duology and if you like YA retellings, with dark mystery, gangs, history and tragedy this is for you.
This a slow to medium paced story, anchored both in the historical events of the 20/30’s in Shangai, revolution, communists, nationalists, foreign invaders, gangsters all making the streets of the town run red with the blood of the people, and it’s also a retelling of the famous Shakespearean love tragedy Romeu and Juliet.
I’ve to say it wasn’t the easiest book to dive into, thankfully there’re the Montagov and Marsh who were all so endearing and made me keep going, eventually I came into syntony with the story albeit dreading how close to the original it would stick to.
Soon it became a riveting read and continued until the end, with plenty of bloodshed, monsters, hate, betrayal, murder, and of course love to conquer all odds.
I can’t say how close it cut to the original tale without spoilers, I can only say there’re a few plot twists related and unrelated with the Shakespearean tragedy.
Overall a 4.5⭐️ duology and if you like YA retellings, with dark mystery, gangs, history and tragedy this is for you.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Murder, Drug use, Torture, Alcohol, Gore, Suicide, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Body horror, Racism, and Self harm
Minor: Transphobia
andromeda_1998's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
These violent delights was one of my favorite fairyloot books. It was different from the kinds of books I had read before and I gave it 5⭐️ Back then. I liked the book and after reading the second book I’m sure of one thing: I love this duology.
Characters
I really enjoyed reading about Juliette. She’s a strong female character that know what she wants. The thing I like the most about her is that she isn’t stripped of her femininity. She will save the world in dresses and she doesn’t need your opinion about that. She makes questionable choices but she is a morally gray character. It makes her believable. I liked Roma a bit less. He can be a bit whiny but he is still decent I guess.
The story
The story is about Roma and Juliette, two gangster heirs in the streets of Shanghai. They have loved each other in the past but there relationship ended because of mutual betrayal. It’s a enemy to lovers, action packed, unique story with some darker plot twists. I’m not a big romance reader but I still enjoyed this book tremendously. The story is written with a medium/fast pacing and is really well thought out. The writer is able to take you with her on a journey through history (with a twist) in this Romeo and Juliette retelling. The ending was dramatic but it fits the setting.
The worldbuilding
The author has thought up an amazing world. Yes it’s older days Shanghai but it also has an unique flair to it. It’s an interesting read because of the world that is created.
100% recommend this book for loves of romance, drama and gangsters.
Characters
I really enjoyed reading about Juliette. She’s a strong female character that know what she wants. The thing I like the most about her is that she isn’t stripped of her femininity. She will save the world in dresses and she doesn’t need your opinion about that. She makes questionable choices but she is a morally gray character. It makes her believable. I liked Roma a bit less. He can be a bit whiny but he is still decent I guess.
The story
The story is about Roma and Juliette, two gangster heirs in the streets of Shanghai. They have loved each other in the past but there relationship ended because of mutual betrayal. It’s a enemy to lovers, action packed, unique story with some darker plot twists. I’m not a big romance reader but I still enjoyed this book tremendously. The story is written with a medium/fast pacing and is really well thought out. The writer is able to take you with her on a journey through history (with a twist) in this Romeo and Juliette retelling. The ending was dramatic but it fits the setting.
The worldbuilding
The author has thought up an amazing world. Yes it’s older days Shanghai but it also has an unique flair to it. It’s an interesting read because of the world that is created.
100% recommend this book for loves of romance, drama and gangsters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Classism, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, War, Genocide, and Suicidal thoughts
xxcharlxox's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, Self harm, and War
bedtimesandbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Xenophobia, War, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, Racism, Misogyny, and Sexism
nicamooch's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
I felt the setups and payoffs in this book to be a lot tighter than the first. What I do adore the most is the emotion and passion—I really felt the all-in, epic love story 😭 and just.,,.. the theme of daring to hope and daring to love ughhhh 😭💛💛😭💛 Every romajuliette moment is a hit!!! A HIIIIIIT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Suicide attempt
betweentheshelves's review
dark
emotional
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
4.5
I'll admit, it did take me a bit to get into this, but I think that was more of a mood reading problem than an actual book problem. Once I got into it, man. The connections to Romeo and Juliet, the pacing, the characters. Definitely doesn't suffer from second book syndrome. Stay tuned for a full review to come later this week!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Self harm
sarahmreads's review
dark
sad
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
5.0
EVERYONE NEEDS TO SHUT UP AND GO PREORDER THIS BOOK! I AM IN TEARS!
Shanghai is crumbling to pieces. After Juliette sacrifices her relationship with Roma to keep him safe from the blood feud, Juliette now finds herself in a precarious position in fighting for the title of heir to the Scarlets. Roma is reeling from a betrayal most foul, he will stop at nothing to get revenge, even if that means killing Juliette. However, the threat of the monster still looms above Shanghai, and the two will be forced to work together again. Will they save their beloved city and themselves, or will other violent ends find them?
I cannot express in words how beautiful and painful this book was. Let's start from the beginning. I read the first book around the time it came out and I thought it was okay. I had some hopes, but wasn't sure I would pick up the sequel. I was quickly proven wrong because this might be one of the best sequels I've read this year.
Roma and Juliette I feel really come into their own roles, especially with their parallels in the classic Shakespeare play. Juliette realizes that not everything she has is what she wants, and what she doesn't have is what she really wants. Roma manages to grow past his hatred for Juliette... again. But they both had some beautiful moments together, even when they both thought they still "hated" each other. There was also a great line in there somewhere about having knives in bed and I'm still reeling from it.
The real stars of the show, in my opinion, were Benedikt and Marshall. OH MY GOD I've been wanting these two to get together for months now. This book filled my heart with so much hope for them, and seeing their own growth apart from each other hurt me so much. But them being reunited gave me all the love I've needed these last few months. Their arcs were done tremendously well and I applaud Chloe for that. I have cried at all of their scenes and I was not disappointed.
I felt like Kathleen had more of her own moments to shine than Rosalind, but regardless I think she still had some good times to shine through, especially with her own growth outside of the Scarlet Gang. Overall, I'm neutral about their growth.
In terms of plot, I thought it was decently fast paced. Do I think that the whole "re-emergence of the monster" plot was put too much in the background? Yes. Am I mad it was overshadowed by political riots and disruption? Absolutely not. I'm usually not one for political intrigue in a book, but this was done so well that I really felt for the rage and fury that Juliette had for her own city being destroyed before her eyes, because of forces she cannot control. It really mimics what happened in history at that time, and tied it right into the lives of the main characters enough that it could not be ignored. And in the end, it didn't become a fight to stop the Nationalists and the Communists. It was more a "we need to save ourselves because we can't stop this," and I really love that take on it. We don't see that a lot in YA books these days, where protagonists are set on demolishing evil political powers. It's refreshing to see this take such a different approach and yet still have it really fit the characters.
I also just really loved Chloe's style of writing?? It's done so beautifully well and I think it finally hit me how good stylistically this sequel was. I really felt myself among the streets with the Scarlets and the White Flowers in Shanghai and felt every single emotion these characters felt. It was so impactful on me as a reader.
Our Violent Ends far surpasses its legendary predecessor and will make you cry. Chloe Gong, you mastermind, I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for us. Oh, and bring your tissues for this one.
I received a copy of this book as an e-arc from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Shanghai is crumbling to pieces. After Juliette sacrifices her relationship with Roma to keep him safe from the blood feud, Juliette now finds herself in a precarious position in fighting for the title of heir to the Scarlets. Roma is reeling from a betrayal most foul, he will stop at nothing to get revenge, even if that means killing Juliette. However, the threat of the monster still looms above Shanghai, and the two will be forced to work together again. Will they save their beloved city and themselves, or will other violent ends find them?
I cannot express in words how beautiful and painful this book was. Let's start from the beginning. I read the first book around the time it came out and I thought it was okay. I had some hopes, but wasn't sure I would pick up the sequel. I was quickly proven wrong because this might be one of the best sequels I've read this year.
Roma and Juliette I feel really come into their own roles, especially with their parallels in the classic Shakespeare play. Juliette realizes that not everything she has is what she wants, and what she doesn't have is what she really wants. Roma manages to grow past his hatred for Juliette... again. But they both had some beautiful moments together, even when they both thought they still "hated" each other. There was also a great line in there somewhere about having knives in bed and I'm still reeling from it.
The real stars of the show, in my opinion, were Benedikt and Marshall. OH MY GOD I've been wanting these two to get together for months now. This book filled my heart with so much hope for them, and seeing their own growth apart from each other hurt me so much. But them being reunited gave me all the love I've needed these last few months. Their arcs were done tremendously well and I applaud Chloe for that. I have cried at all of their scenes and I was not disappointed.
I felt like Kathleen had more of her own moments to shine than Rosalind, but regardless I think she still had some good times to shine through, especially with her own growth outside of the Scarlet Gang. Overall, I'm neutral about their growth.
In terms of plot, I thought it was decently fast paced. Do I think that the whole "re-emergence of the monster" plot was put too much in the background? Yes. Am I mad it was overshadowed by political riots and disruption? Absolutely not. I'm usually not one for political intrigue in a book, but this was done so well that I really felt for the rage and fury that Juliette had for her own city being destroyed before her eyes, because of forces she cannot control. It really mimics what happened in history at that time, and tied it right into the lives of the main characters enough that it could not be ignored. And in the end, it didn't become a fight to stop the Nationalists and the Communists. It was more a "we need to save ourselves because we can't stop this," and I really love that take on it. We don't see that a lot in YA books these days, where protagonists are set on demolishing evil political powers. It's refreshing to see this take such a different approach and yet still have it really fit the characters.
I also just really loved Chloe's style of writing?? It's done so beautifully well and I think it finally hit me how good stylistically this sequel was. I really felt myself among the streets with the Scarlets and the White Flowers in Shanghai and felt every single emotion these characters felt. It was so impactful on me as a reader.
Our Violent Ends far surpasses its legendary predecessor and will make you cry. Chloe Gong, you mastermind, I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for us. Oh, and bring your tissues for this one.
I received a copy of this book as an e-arc from NetGalley. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Self harm and Suicide attempt
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