chronicacademia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Torture, Violence, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical trauma, and Physical abuse
teddy_books's review
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Minor: Transphobia
karcitis's review
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Gore, Colonisation, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Death
Minor: Homophobia, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Transphobia, and Car accident
jessiereads98's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
UPDATE: I read the These Violent Delights duology then read this again. It is better after reading that. However, I still feel that the setting and atmosphere in this book are lacking, even in comparison to the These Violent Delights duology. It seemed like Chloe Gong decided that rather than expanding on that, and the changing political climate, she would handwave world-building for this one. The tropeyness irked me less on reread. The characters do still read a little young for what their ages seem to be, but not as harshly as I originally thought. It especially makes sense when these are young people caught up in large, shifting politics and underworlds, and that’s a theme Chloe Gong is clearly exploring in both duologies.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Colonisation, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death, Grief, Torture, Transphobia, and War
btwnprintedpgs's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Violence, War, Xenophobia, Medical content, Torture, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Self harm
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Drug use and Kidnapping
bailey63's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Xenophobia, Murder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Car accident, Grief, Colonisation, Death, Confinement, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
sarah_loves_books's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Blood, Gore, Violence, and Grief
taroroot's review
- 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
4.0
Spoiler
i have very high hopes for who the 'married couple' is. pls pls pls let me be right <3Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, War, and Gore
Minor: Grief
kdailyreads's review
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Torture, War, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Colonisation, Gun violence, Medical content, Classism, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cursing, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Child death
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
It’s not that this was a bad book. It wasn’t. But it did lack the intrigue that drew me into and then kept me reading These Violent Delights. I guessed one of the major plot twists back in the first quarter of the book, and was just generally not as invested in the story or characters. The only one of the seven that I really liked was Alisa. Of the others, we barely saw Celia or Oliver, and I thought both Oliver and Phoebe were kind of annoying. I was mostly indifferent toward Rosalind and Orion—although Orion was, at least, occasionally amusing—and Silas just felt bland.
I couldn’t even get behind any of the ships. Silas and Phoebe had no chemistry. If we hadn’t been told that they liked each other, I wouldn’t have known. Oliver and Celia didn’t have nearly enough page time for me to get behind them. Honestly, I feel like both Silas and Celia could do better, sorry not sorry. As for Rosalind and Orion, I’ll admit that they had a few good scenes and some good banter, but for the most part, they just kind of felt… meh. I hate to say all of this, but it’s true. I know what Chloe can do with romance—I’ve seen it in Romette and in Benmars. I adore both of those couples and was hoping to feel similar love for these new ones, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. I do think that Rosaorion has the most potential for the sequel, though. Maybe I could still board that ship at some point. We’ll see.
My favorite part of the book was the tiny Benmars update we got in one of Alisa’s early chapters, and the most entertaining part was searching for clues as to whether or not Roma and Juliette are still alive. I already thought they were before starting; now that I’ve finished, I’m certain not only that they’re alive, but also that we’ll see them in the sequel. If I had money, I would bet on it. I legit have a note on my phone full of textual evidence and theories.
Spoiler
This is unrelated to either Roma or Juliette; it’s just something I wanted to comment on. How the hell is annoying little Phoebe actually Priest??? You’re telling me a whiny, too cool for school wannabe socialite is the Communists’ best assassin??? Yeah, I know, that’s probably a cover to make sure no one guesses her identity, but still. I’m having a seriously hard time believing it, even if it would explain why Priest helped Rosalind, Orion and Alisa in the warehouse attack. I’m gonna need some convincing here, Chloe.So, yeah. It pains me to give one of Chloe’s books less than five stars, but this just… didn’t do it for me. I had both high hopes and high expectations after reading and adoring the TVD books last year, and unfortunately, this fell flat. I’m still going to read the sequel though, partially out of curiosity, but mostly because I want to see Roma and Juliette again. 💁🏼💁🏼
Representation
- demisexual Chinese protagonist
- two bisexual Chinese protagonists
- trans MTF Chinese protagonist
- unlabeled queer Chinese protagonist
- Chinese protagonist
- aromantic asexual protagonist
- various Chinese and Japanese side characters
Graphic: War, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Physical abuse
Emotional and physical abuse are there regarding mentions of them in characters’ pasts. Additional content warning for human experimentation.