Book: Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
Read From: 20th November - 24th November 2021
Rating: 4/5 stars
Summary (These Violent Delights): Shanghai, 1926. A blood feud between the Scarlet gang and the White Flower gang has the city divided. That is, until, a river monster plaguing the city forces Scarlet heir Juliette and White Flower heir Roma to set aside gang politics and work together to save Shanghai.
Ahhh this duology has absolutely ruined me! I had to physically stop myself from getting so invested at times because the story could completely captivate me and then I would totally forget that it was a Romeo and Juliet retelling! I absolutely loved this sequel, it didn’t quite give me the 5 star feels like the first book did, but I think this was down to my mindset at the time of reading - stressed, bogged down with university deadlines etc - rather than reflective of the book itself.
I will be keeping this review spoiler free (for both the first and second book) so that may be why it’s sort of lacking in substance. But if you’re going to take away anything at all from this review, let it be that I highly HIGHLY recommend this duology - the time spent on world building and character development within These Violent Delights really paid off once we hit the sequel - it feels so action packed because one thing happens after another! If these poor characters didn’t deserve a break after the first book then they definitely do now.
One thing I really liked about Our Violent Ends is that we get to see a lot more of the political tension/alliances and how their increased presence really pushes the gang structures and leadership to their limit. You can’t help but read most of this book on the edge of your seat because you’re constantly aware that SOMETHING is brewing, you just don’t know what it is or when it will strike.
And of course the characters, I really enjoyed being back with everyone! Obviously Roma and Juliette absolutely make this book with all the angst but also the side characters were just brilliant! That’s all I’m going to say because I don’t want to ruin anything from the first book but honestly once you’re invested, it’s hard not to love these characters.
If it wasn’t already obvious, READ THESE BOOKS. There was so much to love and it was really interesting to see how the storyline with the monster was able to continue from the first book into the sequel. I can’t wait to see what Chloe Gong releases in future, all I can say is that I know it’ll be going straight on my TBR list.