These violent delights by Chloe Gong Trigger warning: violence, guns, knives, trauma, death, insects, gore, discrimination. Age rating: 14+ Overall rating: 5.6 out of 5. Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling. A spoiler free summary In 1920’s Shanghai the streets run red with blood between two gangs: the scarlet gang and the white flowers. A constant blood feud beginning generations ago is stronger than ever. Juliette Cai is at the heart of the scarlets, the eighteen-year-old, a former flapper returns to assume her role as the heir. The Scarlet gang’s only rival is the white flowers whose heir, Roma Montagov is Juliette’s first love and betrayal… But when people show signs of madness and start clawing at their own throats, death stacks up but when both gangs are affected, Juliette and Roma must put their weapons and resentments aside to stop this chaos or there will be no city left for either of them to rule… Review These violent delights was such an amazing read! It was written elegantly; the descriptions flowed and carried the story. The author’s writing style reminded me a little of the way classic authors write but take out the bad parts, modernise it to fit young adult and she added her own unique spin. I loved everything about this novel, the characters, the relationships, the chemistry, the setting, the atmosphere, and I was extremely excited to read the sequel. There was a time when this book was circulating the media and I would say it deserves the hype it got. This book really takes you on an emotional rollercoaster in a way you may not expect, the chemistry between every single character was spectacular. This novel was written in third person with dual perspectives of Roma and Juliette which really showcased their enemies to lover’s trope, as well as other occasional sections written from the semi-main/side characters contributing unexpectedly well to the overall story line. This book [and our violent ends] particularly stood out to me because of its Asian rep and the in-depth personalities of those characters showed me I was capable of being just as strong as them. This is one of the first books I read with Asian main characters\protagonists [especially in the historical, fantasy] which is extremely sad I wasn’t able to find novels with people who looked like me without it fitting into stereotypes. The unforgettable characters made it impossibly hard to leave their world behind [especially after the sequel]. The fact that it was a fantasy novel with a large Asian cast made me feel so happy to be seen represented. There were many lovely characters, even the smaller side ones made sense to the story and added impacted to the over arcing storylines and character development. The mix of cultures added something that is very real in today’s age, the fact where everywhere you go there is a diverse range of people. I really enjoyed the use of multiple languages, there were some moments where I had to reread over a bit but the author cleverly wove them in and when the characters spoke those languages in a loving way it made it such a large impact. The list of characters I loved were endless, so I won’t be naming them. There was lgbtqia+ rep found in the side characters, but it wasn’t the characters’ main personality, it was just a part of them which I loved and appreciated. Overall, I loved this book, and it gave me the best sense of emotions, Chloe gong’s writing style is something I wish to explore more and am very excited for Chloe’s future works. This novel also made me feel represented in the fantasy/historical fiction realm and it just makes you feel like anything is possible with the Asian representation I have lacked in literature. Quotes “We stay quiet about the injustice of all this simply because it hurts his feelings?” “Too many kind hearts turn cold every day.” “You destroy me, and you kiss me. You give me reason to hate you and then you give me reason to love you. Is this a lie or the truth? Is this a ploy or your heart reaching for me?” “Hope was the most vicious evil of them all, the thing that had managed to thrive in a pandora’s box among misery, and disease, and sadness – and what could endure alongside others with such teeth if it didn’t have ghastly claws of its own?” “It is a sound that exists incongruous with the rest of the anxiety seeping along this city’s arteries.” Recommendations An enemies to lovers duology in an intensity filled environment with rebellion, gangsters and a blood feud set in an imaginative world and ribboned in by the author’s incredible beautiful writing ready to take you on an emotional roller-coaster. Pros: Asian and lgbtqia+ (side characters) rep. How much the novel took me on an emotional rollercoaster, how uniquely well the novel/s were written and the Romeo and Juliet retelling. Cons Nothing, absolutely nothing, it is perfect as it is.
Enna Mari 