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These Violent Delights

-Chloe Gong


The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

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A Romeo and Juliette retelling as you’ve never read before! This debut from a fresh voice for YA has knocked this story out of the park. The plot is fast-paced and full of vivid descriptions that will transport the reader. She makes you feel the palpable tension between main characters Juliet and Roma, yet also feel the thin line between love and hate. Favorite quotes: "Anyone can be the master to a monster should their heart be wicked enough."

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"You destroy me and then 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?"

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"This place rumbles on Western idealism and Eastern labor…"

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"They believed themselves the rulers of the world—on stolen land in America, on stolen land in Shanghai. Everywhere they went—entitlement."

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Juliette Cai feared disapproval more than she feared grim on her soul.”


This is a Romeo and Juliette retelling with forbidden romance and intriguing mystery amid the flapper atmosphere of a 1920’s Shanghai city. Both main characters are strong and capable in their own right. I never felt one would forfeit their strength to the other as each shared their vulnerabilities equally and I felt it was respectfully done.


Per author:

These Violent Delights is my love letter to Shanghai, to Shakespeare, and to my younger self, who so desperately wanted to find an adventure on the shelves starring someone with a face like hers. [She wanted] to take a classic that we so dearly love and revamp it: in a new culture, with queer rep, and as a brutal takedown of colonialism—without losing its core themes about love, and hate, and loyalty.

CONTENT WARNINGS: This book contains mentions and descriptions of blood, violence, gore, character deaths, explicit description of gouging self (not of their own volition), murder, weapon use, insects, alcohol consumption, parental abuse.


Heidi Y.

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