Q U I C K S T A T S
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Writing style- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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//Content Warning: Alcohol consumption / Blood / Death /Drugs / Gore / Grief / Torture / Murder (including mass murder) / Parental abuse / Violence (the title says it all) / War themes //
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre(s): Historical Fantasy
Age group: Young Adult
Pub date: November 16th 2021
Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls “deliciously dark.”
P R E M I S E
NOTE: MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR 'THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS'
The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.
After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.
Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.
M Y R E V I E W
Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton, for providing me a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Hodder & Stoughton
Set in 1927's Shanghai, in the midst of an ongoing revolution, the mighty retelling's sequel of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ended the duology with a bang (literally).
Chloe Gong has created a diverse cast from scratch and had realistically written characters in their pre-20s. Juliette Cai was everything a girl could ever want to be; insanely good with weapons and loved by Roma Montagov. Roma, on the other hand, perfectly executed the role of the sarcastic love interest™. Their relationship was explored further in this book and was severely tested during multiple occasions. I loved watching them grow as individuals and as a couple.
I've said this before and I will say it again: Miss Gong has the raw talent of capturing an audience with her beautiful writing style (in the words of Sabrina Carpenter's Spotify bio; engages, enthrals and enchants). The writing was humorous in the right places (I had to pause, take a deep breath and read my favourite extracts out loud to my sister because they were too funny to keep them to myself) and vividly painful in the others. Below I will include my favourite dialogue exchange with zero context provided.
"You're clearly trying to kill me."
"I'm obviously not very good at it because you remain alive."To conclude, Our Violent Ends literally ends violently which is the perfect ending to this duology. Make sure you keep a lookout for this masterpiece on the November 16th 2021.
T R O P E S
Enemies to lovers
Forbidden romance
Found family
Retelling
Second chance romance
R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
Chinese main and side characters
Chinese trans female main character
Gay main characters
Korean main character
S I M I L A R B O O K S
Dance of Thieves (duology) by Mary E. Pearson (one of my all-time favourites!)
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
Six Crimson Cranes (duology) by Elizabeth Lim
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