Book Review: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Juliette and Roma must work together to solve a mystery threatening their territories in 1926 Shanghai. 

For fans of Romeo and Juliette this book is a great meshing of the classic tale and a powerful new spin giving the character a sense of depth that Shakespeare skipped over. The story takes place in Shanghai and features a wide variety of languages which gives the story a richness and is used as a vessel for readers to travel through with the characters. Juliette is a strong female character who readers will immediately gravitate to. One of the things that is enjoyable about the book is that the mystery more than the romance is the driving factor of the book allowing for the meeting of more characters and a deeper dive into the gang culture and politics of the time. The change that the characters experience can be felt in every page and the reader is in for a journey just as eventful as the characters.

The slow-burning romance in this book takes a back seat to the gripping mystery grounded in immersive historical detail. Allusions to Romeo and Juliet are evident in names and specific scenes, but familiar themes of family, loyalty, and identity bear new significance in Gong’s inventive adaptation. Language is a tool wielded deftly by the multilingual characters, who switch easily among English, French, Shanghainese, Russian, and more, with Mandarin as the primary dialect for Chinese phrases. A strong supporting cast that includes a trans girl completes this striking debut. A must-read with a conclusion that will leave readers craving more. - Kirkus Review

Book Information:

Gong, C. (2020). THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN 9781665921763

What Next?!

Continue the story with Our Violent Ends or Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mauer!