These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong | Book Review
I was pre-approved of an eARC on NetGalley by the publisher, so thank you Margaret K. McElderry Books!
My Rating: 3.5 / 5 🌟
A “Romeo & Juliet” reimagining in the world of “The Godfather” set in 1920s Shanghai. This was the pitch of These Violent Delights when I first came across this debut novel. Being a romantic, I was truly intrigued by what the book will bring in terms of the romance and that was my biggest mistake going into the book. While These Violent Delights is a retelling of “Romeo & Juliet”, the story had so many other elements to showcase that it was a story of its own.
These Violent Delights is a story about the heirs of the two gangs in Shanghai – the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers – putting aside their rivalry and teaming up together when the threat of a contagion and a monster starts taking the lives of their gang members. And with the lack of initiative from both of their fathers, it became the responsibility of Juliette Chai, the heir of the Scarlet Gang; and Roma Montagov, the heir of the White Flowers; to find the cause behind the madness.
Right off the bat, the first aspect I want to give praise to is the exceptional writing that has been displayed by the author. Since this book has the element of a “Romeo & Juliet” story, it was clear through Chloe’s writing that she wanted to pay homage to the creator of that tale, but at the same time still wanting to capture the other essence of the book – the gang rivalry and the situation in Shanghai during that period. Chloe also succeeded in delivering quotes that manage to catch your attention, as well as being fully capable of standing well in its own without the context of the story.
The book is told in third person limited with the POV switching not only between the two main characters but also all the side characters – Marshall, Benedict, Rosalind and Kathleen, that allows the readers a glimpse into the lives and the past of all the characters that will be moving the story forward. All of them have a distinct voice throughout the book and I enjoyed reading from all of their perspectives. However, although having spent more time with Juliette and Roma, it was the side characters that I was more interested in reading. I think it’s because the side characters; despite being close to the two heirs, are still normal people while Juliette and Roma are the heirs, hence putting them on a higher pedestal, which created a lack of connection between me and the two main characters.
Even so, I was still invested in Juliette and Roma from the angle of their love story that I was most anticipating from the book. But sadly, the romance fell flat. Since the book does revolve around the heirs of the two rival gangs and their love story, I was interested to see how the tension between these two characters will affect their position in their respective gangs, as well as their dynamics working together. And yet, I still don’t find myself rooting for their relationship as much as I hoped. So, if you’re someone like me, who is highly anticipating the romance aspect, I would ask for you to manage your expectations for it.
Other than the disappointing romance, the book also felt messy in terms of its storylines and elements that ended up affecting the book’s pacing. How the story seems to move is by having a web of storylines heading to one main direction. I find this to be a good strategy to tell this story, as the book has fantastic storylines that not only deal with the main plot but also the idea of colonialism which is highly relevant to the given period and place this book was set in. But with all this riding on its back, the pacing became slow for my personal preference. Chloe tried to give each storyline sufficient time to develop but instead, it ended up slowing down the story as a whole. It seems that the story only got really interesting within the last quarter or so when all the storylines start coming together, but other than that, the book seems to flow passively rather than engaging.
All in all, These Violent Delights is a very solid debut novel especially since it’s written by someone who is still an undergraduate in college. While the book does take inspiration from elsewhere, I think it manages to stand out as its own true and original story, as well as bringing something new to the YA genre. I’ll be looking forward to reading the sequel in the future, although it’s not one I’ll be highly anticipating. But if you’re looking for a new breath of fresh air in the YA genre, I believe These Violent Delights would be a good choice.
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