These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (These Violent Delights #1)

Reviewed by Sam!

What I drank prior: so I’ve had a lot to drink. Parker wanted to have a Doctor night so we did but it wasn’t really cause he quite before 11am. BUT I DIGRESS. I’ve had at the very least a bottle and a half of wine

Goodreads Overview:

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.

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

Drunk Overview: OK so I think this I book tries to say its Romeo and Juliet but its like….not. Mostly because R and J are 13 and these ones aren’t but minorly because the fight was never made so dramatic as the Shakespeare wants me to think. Plus there are people dying for uncanny reasons and then I’m too drunk to give more description to the plot so here we are.Basically there’s a demon making people kill the selves and we’re just trying to fin out who and why? Ok?

Spoiler-free Thoughts: I didn’t think I’d hate this book as much as I did but i fucking did not like this book, Hate is strong but…. We’re gonna do bullets cause I don’t think i could describe it otherwise

• SO THE CHARACTERS sucked like a lot. Like why did it matter? There was the lady who went away to school but to the West and then there were the folks who didn’t and then everyone was like “you only left cause of the bae and she killed him besides” and wow that’s a lot
• PLUS There were the Ben and they kinda sucked cause they made no choices without trying to figure out how it affected the women so like… we should be mad about that… right? But no, cause the men do actually care but the women
• They really only want to be “independent” without checking and that’s not super great. Look i am a feminist but this book is v misogynistcharacters and they want them to overcome it but they don’t.
• Oh Em Gee they realize women have their own minds but not enough to make a difference to the plot.
• Ok but while this book was so boring what i love about it is hte culture that it shows us. In Shanghai in this time you get the English, the French ( i almost said the while and the french which is funny), the Spanish, the asian, and all the other cultures at that time.
• This plot is so boring but i legitimately love the cultural mixture and melting pot is great. Like better than i wanted.
• BUT AT THE EXPENSE OF PLOT. This book was bad. The setting was great the plot sucks so so bad.

What to pair it with: hard seltzer. White claw. the worst seltzer

Rating: 1.5/5

Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,
Sam