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These Violent Delights (1) (These Violent Delights Duet)
An Instant New York Times Bestseller!
A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020 Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, 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. 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.
A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020 Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, 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. 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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Community Reviews
This one wasn't really my jam.
It was fine. Not terrible. Just not for me.
I wasn't really too interested until like 2/3's of the way in.
It was fine. Not terrible. Just not for me.
I wasn't really too interested until like 2/3's of the way in.
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It's a interesting Romeo and Juliet take but there was way too many things going on in the story. Every chapter seemed to have one more off the wall event.
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I really loved this book. It was fast-paced and had an engaging group of secondary characters that really helped the leads shine. The end was extremely gripping. I was hoping for a little bit more from the 1920s setting. We heard a lot about the political strife, but I wanted descriptions of the fashion and technology. At times, I felt like the book could be set in the Modern era with a little more political tension sprinkled over China or in a fantasy world. One thing I will say is the font in the edition I had was very small. If you have trouble with that kind of thing, reading it on Kindle might be a better option for you. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because of the vaccine plotline (More on that in the Spoiler section).
Spoilers:
As a person with Autism, myths about Vaccines are my natural enemy. The plot line of a person creating an illness/madness and manufacturing vaccines to sell to people at an extravagant price while giving some people fake doses doesn't sit right with me. The vaccine could easily have been substituted for a scammy supplement or natural remedy.
I also have to wonder why Paul would set a hit on Juliette if he thought he was in love with her and wanted her to survive.
The emotional turmoil I felt over Marshall's death fake out will be brought up in therapy... when I finally go.
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Slow start but loved from the middle on. Actually yelled out loud at one point. Neat take on Romeo and Juliette.
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