Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights, #2)

by Chloe Gong

The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.

The heartstopping follow up to These Violent Delights, an imaginative, alluring retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai.

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 into 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.

Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma's cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren't prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.

*** PRAISE FOR CHLOE GONG ***

'Heady, smart, and vicious' Tessa Gratton, author of The Queens of Innis Lear

'Deliciously dark' Natasha Ngan, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Paper and Fire

'Dark and beautiful' Emiko Jean, author of Empress of all Seasons

'A terrific, deliciously unputdownable read' June Hur, author of The Silence of Bones

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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Oh man, am I emotionally prepared for the ending of These Violent Delights? I'm honestly not sure. What I do know is that I can't put Our Violent Ends, by Chloe Gong, off any longer. This is by far one of the most unique (and better written) Romeo and Juliet stories I've seen in a love time.

In this world, 1927 Shanghai was on the verge of collapse, with two rival gangs on the brink of war, with only one common threat keeping that slim semblance of peace. Roma and Juliet are war-torn lovers dancing that line, trying to find ways to protect one another – and their people.

The threat to the city is far from over, as monsters are still a high risk, there's still a desperate need for a cure, and other parties want to take the title of top-dog. It's almost too much for anyone to bear.

“These violent delights have violent ends, you have always known this.”

I'm not ashamed to admit that I put off reading Our Violent Ends a little bit. Given how much I love the characters and what I know of the story that inspired this tale, I think my slight sense of foreboding was totally legitimate. If not entirely fair.

Still, I did finally cave and dived on into Our Violent Ends. Having finally sat down and read the book (in one night, mind you), I can now safely say that I was being a little bit foolish. This was never a book I should have put off reading. I love the world and the characters far too much for that.

“I will fight this war to love you, Juliette Cai. I will fight this feud to have you, because it was this feud that gave you to me, twisted as it is, and now I will take you away from it.”

Our Violent Ends was such a whirlwind of a read. There's a lot that happens within these pages, and I do mean a lot. It's hard to believe that Chloe Gong managed to fit so many threats and enemies into such a relatively short story. I loved every minute of it.

The idea of saying goodbye to these characters was rough, obviously. Even more so because I think we all went into it with assumptions on how it would end. I will not comment on whether or not those assumptions were correct, but I will say that the ending was both thematic and appropriate for the series.

The success of Our Violent Ends leaves me hoping that Chloe Gong may consider revamping other classic tales into something wholly different and captivating. Regardless, I know whatever she writes next, I'll be reading it.

Read more reviews over at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 30 December, 2021: Finished reading
  • 30 December, 2021: Reviewed