These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Summary:

This is a Romeo and Juliet reimagining set in the 1920s in Shanghai. The story centers around the two heirs to two rival gangs: Juliette of the Scarlet Gang and Roma of the White Flowers. When rumors of a monster lurking in the water spreads and a madness breaks out causing people to claw their own throats out, Juliette and Roma must find a way to put the blood feud aside to save their people or risk losing their city altogether.

My Thoughts:

I did expect there to be some changes to the original Romeo and Juliette story given the description and the setting but the monster made it a different story altogether. The monster made this a fantasy novel instead of just a retelling/tragedy. 

While the story was a little slow paced for me at times, I enjoyed being brought into the this world of blood feuds and gangs. The writing and descriptions really brought this story to life for me.

I think the parts about clawing your throat out was a little much for me but ultimately not something I couldn’t handle. It is something for potential readers to be aware of though. 

The way things ended was not entirely a surprise but the cliffhanger was and I’m excited to find out what happens in the second book.