These Violent Delights
the captivating New York Times bestseller
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
'A deliciously dark twist on Romeo and Juliet' Natasha Ngan, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Paper and Fire
In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens . . .
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 in chaos.
Juliette Cai is the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang - a network of criminals far above the law.
Roma Montagov is the prodigal son of her greatest rivals, the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. He is also Juliette's first love . . . and first betrayal.
When a deadly madness strikes gangsters on both sides, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, and a monster in the shadows. And 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, there will be no city left to rule.
Filled with romance, intrigue and betrayal, this heart-stopping fantasty retelling of Romeo and Juliet is perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane.
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
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Chloe Gong’s ambitious debut novel draws on a surprising range of genres for its rollercoaster retelling of Romeo and Juliet. Set in 1920s Shanghai, with Chinese teen Juliette and her Russian love interest Roma cast on rival sides of a blood feud, the book begins as YA-friendly historical fiction before adding notes of fantasy and noir. True to its title (and source material), the action in These Violent Delights is gripping throughout, with knives and guns brandished across Shanghai’s tangled underworld. Gong depicts the city as a fluid hub for diverse languages and cultures, complicating the protagonists’ already star-crossed backstory. But rather than tell a self-contained tale, Gong finishes with a jolting cliffhanger that leads directly to a sequel, Our Violent Ends.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This mesmeric fantastical reinterpretation of Romeo and Juliet nestles the star-crossed lovers renamed Roma Montagov and Juliette Cai in an atmospheric mid-1920s Shanghai, where the Russian Montagovs, head of the White Flowers, and the Chinese Cais, head of the Scarlet Gang, have been embroiled in an age-old blood feud. Freshly returned from New York City, 18-year-old Juliette struggles to be respected as the heir of the Scarlets, since cultural sexism deems her hotheaded cousin Tyler, also 18, more worthy of deference. Meanwhile, Roma, 19, has never regained favor in his father's eyes after the bloody attack that wrested Roma from Juliette's good graces four years previously. But with colonial and communist tensions rising within Shanghai and "a strange madness" linked to a rumored river monster compelling men on every side to tear out their own throats, former lovers Roma and Juliette must reunite and surmount the bad blood between them if they have any hope of saving their city. Gong's incisive retelling imbues a thoroughly modern richness, with arresting prose and an inclusive cast. A lush, wholly original debut that will satiate Shakespeare aficionados and draw those seeking an engrossing, multifaceted historical fantasy. Ages 14 up.