Book Review: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong is a bold, imaginative reimagining of Romeo and Juliet, set in 1920s Shanghai — a city teetering on the edge of chaos, where politics, power, and a mysterious contagion collide. In her dazzling debut, Gong delivers a story that blends historical fiction, fantasy, and star-crossed romance into a hauntingly original tale of loyalty, betrayal, and identity.
At the heart of the novel are Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, heirs to rival crime syndicates who were once in love and now find themselves on opposite sides of a bloody gang war. But when a strange madness begins to sweep through the city, leaving its victims tearing their own throats out, Juliette and Roma are forced into an uneasy alliance. Their shared past is fraught with pain, mistrust, and lingering desire, making every moment of cooperation as dangerous as the forces threatening to destroy their city.
Gong’s prose is lush and atmospheric, perfectly capturing the glamour and grit of 1920s Shanghai. The city is a living, breathing presence — vibrant, volatile, and teeming with danger. But it’s the emotional complexity of the characters that gives the novel its depth. Juliette is fierce, conflicted, and refreshingly ruthless, while Roma’s quiet vulnerability hides a deeply scarred heart. Their chemistry simmers with tension, history, and heartbreak.
These Violent Delights is more than a romance or a mystery — it’s a meditation on colonialism, generational trauma, and the price of survival. Chloe Gong doesn’t just retell a classic; she reinvents it for a new generation, with sharp insight and a fearless voice.
With this fierce, genre-blending debut, Gong proves she’s a literary force to watch. These Violent Delights is intoxicating, razor-sharp, and utterly unforgettable.
About These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
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.
