ARC Review: Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong
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Series: These Violent Delights #2
Author: Chloe Gong
Published November 16th 2021 by Hodder & Stoughton
Goodreads Synopsis
Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls “deliciously dark.”
The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.
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 in to 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.
Goodreads
Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.
Recovering from the events of These Violent Delights, Shanghai is at war once more. The rival gangs of the Scarlet Gang and White Flowers are locked in a fight to the death, with the blood feud even stronger than ever. Roma Montagov, the heir of the White Flowers, wants revenge for the death of his friend, and his hatred for Juliette Cai, heir of the Scarlet Gang, outweighs his love for her. But it's not just the gangs that have power in the city, the Nationalists and Communists are at loggerheads, there's a blackmailer which access to the remaining monsters, and a powder keg ready to explode. Will Juliette be able to win Roma back, proving Marshall is still alive, and that all she wants is to help the people of her city - she doesn't care for the feud. Or are the star-crossed lovers too far apart to find happiness, and what will the consequences of their love be for the people of Shanghai?
I am in utter awe at this book! I was late to the party when it came to These Violent Delights, but enjoyed it, and when I was approved for the sequel the other night, I sped through the book I was reading, and immediately started Our Violent Ends, even though I should've read other books with more pressing deadlines. In this book, the fight and suspense is even greater, as are the consequences of the actions of our heroes. The love between our star-crossed couple, Roma and Juliette, has been dimmed slightly by the actions Juliette had to take at the end of book 1 to prove her loyalty to her people, but it's no less heartbreaking for them to see each other. When they are forced to work together, by their fathers no less, it's reopens old wounds, and the pain and longing between them was tangible. But this time, they aren't just up against their family - though Tyler does stick his nose in where it doesn't belong. The safety of their people and the city of Shanghai is at stake, and it seems like these two, along with their friends, may just be the only people with their heads screwed on right to help everyone. The city is rife with corruption, and revolution is on the horizon. I adored seeing the growth in our main characters, and the way they found their way back to each other. Every page of the book was full of emotion and I didn't know how much I could take as I rushed through the last few chapters. Would they have a happy ending, or are they fated to repeat the ending of the source material? Well, I don't want to spoil anything, but I loved it all, and couldn't have asked for more. I hope that Chloe's new series focuses on some of the characters we see in the epilogue here, and I'll be very impatiently waiting for it!
Dates Read:
August 18-19, 2021
Rating
5 Stars
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