Where to start… this book was like poetry, i felt like i was reading Shakespeare. The writing was absolutely beautiful it was art, pure art.
The development of the characters was perfect, everything was meant to be and it felt right and true to the first book.
To be honest I felt like I was reading a classic, everything so into place and very rhythmical. The deterioration of power coincided with the rising of love, because what is more powerful than love itself. Chloe Gong is a genius I think we could truly study her book at uni.
The plot was breathtaking, the quotes in here are worthy of the most famous classic of all time. I think I fell in love, this book makes you fall in love with love itself because it represents hope and hope springs eternal right ?

The long-anticipated sequel to Gong's debut novel 'These Violent Delights', 'Our Violent Ends' picks up in the middle of a crossroads in Shanghai - the blood feud has only gotten worse amidst high political tensions. Juliette Cai, heir to the Scarlett gang, is living a double life - lying to everyone, including Roma himself, about the exact events that had occurred at the conclusion of the previous novel.

Initially, I was fearful that OVE would simply be a repeat of its predecessor due to its (genius) cyclical structure. My fears were completely misguided: this novel is the perfect sequel. Gong's stunning characterisation, with each character being fully developed with their own quirks, interests and love interests, is combined with a fast-paced plot, full of twists so complex and well-developed that it leaves your head spinning. This book was simply a masterclass in writing - every scene felt as though you were watching it happen in front of your very eyes. I felt as though each character was someone in my own life, someone who was stood in a room with me yet someone I knew everything about.

Chloe Gong, readers, has written one of the best Young Adult Novels of the decade. In some ways, it calls back to the various series that shaped Young Adult fiction for me - the combination of high-stake rivalries with recognisable political tensions. Run to bookstores on 16th November 2021, because I promise you in ten years time you're going to be able to want to say you were there way back when she published her second Novel.

I have so many questions to ask Chloe, but I will leave with this. As a half Chinese 18 year old with family in Shanghai (and one who dabbled in writing), this series is one that will forever be close to my heart. Thank you for giving me places and faces that I recognise :)

As always, a huge thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for this unbiased review.

Chole Gong has the raw talent of captivating her readers and destroying them in every possible way (Ms Gong, fuck you for that ending). She creates a wonderful cast of diverse characters from scratch and adds redeeming personality traits that make you instantly root for them. The plot was fast-paced, humorous in the right places (I laughed during multiple occasions and read extracts out loud to my younger sister who asked me if we could keep Juliette) and, at times, made me question everyone's sanity (including mine of course).

This whole duology has been an amazing ride and I'm grateful to be part of this fandom and witness this phenomenal writer's way with words.

THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS SUPREMACY <3

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong is an adrenaline-fuelled story to the continuation of These Violent Delights. I am so thrilled to be back to 1927 Shanghai where gangsters rule the city, chaos that ensues by the insect infested monsters and an inevitable war to seize power over the city. This book feautures one of my most favourite enemies to lovers couple, Roma Montagova and Juliette Cai and they're just so adorably cute but in a murder-y way.

I was absolutely over the roof when immediately upon requesting this book on Netgalley UK, I was instantly approved and it was out of the question to start reading imminently. Even by the first sentence, I was hooked and completely immersed, eager to find out what will happen to the characters and will they survive whatever might befall them.

This book is so action packed to the brim that there wasn't even a single word at all that made me bored. I was so invested with this story of Roma and Juliette, hoping for the best of both of them as they defy against the odds in the name of love. I just really love both of them so much and they deserve the world instead of constantly being tumbled down by the city and their allegiance to their gangs that are taking a toll on them.

I was completely scared as I was approaching the climax-the end. Because we all know how Romeo and Juliet ends but I refuse to be drowned by my fear as what I was hoping for came true after all. For that, I thank you so much Chloe Gong for not wrenching my heart to a million pieces.

After I finished reading this book, I feel empty yet whole inside. This book was so worth waiting for and everything is absolutely just phenomenal. I'm so happy that I got to read 3 months before the book is due to come out. This book is very painful at times but this is the kind of book that you can feel both happy and in pain at the same time. I absolutely recommend you to read this amazing and lovely book once it comes out November 16! If you haven't picked up this series please do so and do now linger and wait to read Our Violent Ends because believe me, you totally need this book and series in your life!

Honestly adored this book and cannot believe that the series is done! The entire thing was a delightfully beautiful read, amazing characterisation and frankly the language just blew me away. I am a fast reader anyway but I think I've broken all of my reading records with this one - putting it down simply wasn't an option for me at all so reading it in (basically) a single sitting was my only choice.

I loved how the story developed beyond the ending of the first book, with the madness coming across in a whole different way but while These Violent Delights seemed to focus principally on the madness itself (and the very disgusting, descriptions of it) this definitely had more of a focus on the relationships, the characters and their contribution towards that ending.

That ending. Adored. With it being a R&J retelling, there's always going to be preconceptions about what was going to happen but it wasn't at all predictable or unrealistic and I truly adored every second. Books don't often leave me breathless and wordless but this one definitely did. I'll be posting a more in detail review on my blog in the coming weeks once I've had the chance to fully digest everything (and potentially reread it, immediately!)

How can I describe this book by anything other than pure perfection . Right from the beginning till the very end, everything about this book was worth every second I have spend on reading this book .
Chloe is one of my favorite authors and she proved why right in this book .

The way the story picked up pace and beautifully connected to the first one making you feel like you are reading one book and not two books , few months apart.

We saw all the character develop to a level where they were their brilliant perfect versions , Roma who in the first book was refusing to get his hands dirty in the fued became a dominant personality here due to the betrayal which made his character so much more enjoyable , juliette my perfect juliette who was now in conflict of protecting her love while also being the perfect heir just stole the show as always , we see the side character Ben, Marshall katheleen , rosalind and alisa so much more in their book .
While writing a fantasy book like this chloe also maintained the historical accuracy , so that if you remove Roma , juliette and the monster from the book it would stay the perfect piece of history
The ending just broke me and my heart into a million little pieces and I'll thank chloe for that always.

All in all this book was a masterpiece, should be read my everyone.

Trigger warnings : blood , gun and knife violence , insects, death , murder ,

This is a non-spoiler review.

I wanted to start my review by saying that any rating less than five stars would not suffice for this book. It was amazing. I’m going to try not to keyboard smash my way through this review of Our Violent Ends because this book has rendered me speechless to the point where I don’t have enough coherent words to write this review, but I am certainly going to try.

Miss Chloe Gong is a phenomenal writer with such a way with words. She took a classic and warped it (in a very good way) to an enthralling duology that was completely original, raw and unique. Intriguing plot? Check. Exceptional character growth? Check. The worldbuilding of 1920s Shanghai? Beautiful. Romance? Epic (and dangerously so.) Plot twists? Oh, they’re there all right. An overall marvellous book? Yes!

The These Violent Delights duology has lodged its way into my heart, and their characters are so beloved. It would be impossible not to love them. And hey! For those familiar with the original text of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, there are a few easter eggs here (and even in the first book.) ( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛) I can’t wait to see what else this woman has up her sleeve because you can bet I’ll read them all.

If you’re still here after reading this review and have not picked up These Violent Delights yet, run along now and read this book before the sequel drops this November 2021! It is definitely one that is not to be missed.

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

Personal Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 Stars

Trigger Warnings: mentions and descriptions of blood, violence, gore, character deaths, explicit description of gouging self, murder, weapon use, insects, abuse.

Book Statistics:
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Year of Publication: 2021
Pages: 494

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of 'Our Violent Ends' in exchange for an honest review.


Firstly, I would like to say that 'Our Violent Ends' is one of the best books I have read all year.

I loved 'These Violent Delights' so much when I read it in January and I immediately craved for the second book.

The characters in this book always spoke to me in a different way and I got attached pretty easily from their first lines.

Now, with Our Violent Ends, that love skyrocketed to an extreme level.

This book made me smile, laugh, cry and just ache for more.

The way the plot was crafted to fit this story perfectly made me grasp every time new information was presented to everyone involved: the characters and the reader.

The pacing was perfect and the way Gong writes, provided from me, my attention to the book in every paragraph, page, word.

Juliette Cai is with certainty, one of my favorite female characters of all time, I adore Roma with my whole heart and the entire cast got me "hooked" in a level where other fictional characters never could.

I considered myself a fan of Gong's from the moment I finished 'These Violent Delights' but the admiration and respect this story "brought" out of me for Chloe, is recognizable to say the least, from the way I rave and talk about this beautifully dark and mysterious story to everyone around me.

I could talk about this masterpiece of a book for hours but I wanted to keep this short and appear collected when it comes to my review but for now this is all I have to say.

Thank you again to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this beauty of a book and thank you to Miss Chloe Gong for writing such a beautiful story with such amazing, real characters.

To love is to dare. If we are brave enough to love, it can make a difference.

My rating:5 stars
Did I like it: Absolutely!
Do I recommend it: Hell yeah!

Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution and the blood feud is even deadlier than before. Juliette Cai has to choose between loyalty, love and logic to save her city and those she loves.

Roma Montagov has gone dark after tasting the sweet sour taste of betrayal. The only thing that drives him is now spite and the goal of extracting his revenge from the heir of the Scarlett gang.

Benedikt Montagov is a shell of who he used to be. After the events of these violent delights, its as if he's lost himself. Benedikt Montagov only wants vengeance.

Kathleen Lang, has always lived in the shadows. Maybe she'll come out of it as a hero. Maybe she won't come out of it at all.

Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution and our characters either march along with it or get lost in the war.

Chloe Gong presents an even stronger sequel to what was a very strong debut. The author has matured in her writing style and has corrected her mistakes from the previous books.

Our characters, are truly morally gray. Whatever they do, they do it for themselves. Roma is willing to fight a war for love while Benedikt is ready to wage one. Juliette allows her lover to hate her to protect her position as the heir to the Scarlett gang. I am in love with each and every member of the cast.

Admitting, I wasn't a big Roma×Juliette fan in book 1, for me it was one Miss Katherine Lang and Mr Benedikt Montagov who stole the show and they keep their strong domineering presence in this book as well but Roma and Juliette steal the show with their intelligence and strong development.

Juliette is the best protagonist I have read in a long time and I absolutely love her.

Moving on, the writing style, I have no words. Chloe Gong is a literary genius, her smooth writing style, the way her words sing and the beauty of her prose is unparalleled. This book was not made with failure as an option.

Now let's talk about the pacing, the first book in the series had an issue with pacing, going slow at times whilst moving uncharacteristically fast at times. But Our Violent Ends doesn't repeat it. This is a fast paced novel with tricks and twists hiding in every page. The pacing is perfect and the author has maintained her grip on it throughout the book.

Next up, the plotwists, finally I've found a book with plotwists that don't feel unnatural. There's a beautiful amount of foreshadowing in the chapters before the plotwists hit and it still left me reeling.

And the authors capability to capture human emotions in her words is something I've never seen before. Our violent ends is brimming with angst, joy, sadness and grief. This is everything I've wanted and so much more.

Chloe gong truly delivers on my expectations.

This book is filled with betrayal, heartbreak and angst, I devoured it in 1 day and I suppose everyone else will too.
Also I will wrap Benedikt in a blanket and protect him from every evil in this world.

I also loved the utilization of the actual Romeo Juliette story and the changes the author has made rendering this a true retelling. Original, captivating and heartbreaking.


Best release of 2021. This is the book that deserves all the goodness in the world.

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!

this book… is everything to me… i can’t even explain. i laughed, i cried, i squealed, i gasped. ive never had a book make me sob crying while it wasnt even a sad chapter but there’s a first time for everything!

firstly… everything i loved about chloe’s writing style and the shanghai she created in these violent delights immediately transferred over into our violent ends. i constantly felt like i was in shanghai with them, because i was able to picture the world so perfectly and almost feel the tension alongside the characters. chloe has such a beautiful and mesmerising way with words that it’s incredibly hard to believe she’s the same age as me.

secondly. oh my god. the pretentious high school english student slash theatre kid is back. the way this is written is beyond phenomenal. i know romeo and juliet front to back, sidewards and inside out because im a little freak but i could never, NEVER, tell where this was going. chloe sticks to the core story and themes of r+j but the way she made it her own while sneaking little twists and turns in is truly incredible.

im running out of synonyms to explain how much i loved this btw can you tell?

lastly, just props to ms gong for catching me off guard not once, not twice but THREE TIMES. truly embarrassing. i was so invested in romajuliette being losers that things snuck up on me. the first reveal snuck up on me so hard i had to put my ipad down for an hour and just contemplate life.

thank you to netgalley and hodder & stoughton publishers who provided me this arc, i owe you my life

Once again we a transported back in time to the 1920s in Shanghai...

Juliette and Roma had thought all was done and they had saved their precious city. BUT they were wrong! Once again they have to work together. However, this time will be different. The previous year resulted in causalities and betrayal... There won't be the cooperation and it won't easy like last time. One is out for vengeance, the other is protecting them by ensuring the hatred remains for their own safety.

I recently read the first book and was overjoyed when I was accepted to read this book now! This book does NOT disappoint and Gong is really pulling at those heart strings! The writing and character development in this duology has been brilliant! Even the side characters like Rosalind and Kathleen have grown and change with the ever changing tides within the city they are living in.

The ending of this book left me in tears for two reasons. 1. because it is over and I don't know what I'm going to do.2. because it was such a beautiful book and the way it ends was just too much.

I loved the way Gong plays with dialogue from Romeo and Juliet into her books, I think this has been so clever and given the original story an extra something.

This was by far the easiest 5 stars I’ve given to a book in 2021. This was AMAZING. Chloe gong’s writing was phenomenal and I think I could gush about the writing and the duology in general for hours and hours.

First of all, I decided to pick up these violent delights in 2020 on a whim. It was being promoted everywhere and people around me were giving it positive reviews and nothing less. So of course, curiosity got the best of me and I decided that I was going to read it for myself. I had NO regrets. It was phenomenal I do not have any other way to describe this book.

Juliette and Roma are characters that will stay and stick with me for a very long time, many years to come. In fact, I read our violent ends in one sitting, it being one of my remaining most anticipated books of 2021. I devoured this in a few hours.

First of all, Juliette and Roma are brilliant characters. I do not have any other way to describe them. Chloe is a genius for being able to convey such thorough emotions between the two, I usually don’t cry in books, but there was a different type of emotional longing between the two. It was beautifully written and if I could, I would want to re read this all over again and experience it first hand for the first time. I couldn’t give this anything below 5 stars. I loved Juliette and Roma, both their relationships with each other and those around them. Juliette is fierce, she’s determined and she knows exactly what she wants. I admire that in a character and Juliette was everything I loved and more. I can’t believe chloe managed to top book 1. I love romantic books mixed with mystery/fantasy and this duet gave me exactly what I wanted. Juliette will be a character I remember for a very long time I just love her that much.

Next, Roma. Where do I even begin. Oh Roma. He was brave and kind hearted and everything you’d want in a perfectly flawed hero. He knows exactly what he wants but he’s conflicted between right and wrong, love and loss. His character was written beautifully, i especially loved his relationship with Alisa his younger sister. Roma made me swoon. It’s rare that I get attached to male characters in books, so when I do I know he’s something special. Roma’s journey from book 1 to book 2 was amazing. He knew it wasn’t easy and was always stuck between the right thing and the wrong thing. But of course, as the story goes, you cannot fall out of love immediately, so his emotions and love for Juliette only got stronger in this book. Gong has a way with words. So much so, that while reading the conclusion to chloes book, it genuinely felt like Juliette and Roma were soulmates, and no matter how many others you’d force onto them it would never work.

Finally, Juliette and Roma are everything to me. I adored these characters and I loved the morally grey side of the others. The gang conflict between the Russians and the Chinese was very well done. The setting in Shanghai was phenomenal, so much so, that I began doing my own research of this world and the locations mentioned. Of course, while Roma and Juliette were the state of this duet, I cannot help but praise Chloe for her writing her side characters the way she did, because I got very heavily attached and now here I am. Marshall was amazing, Alisa was brilliant and Kathleen and Rosalind were amazingly written. Benedikt was beautifully written, flowed but with such a big story to tell, Marshall and Benedikts story brought tears to my eyes.

In the future, I will definitely be picking up chloe’s future books. I’m sad that Roma and Juliettes story has come to an end, but I do know chloe has many plans for her writing in the future, and I couldn’t be more excited. If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. But 5/5 , an amazing story and it’s been an honour going on it with Roma and Juliette and everyone else in this world.

@ Chloe Gong: hey queen. girl you have done it again. constantly raising the bar for us all and doing it flawlessly. i’d say i’m surprised but I know who you are.
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words cannot even BEGIN to describe how much I love this book, these characters and the universe Chloe Gong has created within These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends. I was nervous, at first, about reading OVE, thinking perhaps my expectations were too high going into it but they FAR exceeded. Long story short, without heading into spoiler territory, if you enjoyed These Violent Delights, you’re going to LOVE Our Violent Ends.

Chloe Gong really created something so, so special in this duology and I’m going to miss this world and these characters more than anything *cue violin music.* No, but seriously, i’m heartbroken this story is over but so happy with how it was wrapped up.

Thankyou Chloe for this wonderful creation. And, of course, to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review!