Our Violent Ends (2) (These Violent Delights Duet)

Our Violent Ends is AMAZING! I ordered this book a while ago earlier this year and I am just now writing a review, and I just would like to state that its so amazing that I flip through the book blasting music at night every single night, and it takes my mind off stressful things and just takes me to the amazing world Chloe has created! Chloe Gong is hands down one of the best authors I have EVER read and I would highly recommend reading this and the rest of the Secret Shanghai Series - These Violent Delights, Our Violent Ends, Foul Lady Fortune, and Last Violent Call Novellas - Cannot wait for Foul Heart Huntsman on September 26 and Immortal Longings July 18! Thanks Chloe!

As with the first book, the plot conclusion seemed rushed. Overall I enjoyed revisiting the characters from the first book

"Nothing in this world is complicated, only misunderstood.""For however long our souls remain, mine will always find yours." It's 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 on a mission. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as heir. To protect the one she loves, she must have him hate her. Roma is still reeling from the events of book one and blames himself for trusting Juliette. He is determined to set things right--even if that means killing the girl he both hates and loves. But a new monster emerges to threaten the city and the two must work together if they plan to end the threat. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war grow louder every day, and gangster rule faces annihilation. Roma and Juliette must work together to combat both monsters and politics. I wasn't really sure about this book because the first one was a bit of a let down for me. I can honestly say that every single issue I had with the first book was once again an issue in this one. It took forever to get to the monsters and we got a lot of politics instead. At least this time the summary makes it obvious that is going to be the case. I just wish the monster element had never been part of the story because it isn't utilized to the full potential in my opinion. Starting this one I struggled a bit because only four months had passed, but each character was the polar opposite of who they were before. I liked some of the characters a bit more this time because I think we got more character backgrounds but still so much was missing for me. Again with this one I felt like the book could have been condensed because all of the action was crammed into like the last ten chapters. However, this one did fill way more like a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I could see more of the romance this time. The book also kept me guessing a few times with some of the manipulation and big reveals that took place, but a few became pretty obvious too. I will say between the two I prefer this one because it was slightly more engaging. But most of the time it felt like nothing was happening in the story. Overall it's an interesting story if you can set aside the monster narrative and not go into it wanting that element.

The book was very slow to start, so it was hard to keep going. Halfway through it picks up again. However, there is a page missing. See the photo... the paragraph stops without any punctuation and then proceeds to talk about another character not mentioned in that moment... does not add up and is rather confusing.

🗡This was a continuation of These Violent Delights, a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai. It picked up after the first book ended and had elements of historical fiction, mystery, horror, and romance. I will say that I loved this one more than the first book.🗡It was very angsty in the first half as I was aggravated with Juliet for all the secrets she was keeping to protect Roma and others. It killed me how Roma felt betrayed by Juliet at first, yet you knew he still loved her. There were many twists and revelations in this book that I really didn’t know what was going to happen next. Roma and Juliet wasn’t the only love story written here. I absolutely adored Ben and Marshal, their relationship, and their ending. There were many other strong side characters that made such an impact in this story as well.🗡We all know how the original Romeo and Juliet played out. This too will pull at your heartstrings. With that being said, it was still a beautiful imaginative retelling and worth the read! I think Chloe Gong is a very talented writer and I loved the historical aspect of these books. It was beautifully written and I know this won’t be the last book I read by her.

Now THIS was the story that I expected from a Romeo and Juliet inspired novel! You must read it though because it's not at all like what you might believe. You won't be disappointed!I thought that bringing the monsters back and all was a bit repetitive, even if it was done in a different way. The intrigue between all the factions became a bit tedious as well as a little hard to follow, what with all the double double crossings and twists. At one point, I was almost rooting for the revolution, just to put an end to it all (not really, but sort of).I felt that the epilogue left a few things to be desired as far as some of the secondary characters' endings were concerned. Everything is basically tied up neatly, but I would have liked more detail, especially about Benedikt and Marshall.But what I was most interested in and what Gong's Our Violent Ends really delivers on is that star-crossed love story. The story that rips your heart out and makes you cry right along with the characters. This one is definitely better than the original though! I still spent most of the story yelling at both of them, as I did when reading the original Romeo and Juliet, telling them if they just thought about it a little harder, from the other's point of view, then they'd realize what was really going on and see the truth of the matter, which was that their love for each other was true and stronger than anything around them, not their gang loyalties, their parental loyalties, their responsibilities, not even death. For never was a story of love more truly kept, than this of Roma and his Juliette...

This book was so much better than book one. You can see the authors writing getting better and the pacing of this story felt much quicker, which made for a more enjoyable read.It’s a shame the end got spoiled for me (damn you booktok) so it took away the element of surprise and also takes away some of the enjoyment when you know it’s coming.Marshall will forever remain my fave character, I love him <3

I read the first book over the past week. I read the second one in under 12 hours, only pausing for dinner.It's hard to end a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, because everybody knows how the original story ends. And yet.This interpretation kept me hoping for the best yet fearing the worst until the end.We follow the same characters we fell in love with during the first book, and watch them evolve in this version of Shanghai as the situation gets worse and worse. There are choices to be made. Actions to be taken. And a book that cannot be put down.No spoilers here, so I'm going to keep this review short. Just... read it.

Venía bien empaquetado y protegido. La segunda parte de la bilogia, es maravilloso.

Esse livro foi, para mim, tudo que o primeiro deveria ter sido e tentou ser, mas não conseguiu. Foi bem mais "Romeu e Julieta" do que o anterior, teve mais conflito político complexo do que o outro e o enredo desse tinha propósito do começo ao fim. Os personagens estavam mais bem estabelecidos e seus obstáculos foram mais naturais e realistas. Até o romance fez mais sentido, se desenvolveu sem enrolação e com emoção. Do começo ao fim, parecia que a autora sabia o que estava fazendo, tinha total controle sobre sua história e não forçou nada para encaixar no que queria. Esse segundo livro foi excelente, como a premissa e o hype tinha prometido que o primeiro seria.É claro que você tem que ler o primeiro não muito bom para chegar nesse, mas queria pensar que esse é um livro único. Fiquei com a impressão de que era uma história só, mas que seria bastante longa, então dividiram em dois livros e tiveram que inventar mais coisa para "encher linguiça" e justificar uma duologia. Essa foi a minha impressão, porque o primeiro realmente é cheio de tropeços e de enrolação forçada ao máximo, enquanto esse daqui passa muito mais firmeza na criação de todos os elementos da história, inclusive nas gangues e na inspiração na peça do Shakespeare.Sobre o final, que é algo que pode desagradar a muita gente, eu gostei bastante. Igual a todos os outros aspectos do livro, ficou natural e bem encaixado no resto, até a questão mais estranha e fantástica da história funcionou muito bem. Entendo que esse tipo de final pode ser menos feliz e agradável, mas eu gostei, porque achei inteligente e que tinha propósito para além dos finais mais clichês.Se não fosse por esse segundo livro, acho que nunca recomendaria a duologia. Mas achei ele tão bom, que vale passar pela leitura de um primeiro um pouco pior! Ou seja, recomendo demais! Ele acabou entrando para os meus favoritos.

Shanghai in 1927 is a powder keg on the brink of revolution.Juliette lied to Roma to save his life. She faked the death of his friend Marshall. It was a hard choice made harder by Roma believing so easily she could be so cold as to murder his friend. To stave off her heartbreak she has thrown herself into her work for the Scarlet Gang. She will do anything to secure her position as heir while fending off her undermining cousin daily. Her toughest task is pretending she wants Roma dead to secretly keep him alive and away from direct attacks by the Scarlets.Roma is grief-stricken over Marshall's death and misses Benedikt who refuses to speak to him unless in an official capacity. Roma blames himself for Marshall's death as he let Juliette back in their lives. Determined to seek revenge he plans on killing Juliette himself. This is proving difficult because he now hates her as passionately as he loves her. Somethings can't be killed and that’s his connection to her.While contending with their feelings and gang rivalries, a new monster has descended adding fuel to the fire and further chaos on the streets. Forced to pair up again to share intel to uncover who is behind the monster attacks, they can't escape the obvious love and desire they have for one another. Love can conquer all but will it be enough to help Roma and Juliette save everyone in time before another monster plague hits? Can they secure a future where they can be together or will creature attacks, political unrest and all-out civil war be the end of them and the gangs they belong to?🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. A compelling, action-packed and tension-filled finale in this incredible duology. The world around Roma and Juliette is physically burning, they are forced into confronting the reality of their feelings while pushing past resentments to save their people. The chemistry and connection those two have leaped from the page and no matter what happens I will always root for them being together. Perfect ending to this beautifully written, creative and captivating series.