Description

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

‘Deliciously dark’ NATASHA NGAN
‘Heady, smart and vicious’ TESSA GRATTON

This heart-pounding fantasy romance retelling of Romeo and Juliet is set in jazz-age Singapore and filled with intrigue, danger and betrayal.

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.

READERS LOVE CHLOE GONG

‘This was INCREDIBLE are you kidding me!! It’s a friends to lovers to enemies to reluctant allies Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai and I loved it’

‘This is a stunning and richly-imagined fantasy with lots of bloody action, revenge, betrayal and so much more that there is never a dull moment’

‘A fusion of thrill, passion and devastation! I absolutely loved this tale and still in-awe of the fact that this is a debut novel! From the very beginning, the story felt grippingly intense and exciting’

‘I am not at all sure how I am going to patiently wait for the sequel of this book after THAT ending! A phenomenal read!’

‘WHAT A BOOK!! I am absolutely left wanting MORE, MORE, MORE!’

Publisher Review

A deliciously dark twist on Romeo and Juliet that feels vibrant, modern, and wholly exciting. Gong's writing brims with energy. I was swept away to her dark Shanghai from the first page and never wanted to leave! * Natasha Ngan, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Paper and Fire * Heady, smart, and vicious, These Violent Delights strikes every note with precision, layering romance and politics into a roaring 20s Shanghai of both monsters and monstrous imperialism * Tessa Gratton, author of The Queens of Innis Lear * Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights plants a Shakespearean classic in the rich soil of 1920s Shanghai, allowing her characters to grow, flourish, and steal your heart while warring against their own * Joan He, author of Descendant of the Crane * Gong ensnares readers with a delicious tale of family rivalries and forbidden love all set against the glittering backdrop of 1920s Shanghai. Don't miss this dark and beautiful retelling of Romeo and Juliet! * Emiko Jean, author of Empress of All Seasons * Full of glitter, suspense and gore, These Violent Delights takes readers into the perilous world of 1926 Shanghai . . . Chloe Gong's debut is a terrific, deliciously unputdownable read! * June Hur, author of The Silence of Bones * These Violent Delights combines strong characterisation, skilfully interwoven political insight and an atmospheric portrayal of a Shanghai in the throes of change * Guardian * A lush, wholly original debut that will satiate Shakespeare aficionados and draw those seeking an engrossing, multifaceted historical fantasy * Publishers Weekly, Starred Review * A must-read with a conclusion that will leave readers craving more * Kirkus Starred Review * The setting's brilliant, a city split by merchant colonies and divided into gang territories, in a country itself fractured politically and on the verge of revolution * SFX * Filled with Gong's lush prose, These Violent Delights brings 1920s Shanghai to life, along with a romance that is weighed with history * BookRiot * Stylish and engrossing * Popsugar * A rip-roaring, magic-tinged epic of cabarets and speakeasies, dens and divas . . . Gong's vivid Shanghai is a place to get enjoyably lost in * Financial Times * Gong's darkly seductive YA debut transplants Romeo and Juliet to 20s Shanghai for a gripping story of rival gangs, forbidden love and a plague that threatens to tear the city asunder * The i * The Bard would surely approve * The New York Times, Book Review * These Violent Delights is a phenomenal book and a wonder of a debut . . . Chloe has written star-crossed lovers/lovers-to-enemies like I've never read before, and if you love yearning, then trust me: you'll love These Violent Delights * The Quiet Pond * This is the kind of book where I sort of just want to open my mouth and let the words expressing my love tumble out with abandon . . . I truly loved everything about this book * The Elven Warrior * More than anything, These Violent Delights is a rich portrait of a seldom-depicted time and place * NPR * An unforgettable reimagining of Romeo and Juliet * ALA Booklist, starred review * These Violent Delights is a superior fantasy novel; multi-layered, diverse and reflective in its themes, whilst at the same time offering up the kind of darkness, romance and emotion that leaves you yearning for more - not just more of this particular story and its endearing, complex characters - which we've already been promised - but more from Chloe Gong beyond her star-crossed lovers too * Culturefly * Chloe Gong does expertly what all the best retellings do. She doesn't simply transpose her source material into a new setting, she engages with the spirit of the original and in doing so crafts a story that is entirely and beautifully her own . . . I cannot recommend this book strongly enough * Chaipters * Gong's debut is not to be missed. With a dazzling setting, a mysterious series of murders, and diverse, unapologetically criminal characters, this novel ranks with the greatest YA retellings * School Library Journal, starred review *