These Violent Delights

Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane , this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

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!

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

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

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 !

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!

These Violent Delights combines strong characterisation, skilfully interwoven political insight and an atmospheric portrayal of a Shanghai in the throes of change

A lush, wholly original debut that will satiate Shakespeare aficionados and draw those seeking an engrossing, multifaceted historical fantasy

A must-read with a conclusion that will leave readers craving more

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

Filled with Gong's lush prose, These Violent Delights brings 1920s Shanghai to life, along with a romance that is weighed with history

Stylish and engrossing

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

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 Bard would surely approve

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

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

More than anything, These Violent Delights is a rich portrait of a seldom-depicted time and place

An unforgettable reimagining of Romeo and Juliet

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

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

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

Top 10 fantasy reads: 'Reinvented and better than ever'

Gong combines classic Shakespeare with monsters and mayhem

As a certified Romeo and Juliet -head, this romantasy retelling of the Shakespeare classic is a personal favorite of mine

Chloe Gong is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of critically acclaimed fantasy and science fiction novels, including These Violent Delights, Immortal Longings and Coldwire. Her books have been published in over twenty countries and she was named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 for 2024. Chloe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, she is now located in New York City.