These Violent Delights
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 helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love… and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. 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, then there will be no city left for either to rule.
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Eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai returns from New York to take her place at the head of the Scarlet Gang in 1926 Shanghai. The rival Russian White Flowers under heir Roma Montagov are her first ex-lover and first betrayal.
These Violent Delights was written by Chloe Gong and published in 2020. It was Gong's debut novel, a YA Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai.
Chloe Gong's These Violent Delights duology has two books: These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends. A follow-up duology, Foul Lady Fortune, continues with related characters.
These Violent Delights is 470 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, These Violent Delights takes most readers 7 to 10 hours to finish.
These Violent Delights is a standalone novel by an unknown author, not part of a series.
These Violent Delights is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.