Category: Review (Page 66 of 276)

Synopsis:

Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls “deliciously dark.”

The year is 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 a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.

Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.

Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.

Review

*Arc provided by SimonTeen in exchange for an honest review-And I literally cannot thank them enough as they have made my whole year*

“You destroy me and then you kiss me. You give me a reason to hate you and then you give me a reason to love you. Is this a lie or the truth? Is this a ploy or your heart reaching for me?”

I am going to be frank right up front: A book hasn’t caused such a deep, emotional, and visceral reaction out of me in a very long time. I eagerly awaited the moment I could dive back inside myself, immerse myself into this lush, enriched world of enemies to lovers. I lost sleep waiting and pining and anticipating what fate my beloveds were dealt…and I only had to wait a few weeks. So I can’t even imagine what my frowny French friend feels, how she deals with the wait on a daily basis. Because I have to say it-My heart couldn’t possibly have waited any longer, it had too many questions and needed far too many answers. And this author? She delivers.

Juliette was not frightened. If anything, she was only resentful-not at Roma, but at herself. At wanting to lean in even while Roma was actively trying to kill her. At this distance between them that she had willingly manufactured, because they had been born into two families at war, and she would rather die at Roma’s hand than be the cause of his death.

I am SUCH a final book snob. One minute duologies are my favorite, the next, trilogies. Then sometimes standalones. And, I have to say, standalones sometimes keep my heart the longest-though they are far and few between-because there is little margin for overthinking/overwriting/underwhelming endings. It’s all wrapped up in a neat little package all at once. But here, now, Gong has showed just how amazing and well-done a duology can be. How, if done correctly, it delivers great impact in smaller quantity. How, if she CHOSE to expand the universe, to connect with MORE people without dragging it on too long, she could easily pick a less explored side character and create a whole new spin-off without everyone already being exhausted with it (Can anyone rejoice this is, in fact, happening?). Gong restored my faith in books. She restored my faith in how I can be addicted and pine and hope for a certain path to be taken and for the author to write certain things, it not go my way (I am veryyyy picky with my romance and enemies to lovers and peril), and STILL love how it goes. Not one thing felt forced. Not one moment blemished by rushing and trying to fit everything in. It all felt real, it felt natural. That is the mark of a true author. THAT is how you create forever fans. THAT is how you CRUSH the YA world.




And with that realization, it should be no secret that Roma and Juliette own my soul. Not a week goes by that I don’t reminisce over my favorite moments between them-the what-ifs, the pain and longing and anger, the imminent danger that continually brings them together. Not a moment passes without the crescendo of chaos crashing in around them, melding into the most perfect storm raging inside my heart. These two are a couple that are so deeply rooted into one another, into me, that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget them, even for a second.



Gone are the games of book one. Blood has been shed, lines have been drawn, sides have been chosen. The masks are back in place and their hearts are no longer on their sleeves-betrayal has cut deep and Roma can’t see past the pain and heartache that Juliette has caused…he also still can’t fully believe it. Thus begins the tragic circling of one another as they have to work together-again-against a common enemy for the greater good.

He thought her a monster. He thought she had hated him the whole time, so viciously that she would destroy everything he loved, and he had to think that if he was to keep his life. Juliette refused to drag him down just because she was weak-willed.

I truly loved these two for more than their romance, though-Juliette became this girl that I loved so deeply in my heart, because even though it hurt to not see eye to eye with everyone, with her own family, she followed her heart to do what was just and right. She cared more for her people, for her city, than she did for an ancient blood feud that had no end in sight. That didn’t allow her to be with the love of her life. She cared more for Roma, his sister, the friends she made, and even her cousins, more than something as petty as being a gang leader-in the end, love and hope and the unknown were more important than upholding a reign of terror that was shredding the city apart, piece by piece, no side truly safe.

“This is Scarlet territory.” Her words were even, but it took everything in her to keep them that way. “You forget yourself.”
Roma grew still. He stared at her, utterly unreadable as the moment drew long-long enough that Juliette almost thought he would surrender.
Only then Roma leaned into the blade instead, leaned until the metal was pressed right into his neck, one hairsbreadth away from breaking skin and drawing blood.
“Then do it,” Roma hissed. He sounded angry….He sounded pained. “Kill me.”

And Roma-He was far darker in this story and, clearly, that only made me love him more. Is this a flaw in me? No. It is the BEST part of me…I LOVE a good moral dilemma within a character, and when Juliette broke his heart, it opened a dark chasm inside of him that made him question everything he knew about the girl he had always fought side by side with. But that’s just it- he knows her inside and out-at least he thought he did, and nothing adds up. From her actions in book one to her complete lack of doing what he’d expect time and time again, she remains someone he can’t figure out. But they are enemies once again, regardless, and he needs to eliminate her. End of story. But that’s easier said than done as he misses opportunities time and again, never fully able to do what needs to be done to rest his broken soul. But once it’s done it cannot be undone, and that is what truly haunts him.



I can say without a shadow of a doubt that if someone loved book one, they are going to devour book two. The pain, the heartache, the lead up to an inevitable end…it’s so deliberately and deliciously evil that I couldn’t help but fall head over heels for each stolen moment they shared, every future within grasp but hate nipping at their heels, no one content to let them be free, and each stolen moment that slipped from my greedy claws, keeping me on my toes and pining for more-always more-in their battle to do what’s right for their city…while also selfishly trying to escape to a world where they can be free to love one another openly for the rest of their lives. I don’t know about you, but I see myself reading these books over and over until the end of time, and I don’t think I could ever find a flaw. Period.

****

I LITERALLY CANNOT CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT.

SO MANY THANKS TO THE PUBLISHER FOR SENDING ME AN ARC!!! AGHHH I AM STARTING RIGHT. NOW.

If you don’t ever hear from me again, it’s because I drowned in a puddle of my feels. Kay bye.