The release date for the English version of 'These Violent Delights' by
Chloe Gong is Nov 2020. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
Shanghai is humming to the sound of revelry in 1926.
Two gangs are embroiled in a blood conflict that has turned the city into a hopeless mess. Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to take up her position as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law—is at the centre of it all. Juliette is eighteen years old. The White Flowers, who have battled the Scarlets for many generations, are their sole formidable opponents. Their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette's first love—and first betrayal—is at the heart of all they do.
However, the public becomes quiet as criminals on both sides exhibit unstable behaviour that ends with them cutting their own necks. Of a mania, a contagion. Of a creature lurking in the dark. Juliette and Roma need to put aside their differences and work together as the body count rises. If they fail to put an end to this chaos, neither will be able to govern over the remaining city.
This gripping debut is an inventive reworking of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai, with warring gangs and a monster in the Huangpu River. It is ideal for lovers of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane.