These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

The debut novel from a class of 2021 student at the University of Pennsylvania, These Violent Delights is a retelling of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai. 

Summary from Goodreads

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.

My Thoughts

Man, did I enjoy this book! The plot was carefully thought out, and the plot twists were crafted in such a way that I sort of had an inkling of what was coming next, but I wasn't sure exactly what, or how. The ending toed a very very fine line between a plot twist that nobody sees coming at all and a plot twist that everyone saw coming from miles away—a great balance that makes a really great read, the kind of plot twist that makes you go "wWhy didn't I see that before?!" The ending was a massive cliffhanger, but with just enough closure that it doesn't keep the reader entirely in the dark for what may be coming in the sequel. Plot wise, this book was wonderfully executed. 

The dialogue was a little too middle grade-y for a gory Romeo and Juliet retelling with gangs, guns, and nightclubs. It wasn't cringe-worthy, but it wasn't exactly pleasant. However, the prose surrounding the dialogue, especially the setting descriptions, made up for it almost entirely. 

The two main characters were rounded out, but I found that the side characters—particularly the side characters in the Scarlet Gang—felt a little flat. They either didn't have a personality at all, or they only had one or two personality traits. However, giving the author the benefit of the doubt, I presume they'll each get their full arcs by the end of the duology. 

It was very much a fast-paced novel. This is a matter of taste, but I didn't think there were enough scenes thatto furthered character development. It was major event after major event after major event w. Which isn't a bad thing necessarily., Bbut this cast of characters, especially Roma and Juliette, had so much more to them that I felt that could've been conveyed through just a couple of scenes dedicated to characterization. 

Overall, 4/5 stars. You will definitely find me at Barnes and Noble the day the sequel comes out in November. 

If you liked this...

• To read: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

• To watch: Shadow and Bone, 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), Clueless (1995), Stranger Things, Shadowhunters

• To listen: 

  • Artists: Olivia Rodrigo, Rancid, Mother Mother

  • Albums: 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day, Fearless (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Genre: Poetry

Summary from Goodreads

First published in 1956, Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" is a prophetic masterpiece—an epic raging against dehumanizing society that overcame censorship trials and obscenity charges to become one of the most widely read poems of the century.

My Thoughts

Honestly, I'll never find anything wrong with Allen Ginsberg's poems. As far as I'm concerned, he's a poetic mastermind. But it is very much up to a matter of taste. His poems are long, epic-like stories that masterfully weave together his thoughts with plots and observations of the world around him. One of Ginsberg's biggest poetic inspirations was Walt Whitman, as demonstrated in the poem "A Supermarket In California". It took me a couple tries to read "Howl" because it's such a long poem, but it's worth it since it gives an astute observation into the world around him and what has and hasn't changed in the years since. I'd recommend getting started with Allen Ginsberg and some of his shorter poems like "America" and "A Supermarket In California". 

Overall: 4.5 stars for the depth and overall craft, but it doesn't get a full 5 stars because it is LONG and honestly kind of confusing.

If you liked this...

• To read: "America" by Allen Ginsberg, "Kaddish" by Allen Ginsberg, "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg, On The Road by Jack Keruoac, The Dharma Bums by Jack Keruoac, The Subterraneans by Jack Keruoac

• To watch: Kill Your Darlings (2013), Lady Bird (2017), Remember The Titans (2000), Howl (2010), Good Will Hunting (1997)

• To listen: 

  • Artists: The Oh Hellos, George Ezra

  • Albums: The Mad Ones (Off-Broadway musical), Melodrama by Lorde 

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Another debut novel from a young author about the struggles of being queer in a traditional family, sprinkled in with magic and vague necromancy.

Summary from Goodreads

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

My Thoughts

Another debut novel! Standalone fantasy novels are hard to pull off and this was pulled off well. 

However, I thought that the book was VERY short. It was only major events and none of the inbetween. Like I said in an earlier review, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but for this novel particularly, it came at its own detriment. None of the characters really felt like real people to me, mostly because we only saw them in the big moments so we knew nothing about who they were in the little moments. Those little moments are the most important contributions to characterization.

Julien felt very two-dimensional: the stereotypical bad boy from a rough neighborhood with a heart of gold. Maritza also felt pretty two-dimensional: your token rebellious teenage girl in a traditional family. I didn't particularly like how [MINOR SPOILER] she sort of compromised her beliefs towards the end [END SPOILER]. With a few more scenes dedicated to characterization, all of the characters and their relationships could have been so much more. For a romance novel, the romance was very much thrown to the back burner. It only really came out towards the end.There was no building up to the big moment. It felt like an afterthought. The majority of the romance, all the development that should have been done over the course of the entire novel, was crammed into the last 50 pages. Not to mention, the novel only takes place over the course of about three days, so it was a tad insta-love-y. 

However, there is something to be said about how well the representation of LGBTQ+ teenagers is done. It was an OwnVoices novel—meaning the writer was a Latinx trans man, as well as the main character Yadriel—so that aspect of it all felt very real and very raw and it was very well done. If the story had focused on that aspect with the becoming-a-brujo aspect and pushed the romance out, it would've been much better. There were a lot of plotlines cramped into a very short novel that could've been fixed either with a longer book, with more scenes dedicated to progressing the romance, or with removing one of the plotlines. 

Overall, 3/5 stars. I liked the book! I read it all in one day and I'm anticipating some very good novels from Aiden Thomas in the future. Would definitely recommend.

If you liked this...

• To read: Lost In The Never Woods by Aiden Thomas, The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones, History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

• To watch:

• To listen:

  • Albums: evermore by Taylor Swift

  • Artists: Billie Eilish, Fall Out Boy

Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

Genre: New Adult Fiction

A new take on the Iliad written by a classics professor, told from Patroclus's perspective and highlighting his relationship with Achilles. 

Summary from Goodreads

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

My Thoughts

To make a long story short, this book WRECKED me. It’s incredibly written, a ballad start to finish with prose weaved together beautifully.

My issues lie in the pacing. The last few chapters were better than the entire rest of the book combined. The middle was slow and dredged through and the timeline was very muddy at times, mostly during the war. 

Patroclus’s character arc is lovely; it’s written and paced out very well. Achilles’s arc is where I had a problem. We see him jump from a tender-hearted, caring boy who could never hurt a soul and was utterly traumatized by death, to a killing machine literally overnight. And while Patroclus’s narration provides insight to the story we’ve never seen, he focuses on the uninteresting parts. He doesn’t hone in on their relationship or at least not the parts I wanted to see. Dduring the war, there was almost none of them and their relationship’s development. Are we expected to believe it remained so static for ten years? On top of that, we barely see any of the lingering touches of childhood when they first come to Troy. They were children and I wish some of that had bled through more than it did. Yes, Achilles was bred for battle, but he was a teenager nevertheless. 

There is a point to be made about the fact that in the Iliad (the source material for this book) Achilles was that killing machine. He was NOT a good person. And since the book is told through Patroclus's point of view, I feel like the grapple between Achilles's war personality and his childhood personality could have come through more. It did read for Patroclus and Achilles's shift into megalomaniac war criminal was very well-told, but as I read through Achilles's actions, he kind of went from 0 to 100. The author already took considerable liberties in telling the story, so I don't think this minor change would've made much a difference if only to make the characters more human. 

Overall, however, I 100% recommend. I bawled my eyes out in the last few chapters, even though I knew how it ended. Gorgeously written and the development between Patroclus and Thetis in that last couple of pages was just stunning and wonderful to read. I can’t remember the last time I cried this hard reading a book. Read it if you haven’t! This book is a masterpiece. 4/5 stars. 

If you liked this...

• To read: The Iliad by Homer, Circe by Madeleine Miller, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Odyssey by Homer, They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

• To watch: Bridgerton on Netflix

• To listen: 

  • Albums:

  • Artists: Vitamin String Quartet

My Recommendations For The Summer!

Disclaimer: I have not read all of these books. NA books, as implied, are adult books. Adult content may ensue. 

YA = young adult (ages 14-18)

NA = new adult (ages 16-30)

Looking for something light to read on the beach?

If you like rom-coms, try Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan (YA), One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (NA), Beach Read by Emily Henry (NA), Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales (YA)

If you like coming-of-age stories, try Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (YA), You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson (YA)

If you want something to read while traveling, try Mosquitoland by David Arnold (YA), The Land of 10,000 Madonnas by Kate Hatter (YA), Paper Towns by John Green (YA)

If you want something more fantastical but still light-hearted, try The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (NA) 

Want something a little heavier?

If you're into exploring the dynamics of family and relationships, try Sadie by Courtney Summers (YA), Far From The Tree by Robin Benway (YA)

If you're into coming-of-age, but something that'll make you think, try Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas (YA), Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (YA)

If you're into the dark academia aesthetic, try Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (YA), Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (NA), Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (YA), Wilder Girls by Rory Power (YA)

If you're looking for non-fiction, try Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

If you're into fantasy, try Priory of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (NA), Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (YA), Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (YA), Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (YA), The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh (YA)