Nearly a decade after taking mandatory Elizabethan-era English literature classes in university, the iambic pentameter of William Shakespeare has crept back into my life. Unexpectedly though, it came in the form of Chloe Gong’s debut novel, These Violent Delights. Set in 1920s Shanghai, this tale of star-crossed (ex)lovers twists a knife into Shakespeare’s famous tragedy—it weaves familiar story beats with unexpected turns as Roma and Juliette, the two heirs to rival crime families, navigate intense hostilities, foreign colonizers, a strange and deadly contagion, as well as their past romance. As tension and chaos in Shanghai builds toward a fever pitch, the two become entangled again in ways that fuel the story (to both good and middling results). Question is, to what end? The above warning of Friar Laurence to Romeo in Romeo and Juliet rings ever true: such fiery delight—a connection consumed by fire and powder—is likely to end in disaster.
Reviews
Review: The Eye of Everfell (The Shadow Battles #1) by Bard Constantine
Review: Moriarty The Patriot Volumes 2-3 by Ryosuke Takeuchi
Review: Campaigns & Companions: The Complete Role-Playing Guide for Pets by Rhianna Pratchett and Andi Ewington
There was once a secret meeting in the village where all warriors, sorcerers and clerics gathered to be introduced to an ancient manuscript from a wizard. The wizard stood behind the table and slowly dropped a small book on the table in front of him. “This, my lads, is a book containing… humour! Humour about our companions, our domestic friends with four paws and snouts!!” Everyone’s jaw fell in excitement and curiosity, yet they all were eager to look at what it contained…
Review: Master Assassins (The Fire Sacraments #1) by Robert V. S. Redick
Master Assassins by Robert V.S. Redick has been in my TBR for quite a while. I’d first heard about it through Mark Lawrence with his glowing praise, and knowing how much I’d loved Senlin Ascends based on his review, I figured I’d like this as well. However, the cover and blurb never really stood out to me so it was never that high on my TBR.
A few years later, I started hearing praise heaped upon the sequel and several of my fellow bloggers recommend it, so I finally took the plunge. And wow, this book was fantastic.
Review: Scout’s First Mission by Henry Vogel
Review: The House of Always (A Chorus of Dragons #4) by Jenn Lyons
he only way I can compare the House of Always to media I’ve read before is the Hateful 8 meets Harrow the Ninth-style chronology … which is to say the timeline is mixed up and everyone is in the same room – that being the Lighthouse Shadrag Gor.
Author Chat – Ryan Van Loan
Books That Made Me Cry Like A Lil’ Baby
Get your tissues ready (and for you lizard folk out there, prime your tongues) as you’re going to be dabbing at your seeing-balls after reading these books!
Author Chat – L.L. MacRae
5 Of My Favorite Tropes and Where To Find Them
Review: The Winter of Winters (The Histories of Sphax #2) by Robert M. Kidd
218 BC. Hannibal’s exhausted army staggers down from the last Alpine pass like a rabble of half-starved savages, the remnants of a once magnificent army that had set out from the Rhodanus with such hope. Now there is no way back. With the legions of Consul Publius Scipio closing fast, Carthage needs its Gaulish allies like never before. But where are the Insubres? Where are the Boii? Where are the thousands of warriors pledged by solemn oath? In the maelstrom of battle, Sphax, nephew of Hannibal, forges a reputation as the scourge of Rome. But will his ingrained recklessness and quest for honour set him at odds with the forbidding genius of his uncle? Only one thing is certain in this winter of winters, a great battle is coming that will decide the fates of Rome and Carthage.