#aapi book

🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

In 1920’s Shanghai, the city is caught between two feuding gangs who are out for blood. The Scarlets, ruthless criminals who are trying to keep control of their native city, and their vicious rivals the White Flowers, who having been grappling for power for generations since their immigration from Russia. At the helm of each side are teenage heirs, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, former lovers and now bitter enemies. But with a string of mysterious deaths (in both the Scarlets and Flowers) linked to a contagious madness, Juliette and Roma must band together to save their gangs and their city.

So…this book was just an OK 3 stars. I love Romeo and Juliet, and I was so excited for a retelling especially set in China with a roaring 20s twist but this fell a little flat. The actual plot with the madness/mystery was interesting, but the romance was boring!! Maybe it’ll pick up in book 2, but there was no sexual tension, no smut, barely any backstory…I needed something more than one kiss!

Anyway, I’ll eventually read book 2. But I was definitely disappointed. How did you guys feel after reading this book?

Read if you love:

🥀Romeo and juliet retelling

🇨🇳China setting

✊🏼AAPI rep

🔥Slow burn

Rating: 5/5 

Book Blurb: From the highly acclaimed author of the Bone Witch trilogy comes a chilling story of a Japanese ghost looking for vengeance and the boy who has no choice but to trust her, lauded as a "a fantastically creepy story sure to keep readers up at night"-RT Book Reviews I am where dead children go. Okiku is a lonely soul. She has wandered the world for centuries, freeing the spirits of the murdered-dead. Once a victim herself, she now takes the lives of killers with the vengeance they're due. But releasing innocent ghosts from their ethereal tethers does not bring Okiku peace. Still she drifts on. Such is her existence, until she meets Tark. Evil writhes beneath the moody teen's skin, trapped by a series of intricate tattoos. While his neighbors fear him, Okiku knows the boy is not a monster. Tark needs to be freed from the malevolence that clings to him. There's just one problem: if the demon dies, so does its host. Suspenseful and creepy, The Girl from the Well is perfect for readers looking for Spooky books for young adults Japanese horror novels Ghost stories for teens East Asian folklore

Review:

Vengeance, spirits, and a strange boy covered in tattoos. Okiku is a spirit, she’s been wandering around for centuries freeing the spirits of the murdered and dead... and seeking vengeance against their murderers. Once a vctim herself she now hunts down killers and releases innocent ghosts... but she still hungers for more. She constantly drifts until she meets Tarquin “Tark” a boy who’se mother tried to kill him and tattooed his body with intricate tattoos that turn out to be seals. Okiku starts to notice something about Tark... another spirit that is attached to him... a demon. If the seals on his skin are broken the demon will be free and if the demon dies so does Tark. Soon Okiku will find herself immersed in the lives of Tark and his family as they try and find a cure for Tark as his condition worsens and Okiku might be the only one who can solve it. As a huge fan of horror movies, ghost stories, and East Asian folklore, this was right up my alley. I had a blast reading this and would definitely recommend it! The relationship between Okiku and Tark is sweet, and the horror and ghost element to the story was great, also the folklore was so interesting. 

Rating: 2/5

Book Blurb: An epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic, about what happens when a prophesied hero is not the chosen one after all—but has to work with a band of unlikely allies to save the kingdom anyway, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao So many stories begin the same way: With a prophecy. A chosen one. And the inevitable quest to slay a villain, save the kingdom, and fulfill a grand destiny. But this is not that kind of story. It does begin with a prophecy: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom. And that prophecy did anoint a hero, Jian, raised since birth in luxury and splendor, and celebrated before he has won a single battle. But that’s when the story hits its first twist: The prophecy is wrong. What follows is a story more wondrous than any prophecy could foresee, and with many unexpected heroes: Taishi, an older woman who is the greatest grandmaster of magical martial arts in the kingdom but who thought her adventuring days were all behind her; Sali, a straitlaced warrior who learns the rules may no longer apply when the leader to whom she pledged her life is gone; and Qisami, a chaotic assassin who takes a little too much pleasure in the kill. And Jian himself, who has to find a way to become what he no longer believes he can be—a hero after all.

Review:

Martial arts, magic, and being the prophesies hero. The story follows a boy who is hailed as the prophesied hero.. but not the chosen one who finds himself on a journey working with a band of unlikely heroes to save the kingdom. A boy is foretold to rise to defat the Eternal Khan, a immortal god king and save the kingdom... but when Taishi, the greatest grandmaster of magical arts in the kingdom is sent to assess the so called hero...she is disappointed at just how lacking said hero is. Taishi soon begins training him herself.. except things take a turn when more assassins come after him and now they must both go on the run. Other people along for the journey include Sali, a straitlaced warrior who learns the rules may no longer apply when the leader she pledged her life to is gone and Qisami, a chaotic assassin who takes a little too much pleasure in the kill. Said boym named Jian, will soon find it in himself to realize that everything he ever knew about being a hero is not what it’s cut out to be and that maybe despite it all he can be a hero. This was definitely an interesting premise and definitely had a lot of potential however for me at the 50% point of the book I just felt it was too long and lagging, yes the journey was drawn out and the story had a lot of padding and I can definitely see this working out so much better in a tv show format but for me the book just felt long and I lost interest. However DONT let this stop you from reading it! Definitely give it a chance, if your a fan of fantasy books with journeys and the long game, then definitely give it a go!