Our Violent Ends

I read These Violent Delights much later than everyone else, so I never considered myself to be one of the hardcore fans of the series. That's why I was excited to read this sequel but it wasn't highly anticipated in my head and I was just hoping that it'll be as fun as the first one. And wow did this surpass my expectations on every scale.

I had about 3 arcs of 2021 left to read and despite not being in the mood for any of them, I decided to pick this one up because I wanted to get atleast a couple of them read before their release dates. But once I started reading this one, I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. The author just knows how to capture a reader's attention within a few pages, and then the story doesn't let one go. It starts off with a tense situation in close quarters which made me anxious instantly and never let up from there. The twists and turns kept coming, the angst was peak level, and even the betrayals that I managed to guess were foreshadowing done well. The author gives subtle hints and sometimes even big indications to make us think the plot is going in a direction, but then throw us a surprise which feels perfectly earned. It is masterful craft at play and I could only get swept up in the magic. My almost year long binging of cdramas and little dabbling on Duolingo came to some use because I was delighted to encounter Mandarin words I could understand - mostly various forms of address - and I had the Pleco app open on the side for anything I didn't understand. Even when the author didn't try to explain the meanings of the words as footnotes or within the text, I found them to be seamlessly blended into the English text, making us feel the setting the story inhabited.

The backdrop of the brewing revolution in China by the workers and the fraught alliance between the Kuomintang and the Communists, while the blood feud between the Scarlet Gang and White Flowers is reaching crescendo is absolutely perfect for this story, giving a sense of impending doom on every page and keeping us on our toes. It also raises many questions about who is right and who is wrong, why the blood feud which kills and kills matters so much when the original reason for it has been forgotten, is there any hopeful way out of a city that is spilling with hatred, and so much more. It's also hard not to sympathize with the common people and workers who rise up in revolution for their rights when we can see that they are battered on all sides by gangsters and politicians and colonizers alike. This whole setting is a powder keg waiting to explode and the author only notches up the intensity by pitting a forbidden love against this world full of literal and figurative monsters.

Juliette is the kind of female main character whom you can't forget even if you try, and I felt it more in this book than the first one. She knows the privilege and position she has is because of her blood, that the violence she perpetuates to keep her loved ones safe is an unending cycle but she doesn't stop caring. And despite all the obstacles in her way, she never stops wanting to save the people of the city too, atleast from the monsters. Whether she can save them from the blood feud is a question even she doesn't have the answer to and it haunts her throughout the book. The toll that the futile violence in the name of her family and loyalty takes on her is agonizing to read about but much more hurtful for her.

Her dynamic with Roma is such an enticing push and pull that keeps us engrossed all the way. His anguish in hating her for killing his close friend but unable to kill her because the love still exists in his heart makes for great reading - it's angst central and every single interaction they had before the truth came out felt like a blowup waiting to happen, collateral damage be damned. But later on, every scene of theirs was beautiful and so full of love and hope even in desperate situations, and I just had my fingers crossed wondering whether this would be a Romeo Juliet ending or something else.

I also loved the supporting characters a lot in this book. Kathleen's loyalties are divided because she feels too connected to the people she meets in the Communist worker meetings and has to decide what she values more - the lives of the people or her fidelity to the Scarlet Gang. Benedikt is devastated and ready to burn the world down in his grief until he realizes his truth. Marshall's decisions keep changing until he has to make a choice between trying to work from a place of privilege to better the lives of the people and save some of them, or leave it all behind and start over with the love of his life. They all make significant contributions to the advancement of the plot and I loved all of it came together towards the end. Alisa maybe a smaller presence but I loved how wise she is despite her age and kept wishing she would be safe amidst the chaos. I also liked how despite their being quite a few antagonists in the book, the author emphasizes that the actual villain is the violent system and everyone in power who uses more violence to get what they want and kill everyone who doesn't agree with them.

To conclude, this was a perfect sequel/finale. It has a great balance between an alluring plot, extremely memorable characters, a vivid setting that leaves a mark and so many twists and turns that we are left gasping for a moment of respite which never comes. If you are looking for a fast paced and well written historical fantasy with little sci-fi elements, or an unforgettable East Asian Romeo Juliet retelling with a brewing civil war as a backdrop, then look no further than this duology. Once you start, you will not be able to put it down.