It is no secret at this point that I love Chloe Gong. There is just something about her writing that can be so poetic at times, and it reminds me of creative writing in English class in New Zealand, but in the best way possible. These Violent Delights was no exception. The writing was spectacular. She made me fall in love with Roma Montagov (and honestly, Juliette Cai too, like goddamn she is HOT) very easily. The Romeo and Juliet retelling side of this was done so well, I loved catching all the little details. The side characters were also layered and enjoyable to read, especially Kathleen and Rosalind. I wouldn't say I was incredibly invested in them, though, and ultimately wish we had more of Juliette and Roma interacting. Where it fell short of the five stars was the plot, unfortunately. I was hoping for a bigger twist, perhaps more suspense, I can't be exactly sure. It just fell a bit flat. The pacing was a little off, I only really got into the book in the last third. Another small thing I had a little bit of an issue with was Juliette being a bit too... perfect? in terms of her abilities fighting and speaking a million languages etc. like I get she was trained, but it still forced me to suspend my disbelief a bit and it was unnecessary, in my opinion. Like I get it, she's clever. Ultimately, another very very enjoyable read from Chloe Gong and I cannot wait to read the sequel.