Romantasy

Our Violent Ends

Name: Our Violent Ends
Rating: 4.2 (120 reviews)

Chloe Gong · These Violent Delights #2 · 2021

Torn between blood feud and the love they can't kill, two gang heirs face a reckoning that will remake Shanghai.

Score: 79.8
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Sweet
POV: multi
Ending: HEA / HFN

Tropes

Enemies to Lovers Forbidden Love Second Chance Morally Grey Enemies to Allies

Content warnings

ViolenceGoreDeathGraphic violenceBloodMajor character deathWarTortureGrief & lossAbuse

Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.

If you liked this, read

These Violent DelightsChloe Gong76.1 The Empire of GoldS.A. Chakraborty83.6 Rule of WolvesLeigh Bardugo81.5 Days of Blood and StarlightLaini Taylor80.8 The Winner's KissMarie Rutkoski79.3

What readers think

Readers consistently praise Gong's lush, atmospheric evocation of 1927 Shanghai and the aching romantic tension between Juliette and Roma, whose dynamic earns genuine emotional investment across both books. The political backdrop of the Shanghai Uprisings is widely lauded for adding real historical weight rather than mere window dressing. The most common criticism is uneven pacing: the middle section drags while the final act feels rushed, leaving some readers wanting more resolution. A minority found the monster subplot underdeveloped relative to the romance and politics. Overall the duology conclusion is considered deeply satisfying by fans of the first book, even if it does not fully outshine it.

Read it if

· Readers who love historical fantasy with real geopolitical stakes woven into the romance
· Fans of Romeo and Juliet retellings that lean into tragedy and moral complexity rather than softening the source material
· Those who want slow-burn second-chance romance paid off with genuine emotional devastation

Skip it if

· You want high spice or explicit content — this is firmly YA closed-door
· You need tight, fast pacing throughout; the middle third is slow and densely plotted
· You haven't read These Violent Delights — this book requires the first to make sense

If you liked this

· For fans of Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh — lush historical Asian settings with star-crossed romance
· Like Six of Crows but quieter and more intimate, swapping heist action for political revolution and longing
· For fans of Romeo and Juliet retellings that honour the tragedy rather than fixing it

How we read the room

In this series

Part of These Violent Delights — read in order:

Full series profile & spice/trope breakdown →

Which dark romantasy heroine are you? Five choices in a forest that wants you dead.

Take the quiz →