By Mineli Kahanda Synopsis After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less. Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right – even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure. Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: the Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war grow louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other. The writing style ‘Our Violent Ends’ is the beautiful and heartrending conclusion to the emotionally devastating series. Chloe Gong’s beautifully descriptive writing style never dims throughout the book. If anything, it is even more amazing. She gracefully walks the thin line between the plot and character development, never letting one outbalance the other. We see more of the characters’ individual backstories and personalities in this book. ‘Our Violent Ends’ continues the themes of ‘These Violent Delights’ using the subject of politics and the layered and complex alliances at play in response to the emergence of an outside threat. And this is where Roma and Juliette truly excel, both effortlessly working together (when they must) to make not only their opponent but also each other, dance to their own chosen tune and pace. The continued betrayals drive the story of Juliette and Roma closer and closer to that of their dark and tragic namesakes. The year is 1927 in Shanghai and the city is at the very brink of chaos. The monsters have re-emerged and the Communists have become bolder. Within the Scarlets and White Flowers, the heirs have completely fallen apart. The White Flowers’ heir is out for revenge and the Scarlets’ heir is toeing a dangerous line. More and more blood stains the streets as the madness descends upon shattered Shanghai. Thrilling and heartbreaking, ‘Our Violent Ends’ is the perfect sequel to ‘These Violent Delights’. Memorable quotes “Together or not at all, doragaya” “In this life and the next, for however long our souls remain, mine will always find yours” “‘Don’t miss,’ Roma said. ‘I never do,’ Juliette replied” “‘I said I wanted you dead,’ Roma confirmed. ‘I never said I didn’t love you.’” “There will be hatred. There will be war. The country will fight itself to pieces. It will starve its people, ravage its land, poison its breath. Shanghai will fall and break and cry. But alongside everything, there has to be love – eternal, undying, enduring. Burn through vengeance and terror and warfare. Burn through everything that fuels the human heart and sears it red, burn through everything that covers the outside with hard muscle and tough sinew. Cut down deep and grab what beats beneath, and it is love that will survive after everything else has perished” “He would have burned the damn city to the ground just to keep her unharmed” “Nothing in this world is complicated, only misunderstood” “Fight dirty but fight bravely. Do not fight those who cannot understand what it means to fight. Nurse had known exactly what working for the Scarlet Gang entailed. This man had pulled at a hint of glitter in the ground expecting a nugget of gold and disturbed a hornet’s nest instead” “‘How mighty you are,’ he whispered quietly. ‘I am grateful that our roles are not switched, for I would have dove headfirst into the Huangpu should I be left in this world without you.’” “And if you are gunned down because you want to fight a war that doesn’t belong to you, I will never forgive this city. I will tear it to pieces, and you will be to blame!” “Keep fighting for love” “Hello, stranger” “‘These violent delights have violent ends,’ Juliette whispered to herself. She tilted her head up to the clouds, to the light sea breeze blowing in from the Bund and stinging her nose with salt. ‘You have always known this.’” “It is love that will survive after everything else has perished” “Runaways from Moscow with smiles as cracked as their hands” “‘So we are never to change?’ she asked. ‘We are forever blood-soaked roses?’ ‘A rose is a rose, even by another name,’ he whispered. ‘But we choose whether we will offer beauty to the world, or if we will use our thorns to sting.’” “Roma Montagov kicks a chair. ‘God –’ ‘– dammit,’ Juliette Cai finishes with a whisper, far across the city” “Like twin statues reaching for each other, they both fell asleep at last” “The state will continue to suppress us. The law will continue to cheat us. Anyone who deems themselves a saviour of this city is a fraud. All kings are tyrants; all rulers are thieves. It is not peace nor gain that revolution shall aim for. It is only freedom” “‘Darling daughter.’ Lord Cai pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Get in the car please.’ ‘Father,’ Juliette shot back, ‘I crave violence.’” “Power is never worth it! You keep making trades upon trades, and you get nothing in return. Roma is running from it. Juliette is running from it. What makes you think you can handle” “She would chase politicians until she understood their every move, she would chase top officials until she knew every last piece of their classified plan, but she would not chase this. She would rather hold this hope so close to her chest that it feels like a fire on its own, flickering against the darkness, flickering even where other embers burn out” “‘Don’t worry,’ Alisa whispers. ‘We will be okay.’” “Juliette spun around, putting her hands on her hips. She glared at him for a long moment, but then she couldn’t help it. The smile slipped out. ‘Ah!’ Marshall shrieked. Before Juliette could shush him, he was already lunging at her, picking her lithe frame off the ground and spinning her around until her head was dizzy. ‘She shows emotion!’ ‘Cease immediately!’’ Juliette screeched. ‘My hair!’” Marshall set her down with a steady thump. He held on to her even once she was on her own feet again, his arms splayed along her shoulders. Poor, touch-starved Marshall Seo. Maybe Juliette could find him a stray cat” “Then Marshall said, ‘You forget. I was not raised respectably. I was raised as a gangster.’” “But standing there, in front of her, was the reason for everything she had done, and to look upon him alive and well was enough to push back the loathing she had for the blood on her hand, for the city that had made her into this monster of a person” “In this life, they had been born enemies. In this life they had blood for miles between them, wide enough to run a river, deep enough to forge a valley. In the next, maybe there would be peace” Author bio: Mineli Kahanda is a student of Lyceum International School and is also the biggest bibliophile. In her spare time, she enjoys freelance writing, watching anime, and creating art. PHOTOS © BUZZFEED, QUIRKYCATSFATSTACKS.COM, RIVETEDLIT, AMAZON