Mini-Reviews: We Unleash the Merciless Storm + These Violent Delights [ARC Review]

Hello, everyone! Remember when I said I’d hang around for a couple of days before going on hiatus? Well that didn’t happen. I am, however, back for a quick set of mini-reviews but will be disappearing again until December. I hope you are all staying safe and taking care of yourselves <3<3<3

Title: We Unleash the Merciless Storm
Author: Tehlor Kay Mejia
Series: We Set the Dark on Fire, #2
Pages: 400
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: February 25th 2020

**Includes spoilers for We Set the Dark on Fire**

      “In this nail-biting sequel to Tehlor Kay Mejia’s critically acclaimed fantasy novel We Set the Dark on Fire, La Voz operative Carmen is forced to choose between the girl she loves and the success of the rebellion she’s devoted her life to. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and Anna-Marie McLemore.
      Being a part of the resistance group La Voz is an act of devotion and desperation. On the other side of Medio’s border wall, the oppressed class fights for freedom and liberty, sacrificing what little they have to become defenders of the cause.
      Carmen Santos is one of La Voz’s best soldiers. She spent years undercover, but now, with her identity exposed and the island on the brink of a civil war, Carmen returns to the only real home she’s ever known: La Voz’s headquarters.
      There she must reckon with her beloved leader, who is under the influence of an aggressive new recruit, and with the devastating news that her true love might be the target of an assassination plot. Will Carmen break with her community and save the girl who stole her heart—or fully embrace the ruthless rebel she was always meant to be?”

We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia picks up right where the heart-stopping ending to We Set the Dark on Fire left off. Told through Carmen’s POV, this conclusion to the duology raises the stakes as La Voz’s leadership grows more bold with its moves against the government of Medio. At the end of We Set the Dark on Fire Carmen was forced to admit to Dani, whom she had fallen for, that she has been lying to her and has been working undercover for La Voz. Carmen is a revelation in this one. Readers spent so much time getting to know Carmen the Segunda in the previous book, in this one we get an in depth look at Carmen the rebel. I loved her personal journey as she grapples with the girl she was and the woman she’s become. La Voz has undergone a lot of changes and Carmen has been undercover for years. As a result, many of Carmen’s closest relationships are not as strong as they used to be. Many look at her as an outsider, someone who has spent too much time behind enemy lines. Carmen, unable to communicate with Dani, has no idea how the other girl received her admission and a large part of her isn’t even sure if Dani fell for the real her to begin with. I held my breath until these two could finally meet again and their reunion is just as intense as I imagined it would be. We Unleash to Merciless Storm is the perfect companion to the first novel with a deliciously fierce lead character and a heart-stopping conclusion to an unforgettable duology.

★ ★ ★ ★
(4/5)

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Title: These Violent Delights
Author: Chloe Gong
Series: These Violent Delights, #1
Pages: 464
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Release Date: November 17th 2020

** Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, which does not influence my review.**

TW: gore, self-harm, suicide

      “Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.
      The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.
      A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.
      But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.”

Chloe Gong’s debut, These Violent Delights, is a compelling Romeo and Juliet retelling that sets itself apart with its multilayered world building. Juliette Cai is returning to Shanghai, having been away at school in America. She has spent the last four years of her life erasing the girl she used to be, the one who once believed she could build a different life for herself, one where she wasn’t the heir of the Scarlet Gang. Now she is determined to prove herself worthy of her family’s legacy and nothing and no one will stand in her way. But when whispers of a madness sweeping through Shanghai reach her ears, she is forced to reconnect with Roma Montagov, heir to the White Flowers and the one person she once would have left her family behind for. There was a time when Juliette and Roma were inseparable, when they thought they could outrun the blood feud between their families. But years have passed and both now know the consequences of their own naivety and the sting of the other’s betrayal. Fans of second-chance romance and hate to love need to pick this one up. Every Juliette and Roma interaction is filled with layers of tension. While they are both different people than they were years ago, the history of affection between them is always there but hatred is always a second from boiling over as well. Gong also sets her story in 1920s Shanghai where many foreigners have come to grapple for power. The Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers are in danger of being overrun by outsiders looking to exert political influence. These Violent Delights is a must for fans of star-crossed romance with characters who both love and hate with the same kind of ferocity.

★ ★ ★ ★
(4/5)