Speaking of miscommunication, in book 2 there is plenty of that between Juliette, Rosalind and Kathleen.

However I felt that the start of the second book rehashed a lot of the first book and it got a little boring to see the miscommunication happening again. And I liked how the ‘fake death’ was used the first time around. I enjoyed their romance and getting near one another again. When a monster enters the stage to shake already tense relationships up, they have to work together to keep the status quo. Roma in the mean time has been fighting for his position as heir of the White Flowers. Years later she returns to take up her position as heir to the scarlet gang.

They had their teenage romance but when betrayal entered the game Juliette left the scene. We start the love story between Juliette and Roma in the middle. The setting of Shanghai consumed by two gangs, communists, nationalists, French and the British gives a very intriguing back story to what is happening in the book. And that is what the author does in this book. I do however enjoy seeing how others reimagine this tale with fantasy and different settings. The original Romeo and Juliet was never of much interest to me. That lies mostly with the second book as well. And while I did enjoy that premise for the most part I did not end up loving this duology as much as others. As a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in a historical Shanghai it stands out from many other books. The These Violent Delight duology has been very hyped up in the last 2-3 years.

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