Chloe Gong

Chloe Gong is a student at the University of Pennsylvania, studying English and international relations. During her breaks, she’s either at home in New Zealand or visiting her many relatives in Shanghai. These Violent Delights is set in 1926, a time when Shanghai hummed 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 proud heir of the criminal Scarlet Gang. Their only rivals 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, there are whispers — a contagion, a madness, perhaps a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together. Otherwise, soon there will be no city left for either to rule. Joan He, author of Descendant of the Crane, celebrated how Gong set “a Shakespearean classic in the rich soil of 1920s Shanghai, allowing her characters to grow, flourish, and steal your heart while warring against their own.”