These Violent Delights

Absolutely amazing. It's so easy to reread, well written, easy to follow yet still developed plot, everything is just amazing.

Book Review: These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever 📚

Rating: 2 Stars

I recently finished These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever, and I have to say, my feelings about this book are pretty mixed. Set in the early 1970s in Pittsburgh, it follows Paul, a sensitive and introspective college freshman grappling with the recent loss of his father. Paul is trying to find his footing in a world that feels heavy and isolating, and it’s not until he meets Julian, a magnetic and somewhat unpredictable classmate, that things start to spark for him. 💔✨

From the get-go, Paul sees Julian as his intellectual counterpart—a kindred spirit who understands the suffocating expectations of their conventional surroundings. Their friendship quickly morphs into something deeper, filled with both passion and turmoil. While it’s fascinating to watch Paul navigate this intense relationship, the volatility of Julian adds a layer of tension that kept me on edge. The narrative explores how far they will go for each other, leading to an eventual act of violence that feels both shocking and inevitable. 🔥⚡

Now, here’s where my enthusiasm fizzles a bit: I was really hoping for some more captivating moments throughout the story. I kept turning the pages, waiting for something significant to happen, but it felt like I was just circling around the same emotional landscape without much progression. Sure, the writing itself was top-notch—Nemerever has a talent for crafting beautifully articulated prose—but I just didn’t connect with the plot as much as I wanted to. 📖😕

In short, These Violent Delights is a compelling exploration of desire and obsession, but for me, it lacked the punch I was craving. It’s a solid debut novel with great writing, but it didn’t quite hit the mark in terms of plot development. If you enjoy character-driven stories that explore complex relationships, you might find it more engaging than I did. I’m giving it two stars—not because it’s poorly written, but because I ultimately didn’t feel drawn into the story. 🌌💭

⚠️ This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary ⚠️

3,75

the depiction of a toxic relationship with a narcissist person :))
this was great but not phenomenal in my opinion

DNF. I just can't finish this book. Maybe I will give it a go sometime later.

I don't know if this is the right rating. It was so intense and I spent the majority of it feeling like my heart was going to burst out of my chest - and not in a good way.
It was addictive and terrifying. God, Paul was so terrifying. It was really good.

2.5⭐️ rounded up.

Sort of like Saltburn if Felix was obsessed with Oliver back.

This book was almost really good, but is hampered by overly explainy writing (stop TELLING me how everyone feels all the time), weird pacing, and unconvincing chemistry between the two main characters whose toxic and obsessive relationship is the main driver of the plot.

I did like the unreliable narrator - for most of the book I wasn't even convinced the author realized how unreliable of a narrator Paul seemed, but at the end of the book it becomes clear.

460 pages of a petty and toxic couple arguing about their codependency. 50% in I was screaming please stop it kill someone already and shut up.

Dnf @ 47% , I really tried not to, FOR A WHOLE WEEK, because I was so unbelievably excited to get into this one but I'm just bored & was unconvinced of the “extremely obsessed” aspect of this book between the characters. I didn't feel connected to either of the main characters or the story, it's about time I move on with my life.

This review sums it up perfectly for me:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3879973514

4.5/5

very solid 3.5 as I will definitely look out for future books by this author

Slow, deliberate but haunting. This took me months to read but I'm glad I read it. Gave me a lot to think about. Oddly vague with the ending details so I had to look up what actually happened. 

You know what, I actually kind of liked this book but I had to realise that I???m just over it. Stories about self absorbed, pseudo-intellectual, arrogant, ???disturbed??? gay boys who can only love by hurting each other. Maybe I???m getting old and all the emotional turmoil of my teenage years finally retired somewhere in my memories. But there was just nothing to gain here. Some philosophical questions were posed, none answered and in the end there was no character development at all.

Absolutely riveting. This book made me anxious as hell and I loved every minute of it. So perfectly brutal and compelling, Paul and Julien are both AWFUL and truly disturbed and it was so much fun to read this slow motion train wreck of a narrative. I can't say enough good things about this book.

that was disappointing

2.00 Because even beautiful writing has to either tell a story or have a point

Have you ever read a book that you felt was written especially for you to read it? That is this beautiful, stunning, violent, passionate story. This book dug under my soul and nestled itself there.

This is a delicious amount of fucked up.

Propulsive and terrifying, I couldn't put it down once I started.

yawn. maybe i'm over pretentiously written books.

I'm conflicted about this one. On the one hand, there were a lot of really redeeming qualities about the book and I feel like Nemerever took some big risks with his characters and their emotional vulnerability. That being said, the pacing of the book was a bit off for me and a lot of the decision-making that went on didn't quite click logically with me (although that might have been purposeful). Overall, Nemerever certainly made a VERY scary queer thriller that definitely fit in with my goal to read spooky books in October.

Things I liked: the concept (gay serial killers.... Sign me up!), symbolism/metaphor was really clever— Nemerever did a great job of showing us the importance that metaphors like chess, ethics, butterflies, etc. played to the plot, without being TOO heavy-handed with it— he even alluded to Crime and Punishment, which I thought was cool! Setting was interesting (working class, rural-ish Pittsburgh college campus vibe).

Things I didn't like: pacing (the first half of the book was admittedly quite slow), the tone of These Violent Delights was very pretentious. Like, I get that the main characters are supposed to be “gifted” students and all, but their tone (and the author's narration) felt super patronizing and dry at times. Also, like I mentioned above, I didn't really find that the logic/motivation of the characters really made sense to me. I get that Paul and Julian were both struggling with mental health, but that also doesn't justify some of their more violent decision-making? Perhaps I'm not the best person to speak on these issues, but I found that I couldn't quite grasp the WHY of any of the choices made by the characters.

CW: extreme violence, anxiety/depression, toxic relationships

Lastly, a big thank you to @harperbooks for the gifted copy :D