When I saw that I got accepted to read this eARC, I was super excited. I really enjoyed Gong’s These Violent Delights (TVD) duology but I must say that Foul Lady Fortune is possibly my favourite.

I devoured the first part of this book. Maybe because my last read was Our Violent Ends, I found it much easier to get into Foul Lady Fortune. I also found the politics to be easier to understand as there weren’t as many political players like there were in TVD.

When I first found out that this duology was going to be centered around a character from TVD, I really hoped that it would be Celia. However, I really enjoyed Rosalind’s POV. In TVD, she wasn’t my favourite character but I was won over really quickly. I really liked her love interest, Orion, but I wish we saw a little bit more of their relationship as it was developing.

Even though Celia isn’t our main character, I loved that we still got her POV here and there. I liked her character in the TVD series but I loved her character in this book. She’s loyal and true to herself. Those few tender moments between her and Oliver made my heart happy. I am all for a novella about how these two met!

I honestly did not see the twists at the end of the book coming and the reveal right at the end really blew my mind. I’m super excited for book 2 and to see how this story progresses.

I do feel that you really need to read TVD before you read this book. It’s super important to understand the back story of some of the characters who were from the previous series and also to understand the political setting of the book as it’s a continuation from the previous series. I also found that I enjoyed picking up certain clues and hints that will be missed if you haven’t read TVD.

Thank you to Hodder Books, Hodder Publicity, Netgalley and Chloe Gong for this eARC.

A review for Foul Lady Fortune will be posted on Instagram on my @mysisterstolemybook bookstagram account on the book’s release day on the 27th of September.

I am in awe. This book was everything and I may in fact love it more than the first series These Violent Delights. I loved the characters, Orion and Rosalind were amazing, as were Celia, Oliver, Alisa, Silas and Phoebe. This book honestly pulled me out of my reading slump as I had no doubt it would!! The story was flawless and so well thought out and the plot twists dropping every five seconds were crazy! I’m really looking forward to book 2. I can’t believe I’ll have to wait so long but Chloe Gong’s writing will always be my favourite. She can really weave a story together and it’s so inspirational honestly. Definitely recommend everyone to read this if they read TVD and OVE.

This is a sort of spin-off of These Violent Delights duology and the start of a new one. Chloe Gong introduce us to a new strong and clever heroine.
There's a mix of historical fiction and fantasy. i love the world building and loved Rosalind.
This author is a talented storyteller and I look forward to the second book in this duology.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Firstly I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC 😍🥰

Foul Lady Fortune is set four years after the events of Our Violent Ends, the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers have almost dispersed and in the wake of the Communist, Nationalist and the Japanese all vying to take over Shanghai and China. Rosalind Lang is an assassin working for the Nationalists under the codename Fortune. Several murders have happened in Shanghai and everyone wants to get to the bottom of them including Rosalind. She’s assigned a new partner Orion and together they are tasked with working out what’s going on. With Orion’s friend Silas and sister Pheobe as well as Rosilinds sister Celia, Orion’s brother Oliver and former White Flower Alisa Montagova (who are working with the communists), they all intermingle to find out who the killer is…

Foul Lady Fortune was one of my most anticipated breeds of the year and it really did not disappoint. It did take a little bit longer for me to get into than These Violent Delights but it was well worth it. Rosalind and Oliver are incredible MCs, Rosalind is strong, fiery and resilient. She’s just amazing!! Orion came across as a really caring character which to me was really lovely, he was heroic and supportive of Rosalind even when he found out her secrets so the ending was quite shocking and upsetting for me (I’m a crier not going to lie) but what I love about Chloe Gong is that she surprises us even when we know the story (this is a retelling of As You Like It).
I am so excited to see where the it’s going to go in the next one…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the arc of my one of my most anticipated reads of the year! The TVD series has been one of my favorite reads I've discovered in the past 2 years, and so Foul Lady Fortune was high up on that anticipating list.

I don't think I'm capable of disliking a Chloe Gong book. Foul Lady Fortune is not my favorite out of the three, but it's certainly still up there with them. I've always loved Chloe's writing and how she creates her storyline and I think based on the pacing, this one definitely improved a lot. I loved reuniting with the old characters that I love so much (while also crying over any mention of romajuliette because I'm still traumatized) and also meeting the new ones as well. I also did not see those plot twists coming so kuddos to Chloe as well.

I'm not ashamed to say that the reason why I was highly anticipating this was because of the romance. Roma and Juliette were my favorite and there's just something about the angst that Chloe always do right. The fact that this one is a marriage-for-convenience is also a plus. And thankfully it did not disappoint! I loved getting to know Rosalind and Orion and seeing their romance blossom in these pages was just so cute:(. Their tension and banter are also A++++. One of my favorite things about them is the fact that he's the sunshine and she's the grump and AHHH<333 The only thing that lacked for me was Oliver and Celia's story because there's such a contrast to their relationship and I feel like Rosalind and Orion really overshadowed them. I just think it could've been developed or introduced better. I would honestly love to see their romance get more developed and also their characters to have more exploration in the second one!

Also that ending.... Chloe Gong needs to pay for my therapy. In retrospect, I should've seen it coming because I don't think I was ever happy by a Chloe Gong ending before. I will definitely be reading that next book.

Foul Lady Fortune is the start to a new duology by Chloe Gong, and set in the same world as The Violent Delights duology. While the author says you can read this book without having read the previous duology, I'm not sure I agree.

Rosalind was a character in the original duology and now the main character in this duology. There is a lot to be found about who Rosalind used to be bofere she becomes Fortune in the previous duology. I think you need that to understand her better.

I have to say that in the first few 100 pages I struggled with Rosalind as a main character. Knowing what she did in the previous duology, I didn't think to kindly to her as a character. But as the story progresses we see that she has learned from that time. About who she is and what she cares about. I still think there isn't enough build to her initial betrayal in the original duology but at least she seems to have grown from that.

Owen has a secondary character next to Rosalind was interesting as he was much more open. Or he seems to be. He has a very different style to being a spy, using his charm to get things. But there is a lot about him that is hidden beneath the surface.

As the story continued I became much more interested in the mystery of who was killing these people on the street and what that had to do with this newspaper. Seeing Celia, her partner, Alisa, meething Phoebe and Silas. They all added to this story by their abbilities and personalities.

And now I am looking forward to the next book.

Chloe never fails to impress. I enjoyed These Violent Delights duet and this book as her debut into the “adult” genre is just chef kiss. I can’t wait for the next book!

Chloe Gong has outdone herself. This is SO much better than her previous duology.

This book was set several years after the ending of Our Violent Ends, and even though I remembered CG said that readers don't need to read TVD & OVE in order to read FLF, I think It would help the overall reading experiences if ones already read those duology because the references in FLF were a LOT. But I can confirm that the conflict and background are different and not exactly related.

In this time of event, Shanghai was teetering in the brink of civil war between the Nationalist and the Communist AND there's also Japanese Army who's been ready to take over the city. Spies and assassins are common jobs and they're literally everywhere. Rosalind was originally a Nationalist's assassin but one day her handler paired her with a spy in a fake marriage to avoid unnecessary suspicions. Familiar with the pairing? yeah it reminds me of Loid and Yor Forger from Spy x Family lmao. But on way more serious level.

I liked how the narrative was not as stiff as CG/s previous duology (sorry). The jokes are on point and the character dynamics seemed natural. Each of the character has strong and distinct personality. The plot was engaging from the very beginning--it went straight to action--probably because the setting was already set from previous duology (this is why I recommend you to read them first). Every scene made me wonder who's behind this and what would happen after that but my guesses turned out all wrong so congrats Chloe for successfully fooled me. There's also a badly dysfunctional family that made me want to personally adopt some of the member out of pity. Another plus point if you're a Swiftie: there's a lot of Taylor song/lyric references and its fun to recognize them hehe<3

There's still some things that could be developed but overall it's enjoyable. I couldn't stop thinking about the ending (spoiler alert: it's a cliffhanger) for a couple of days. Can't wait for the sequel

I absolutely ADORE These Violent Delights duology, so of course I had to tune in for this one. My only fear, though, was that Rosalind was my least favorite character out of all TVD cast, and I didn't know how I would feel about reading her as the protagonist.
I shouldn't have worried! Rosalind is a formidable main character. The guilt following the events of TVD followed her around; those things weren't forgotten, she will have to work through them. And the fake marriage trope, God bless! Her love interest, Orion, is my favorite character BY FAR. He's such a bi disaster with daddy issues and damn, I love him.
Celia remains perfect and the voice of reason; I'm so happy she has a love interest of her own; they exhale girlboss x malewife energy. And Alisa!!! I KNEW she would grow up and become such a smart little thing. She's also one of the best characters.
The plot doesn't really beat TVD for me, but with so many amazing characters (always the best part of Chloe's books), it didn't have to – the author manages to create enough mystery to make you keep turning the page. I can't wait to read the next one!

Chloe Gong truly never misses and never fails to make me cry so that's fun - I will read absolutely anything she writes

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this arc - I genuinely could not have been happier as FLF has been at the top of my most anticipated releases of 2022 ever since it got announced.

Well, miss Chloe Gong, you've done it again! After reading These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends, I had high expectations going into this, after all, who on earth could possibly match star crossed lovers who commit arson together? Two undercover spies in a fake marriage trying to solve a mystery using their cool spyiness. That's what.

I loved this book no matter how much that ending destroyed me (yes I need the second book even before the first has been released). There wasn't a single moment I can think of where I wasn't anticipating turning the next page. The atmosphere Foul Lady Fortune created was gripping, the backdrop, once again 20th century Shanghai never disappoints with the vividness and imagery in which it's described is beautiful. Don't even get me started on the characters.
Rosalind Lang? gorgeous, showstopping never seen before. I think it was especially interesting how we see her portrayed in this book especially after the ending in Our Violent Ends, especially from her pov and how she handles the immense guilt she feels. The way she was unapologetically her, doing these badass scenes and her code name 'Fortune'? *chefs kiss* Her character never disappointed!
Now Orion Hong... I can't even lie and say that I wasn't prepared to fall in love with him even before I picked this book up - the description was enough to let me know all I needed. But when I tell you this man exceeded everything. It wasn't just his demeanour of that well-known 'play-boy' attitude he adopts but times when you can really see how deeply his loyalties lie to the people he cares about..

I can't wait for people to start getting their hands on this once it releases and I will be 100% be waiting in anticipation for the novella and the second book!!

I will be completely honest and say it took me a while to get into this, but once I did I was hooked. Foul Lady Fortune began with high action and from this, I assumed the whole book would be this way, that was not the case. To start with everything was a little too slow-moving for me and for the majority of the book it seemed like not a lot was happening.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t love this though, I really did. Rosalind was one of my favourite characters from These Violent Delights and it was great to get to know her even better. I do have to admit that I still haven’t read Our Violent Ends yet, so there were a few minor spoilers in this, but if you know the story of Romeo and Juliet (on which These Violent Delights is based) then you can already guess how it ends.

So many of the characters were instantly loveable, Orion has to take the prize as my favourite. He was so charismatic and the growing relationship between him and Rosalind (which is not necessarily romantic so not a spoiler) was completely endearing. I was rooting for them from the beginning so you know it was done well.

Although slow to get moving I really enjoyed the storyline and the mystery they were trying to solve. Throughout the book, there are so many tiny hints at later plot points and personally, I think everything was laid out perfectly. There were even some callbacks to the start of the book and once I connected the dots I don’t know how I didn’t figure it out sooner. Well very done.

If you enjoyed These Violent Delights then you will 100% love Foul Lady Fortune. With returning characters and connecting mysteries, it’s really interesting to see how the series work together.

I usually struggle with books over 500 pages but once I got into Foul Lady Fortune the pages flew by. The action really gets ramped up near the end and you’ll find you can’t turn the pages quick enough.

This is actually my first Chloe Gong book, and I was not disappointed at all. As a Chinese, I can relate to the words and understand the context of the book. I really liked how we can see from different characters perspectives, and yes, I must say the book has really changed my viewpoint of historical fiction - in a lovely manner. There are huge, carefully planned plot twists, so watch out and have fun reading;) 5 STARS
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plot development ☆☆☆☆☆
character development ☆☆☆☆☆

I received this book as an E-ARC for an honest review via Netgallery, many thanks as I enjoyed this book A LOT.
To start there was great chemistry between the main characters….then there was lots of character development alongside this! I don’t want to say much, I think you should read for yourself.
The book felt original and different to other thriller/spy/action reads.
4 ⭐️

Ok, I don't think the writing of this author is for me. I can see that is beautifully written, but just not for me.
I read these violet delights last year buy i didnt liked it very much and the writing felt heavy and I kept getting bored, so I didn't read the next book. But I liked the twins enough that when this book was announced I really wanted to read it. I liked it much better than these violent delights, but, specially the first 30% of the book, was hard, I kept stopping to do other things and I actually read an entire other book before I was able to continue. After that it picks up and the actual plot starts to show and it move a bit more smoothly but it was still heavy and I was constantly wanting to quit, if only the story weren't so interesting!! Or the characters so great. So I finished it and because of the clifhanger I will probably read the next one. But I won't be jumping to it as soon as it releases.

But if you like this author writing, this story is great. And it have quite a few favourite tropes like, He falls first, fake marriage or only one bed. Plus ex mafia characters, spys and assassins. Make sure to read this if you enjoy all this.

Set in the 1930s in Shanghai this book follows a pair of spies posing as a married couple so they can investigate a series of murders that have taken place.

This was excellent! This is my first book by the author and I was not disappointed, the characters were brilliantly written and the plot kept me on my toes until the very end I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

This started out so strong. The first two chapters were amazing and I was convinced I was going to love this one and then I didn't.... It just got progressively dull for me and I couldn't make myself care for any of the main characters.

I do think this book is strong and has a super interesting premise. The narrative is fascinating and explores such an interesting time and dynamic. It just missed the mark with me. To be fair, I haven't read any other Chloe Gong books and I perhaps should have read These Violent Delights etc first as it appears to be set in the same world and interwoven a little. If I'd read that first, I might have enjoyed this one more.

There is a lot of rep in this and it was good to see. It was also well-paced and well-written. It just wasn't a book that I was going to enjoy, unfortunately.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a brand new duology as the marketing claims, this is infact a continuation of the These Violent Delights duology and it does spoil the outcome of a lot of plot threads in that duology. If you want to read this I highly reccomend reading the first duology first then reading this. I didn't know of this info until around 30% of the way into the book and as someone who hasn't yet read TVD it was really fustrating. This is the sole reason to why it's not a 5 star, however I am aware the marketing likely doesn't have anything to do with the author and instead it's the publisher's choices.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC in return for an honest review!

Trigger warnings: Murder, self-harm, blood, human experimentation, violence, brief gore-y descriptions.

Honestly, I loved this! It's a mash of history and a bit of medical sci-fi with deception and espionage everywhere. Set in Shanghai, 1930's - Imperialists, Nationalists and Communists all fighting for control of the city.

It was honestly a tad confusing at first trying to keep track of who had what names, who was on what side, how many double, triple even, agents there where but over time it got a bit easier to keep track of it as it was mostly consistent throughout (not too many changes). Rosalind was a pretty understandable character, her walls and her weaknesses felt consistent with her story and personality and honestly I really liked her. Phoebe I also loved, I loved the chaos and unpredictability she brang!

I'll probably still get around to reading the TVD duology as well, but I'll probably do that after reading the sequel to this, that cliffhanger though!!!

★★★★.5

OK, miss Gong. I am impressed. I can understand why she has such a chokehold on the reading community. I didn't think These violent delights would suit me, but I'm now reconsidering.

So, I decided I'd give her a go. The main reason why I wanted to read this, was because I heard it had an aspec lead, and the synopsis sounded intriguing. Loved to see a demisexual main character. I think the trans rep was amazing too. All in all, wonderful queer crew.

Gong has managed to charm me with the characters. The plot dragged at times, and if I didn't extremely enjoy the interactions between the characters, I probably would have dnf'd. Murder mysteries are just usually not my thing. Admittedly, I had no idea what was going on with the political aspect either.

Fake marriage 😏. Oh yes, I'm a hopeless shipper. The romantic subplots were very tasteful. I love some good banter.

Do you need to read the These violent delights duology first? As someone who has not read it, I'd say no. Obviously, that's if you don't mind being spoiled. I don't think you need to, in order to enjoy this book.

THE ENDING??? I have been fooled. Bamboozled.

Pleasantly surprised to say I'm anticipating the sequel.

Wow, this was such a cool concept and setting! Loved every second of it. Way better than her original duology in my opinion!