Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an eARC for me to review!

Foul Lady Fortune really returns to the magic I found in These Violent Delights and I'm so glad!! Gong just really knows how to give the people what they want - fake marriage, 'who did this to you', fake arguments that are really real arguments...man it has it all.

I had a lot of fun reading this so I'm not sure what happened with Our Violent Ends and I hope it doesn't happen to the sequel to this! I like that Gong continues to incorporate historical elements into her stories, though FLF didn't seem to do this QUITE as much as TVD (perhaps because it is a spinoff so things are already set up in TVD) and I think the 'monster' element worked better in this than TVD. Rosalind was a compelling protagonist, and Gong also includes a lot of diversity in her characters which is cool to see as well.

Would definitely recommend to fans of TVD and can't wait for book 2!

Content warnings: blood, violence, murder, weapon use, needles, description of human experimentation, descriptions of war, descriptions of head injury.

Foul Lady Fortune is the first book in Chloe Gong's new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai. It is a speculative historical thriller inspired by Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' and can also be pitched as a Chinese period drama meets a Marvel movie. The author says you can read this book without reading the original These Violent Delights duology as all the events that have already happened are explained in the text, but I think not reading those books first will negatively affect your reading experience.

This book reunites us with Rosalind Lang, Celia Lang, and Alisa Montagova, all three of which were some of my favourite characters in the These Violent Delights duology. We're also introduced to a lot of new characters: the secretive playboy middle child Orion Hong, the duty-driven eldest Oliver Hong, and the chaotic gremlin little sister Phoebe Hong, and I am obsessed with all of them. Their backstories are just as complex and compelling as all of the familiar characters and I was drawn in any time they appeared on the page.

At the heart of the enormous cast, Foul Lady Fortune is about Rosalind. I'm being honest when I say that I wasn't overly interested in her character in the original duology, but in this book she’s bitter and prickly and is prone to running away instead of facing the world, and I love her so much more for how hard she tries anyway. She's developed from a person broken by love and has sworn it off to someone who has learned to love and trust again. Rosalind is also demisexual and her narration explores this briefly on the page, but the term is not used in the book as it had not been invented yet.

The fake marriage was not originally a selling point for me for this book, but I am now in love with Rosalind and Orion's relationship. They have the grumpy girl/sunshine boy dynamic and I am obsessed. The chemistry and banter were immediate, and the romance aspect was so incredibly slow-burn, almost to the last minute. I appreciated this as I could truly believe that the characters genuinely disliked each other at the beginning and cared for each other at the end. The relationship - both the fake and real side - felt authentic and believable to me.

I think that the description for this book gave me different expectations for the content. Rosalind being an immortal assassin almost feels... insignificant in comparison to the main storyline of the book and all of the other events that take place throughout the plot. She was in the middle of a mission as Fortune in the opening chapter and I was enthralled from the first sentence, but no other scene in the book captured or recreated this thrill for me. I was very invested in her using her assassin abilities for redemption. I was less invested when her abilities took a backseat to the main plot. The sleepless nights of sitting at home and being told she looked young for her age got repetitive for me after a while.

I'm also not overly fond of how the author incorporates plot twists: they arrive 95% of the way into the book and feel like they come out of nowhere with no previous scenes to support them, completely unravelling the mastery of her plots and characters (for me). I am one of those readers who love guessing and figuring out plot twists when the author lays the foundation for them throughout the book, and being blindsided by one takes away a lot of my enjoyment.

Overall, I would say that this book is an excellent continuation of the world and characters we met in These Violent Delights, and it will be widely adored by Chloe Gong's current readers.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5 stars)

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

Another stellar novel by Chloe Gong! I adore the beauty within her novels and the atmosphere she creates. This was amazing and I can’t wait to dive into more of her novels in the future!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Fould Lady Fortune was one of my most anticipated books of the year ( 5 star prediction as well) and it did not dissapoint.

We follow Rosalind Lang a few years after the events that happened in our violent ends. Rosalind cannot age and she putting it simply, cannot die, thought its more complicated than that. There isa ctually a nice and lenghty explication of whats going on which i really liked seeing how sometimes authors decide to put things in their novels and not explaing them, make them look as it should be there just because. Anyways, Rosalind is working under the Nationalist and now she is given a new task. A new wave of deaths is strinking Shangai and know she has to go undercover and figure out what is going on with the help of Orion. Posing as a marriad couple they now have to inflitrate the japanese and find a way to stop the murders.

Being honest, i was worried about how the auhtor would portray Rosalind. We know how OVD ended. OVD end changed her. She is now more mature and cold and is looking for a chance to redeem herself. I though she would be too much alike Juliette tbh but i was proved wrong. Rosalind was a complex character and so real. She has grey areas and i loved her.
Orion is my baby and him as well, was beautifuly written. I could see how much he struggled with his tasks and being himself and how it took a toll on him. How difficult everyhting was for him but how much of that he did all because he wanted to portect the people he loved.

We see Celia again and i love her even more now. She is an incredible character and an incredible person. There are new characters as well which i will not talk about and let yall get to know by yourself.

This time around the politics were almost like the main character and i truly dont know how Chloe Gong could have made something so twisted and confusing so intriguing. Politics are the bigger part of the book and everything was confusing in a way that made sense. The characters are confusing and everything is confusing and doesnt make sense. there are secrets and everyone has their own agenda and you never know who to trust. I loved it.


Now i wanna mention certain things with spoilers so please beware SPOILER BELOOOW. SPOILERS BELOW SPOILERS BELOW.











Fucking hell priest?? Like Phoebe my baby i love you you are the moment i totally did not expext that. I though one of the people who worked with Celia was Priest or even Silas but PHOEBE ??? My baby you are a legend and i love you keep doing it i wanna know everything about you.




This is my delulu ass talking but the note at the end?? JM ?? Juliette Montagov maybe?? like ok this sounds crazy but the scientific of the white roses he turned Rosalind into a weird winter soldier thing ok and then he dissapeared. What if he had found a way of of helping Juliette and Roma before eveyrhing happened like a serum of that kind and then he dissapeared because now Rosalind is fuckin invencible and he has other secrets and cannot like Roma and Juliette and he cant tell anything u know. And the nationalist and the communist and everyone are trying to amke super soldiers and they are like nope we hide we hide because its dangerous and when J saw everything happening wiht Rosalind and noe she is like ok my bby i will help u get ur bf back?? LIKE CHLOE GONG PLS DO IT?? IF THIS DOESNT HAPPEN THEN I BEG YOU CHANGE THE PLOT OF THE NEXT BOOK I WANT A HAPPY ENDING PLEASE LOVE YOU

Four years ago Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death. But the experiment that saved her also stopped her from ageing, and gave her unnatural healing abilities. Desperate to atone for her past, she did the only thing she could and joined the Nationalists as a killer, Code name Fortune. Torn between the Communists and Nationalists, Shanghai is a city constantly on the brink of war, but when the Japanese start talk of invasion, Rosalind's task is pivoted from killer to spy. Alongside Orion Hong, Nationalist spy and playboy, Rosalind must infiltrate a Japanese paper, but to not arouse suspicions it has been decided they would do it as a married couple. Something Orion finds humorous and Rosalind finds murderous. The pair are tasked with working together, but can you really work with someone you don't trust. Both have their secrets, agendas of their own, and the deeper they delve into the paper, the more their carefully woven lies start unravelling, until they realise the danger lurks closer than they could ever imagine.

Gong's series 'These Violent Delights' quickly became a favourite of mine, so I was unspeakably happy to find we would be returning to Shanghai, alongside some of the characters from her first series. Foul Lady Fortune tells Rosalind's story, a character who I had a complicated relationship with in the previous series. After her deceit and actions led to the untimely death of her cousin, Rosalind needs desperately to atone, but also wants revenge on those who helped bring Shanghai to it's knees, namely the White Flowers. She see's being Fortune as a way to both help herself and her country in one fell swoop, but she works best alone, and is a better murderer than spy. She's a girl desperate to leave her past life behind her, reinventing herself as Janie Mead, a low member of the Scarlet Gang, but she slowly realises that escaping one's past is never as easy as it seems, and when feelings start getting involved, hiding who you are can be a secret that weighs incredibly heavily. She's the same complicated character I loved from the previous series, but more dangerous. She's always been someone who has an air of 'don't mess with me' surrounding her, but is now more lethal than ever, and when she threatens murder, it is not an empty threat.

Alongside Rosalind, we also have multiple other POV', some characters readers of her previous series will recognise and some wholly new to us. Celia, Rosalind's sister. Alisa Montagova, Roma's younger sister and now communist spy. Orion Hong, Rosalind's partner and fake husband and Phoebe Hong, Orion's meddlesome younger sister who has a knack for turning up at the most inopportune of moments. As well as Oliver Hong who is Celia's partner in the Communist party and Silas, a member of the Nationalist party who grew up with both Orion and Phoebe, though these two don't get POV's, we get plenty of insight into them as characters. I enjoyed seeing the parallels between these characters and how Rosalind treated and interacted with them. With Alisa and Celia, she could be wholly herself, Rosalind Lang, whereas with Orion and the other members of the Nationalists she had to become someone else, Janie Mead, and at time she certainly struggled to keep up with her new persona.

Since the events of Our Violent Ends, not much has changed in Shanghai, the city is still at war, though instead of the gangs, it's a war between political parties with the ever looming threat of Japan slowly encroaching. Rosalind isn't with the Nationalists because she believes in their cause, rather because they have given her the chance to atone, to enact her revenge, and so she does as she is asked, something she and Orion have in common. He joined the Nationalist party after his father was accused of being a Japanese spy, to try and save his father as well as the rest of his family from disgrace. Neither are particularly fussed which party wins, they simply want their city safe from invasion. The mystery we follow through this story is one of multiple poisonings that have been happening through the Chinese quarter of Shanghai, something both the Nationalists and Communists believe the Japanese are behind. Thanks to Gong giving us the POV's of characters from both parties we get to see the mystery unfold, each side has information the others don't, and Gong expertly weaves the two together until it reaches it's climactic ending.

Now I know what you're all wondering! Is there any romance, and there is, in spades. First up we have Rosalind and Orion, forced to work together and fake a marriage to ensure their cover *swoon*. Rosalind want's in and out on this mission, she isn't a spy and certainly doesn't relish working with anyone, let alone living with them. Orion is a self confessed play boy, flitting from person to person, never setting down routes or entering true relationships. Their interactions were steamy, heartwarming and also absolutely hilarious in parts with Orion determined to call Rosalind 'beloved' every chance her can, and Rosalind threatening to kill him on more than one occasion. I loved seeing them open up to one another, slowly breaking down the walls, and realise that maybe not working alone forever is a good thing. Alongside these two idiots in love, we have yet another pair. Celia and Oliver her partner in the communist party. Their scenes were few and far between, but I almost ended up more invested in them than the main romance and am praying we get to see more of them in the next book.

Gong has done it again. She's created another bunch of characters that absolutely own my heart, a political and magical mystery that had me glued to the pages and, similarly to her first series, has managed to both rip my heart out and scream what the actual fuck as I'm reading the story. She's an expert at foreshadowing, at dropping little hints as to whats to come, though I still wasn't prepared for the absolutely shocking ending she leaves us with. Let's just say that I need book two in my hands now!

Chloe Gong goes back to the well in her follow up to her These Violent Delights duology. Set slightly after the events of those books but still in Shanghai in the 1930s and following a couple of the characters. But she does so to a lesser effect. While it tries to pull a similar "mystery solving" trick Foul Lady Fortune does not have the same driving force as the literal monster from that first book. And it seems that having one bickering/flirting pair is not enough so she has to deliver two on opposite sides and both siblings of the other. This is material that younger readers crave so this may still work for them but feels like a retread of the previous books.
And despite the historical richness of this time and place, Foul Lady Fortune often feels like it is going over old ground and hitting the same beats.

*3,5 stars*

Foul Lady Fortune follows Rosalind Lang 4 years after the events of These Violent Ends. She had joined the nationalists as an assassin, often called Lady Fortune, to atone for her sins and help build her country back up. The story starts when she gets an assignment to work as an undercover spy, posing as a married couple with the son of a disgraced nationalist general, Orion Hong.

The main plot revolves around Rosalind and Orion having to find out the identity of a serial killer that has been terrorizing the streets of Shanghai. Overall I think this mystery was handled pretty well. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but I really didn’t. Sometimes the plot twists were a little too unpredictable just for the sake of it, (the plottwist at the very end had me rolling my eyes) but it kept me interested in the book so I didn’t really mind.

The romance between Rosalind and Orion is a big part of the story. I thought it was cute, but it could have been done a lot better. I liked them both as characters, but it became clear to me pretty quickly that Chloe Gong really, really wanted certain romance tropes in this book. Of course the main one is fake marriage, this one is a big part of the story so it’s fine, but there are so many cliche scenes that only seem to be there for the popular tropes. There’s a scene where Orion literally says ‘Who did this to you, I’ll kill them.’ to Rosalind. This is a very popular phrase and to read it here felt very unnatural and forced. It doesn’t make sense in the context at all, it was just there for the trope. Orion constantly calls Rosalind ‘beloved’ which is cute at first, but he does it so much, even in the most inappropriate situations, that it becomes annoying quickly. The progression also isn’t done very well. When Rosalind and Orion first meet, she immediately can’t stand him, for no particular reason. I’ve seen this a lot in recent books, where the authors make the characters hate each other for no reason just to add some tension. But then the second Orion is literally just talking to another woman, Rosalind gets super jealous and oh no, maybe she does like the guy after all! The side romances really weren’t delved into enough for me to care about them.

I liked that we see how Rosalind has changed since we last saw her and that she’s still very much dealing with the things she did back then. However, I’m getting kind of tired of the brooding main character who deems themselves undeserving of love and closes their heart up for everyone around them. I know that it makes sense for Rosalind because of all the guilt she feels, but this kind of character is just getting a little old in my opinion. She’s still my favourite character though. Orion could have a lot more depth, but especially the side characters feel flat to me. Alisa is still amazing just like in the first duology, but Phoebe, Silas and Oliver are very boring characters that needed to be a lot more fleshed out. Oliver especially was such a weird character. We see so little of him throughout the book when it’s clear that he’s supposed to be an important character. He’s supposed to be secretive, yes, but he can have other character traits than just being a quiet, broody, secretive man. I guess more depth could be added to all of these characters in the sequel, I sure hope it will. I also just wanted to see more of Celia!!!

I liked the writing in this book a lot more than in the These Violent Delights duology, I feel like the author does improve her writing style with every book, though some lines still made me cringe.

Overall this book was an exciting, action-packed story that keeps you interested all the way through. I also appreciate that the author did switch it up a little from her debut, it’s not just a rehash of her first duology. I’m curious to read what’s next in the sequel.

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with an arc for this book!

several years after the original duology's events, a fresh group of characters join rosalind, celia, and alisa in this speculative historical noir that centers on the 1930s imperial japanese invasion of china. desperately seeking penance from her traitorous past, she employs her assassin skills for the country with codename ‘fortune’. along with the nationalist spy, orion hong, they must pose as a married couple while investigating a string of gruesome killings in town.

comparatively speaking i can see on how much better Gong's writing has gotten in this loosely-based shakespeare’s <i>as you like it</i> rerelling. without any notable info dumps, the worldbuilding and backdrop of the plot are presented in great detail. the pacing & how the plot unfolds felt far more smoothly than in her earlier works. i still adore her depiction of shanghai it’s so vibrant and alive. the portrayal of political aspect and discussions around imperialism and colonialism weren’t as nuanced as i would have liked, it did take me some time to get into reading it. once again i was a victim from the tropeification of books because i was hoping for more intense action sequences and more gripping thriller elements. the revelation part from the characters also fell short of my expectations; i had been waiting for it the entire book but it ended up feeling flat. despite everything, i thought the ending was fantastic and it really stole the show. i was similarly (and pleasantly) surprised by the twist so i’m bumping it to 4 stars ignoring the fact that many of the phrases (especially those of a few characters) were too corny for my tastes.

i had fun growing to love the characters even more because i was already familiar with most of them. rosalind wasn't a character i particularly liked in tvd, but i eventually i came to sympathize with her and began to root for her. alisa is my second favorite. watching her all grown in flf just makes me want to gnaw my hand off. that’s my daughter! i really love watching the interaction between rosalind & alisa here especially given the long history between them (and that of their family) in the past, their banter and interaction were everything to me. it’s like the scarlet gang and the white flowers all over again! i gained new faves too; silas wu & phoebe hong. their prequel story will be out soon and i can already smell a banger pair. unfortunately, while loving some of these characters very much, i must admit that i did not give the other characters much of a chance. one example is orion hong. the one who i had anticipated would be my favorite but instead struck me as a shallow playboy caricature without any depth. that being said, i was in no way engaged by his and rosalind’s romance at all. they lack tension and there aren't enough passages to indicate how their relationship actually progressed from being platonic colleagues to lovers. their romance didn't grow naturally enough for me to be emotionally invested in them. while they seemed incredibly cliché and tropey, i liked how their skills are kind of polar-opposite and are completing one another somehow. their dynamic works great when it comes to investigating and that *one* specific car scene was especially so fun to read about. no thoughts head empty. i was sufficiently intrigued by the conclusion to be curious about what leads them next. especially after one particular shocking reveal. while i think it’s fine to read flf without having read the prior duology, i still recommend to read them first to understand some context better :)

arc kindly provided by hodder & stoughton via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

All the stars for Foul Lady Fortune.

After the events of Our Violent Ends, Rosalind ends up working as an assassin for the Nationalists.
But she's not a regular assassin. After receiving some sketchy vaccination to save her life, Rosalind is stuck in time. She doesn't age, has ultra-fast healing, and doesn't sleep. This makes her a valuable asset.

Orion has put his looks to good use for the Nationalists, gathering information about the Japanese and the Communists by flirting with just about everyone that takes an interest in him.

Now, they have to work together to gather intel about a new string of killings that seems to be linked to the Japanese, while China is on the brink of a war. What is a more perfect cover than two newly-weds working at the same place to be around each other as much as possible?

This book is structured amazingly, with just enough information given upfront to keep you guessing at the twists, but it still holds back enough to keep you on your toes. The characters are really fleshed out, and easy to fall in love with, while still being morally grey enough for us enemies-to-lovers lovers. And of course some of our favourite side characters from These Violent Delights make an appearance, just a bit older (and some are wiser, not all)

Foul Lady Fortune is filled with all of your favourite tropes, from fake marriage, 'you're smiling do it again', 'who did this to you' to a grumpy/sunshine duo. But what I loved most was the demisexual representation. I have never felt so seen in a YA novel, and it really resonated with me. Representation in general is something Chloe excels at.

So if you have not yet added this book to your TBR, what are you waiting for?

*Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

Rosalind wasn’t one of my favorites in the last book from this author. But as soon as I knew we would have a spy/mystery book involving her I know I had to read it. I really like the writing style and the world created here, I just wish I would see more of the “alterations” done by the -I guess- poison?? I know it will have a sequel but I don’t think it will involve this part of the mystery, though I might be wrong. The romance beside the fact it starts with an enemy-to-lovers, it’s really believable and the way he says “my beloved” made my heart beat a bit faster every time lol.
Can’t wait for the second book!!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for this eARC

I was so excited to get my hands on Foul Lady Fortune as I've been eager to read it!

Foul Lady Fortune is set four years after Our Violent Ends and is rife with spoilers from both TVD and OVE so I recommend reading that duet first.

Rosalind is wracked with guilt from her previous sins in the last novel and is working as an assassin for the Nationalist Party, as part of a covert mission, she has to fake a marriage to Nationalist spy Orion Hong.

I love how the author writes and sets everything up, from character creating to world building the novel you get is a great read.
I loved how the fake marriage rouse worked out and the adventure and plotting was done effectively which added more to the plot line.
I wasn't a fan of Rosalind as such but she definitely stands out for me in this novel.
I found Foul Lady Fortune a great read and I look forward to book two.

A very big thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong.

This book is the first in the second series by author Chloe Gong that's set in Shanghai in the 1920's. This follows almost directly after the events of These Violent Delights/Ends, although it now follows a relative of the characters.

Everyone thinks Rosalind Lang is dead, and that's for the best, since she's working as an assassin for the Nationalists - Codename Fortune. She was saved from death four years prior by a scientist who injected her with a serum that now allows her body rapid regeneration which is why Rosalind is still 19 years old. She works alone. Until the new assignment arrives.

In the past few weeks there have been multiple murders commited in a specific way. The best way to understand what is happening is for Rosalind to go undercover as a married woman. The only issue is that her partner is the infamous playboy Orion Hong. Together they need to find out who's behind the killings and why. But can they actually trust each other?

This book takes actual events and puts a little fantastical spin on them. I really admire Chloe Gong for how she managed to capture the essence of the time period while still adding new elements. I really loved this book and I'm already waiting for the next installment!

One thing I would say - this book does contain some spoilers for These Violent Delights. So if you have not read that duology, maybe start there first!

Overall, amazing book. The characters were loveable, the setting was amazing and the twists were always keeping you on your toes. Can't wait to see what's next!

~~5 Stars~~ 31st August 2022

“Your life is mine as mine is yours”

This book had a lot of high expectations for me after I devoured and loved the TVD series and completely delivered it. Chloe Gong hit the nail for creating a new spinoff series within an already beloved world and making it new and unique. I was worried I’d be too stuck in Roma & Juliette’s world that I wouldn’t be able to move on, but if anything, I have been sucked right in- the mentions of old characters is a great addition for TVD fans and remind us that those characters existed and impacted our new heroes/heroines actions.

Now seeing the Lang sisters as spy’s on completely different political standings and detached from the now dissolved Scarlett Gang, it’s a great way to see them both be standalone heroines in their own right. Both are trying to achieve a better world that their cousin Juliette’s death fired up within themselves, with both having different viewpoints on achieving that. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of family; the bond between the two is stronger than any political differences.

We mainly follow Rosalind’s perspective with chimes of Celia and Alisa’s added in. I like how the narratives play out from their different perspectives, especially those on opposing sides. We don’t know which side is ‘bad’ or even if any side is worse than the other. While each heroine is powerful, they have their way of thinking; Rosalind is calculating and sharp, Celia is more cautious and tactful, and Alisa stays in the shadows and acts fast.

Let’s go into the characters more…..
She’s got beauty and brains but is also a kick-ass assassin. Rosalind Lang Janie Mead - way to make me do a complete 180 of my opinion of them, Chloe! I wasn’t a huge fan of Rosalind in TVD, the betrayal was too deep imo, but I am glad we get to see more about her in this new series. She’s got more powerhouse energy and a drive for righteousness that makes her seem untouchable and powerful. Although every hard exterior has a gooey centre, her love for her sister is unshakeable, and it’s admirable how they keep each other safe even on opposing sides.
Orion Hong is a lovable addition to the series and balances Rosalind’s sharpness. His past is tragic as he struggles with that throughout the story by trying to meet set expectations and keep his only close family safe from the world so they, too, don’t leave him. The blossoming romance between him and Rosalind is beautiful, and I can’t wait for them to tell their feeling to each other. Also, the “Do. Not. Touch. My. Beloved. Wife” part just killed me off and resurrected me.
Celia Lang, How I hope for more Celia content! Celia can now be the woman she wants to be
Alisa Montagov is another character I hope for more content in the next book. Now more grown up and dealing with a world without her family, she has to become self-reliant on her talents, and girl does she deliver. Probably the only character who would get any job done perfectly and efficiently with no questions asked.
Phoebe Hong is a sweet girl who brings lightness into the story by being a massive nuisance to her brother. More of power duo Alisa and Phoebe!
Oliver Hong, sus.

Chloe’s devotion to trying and including historically accurate themes is why the world-building and atmosphere in these books are immaculate, the stories she’s webbed around it have been fully thought out, and you know you’re in for a great story.

I really enjoyed Gong's take on the Romeo and Juliet story in her debut duology, and when I heard that not only will she tackle yet another Shakespeare classic, but also allow us to revisit some of that duology's characters, I was just a tiny bit excited to read "Foul Lady Fortune". I did have some criticism back when I read her debut, so I was also really interested to see how Gong developed as an author. The development is visible and personally, I think her newest work is better written and more thoroughly crafted. The descriptions are more concise, the world building is a lot less infodumpy. Gong's beautiful writing style really shines here.

Once again, we return to Shanghai at the dawn of the 20th century. This time around we mostly follow Rosalind, a character I genuinely like a lot and that I didn't think was given enough to do in the "These Violent Delights" duology. This time around she finally gets agency. She's a much more well-rounded character and I actually enjoyed reading about her more than her predecessor Juliet, though at times I felt they were written a bit too similarly.
I was also excited to see more of Celia, although she's just a side character and they always tend to lack depth in Gong's work due to not having enough focus put on them. Her chapters fell flat for me because they always felt like a bit of an afterthought, and here's hoping that the next book will do her character justice.
Then there are the other characters: Alisa Montagova returns and she'd probably be my favourite of them all if only her actions made a bit more sense throughout the story. Oliver returns as well but suffers due to the aforementioned lack of focus on his and Celia's story (and, admittedly, their romance - which is a shame because it appealed to me so much more than the main romance).
The new characters are sadly rather bland. Orion is just not that deep though the narrative wants to pretend he is, and I couldn't get emotionally engaged by his and Rosalind's romance at all. It's not very well paced, they lack tension and, even though the book is rather long and they are the main characters, they don't have enough scenes that show us how their relationship really develops from colleagues who don't care much about each other to lovers in the end. They just felt very tropey, very, dare I say, book-tok-y, and their feelings didn't develop organically enough to get me involved at all. Orion's declaration of love came completely out of left field for me because I felt no love at all.
Also, though this is a very subjective little thing I didn't like, why keep the original names of Rosalind, Celia and Oliver (and Phoebe, as a minor character) but then change Orlando into Orion?

The plot is only very loosely based on "As You Like It", mostly just taking character names, dynamics and the general idea of secret identities, but the plot is a very different one. Makes sense, considering this is a story about politics, spies and gruesome murders. It's, once again, a generally exciting plot though the pacing is rather slow. At the same time, the plot sometimes skips entire weeks, which doesn't add to the pacing issues felt especially hard in relationship scenes.
There are also just too many subplots and hints at historical events that don't do much for the plot itself, and while there are multiple opposing sides, very few of the characters seem to have actual convictions or reasons to fight for their specific party. It sometimes feels like they are put on different sides of this war solely to be on different sides of this war, for plot convenience if you will. This is a book very much focused on political maneouvering but none of the characters seem to care much about politics, with some of them switching sides seemingly willy-nilly. It definitely takes away from the whole political aspect of the story, as well as certain character dynamics, especially between Orion/Oliver and Rosalind/Celia. It doesn't feel like the characters are developing much throughout all this political maneouvering as well.

The supernatural aspects of the story sometimes seem a bit tacked on. Rosalind is basically immortal, but while this is said to be one of her defining traits, even turning her into an urban legend of sorts, it honestly... just isn't important at all? It never really comes into play and when it does, it's only to add some more drama for her and Orion.
There are some twists in the story, one rather predictable but well done that adds a lot more excitement to the book's ending and the next book in the duology, and one in the epilogue that demands a LOT of suspension of disbelief due to how certain characters are written throughout the rest of the book. Feels more like a twist intended only to shock the readers, and I'm honestly not very excited to see how this one plays out.

So all in all, this an okay book, beautifully written with exciting plot ideas and a lot of potentially awesome characters. It has too many issues to give this more than 3 stars, but those 3 stars it deserves. I'm not entirely sure if it convinced me to read the next book (unless that one focuses on Celia), but I'm sure it will have a lot of fans.

Chloe Gong, bestselling author of These Violent Delights, returns with a compelling new dilogy set in Shanghai in 1931, and I'm here today to tell you about the first volume, Foul Lady Fortune.

Rosalind Lang, thanks to an experiment, has come back to life "from beyond," but this has consequences.
She doesn't age, she heals quickly, ergo she cannot die.
She decides to use this situation to her advantage, so she puts her skills to work for the country.
Her code name is Fortuna.

Rosalinda's plan changes direction at the moment when, the Japanese Imperial Army, decides to invade Shanghai, thus causing unrest and deaths.

And it's here that, together with Orion, a Nationalist spy, the adventure begins.
Foul Lady Fortune is undoubtedly a gripping story, capturing the reader and chaining him to its pages, however...
Yeah, there's a though. I found it "difficult" to approach the story right away, but once I got the hang of it, it flows that a wonder.
The intrigue and twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat and eager for more, I devoured the book.
I really enjoyed the delineation of the characters, as well as the worldbuilding.
But the ending? It's illegal!
I can't wait to read the second volume!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This has taken me ages to review because I think I have come to realise I don’t really vibe with CG’s writing style which is fine but it did take me a while to get into the book.
I love a good spy book and this book had one of my favourite troupes - posing as a (married) couple. I liked the representation in this book and the characters were fleshed out. There was a good ensemble of secondary characters too.
I liked the plot but I felt like more could have been done with it and although some of the twists were written well, I felt like they were pretty obvious.
I also think this book displayed a lot of showing rather than telling covered in flowery language that, in my opinion, stopped the flow of the book.
I DNF’d Those Violent Delights and if this wasn’t for review, I feel like I might have DNF’d this too as it took me over 20 days to read.
Probably won’t be recommending but I can see how others enjoy this story!

<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 22%

This book wasn’t horrible by any means. The writing was okay and the plot was interesting enough. This might be a case of “it’s not the book, it’s me” because I just struggled to get invested in the story or the characters. Although, I do understand the appeal this book might have and I would still recommend checking it out if it interests you.

“Forget, Roma and Juliette, its Rosalind and Orion from now on !”

First and foremost, I want to thank Hodder & Stoughton for sending me an ARC of this book. It was one of my most anticipated releases of this year and Chloe Gong did not disappoint us. I would even go so far to say that as of now, this is her best work. There was not one moment in this book when I, for instance felt bored or like something was missing.

Plot:

Foul Lady Fortune is the first novel in the spin off-duology to the “These Violent Delights” Duology and it is set 5 years after the events of “Our Violent End”. It follows Rosalind Lang (Code name: Fortune), who by now is a Nationalist assassin…and essentially immortal, because she was brought back from the brink of death, by a mysterious experiment that may saved her, but also stopped her from sleeping, aging and allowing her to heal from any wound. However, when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march and a series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of people are being killed…..
….But to avoid suspicion, Rosalind not only has to work together with Orion Hong, another Nationalist spy, but also must pose as his wife .

Personal thoughts:

Chloe Gong has an incredible talent when it comes to creating the atmosphere of her books by writing the most intricate, vivid and lyrical descriptions and comparisons. Therefore, it felt like as if we were standing right next to Rosalind and Orion on the streets of Shanghai, hearing the same noises, whilst smelling the food from the market stalls. Filled with an incredible amount of suspense, mystery, diversity and plot twists, Chloe Gong once again wrote an extraordinary novel that seamlessly blends together fantasy, politics, culture and history. Readers are certainly not prepared for this story as well as the tense, secretive, but also sarcastic dynamic between Rosalind and Orion. If you loved These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends….you better brace yourself, because you are not ready for Foul Lady Fortune.
Nevertheless, I would recommend that readers should first read the “These Violent Delights” Duology, since the novel features a lot of references and lives on both the emotional and literal consequences of the original duology.

For most of this book I was fairly set on a three star rating, but the last quarter was absolutely incredible, redeeming my rating. I'm a demanding reader and need a lot of excitement early on to keep me engaged, which is why I found the earlier stages a bit slow. I also know next to nothing about the time it's set in, so a lot of the historical context didn't make a lot of sense to me, but I am now setting myself the task of educating myself in prep for the sequel! I loved the slow burn between Rosalind and Orion and it felt so natural. The epilogue was also epic and has set up perfectly for the next book - I can't wait!

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for providing e-arc of this book.
Rating - 4.5/5
I had so much fun reading this .Even though it is set in the same universe as the TVD series it felt so much different than her previous books . I loved the writing style and setting and the world building done here.The characters were so well written and the pacing of the book also felt perfect.Although i felt that romance between Orion and Rosalind was very rushed at the end .I think anyone who liked tvd and ove will love foul lady fortune .Eagerly waiting for flf sequel