CHLOE GONG - you never stop writing in the future, please!!!!!
I beg you!
This is another winner, another banger from the author of These Violent Delights duology.
Loved every bits and pieces of this one <3

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication. A full review will be posted on my Instagram in the coming days. Foul Lady Fortune exceeded all expectations and late-game twists and turns absolutely blew me away. It's been several days since I finished reading and I find myself missing the characters and setting. I am already on tenterhooks waiting for the next installment!

I was hoping to enjoy this, however I don’t think the writing style is for me. I do believe that fans of the authors previous work will enjoy this one though as it sets off a new series.

I don't know what magical powers Chloe Gong was born with but every book she has published this far in her career has left me absolutely speechless. The These Violent Delights duology is one of my favourite duologies out there, although the Romeo and Juliette retelling left me with a gaping hole in my chest. As soon as this upcoming 'sequel' duology was announced, I knew I needed my hands on it as soon as possible.
Chloe Gong did not dissapoint one bit with Rosalind's story. I was drawn in from the first chapter as I dived into Chloe's 1931 Shanghai to be reacquainted with Rosalind and met a new cast of characters I quickly fell in love with. Tell me where I can find my very own Orion who can play my fake beloved and I'll give you all the stars in the world.
Now I somehow need to wait patiently for another year to read the conclusion to this incredible duology. If the sequel is anything like this first book, I have no doubt in my mind that it will be incredible.

A phenomenally thrilling tale of espionage, mystery and bravery set against the heady backdrop of 1930's Shanghai. Fast paced and well written, this tale is a must read. Its unique setting and strong female protagonists were captivating, and I will definitely be reading more of Chloe Gong's works. I loved the writing style and found myself desperate to keep reading to find out what happened next! Overall, absolutely recommend.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of Foul Lady Fortune.

I have actually been counting down the days until this book came out. And it certainly did not disappoint. I got so caught up in it, I missed my bus stop TWICE. It really, really is incredible.

This book is a spin-off of her first series, These Violent Delights. While there are definitely nods to it, this thriller/spy mystery/romance works perfectly by itself. I love how grounded it is while having these fantastical elements.

Rosalind is a nationalist Spy operating under the code name ‘Fortune' living in a much different Shanghai than the one we grew to know in the first duology. The city is at war with itself once more.

Chloe Gong is masterful when it comes to plot twists that we should have seen coming but there is absolutely no way with the way she writes these novels.

Come on book two!

4.5 Stars, the rest is chloe gong tearing me apart.

Anyway thanks Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review! This book really consumes me and once i woke up i fr instantly remember the ending????? hello it was SICKKKKKKK.
Foul lady fortune IS ALL ABOUT ROSALIND and i can't change my mind, and yeah hong liwen you are GOD I CANT DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I WANT TO TELL EVERYONE ABOUT YOU. Idk if i need a therapy or a proper sleep after reading this. Chloe Gong this is maADDDD you are absolutely insane, i'm sorry for who i have become once flf2 coming to town.

Im going to edit this review once i clear my mind of this gang

I was beyond excited to be granted an arc of this, it’s one of my most anticipated reads this year.

The start of the book took a little while for me to get used to the setting but if you’re familiar with Chloe Gong and the way she writes you won’t be disappointed.

This book is full of delicious twists and it always kept me guessing, I found myself growing very fond of the relationship between orion and Rosalind, their dynamics are entertaining and after finishing the book I felt at a loss… I wanted more. But that’s what a second book is for. I cannot wait for this book to be released, this is definitely something I will buy (I’ve already preordered in fact) and I cannot wait to read a physical final copy. Absolutely in love.

Coming back to this world felt like coming home.
I loved getting to know Rosalind more and how Chloe Gong depicted her as a complex character that is still loveable (especially after the ending of the previous duology). It can be difficult to enjoy a new cast of characters in a spin-off series but the new people were very interesting and believable. The relationships developping between all of them were entracing and entertaining for sure - the "who did this to you scene" KILLED ME.
As for the fantasy aspect. C. Gong always impresses me with her plot choices and the way she includes political commentary in a YA fantasy series.
The cliffhanger though.... Dying over there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I had such high hopes and expectations for Foul Lady Fortune after I wholeheartedly loved the These Violent Delights duology, and I am happy to report that I was not let down.

It literally feels as if Chloe Gong just decided to write books that are filled with everything I love. Political intrigues and schemes, cutthroat FMCs, MMCs that complement the DMC while admittedly being a little bit less vicious and dangerous, a perfectly paced story filled with plot twists and revelations, and a writing style that feels almost lyrical and poetic at times.

I am just in awe of this world that the author has created, a flawless mix of historically accurate facts, Shakespearean characters and fantasy elements that just work so well together.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Rosalind in the original duology, but now I love her. Orion is great as well, as are his two siblings. I also loved that we got more Celia and Alisa in this book.

Foul Lady Fortune is an amazing continuation of Our Violent Ends, while also being its own story. I cannot wait until this masterpiece is out in the world so that I can scream about the plot twists with my friends.

3.75

Foul Lady Fortune brings us back to Shanghai and the aftermath of Our Violent Ends, this time following Rosalind, Celia, and Alisa, with a few new characters along for the ride.

I enjoyed this book mostly for the characters and the romances. They were all likeable and there were so many good quotes and moments for the ships. I also liked the new characters introduced. There was a lot of good banter, especially between Rosalind and Orion. Of course, I went right back to adoring Alisa and Celia. I was iffy about Rosalind at first because....you know, but she wasn't an annoying main character and she grew on me a little.

Plotwise, it was okay. It didn't wow me especially, but I think it was a solid effort. One thing I noticed from Chloe Gong is that she takes a long time to get to the climax, just building it up, and sometimes it just doesn't really work for me? I get antsy and impatient waiting for things to eventually drop.

I will say, the ending left me speechless. I don't know what to feel about it yet, because I'm thinking something but also I'm a sucker for a happy ending so I might be way off the mark, but also I don't know if I like it because it ruins something else. I don't know if that makes sense but yeah. Fans and lovers of this book's world will go wild with Foul Lady Fortune.

thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

i devoured this book in 2 DAYS... and now i've had several days to collect my thoughts and come out with a coherent review that isn't just endless gushing about how much i liked this book even more than i did tvd.

when chloe gong first announced her plans for this new duology last january, before Our Violent Ends came out, i was already looking forward to this story and the main characters that would live it. when OVE came out and she could finally release more details about this book, i was even more excited for it. being one of my most anticipated releases of 2022, i had high hopes for foul lady fortune - especially with it being the story about rosalind and her self-determined journey towards atonement for her mistakes - and im glad to say those expectations were reached and this book really worked for me.

i knew immediately it was gonna be a 4-5 star read when i could not stop thinking about it and even when i was forced to put it down (because of work), i could not stop thinking about rosalind and orion, but also of alisa, celia, oliver, phoebe, silas and their individual secrets and motives. i felt myself empathising with rosalind and her constant trying, trying her best to fix the mistakes of her past and keep up this facade of janie mead's life that is so different from rosalind lang's.

orion was an endearing male lead too, and his desire to do what he thinks is righting his father's wrongs and saving his family name is so different yet such a parallel to rosalind's journey.

ALISA my best girl was amazing as usual, and even more resourceful and intelligent than before. i was SUPER happy to see her grown and it made me so proud to see how far she's come from her 13 yo self (though i'm certain i'm not the only one who's proud😉).

celia, who has found her purpose, is so much more confident and i loved that no matter how devoted she is to her cause, she would always be loyal to her sister first. it was strange to see her act older, be older than rosalind, who will always be 19, and who was the older sister & twin.

phoebe hong, the woman that you are!!! many aspects of her character and her past were very vaguely described through orion's lenses, and he only knew what he saw, so i did not expect THAT twist at the end, but it certainly made her an even more intriguing character and now i cannot wait to delve more into her past in book 2.

silas wu xielian, what can i say?? 🤭 i loved how whipped he was for a certain someone, but other than that aspect, we only learnt a little about him, and throughout reading this book, i always had the feeling he was involved in the plot in a bigger way, but whether that was true or just my speculation was never revealed, so we shall see in book 2. either way, i have a feeling he'll have a bigger part in book 2 than he did here.

overall, i loved this book for it's pace, for the amount of bombshells and plot twists that were dropped on us, the little mentions & hints here and there of characters i loved from days past (view spoiler)
that said, this book was not perfect by any means, and i had several opinions about how differently the warring factions (nationalists & communists) were treated, almost with a biased lens, with the nationalists portrayed as untrustworthy and selfish (besides the events from true history that were shown accurately), while the communists were painted as 'selfless' and 'faultless', willing to sacrifice themselves for the "greater cause". the other more personal opinion i had was that the reveal of rosalind's identity seemed a little anti-climatic. i was expecting it to be more dramatic, and with the build up of secrets piling up between rosalind and orion, i thought it would be, but the way it happened seemed almost too easy and without conflict.

those were what made me give this book 4 stars rather than 5, but other than that, i really enjoyed the twists & turns and the emotional journey that this book brought me on even more than tvd, and i absolutely need book 2 to come now.

I hadn’t realized that was in a way a continuation to Chloe Gong’s earlier books (which I hadn’t read). I thought my love for Republic of China’s era cdramas and superserum superspies would make this book work for me, but it’s not me it’s you — the YA aspect of it doesn’t really click for me. So with no hard feelings I will leave this to be reviewed to people who like YA and who can appreciate this better.

It's genuinely annoying how good this book is and how long I need to wait for the sequel because oh my good gods, I would let Rosalind and Orion walk all over me and then I'd say thank you.

They're dynamic, their characterisation, and just the way I felt like I would be friends with them if they were real. It was great.

All the characters were. The fuck you, imperialism attitude of Foul Lady Fortune as someone who is strongly against empires and the conquering for their own good nonsense filled my heart with joy.

The stabby stabbiness. The plot twists and reveals. The bridge of real history with fiction. Chloe Gong does it well and does it entertainingly.

I'll be making everyone buy this.

I think my biggest mistake was having any expectations for this book. Rosalind was interesting enough in TVD but her being the sole narrator of this book was one of the things that slightly irritated me. don't get me wrong, she has a great personality and all but when she is laid side by side with a cheese grater, I'm afraid the latter has the GRATER personality (excuse me for the pun there). the love interest (I finished the book like a couple of hours ago and I completely forgot everyone's names already) was a bit queasy and a little too philosophical for a guy who thought it would be an amazing idea to fake marry an immortal spy the mafia is combing all corners of the world to catch. I don't even know what the main source of conflict was. I don't even know what the plot was let alone guess the plot twist. again, I should not have had any expectations going into this book- I expected this to be a continuation of TVD and that's on me. I will definitely give this a chance again but after a long break so I forgot all the reasons why I gave it two stars.

This book starts so well. The opening chapters are nothing short of explosive, and I couldn't have been more compelled to dive straight in if I tried. But, suddenly the Chloe Gong slams the brakes on and it just slowly ticks over from there.

My main dilemma going into this book was that I hadn't read her previous series. This book stands in isolation, allegedly, except it doesn't really. There are huge spoilers for the previous series, memorable spoilers rather than vague off-hand anecdotes that you would only pick up on if you knew the story. I don't mind anecdotes or easter eggs for fans, but this was end-game level spoilery, so there's not much point in me going backwards now. Having said that, I suppose you enter at your own risk when there may be similar themes or shared worlds across stories, I just wish it had been made clearer.

Regardless, Rosalind is a cool character. She has an ability which means she's essentially impossible to kill, which is really useful in her line of work! She's been begrudgingly paired up with Orion, posing as his wife, on a shared mission. I love assassin stories - the dark, grim, twisty stories which you probably shouldn't like, but always do. This was a much slower version of one of those stories.

So, I didn't dislike it, but it just felt a bit too dense and descriptive for a high stakes immortal assassin!

ARC provided from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I even begin with this one. Earlier this year I bought These Violent Delights Duology, little did I know it would go on to be two of my favorite books for the year. So when I saw the approval for Foul Lady Fortune I can't even begin to describe my excitement. Chloe Gong is simply spectacular. She is a literary monster at such a young age. She set the bar so high with her first book and the fact that every book after is just consistently better blows my mind.

Foul Lady Fortune was beyond anything I could ever perceive. It was one of those books that made me completely forget I was reading. The perfect form of escapism. The world of Shanghai is so well built from the previous novels but here we have a different view point, at a different age. It's refreshing to see how Shanghai has moved on (whether good or bad) from the outcome of Our Violent Delights. Gong really builds up this world that seems so fortifying yet harrowing at the same time. The political unrest continues to evolve. The social climate hostile. It sets the perfect stage for our characters.

Speaking of characters. Rosalind was absolutely fantastic. I loved the appearance of the older characters, the different povs. Being able to see what each was up to. Miss Lady Fortune had so much depth as a main protagonist. She's not good, nor bad, she's just herself. And that is something I love about Gong's characters. They're not perfect, they all have flaws and within those flaws you feel a sense of connectedness. I did not expect to fall as hard as I did for Orion Hong. He was just the right amount of comedic relief to offset Rosalind's seriousness. Everytime he called her Beloved, I swooned a little. I really loved their dynamic and I'm a huge sucker for slow burns.

The complexity of the plot blew me away. Chloe Gong has some of the most all rounded plots I've ever come across. She has the type of plots I wish never end because it constantly keeps me on my toes. Just when I think I have things figured out she sweeps the rug from underneath and throws in another plot twist. I actually considered sitting down before a board and mapping out the plot because of this. The last ten chapters in particular had me by the throat.

Overall, I loved this book so much and absolutely cannot wait to have a physical copy in my hands. I could only put half of my thoughts into words for this review when reality this book was so much more.

Thank you Netgalley as well as Hodder and Stoughton for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

(This review will also be posted to my goodreads, as well as a version to my IG (@krisreadstt) as soon as I can take a picture to do it even slight justice within the next few days).

FOUL LADY FORTUNE. Wow. What the fuck. Chloe Gong has once again left me with a heartwrenching, breathtaking, suspenseful ending that makes me think "I NEED MORE". Please, Chloe Gong, inject this into my bloodstream because I have now found my two new chaos bestie gremlins - Oliver and Phoebe Hong, who are just...marvellous, hilarious, monster babies that made me fall in love with them (Alisa deserves a special mention here).

I think booktwt knows that Chloe is known for her special wit and breakneck murder in her books, and I can promise you that this lives up to THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS., if not exceeding my expectations -- action, murder, sexy hair, it's got it all.

I can't wait for book two!

I was given an e-book ARC of this book, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Foul Lady Fortune is, at its core, a spy novel, with a twist. The story follows Rosalind, a Chinese Nationalist Agent and assassin - Code name: FORTUNE. But as well as being a spy, Rosalind also has some unique 'abilities.'
When her latest mission pairs her up with Orion Hong, another spy and the son of a Chinese General accused of treason, the two must work together to track the source behind a series of strange murders in Shanghai.

So firstly, I would like to preface this review by saying that I haven't read any of Chloe Gong's previous books, and I understand that this story follows on from those. Therefore, there might have been a few aspects of this story that I may not have understood fully. However, this did not affect my enjoyment of the book. (Although I may now have to go away and read some others written by Ms Gong!).

The book started really strong - the first couple of chapters were fast paced, did a great job of introducing the MC and gave the reader a bit of action and suspense right out of the gate. The characters were introduced well in the first few chapters, and well developed throughout the story. Both Rosalind and Orion had back-stories that I felt were well summarised at the start.

The story does reference characters and plot lines from Gong's previous book throughout - again, I think a reader would benefit from having read these beforehand, but it did not affect my enjoyment of the book, nor did it seem absolutely essential to have read them first. I could still follow the key points of the story without reading (nor knowing anything particularly about) Gong's previous books.

The writing style and flow was done well - although I did feel that some parts were a little too descriptive and didn't add anything to the story - for example, at one point there was a descriptive passage regarding a tall vase with flowers that was positioned behind one of the characters - this added nothing to the story at all!

For those who enjoy some of the more popular tropes - this book seemed to tick all the boxes! We have the grumpy/sunshine trope - with Rosalind being the grumpy and Orion's cheeky, lighthearted humour as the sunshine. There is forced proximity alongside the "one bed" trope - when Rosalind and Orion need to keep up the pretence of being a married couple as part of their undercover mission. There is also the very popular "Who did this to you?" trope, and a VERY slow burn love interest.

I'd like to say, without giving away too much of a spoiler, that aspects of this book gave me some "Marvel" vibes - in the sense of chemically transforming humans to give them unique abilities. Isn't this exactly what the Green Goblin does in Spiderman? And how Steve Rogers becomes Captain America? I did really enjoy this aspect of the book - I only wish there was more of it!

There was mention of Rosalind's abilities right from the start, but then it wasn't mentioned again until much later! And of course, there was the abilities of the other characters too, but it wasn't really fully explained until the last 20% of the book either. So this was disappointing for me.

There were sections of this book where the pacing was a little slow and the story quite complicated for me. There was LOTS of information about the political aspect of the story - and I did find it difficult to keep track of who was who, who was working for who, and why? With all the agents, handlers, code-names, double agents, triple agents, factions and hidden identities, everything got a little bit confused somewhere along the line! The positive you get from this is by the end, things sort-of get wrapped up and concluded to a certain extent, but there are some questions that are left unanswered - I'm guessing all will be revealed in book 2?

Confusing political points of this book aside, I did really enjoy it! I think, for me, a re-read would be beneficial if only to get my head around some of the political aspects of the story. I would definitely recommend this book, to anyone who likes spy thrillers with a slow-burn romance aspect.

If I could give a book 10 stars, it would be this one. Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton for the gifted arc and a huge thank you to Chloe Gong for this book.

The book takes place in 1931 Shanghai, and Rosalind works as Fortune (or Lady Fortune), a Nationalist assassin who is effectively immortal, and cannot die by any means other than poison. She goes undercover with fellow Nationalist agent, Orion, and together they are tasked with solving a serial murder case haunting the streets of the city. Pitched as a speculative historical noir, the thriller aspects stood out, and the Shakespearean inspiration was clear and enjoyable. I’m personally a massive Shakespeare fan, and seeing the elements of As You Like It come to life in a historical thriller was fascinating. While you don’t need any knowledge of the play to enjoy FLF, it’s definitely an added element of enjoyment.

One of my favourite things about Gong’s books are the politics – they’re fleshed out and messy (and historically accurate), and it was very interesting to examine how the politics fit in with the characters’ individual motivations. The book was also tightly plotted, and the character development and plot development fitted seamlessly with each other. Pacing was good, and I enjoyed the variety of characters we got to meet.

And speaking of characters, the main cast was wonderful! I may be biased because I’ve adored Rosalind’s character since TVD, but she’s definitely the star of the show. In mourning from the events of TVD, we see a vastly different Rosalind than in the previous duology, but her development (both from TVD and throughout FLF) was really well done. The other characters are also fantastic and have such a special place in my heart, but Rosalind was my favourite. In saying that, I do have a huge soft spot for Phoebe.

The representation was another thing that made this book so special. While I can’t speak to the portrayal of Chinese characters, or other queer characters, and will leave those aspects to be reviewed by Ownvoice readers, the aspec (on the asexual/aromantic spectrums) representation was fantastic. It’s small, but there are two characters who are undeniably on the page aspec. While the terms aren’t used, because it’s historical fiction, the characters are demisexual and aroace, and it was really refreshing to see these two rarely-shown identities in fiction.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of These Violent Delights, but also to fans of historical thrillers, or Shakespearean retellings.

Thank you so much to Hodder & Stoughton, Netgalley, and Chloe Gong for the advanced copy, received in exchange for an honest review!