Chloe Gong has done it again! A spy and an assassin in a fake marriage is everything I didn’t know I needed. With a tightly woven plot that kept me reading into late hours, Foul Lady Fortune delivered every promise.

FOUL LADY FORTUNE is a fun historical sci-fi spy caper.

There are spies and double crosses and people with aliases the reader may or may not know galore in this book. Everyone is scrambling for power in a city being ripped apart in the shadows by the communists and nationalists fighting for control. The Japanese are a threat simmering on a very low heat in the background, and I'm going to assume we see more of them in the next book.

All these spies and aliases are a great set up for various betrayals and having to suspect everuone, not to mention try to untangle the plots Rosalind and Orion find themselves caught in. it's so hard to know who the "primary enemy" is, the one they need to focus on and defeat right now (everyone else is pretty much still an enemy as virtually no one can be trusted not to be out for themselves.) It makes for simmering tension and a compelling hook to pull you through.

Rosalind and Orion are the main characters and narrate most of the book but Celia, Alisa, and Phoebe (Orion's sister) have scenes too. The number of narrators not only gives the book a feeling of scope but also lots of different sides into the spying, while masterfully hiding certain facts. It gives you a sense of just how much is at play, and how many parties are involved with uncertain loyalties.

I've been thinking a lot about the fantasy/sci-fi boundaries, and it means I've revised my opinions of where all of Chloe Gong's books (so far sit.) The impossible in these books are all explained by magic, serums and bugs, which (to me) makes them sci-fi. They just happen to be set in the past, rather than space - and the technology isn't are "advanced" as usually found in sci-fi, but there's nothing magical in the impossible. So these are now sci-fi in my books, and I hope we get more "unusual" sci-fi like this.

The book is apparently a very loose As You Like It reimagining, but I have to say, even knowing that and the play, I couldn't really see the play in the book at all. Which is absolutely fine (if not brilliant) by me - As You Like It is one of my least favourite Shakespeare plays. The Shakespeare in this book comes from the occasional quote, including the very famous "all the world's a stage" soliloquy.

I will be grabbing the next instalment in this series when it's out, reading LAST VIOLENT CALL in the mean time.

I love Chloe Gong's book so I didn't even hesitate to pick this book up to read as soon as it was released. I'm also very excited for the next book as well in this series, as well as anything else Chloe Gong is going to release. I love the fake marriage between two different characters but also how they complimented each other as well.

I absolutely love how Chloe Gong weaves political history into her novels along with the inspiration of a Shakespeare play - As you like it, in this case. Gong has created an intricate world where you are glad to he reunited with characters from Violent Delights. The mystery, fake marriage & plot what’s not to love!?

Leaps and bounds better than the original duology, but could've done with 200 fewer pages and still been as effective. I enjoyed the characterisation and Rosalind's cool spy thing, but overall a meh book

I read this one without the context of the other series and suffered for it, would definitely recommend reading the others first which is what I'm going to do right now! Overall enjoyed the story.

Returning back to the world of These Violent Delights with the newest addition of Foul Lady Fortune broke me and brought me back to life at the same time. I loved every part of it, from start to finish, I loved reading about Rosalind and Orion, about Celia and Oliver, Alissa, Phoebe and Silas. Miss Chloe Gong just knows how to make me love every character. The twists were immaculate and that ending made me wish for MORE. I did not want this book to end at all! If I could give it infinite stars out of 5 — you bet I will!!!

★★★★☆  4.5/5 



Shanghai 1931, and China is under threat from forces inside and outside of the country. Trust is hard to come by, and with sides drawn, it's impossible to truly know the person you're working for, or against. 

For Rosalind Lang, who is far from the person she once was just a few years ago, she's intent on making up for past events. After joining the Nationalists, Rosalind is putting her abilities to use. Now a spy and assassin, she's teamed up with Orion Hong, given the task of infiltrating a Japanese press office under the guise of a married couple. 

For Orion Hong, his family's reputation is in tatters. His father has previously been investigated for being a traitor to the country, and Orion's brother, Oliver, is on the opposing side, that of the Communists. 

As completely opposite people, Rosalind and Orion are forced to work together, uncovering a conspiracy and a greater threat to their country. Together with characters from the previous duology, they must secretly join forces to stop the killings and discover who the killer is, all whilst keeping their own identities a secret. 

With multiple points of view, we see how Rosalind is still dealing with what she previously went through and how it effects her. We get a more in-depth look at her character, offering a better insight for those who, like me, disliked her in previous books. Gone is the girl who betrayed her friends and family, and in her place is a woman desperately trying to make amends with herself whilst trying to help her country. With the introduction of new characters, there's a lot to learn about them and their roles within the plot, but at times it did feel a little like there was too much going on by giving them their own POV. The plot also takes a little while to really take hold, with character development more of a focus at first, but this isn't a negative as there is a lot going on, and a lot to take in and understand. 

When Chloe announced there was going to be another duology set in the These Violent Delights world which would focus on Rosalind, I have to admit I wasn't all that excited. Rosalind hadn't been my favourite character, but after reading the synopsis for Foul Lady Fortune and then getting to read it, I can say I should definitely have been so much more excited. This book has completely changed my view on Rosalind, and Chloe made the right choice in choosing to focus the duology on her. 



Did I like the book? Yes.

Did I love it? Yes. There's lots to love, from the fake marriage trope, to the new and returning characters.  

Would I recommend it? I would! Even if you haven't read the first two, you can still jump right on into the world and not feel like you're missing anything. And, if you love spy/thriller novels with a hint of science fiction and fantasy, this is definitely for you.

This little thought came to me one day after reading Foul Lady Fortune, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head since: Foul Lady Fortune is the Secret Shanghai world equivalent of Avatar the Last Airbender if ATLA actually had a spinoff where Azula got her redemption arc. While Rosalind partly assumes the role of villain in TVD, in FLF we explore her in the aftermath of those events, and all she has done to move forward. My heart really goes out to her, she’s a character that you start to really care for though she may be initially unlikeable. Also, the demisexual rep in FLF is truly excellent; it’s a crucial part of Rosalind’s character and really made me feel things.

There’s a large main cast, and I love them so much. I have to give a little shoutout to Phoebe, who is just so, so fun; I adore the breezy, mischievous younger sibling act she brings. As a side note, after reading the B&N exclusive short story, I love her all the more. These characters are all brilliant individually, but there’s something extra special about the way they fit as an ensemble cast. I especially loved all the family drama, angst, and dynamics, whether it was Orion threatening to kill Oliver or him insisting on shielding Phoebe from his work.

As always, Chloe has also managed to weave historical, social, and political into this fantasy world, and the additional layers complement the drama of the story so well. In the end, all I can say is, go read Foul Lady Fortune. It may break your heart, but in the best way possible.

Amazing, fantastic, best book of 2022 in my opinion! If you love the fake marriage trope and ANGST, this one's for you!

Another enjoyable historical fantasy from Chloe Gong, but for me, this one didn't work quite as well as her first duology. There are an awful lot of moving parts in this narrative and I found that there were times when I was confused both with what was happening and also who was who. I liked the character progression for Rosalind and Orion and their relationship was interesting. I also enjoyed Alisa very much and would like to see more of her in the follow up. The latter portion of this book was really fast paced and engaging and did a really good job of setting up for the concluding book, which I will definitely be picking up. I just hope that it is a bit easier to follow!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Look, nothing by Chloe Gong is ever going to be bad. That being said, I went into this book with incredibly high expectations after reading These Violent Delight and Our Violent Ends, which are some of my favourite books I’ve read in the past few years, and has simply set the bar a bit too high. I would absolutely recommend this, but mostly for people who already love the world and Gong’s writing.

I found this book really hard to get into - so much so that it took me several months to finish it. That was, maybe, in part because my NetGalley shelf app locked access to it after the pub date, so I guess that's on me for not being speedy enough, but it was also because I just found it really hard to start off on.
To its credit, once you actually get into this and get going, it's quite enjoyable and an easy read. It's just the starting point is quite a steep learning curve. I had already read These Violent Delights, so I thought I'd be pretty much okay with the plot of Foul Lady Fortune, which is related, but not a direct sequel after Our Violent Ends. But I was wrong about that - you really do need to have read Our Violent Ends to get what's going on in FLF, and not having done that put me in a pretty tough position to catch up from. That's probably what contributed so much to my not being willing to pick up the book immediately.
Once I got past that point, though, the story itself was pretty enjoyable, lots of twists and turns, double and triple agents, a cast of characters who are all much too intertwined in each others' lives, and some fun moments. I'll read the sequel when it's released. And I'm definitely going to have to go back and finish These Violent Delights as a series, because seriously, what on earth happened in that second book?

"Lady Fortune, you play foul."

THIS BOOK OMGGG THIS BOOK CHLOE GONG WROTE ANOTHER MASTERPIECE

"Nation over everything. But not you, sweetheart. Never your life in exchange"

I loved it even more than These Violent Delights. Love love love everything about this book. IT HAS MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE TROPE.

"You can't ask me not to love you by keeping me at arm's length. I'll love you anyway."

Rosalind and Orion - two spies who have to marry and work together to infiltrate evil organization.

"I’ve seen what love does. It’s powerful. It’s selfish. It will draw us away from the battlefield, and we can’t allow that."

But we also follow Rosalind's sister who's on the other side.

"She only wanted to be a girl who was deserving of the world."

IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS BOOK YET WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? SCREAMING CRYING IT WAS PERFECT 5/5⭐

"Don’t”—he swung again—“touch”—another hard thwack—“my”—the crate broke into two pieces—“wife."

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

There is some lovely and accomplished writing in this book. My only issue is that I didn't realise that this was a spin-off. It felt as though I was missing out on something having never read the previous works. I just didn't engage with the story or the characters as strongly as I should have.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author, for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After finishing These Violent Delights Duology, I was not sure if I would want to go back into the world again. But I did only and only for Alisa Montagova.

This book is placed 4 years after the events of TVD. Rosalind is now a spy and an almost immortal one at that. She is placed on a secret mission to uncover threats of Japanese invasion plots and the truth of a serial killer doing rounds in Shangai. She would have been ecstatic to be on an active mission as this except she was partnered up with Orion, the son of a high placed Nationalist leader.

I always find CG's prose really hard to sink my teeth into. But what kept me in this story despite that is the banter. There is thankfully much more chemistry between the MC's here compared to the first duology and the banter is absolutely amazing. The slow burn romance was worth the wait. We also get glimpses of other characters and their current whereabouts after TVD.

So I am someone who is extra proud of being able to correctly guess plot twists and I did guess almost all of the twists in this one. But Chloe Gong threw me a boomerang with literally the last 2 lines of the epilogue, making sure that the moment book 2 materialises I am rushing to read it.

TW: Blood, Death, Murder, Grief, Loss, Betrayal, Torture, Violence

Chloe Gong has done it again! Oh my god. As if I thought I couldn’t love Rosalind even more. I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!

This book is part of a spin-off series, but it was said the reader did not need to read the first series to understand this one. However, as a reader who came to the author's work for the first time with this book, I felt like this wasn't entirely true.

The writing seemed really good the book quite interesting, so I'll definitely give it another go if I end up reading the first duology

Rosalind Lang is back as a Nationalist spy and assassin with the code name Fortune. An experiment revived Rosalind. Her injuries heal quickly, she doesn’t need to sleep and doesn’t age like she’s an immortal. Since Rosalind went missing, she was presumed dead after the ending of These Violent Delights duology.

Assigned to uncover the secret plot endangering her country, Rosalind worked together with another agent, posing as husband and wife. In the times when the threat of Japanese invasion and its hands in Shanghainese politics, Rosalind and Orion needs to be careful. A serial killer is on the loose. The threat of being stabbed with a syringe and unknown substances flowing in the veins is prevalent in the streets of Shanghai.

Meanwhile, Celine is working for the Communist Party alongside Oliver, Orion’s brother. It seems like there’s something between them that’s more than just work. We meet another familiar character: Alisa Montagova, the last of the White Flowers. She’s older now, more daring than ever, and working as a spy. Making appearances are Phoebe Hong, Orion and Oliver’s younger sister, and their friend, Silas.

As always, Chloe Gong created characters that I enjoyed reading about. While Rosalind is always acting like she doesn’t care, Orion somehow broke down all her barriers. I was living for the little moments they had after their feelings were more obvious. They found each other while fighting, spying, and in absolute uncertainty.

This is historical fiction with an elemt of fantasy and is set in the same world as the These Violent Delights duology.

This takes place a few years after the end of Pur Violent Ends, and Rosalind is now an immortal assassin/spy. She's paired up with another spy to infiltrate a company to retrieve documents, which may or may not have something to do with a space of murders which are occurring across Shanghai - where people are injected with something.

I liked this more than the original duology, although that may in part be because I'm less familiar with the Shakespeare tale that this is inspired by.

However, after 3 books, I'm not sure that Chloe Gong's writing is for me. I find the phrasing or analogies used are sometimes awkward and need to be reread to understand what is meant.

I'm also not sure what genre this is aiming for. The fantasy element is very small, and it's much more historical fiction but on that side of things I don't think enough context is given. It seems to assume you know about the time period, and I didn't really understand what was going on between the communists, nationalists and Japanese. The main characters were on different sides but none of them really seemed to care about what they were fighting/spying for, which made it a struggle for me to care. They're all also terrible at being spies!

Also I feel like more care needs to be taken with anachronisms when it's historical fiction - for example, the terminology of "serial killer" didn't exist in the 1930s.

3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars.