Chloe Gong has done it again, masterfully weaving together lush world-building, her signature gorgeous prose, slick political intrigue, shocking plot twists, and heart-wrenching romance. I'm still yet to recover from the ending.

foul lady fortune was an absolute joy to read. Definitely recommend reading TVD duology first to have a full understanding of what is going on.

I will start by saying that I have not read anything by this author before so I went into this blind and was pleasantly suprised. Full of intrigue and set in 1930's China amidst the threat of Japan invading Shanghai this story follows Rosalind as she is tasked a new mission very different than her usual. Orion will be her partner though I don't think either of them truly know what they are in for! It took a little longer than usual for me to get into this but I pushed through and find I truly enjoyed it and am ready for more!

It's 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.

Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging - and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption for her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.

With Foul Lady Fortune, Gong weaves a sleek, action-packed spy thriller with a dash of romance against the backdrop of 1930s China and the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.

It's five years after the events of Our Violent Ends. Rosalind Lang has become a spy for the Nationalists after a cure for a fever left her immortal. Different factions are again vying for Shanghai - the Communists, the Japanese Empire and the Kuomintang, who have overtaken Shanghai. In the middle of that, someone is killing Chinese citizens by injecting them with strange chemicals. Since the Nationalists suspect the Japanese, Rosalind and agent Orion Hong are sent to investigate, posing as a married couple.

I had a lot of fun reading this. While I wasn't the biggest fan of Gong's previous duology, These Violent Delights, she truly blew it out of the water with this one.

Foul Lady Fortune is based on the Shakespeare play As You Like It, but I would say only the bare bones of the story are kept. Some character names and dynamics are similar, but that's it. The book is more akin to a spy thriller or historical fiction. I myself do not know all that much about Chinese history, but Gong did a great job of giving you enough information to figure out what's happening, while not info dumping.

At the beginning, the details of Rosalind's mission went a bit over my head, but around the halfway mark, I was fully invested in the story and couldn't stop reading. Gong is, again, at her best when she's describing atmosphere and setting. You were transported right into 1930s China from the very first scene. The cat-and-mouse game between the agents and the killer, and, to some extent, between Rosalind and Orion themselves, was thrilling to read about.

However, the exposition could have been smoother. The beginning suffered a bit from too much telling instead of showing when Gong introduced the new characters. For example, we are told that Orion is estranged from his family, which she could have also conveyed through dialogue instead. Moreover, I would have liked there to be more distinctive voices from the different POV characters. As it was, their narration sounded very similar. But these were pretty much my main gripes with the story and after the first quarter, the book improved vastly.

We see a lot of familiar faces in Foul Lady Fortune, like Celia and Alisa, which made me happy, but we also get to know some new characters. I loved Orion and his sister Phoebe a tremendous amount. Orion is charming and funny and his relationships with his siblings and Silas were extremely fun to read about. Orion was easily my favorite character in the book, he gave me Nikolai Lantsov vibes! Gong also connected the different storylines well. The book had far more direction than her previous works.

Rosalind's arc in this book was mainly about the consequence of her actions in Our Violent Ends and the guilt she carries from it. She chooses to work for the Kuomintang as an assassin, which she sees as her way to redemption. I gotta say, her job is really cool. Given the codename Fortune, she poisons leftover members of the White Rose and enemies of the state. Since that codename is secret, however, she has to keep both her real identity and her assassinations a secret from Orion during their mission. Shortly, there is a lot on her plate. While I didn't have an opinion on Rosalind's character in the first duology, I found her struggles here very relatable and I enjoyed reading from her point of view.

Another highlight of the book was the dynamic between Rosalind and Orion. Their banter was A++, I had so much fun reading the scenes of them bickering like an actual married couple. The two have electric chemistry, but even as they grow closer, the reader is wary of the layers upon layers of secrets between them. It was fun seeing spies in a fake marriage. It kind of reminded me of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, only better. The romance in this was a real step-up from These Violent Delights and shows how much Gong has grown as a writer. There were still some scenes that felt a bit trope-y and like she was writing scenes in for TikTok, but it wasn't so bad it took me out of the story.

While the book still has the overall vibes of These Violent Delights, Gong has grown vastly as a writer and her strengths shine through in this book. Her prose is far less clunky and her character work overall better. I'm definitely getting a physical copy of this book soon.

The ending of the book was explosive. Some of the plot twists had me shouting, gasping, crying. I'm only mad I can't read the next book immediately. I gave Foul Lady Fortune 4/5 stars and recommend it to fans of These Violent Delights.

I enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and held my attention. I will be reading more from this author :)

What a thrilling historical fantasy! Talk about mixing some of my favourite genres together 💖 I love how the author brought all this historical information, about spying and warfare that went on as the Nationalists, communists and imperialists tried to dominant China, into the modern western young adult world. I found there was also a bit of Shakespearean drama and some romance.

Going into this book I didn’t know that this took place after the book Our Violent Ends, which may ruin the first duology as there are some spoilers, as I read some other reviewers say! I didn’t know this before reading so just a heads up for anyone 🙌😅

3.5/5 🌟

THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!

i loved every single character, the plot was so damn interesting and the ending! oh, the ending! chloe gong has done it again: left me in shambles and aching for the sequel. you must absolutely read this if you like multiple povs, fun and morally grey characters and lots of queerness. i'm in love with every aspect of this book.

"your life is mine as mine is yours"


☆this will obviously have some potential spoilers about the tvd duology. so be careful ig??


if there's one thing to say about chloe gong, it is that her writing is one of the best things about the book itself. the way she chooses to describe things has a forever hold on my heart.


diving back into this world brought back a lot of emotions, especially pain. im talking about roma juliette(ikyk).
even a simple mention of juliette roma almost broke me😭 i miss my babies so much.
also i wanted so see more benmars??? there should have been more benmars?? the nostalgia was so real guys.

now lets talk about the characters in this duology.
ALISA WAS THE TRUE HERO OF THIS BOOK. I LOVED HER SO MUCH. AND SHE WAS SO GROWN UP TOO?? i felt so proud of her honestly. AND PHOEBE TOO!! alisa phoebe were definitely my fav thing about flf.
but that's not to say Rosalind and Orion were any behind. i didn't know what to make of them in the beginning, but i actually felt myself fall in love with both of these characters as the story progressed.
i definitely didn't see myself liking rosalind. but miss chloe proved me wrong again and somehow made Rosalind's character arc some of the best shit I've ever read.
Both of them OBVIOUSLY had chemistry together. AND SOME OF THEIR SCENES WERE SO CUTE MY GOD.
them always referring to each other as "my wife" and "my husband" brought me down to my KNEES

also the two characters that deserve a special mention, celia (the absolute loml) and oliver, HAVE to take the award for the best couple. i loved rosalind orion, but they cant beat celia oliver. I KEPT WAITING FOR THEIR SCENES TOGETHER.
truthfully?? they felt like the parent couple 😭 yk?? the couple that takes care of other couples, and gives advice?? yeah them. 💀


The best thing in this book was the plot twists. i NEVER saw them coming. well i figured out 1-2 twists but not in the way i thought. the plot was very very surprising. and well written!! though you never have to doubt about that in a chloe gong novel lmao.
i truly never knew what to expect, and was literally on the edge of my seat every fucking chapter.
i am thoroughly and entirely in love with this world. and waiting(with my whole heart) for the sequel.




ARC received from Netgalley and author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own and have not been influenced in any way.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC for this book.

Staring this book I was unsure what to expect when turning to Gong’s world and characters. After really enjoying Our Violent Ends I’m glad that this addition did not disappoint. Foul Lady Fortune is a great time and a very enjoyable read. Gong’s prose is engaging but easy to read and the plot here was intriguing and over the course of the book I really started to enjoy the characters.

However I did have some issues which may be why I felt I didn’t fully connect to this story or it’s characters. The romance(s) here really did nothing for me, while the main couple did start to build towards the end of the novel their romantic interactions felt underwhelming throughout most of the book and in the beginning were almost frustrating, feeling like a needless break in the plot or character work.

Nevertheless I did really enjoy my time with these characters and Gong’s writing did justice to the engaging mystery and some of the character dynamics. I’d say that anyone who enjoyed Our Violent Ends will at the very least have some fun with this. Despite its sometime conflicting tone and some moments which left me wondering how the characters had even got to this point in their careers as agents, I couldn’t help but have fun, be shocked at the twists, and simply take in the glimpses of this moment in time in which the story is set. I will be reading the sequel!

the storytelling will definitely appeal to gong fans but i hadn't realised that this was a follow-up to the author's previous serious. the writing is way cringe, the characters are trying so hard to be edgy it is kind yikes. but, hey ho, like i said i am sure this will land with fans of the author or fans of historical fantasy ya featuring spies & rival gangs the likes.

I really liked the TVD duology and although she wasn't my favorite character, i was very curious about what would be Rosalind's redemption arc. And although I didn't fully loved it, it was very fun to read.

This book is more focus on history/political elements than anything else. I think it borrows a lot from the previous duology so i feel like reading These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends is a must before this one.

I started this book not liking Rosalind and finished it enjoying her as a character with her complexities and all. Orion... i was honestly indifferent with him at the beginning even though he did made me laugh and i like his interactions with some side characters, unfortunately i didnt liked him in the end. He felt bland and i feel like Rose deserved a better sidekick. I also think part of the problem is that I feel the main plot lost a bit of its focus with the subplots and in the end it made me not care enough about our two main leads. And that's a shame because some of those side plots weren't even well done so in the end it was kinda pointless.

However for me as it happened with TVD duology, the side characters stole the show. I adored Celia she was my favorite then and even more now. Oliver, Phoebe, Silas and Alisa were amazing too. Seeing them all grown up made so happy.

I like the dynamics between all of the characters yet I didn't like our main characters interactions. This was supposed to be part romance and I didn't feel anything for them. They didn't really have chemistry so it was very hard for me to root for a relationship I didn't believe and although there were some fun interactions and heartfelt moments between them, it wasn't enough.

Also, as with the previous duology, my favorite parts came from the last 25% of the book it was fun, intense and fast paced enough i couldn't put the book down. Those last two chapters were 🤌 amazing. So amazing I wished the rest of the book had the same pace and wasn't so much tell and not show because I think the book lacked that.

Overall this was fun and I'm very interested in finishing this duology mainly because of that last chapter and epilogue.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! This book takes place after the event of the These Violent Delight’s duology, so you might want to read that first if you are planning to read them. It starts off a little bit slower but then once you get into it, it really picks up! I love the world building and beautiful history that Chloe uses in her books. I thought the characters were great and I enjoyed the romance in this book! I can’t wait to read more books from this author!

Foul lady fortune by chloe gong

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Chloe Gong for the opportunity to read this book.


I'm giving this 5 stars, heck it deserves 5 stars purely for that ending. Talk about a plot twist.

I really enjoyed seeing all the characters from the original duology making a comeback. I was especially living for the brief mentions of benedikt and Marshall. I hope they get a bigger role in the sequel. I love how easily the characters slip between the different languages and personnas they have access to

"Who did this to you?"..."I'll kill them." Such a classic enemies to lovers line. I swear every time orion said "don't touch my wife" my heart could not handle it. The romance in this one was a lot more subtle than the one between roma and juliette but I quite enjoyed that.

If you're looking for a fast paced book full of action and spy hijinks this is the book for you. I cannot wait for the next one and I'm glad I already have 2 special editions on their way to me. I highly suggest reading the authors statement in the back of the book too which goes into the research they did and the history that they added to the book.

This was set to be a 3.5 star for me, but the final sequence absolutely bumped it up to a 4 star read for me. I still have goosebumps from that last line. Genuinely in awe.

I should say - I have not read Our Violent Ends, and there are many things that happen in this that I know will be references or direct continuations from that book. So I've not included that confusion as part of my rating. I think I knocked a star off only because there were times I wish there was more insight into the development of Rosalind and Orion's relationship, where I felt that things moved a bit too fast without us seeing anything between them.

That being said, I absolutely adored every single one of these characters, and I absolutely want an Oliver. Absolutely. He was wonderful. The book is very tropey - grump x sunshine, fake marriage of convenience, only soft for her, touch her you die, 'that's my wife' moments. It's honestly great. Plotwise, very intriguing and constantly has you wanting more information on the edge of your seat.

Loved reading this, and will DEFINITELY pick up the sequel when it's released simply based on that last line. Damn.

"Someone who had once wandered too far down a dark path and gotten lost was bound to be afraid of losing sight of the lights again"

OMG OMG I LOVED this book!! I've only heard good things about the first duology and so I was so excited to read this one. Ngl my expectations were a little high because I had a feeling that I would end up loving it. AND I ABSOLUTELY DID!

I'll try to put down what you'll get in simple words - 1930s Shanghai. The war between two parties. Two agents who don't go along forced to work together. Reverse grumpy x sunshine trope. Characters who are strong, intelligent and sly. Betrayal and lies. An ingenious plot and a mind-blowing twist that makes you want to read the sequel ASAP!

The political background in which the book is set was unknown to me so I read about the history simultaneously while reading the book and that made this one such an insightful read for me. I've decided to take the author's note seriously and read the other works she has mentioned.

Chloe Gong has blessed us with an absolutely badass Asian FMC!! Rosalind is whip smart, sharp tongued, stern and displays a no-nonsense behaviour while Orion is more easy-going and flirtatious, the kinda character you can't help but fall for.

I've always felt like demisexuality doesn't get much rep in YA books so my poor heart burst with happiness when I read that Rosalind was demisexual! Orion and Rosalind were like counterparts - and I LOVED reading the banter between her and Orion. Their conversations made me laugh, cry and feel anxious to see what comes next. I especially want to appreciate the other characters - Celia, Oliver, Silas and Phoebe too. I can't explain why I love them without giving away spoilers but I wanted to mention that I LOVED them too.

Those last few chapters had my mind reeling. I muttered "omg what the hell!?" a few times to the walls around me (thank goodness no one was around me ig). I know Chloe Gong broke everyone's heart with the first duology and I hope it doesn't happen again because I WILL UGLY SOB. I'm too attached to the characters at this point.

Bottom Line - I IMPLORE YOU, please pick this one up! (heads up - read it only after you've read 'These Violent Delights' duology because there are spoilers for it in this one)

Chloe Gong clearly does no wrong!! ( I swear I didn't mean for this to rhyme, but we'll just go with it 😂)

I am absolutely ecstatic we get to experience more of Chloe's work & I'll tell you what friends Foul Lady Fortune absolutely does not dissapoint!

Chloe's characters and plot are always top tier and not to forget mentioning how she seamlessly weaves in all the political aspects!

I can't wait for you all to read (and love) FLF as much as I did! 💗

Overall I did enjoy this one. I wasn't the biggest fan of Rosalind in These Violent Delights (TVD), and when I found out there was a spinoff, I was a little bummed that it was going to be about Rosalind and not Celia. However you really get to understand Rosalind better in this book and I kind of liked that she doesn't always do the right thing and is not a perky optimist.

The fake marriage trope is always going to be a favourite of mine, especially when you get those 'someone's watching so we should kiss' moments. Throw in a reverse grumpy sunshine and somehow it's even better. Orion is a calmer, more charming character. He really balances Rosalind out and shows her how to let someone someone in and trust them again.

We got some scenes of Celia which I really enjoyed, seeing how she was a favourite of mine in TVD. It was also great seeing her get close to Oliver, I'm really routing for them! I also love all the new side characters and am excited for book 2 to see some more of them.

I really loved buddy reading this with Tam as we kept picking up all the clues/hints from TVD and coming up with theories together. On that note, I feel it's really necessary to read the original duology first in order to fully understand all these hints and subtle references.

I did take me sometime to get into the book though, and I did skim read the a little at some points as it is very political can be a lot to take in. It was also written in third person, which felt a little detached at times. However that last 20% had me on the edge of my seat with those reveals and twists. I can't wait for the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC.

I loved These Violent Delights's duology and, even though I didn't care much for Rosalind and Kathleen, I was still curious to read the spin-off.
I was surprised at how easy it was for me to get back into the story, which is set four years after the first duology ended. The characters had great chemistry and obviously, I couldn't help but get attached to them. The romance is subtle but super sweet.
There were times when I struggled to keep up with the different factions, but overall, the story and political background are well woven together.
If you're looking for a mysterious, nostalgic, slow-burn cute romance fantasy, definitely give this a chance. Especially if you like the fake-marriage, forced proximity trope, it won't disappoint. Can't wait to read the next book!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder Books for the advanced reader copy of this book.

Foul Lady Fortune is a reimaging of As You Like It and follows on from the These Violent Delights Duology. Having not read These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends prior to this book I will say there are a fair few spoilers for the prior duology.

The book takes place in 1931 Shanghai following the main character Rosalind Lang who four years ago was brought back from the brink of death. However the experiment that saved her prevents her from sleeping and ageing and allows her to heal from all wounds.

With these new abilities and desperate for redemption from her past she becomes an assassin for her country with the codename Fortune.

As a series of murders starts to cause unrest in Shanghai with suspicion surrounding the Japanese Imperial Army Rosalind has a new mission. To infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot. To do this she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy Orion Hong. Both have clashing personalities and secrets of their own that they want to keep buried.

I must admit I did struggle with the first half of this book and it was not the writing I believe it was because this isn't the usual type of genre that I read. However by the second half of the book I was caught up in the twists and turns of the plot.

Regarding the characters I found it difficult to care for some of them as they seem very much sidelined. Maybe if I had read the prior books I would already have a bit more background on these characters and a vested interest. My main interest in this book was the interaction and banter between Rosalind and Orion's characters and I found these parts of the story the most enjoyable.

The book ended with many twists that seemed to appear out of nowhere ncad while I enjoyed these twists I feel they could have been built up more rather than just being dropped in at the end. Maybe the second book in this series will build up more of a background on these reveals.

While I enjoyed this book overall it would not be one I rush to read again anytime soon. However I would be willing to give the sequel a chance to see if strengthens the twists in the first book with more background.

Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars