I feel like knowing nothing about this other than the author that wrote it kind of worked for me. I never read These Violent Delights because I feared Tiktok was overselling it a little and I really wish I had after I learned more about our main character's origin. I will definitely revisit this once I circle back and read her duology so I can get the full experience. I loved her writing and this was not a miss, nor was my lack of knowledge working THAT much against me but I like to read in order so... here we are.

DID I LOVE IT? No but did I enjoy it a lot? Yes. I think I'll enjoy it that much more when I figure out her vibe a little better

I was fully ready to get back into the land that Chloe Gong has written and this did not disappoint. Rosalind, having been given the life-saving poison, does not age or get hurt, deeming herself Fortune, a sought-after assassin and spy. When she is placed under a new role and forced to be the fake wife to Orion, the last thing she expects is to fall for him and all his little quirks. (Absolutely LOVED them!)
On the other hand, we have Celia, who is fighting for the other side, alongside Orion's brother Oliver. While everyone is enemies with everyone, they still find a way to communicate and save one another.
The ending absolutely CRUSHED me and the fake that I had to wait a year to get answers should be a crime but oh my gosh Chole Gong just keeps on writing bangers and she is an auto-buy author for me.

This one fell short for me. Wanted to love it, but something was missing from the character's to make me invested in them. Still curious to see where book two will take us.

Chloe Gong attacked the BookTok scene with clever premises and deft writing. Although this can be considered a third book after her previous duology, it can be read on its own. Can’t wait to see what she puts out next.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for this ARC of Foul Lady Fortune! This is arguably Chloe Gong's best work yet. Her writing VASTLY improves from that of her previous duology, These Violent Delights, and I'm so glad this series found its footing a lot sooner and stands a bit better than her debut. Rosalind and Orion did for me what Juliette and Roma never fully could for me, and I adored it. Great book overall and while I'm bummed Foul Lady Fortune 2 has been pushed back, I know her next book—her adult fantasy debut—will be worth reading. Fingers crossed for an ARC of Immortal Longings as well!

I enjoyed this book - as was the case with the These Violent Delights duology, Foul Lady Fortune is very atmospheric and even has a bit more historical fiction mixed in this time around. I admit that it took me a while to get attached to Rosalind since she really wasn't my favourite character from the previous duology. I also found this book somewhat slow paced at first and it has certain spots that dragged for me. That being said, I do like the spy thriller feel and somewhere along the way I got very invested, I fell in love with Orion and that ending left me pretty excited for the next book! I can't wait to see where this goes!

Content warnings: abuse, death/murder, violence/gore, torture, human experimentation, racism.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

3.75-4 stars
I enjoyed this book more than its sister series. The characters have more of a solid foot in the story, and I think Chloe has improved her writing. I also appreciate a little less pov.

A chemical scientific plot begins years after the tragedy that was the sacrifice of Juliette and Roma. Rosalind is working as a spy and trying to make amends for her past betrayal. How better to make atones with her new immortal-like abilities than joining forces and finding out who is murdering innocent citizens?
Murder, political war, the Japanese threatening to take over China and family ties on the brink. Is luck on their side?

The plot was more intriguing, and I enjoyed the political urgency being more solid and dependent on the murder mystery in Foul Lady Fortune. However, I was shocked about the twist, and I want more of that in this series!

I loved this! It was great to return to Chloe Gong's universe while also feeling like you were in a new world entirely. The book was captivating and magical and filled with great tropes!

Chloe Gong is fantastic at her craft and this book was an absolute joy to read! She did such a great job between her world building and characters that I was completely hooked! As always I look forward to reading more from her in the future!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

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Foul Lady Fortune by @thechloegong

This was great!! I am really happy that I picked this book up. I had a lot of thoughts about the author's previous duology and I feel like my issues with it were corrected with this spinoff series. It is a loose retelling of As You Like It set against the backdrop of 1930s Shanghai. The characters are great the concept is so unique and the writing holds up.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of ‘Foul Lady Fortune’ by Chloe Gong in exchange for an honest review!

Loosely based on Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’, this story follows Rosalind from ‘These Violent Delights’ and ‘Our Violent Ends’. If you haven’t read those other two books I would recommend that you read them first as the ending is talked about in ‘Foul Lady Fortune’. This story is amazing! I loved the first two books, and I loved this one as well. I love a good redemption arc. Rosalind has a lot to make up for following the events of the last two books. She has turned from being a dancer to a spy and the story follows along on her adventures. There are a lot of familiar characters and also some new ones to fall in love with (Orion).

I cannot wait to read the next book in this duology, even though I am convinced that me heart will be broken like it was at the end of ‘Our Violent Ends’.

I've read the duology that came before this novel and I was intrigued by the slight change of genre despite thinking the duology was just okay. Needless to say, I enjoyed this novel way more than the previous duology and am intrigued to see how the duology will end.

The tension of the novel was way more well constructed compared to the previous books and the plot beats hit the right places. I had an issue with the previous books perspective changes as there were too many characters but this one it was easier to keep track of who was who and understand what was happening.

It took me a long while to realize the male lead was actually bisexual and I had a moment of shame once it dawned on me. As for Rosalind, I really enjoyed her character arc and felt she was way more fleshed out and interesting to follow.

Overall, I think this novel is a great follow up to the well established and loved series and will reccomend it to customers that want a thrilling historical YA book.

I am new to Chloe Gong and came into this without having read her previous duology. Although it is a spin-off series I didn’t feel lost or out of the know at any point. But it did make me want to go back and read These Violent Delights and These Violent Ends. This was a great fantasy book for a quick read. The perfect amount of intrigue, mystery and excitement mixed with a healthy dash of romance! There are plot twists and betrayals and cliffhangers and I loved every minute of it.

The time period this is set in is super interesting and I was fascinated learning more about the history of the Republic of China era.

I did knock this down to 4 stars for one simple and purely petty reason. I know it’s super popular right for the main love interest to have a cutesy pet name for the heroine but goodness the immense overuse of ‘Beloved’ made me want to rip my hair out. It felt appropriate in some situations but other times the tone was so off with the sentiment of the moment and it was quite jarring

Thank you Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review! I have never not liked something Chloe Gong wrote and we kept that streak with FOUL LADY FORTUNE! Rosalind (a character I previously disliked) quickly became one of my favourite characters. Honestly, all of the main cast did. They had very distinctive voices and personality and I LOVED them. The plot was well paced and I was never bored, and the ending left me shaking crying throwing up. Just when you think you can’t get another Chloe Gong signature plot twist hurled at you, you can. I love being in pain so obviously I loved this book.