Can a person ever go wrong with Chloe Gong though? I don't care that someone or the other will probably come to me and say "oh, but she's only published 3 books", I will forever stand by the fact that I will always love whatever Chloe Gong writes. I might not absolutely LOVE it (Can you blame me? Victoria Schwab did write Addie LaRue eventually), but I am confident that I will always enjoy it and have a good time with it.
Synopsis
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends comes the first book in a captivating 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’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 from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country. Code name: Fortune. But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and 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 her people are killed. To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.
Release Date: September 27, 2022
Rep: demisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese main character, Chinese trans woman main character, aromantic asexual side character; (Chinese-Kiwi author)
CW: violence, blood, mentions of human experimentation
My Review
Tbh I was kinda skeptical about Foul Lady, mostly because I wasn't too fond of Rosalind as a character. BUT I WAS SO WRONG. And I've never been happier.
After reading FLF, I can easily say that I love Rosalind. She is so feisty and complicated and badass and amazing. I could say that about every character in the cast of FLF, but Rosalind imo somehow embodies these characteristics very strongly.
Foul Lady Fortune was a tale packed with action, humor, adventure, rage and so, so many unexpected twists and fun.
It is very different from These Violent Delights tone-wise. Like even though it's the same Shanghai, it's set in a rapidly changing and tumultuous time period. The umbrella themes like colonization and revolution are also similar, but in FLF, it's more specifically about what it entails, the cost of freedom, ideologies, and loyalty.
IT'S SO, SO AMAZING!
I honestly cannot express all the affection and adoration I have for all of the characters. From a writer's perspective, it is Chloe Gong's genius made that me feel so much for them in such a short and chaotic span of 525 pages. Silas and Orion and Celia and Phoebe and Oliver. Whatever opposite sides they may be on, against each other or with, how well fleshed-out they are and the tension and weight of their pasts why they are in the same room together is so palpable.
The twists and turns are crazy, the mystery that unfolds, the political situation that keeps heightening the stakes, the loyalties that get more and more entangled that you can't feel safe around your own family anymore.
They have us bound in matrimony and in code name. Do you think they would separate us that easily? You’re stuck with me until the end.
Check out more such reviews here!
REACTIONS WHILE READING THE BOOK
(HUGE SPOILERS BELOW)
1. Every time Orion says “my beloved” take a shot
2. “Who did this to you” moment oh my GOD. I'm going absolutely feral for this.
3. Is it strange that finding out Orion is bi makes me love him more?
4. Ok, take a shot every time Rosalind is jealous and says “philandering”
5. This is the best car chase scene ever.“ORION”
“I AM DOING MY BEST BELOVED”
"YOU’RE GOING TO GIVE ME A HERNIA” I love that he doesn't break character even while crashing a car down an impossibly thin alley.
6. When Rosalind faints and asks Orion to stay with her. Orion’s SPEECH. THIS. MAN. MY HEART.
7. Lmao her biggest secret was revealed because her picture was in a *magazine obituary.*
8. When Orion wakes up tied to a chair and the first thing he asks is “are you okay?” 😭😭😭😭
9. Pg-473 “He had gone beyond getting attached to her. She was his guiding saint, The Polaris of his heart.” 😭
10. Orion has turned into the winter soldier help
11. 500 pages and you END HERE?!??!?
12. “Nation over everything. But not you, sweetheart. Never your life in exchange.”