Hello everyone! Chloe Gong’s Secret Shanghai world pretty much took over my life when These Violent Delights was released, so it’s no surprise that I would pick up future novels set in this universe. I love related series that explores different characters and letting side characters in one series be the main characters in another. It just creates layers to the setting and revisiting familiar characters are always fun.
Anyway, enjoy! Foul Heart Huntsman review will be up soon as well!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🗡 #1: Foul Lady Fortune | ☎️ #1.5: Last Violent Call
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Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Series: Foul Lady Fortune #1
Published on September 27, 2022 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Representation: Shanghainese
Rating:
Synopsis:
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.
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.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
trigger and content warnings:
- abuse, death, gore, human experimentation, murder, sexual harassment, torture, violence
trigger and content warnings:
- abuse, death, gore, human experimentation, murder, sexual harassment, torture, violence
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.
“If you die, I’ll personally punch you in the chest repeatedly until you resuscitate.”
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.
“Don’t”—he swung again—“touch”—another hard thwack—“my”—the crate broke into two pieces—“wife.”
spoilers:
- I’m so happy when Alisa mentioned Benedikt and Marshall. They are married and now hiding in Russia after the Nationalists took over Shanghai.
- orion tripping over his words after seeing rosalind in a qipao is peak fan service. oh, the classic strategy of a kiss when being pursued by the enemy and pretending to be a pair of young lovers in an alley.
- Oh man, Orion is the serial killer. Those laps in memories and headaches are there for a reason. AND it’s his mother who injected him with the serum. How diabolical. Orion is now an emotionless and unfeeling killing machine for his mother.
- Rosalind’s real identity was exposed. She can no longer be a spy. BUT! She received a message from someone named JM aka JULIETTE MONTAGOV!!! i hope🤞🏼
- HAHAH Phoebe is Priest. EVERYONE WAS WONDERING AND SHE’S JUST RIGHT IN FRONT. i can’t wait for people to know, especially silas.
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Navigate through this post with the titles below:
🗡 #1: Foul Lady Fortune | ☎️ #1.5: Last Violent Call
☎️☎️☎️
Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong
Series: Foul Lady Fortune #1.5
Published on February 28, 2023 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, Mystery
Representation: Shanghainese
Rating:
Synopsis:
In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their peaceful, quiet life. But when they hear about several Russian girls showing up dead in nearby towns, they decide to investigate—and ultimately discover that this mystery is much closer to home than they ever imagined.
In This Foul Murder, Benedikt and Marshall have been summoned by Roma to find the elusive scientist, Lourens, and bring him to Zhouzhuang. Time is of the essence aboard the week-long Trans-Siberian Express, but when someone is murdered on board, Benedikt and Marshall convince the officer in charge not to stop the train so that they aren’t thrown off-schedule. Instead, they pretend that they are investigators and promise they can solve the murder, but as they dig deeper, they realize that the murder might having surprising ties to their own mission…
☎️☎️☎️
I was thrilled when Chloe Gong announced not one, but two novellas smack in the middle of the Foul Lady Fortune duology. It’s such a clever move to give fans more context for the upcoming book while also sending us into fits of laughter. I have a soft spot for RomaJuliette and BenMars; we got the whole These Violent Delights duology with the former couple, so I feel a deeper connection to them. But seeing married Benedikt and Marshall together is just pure bliss.
A Foul Thing
Meeting Juliette and Roma again felt like a dream come true. Ever since the end of Our Violent Ends, I’ve been dying to know how they’ve been. I never even considered for a second that they died in the blast. Seeing them run away to live a peaceful, somewhat quiet life is exactly what I hoped for. But somehow, even in Zhouzheng, they managed to get mixed up in the situation in Shanghai.
As a married couple in Zhouzheng, life has been decent, even as they dabble in the illegal weapons business. They keep themselves updated on the news from Shanghai but haven’t been able to set foot in the city. When they meet Yulun and Mila, who are on the run, it becomes clear that they’re involved in the human experiments linked to Rosalind.
fishies have good food 🐟
Rather unceremoniously, Roma dumped the attacker’s body into a canal.
“This is terrible,” he grumbled under his breath, dusting his hands off. “The poor fish.”
“The poor fish?” Juliette echoed. “We’re feeding the fish so many good nutrients. This is going to be the best meal they’ve had in years. Delicious human meet.”
“You won’t ever lose me,” Roma murmured in the present. “You made me do a pinkie promise, remember?”
“Actually,” Juliette corrected, “I was promising you, but you never promised me.”
Roma’s eyes finally fluttered open. In that narrow strip of silver streaming through the window, his pupils were so large that his gaze was wholly black.
“I would have assumed,” he said slowly, “that our marriage vows shortly afterward implied a returned promise.”
This Foul Murder
Chloe Gong must be a mind reader because she knew exactly what her readers wanted and delivered the ultimate fan service. I’ll just say it: Benedikt and Marshall are absolutely adorable together. Opposites attract, and we get to see it in action.
When Roma and Juliette task them with finding Lourens, the scientist in Russia, they board the Trans-Siberian Express. Soon, a man is mysteriously murdered on the train. When the officer mentions stopping the train for the police, Marshall and Benedikt step up as private investigators to keep things moving.
Their chemistry and banter were everything I needed. Like Roma and Juliette, Marshall and Benedikt are a married couple, and that brought so much joy to my reading experience with This Foul Murder.
When he kissed him, it was like breathing a deep gulp of summer air, like the first fall of snow landing crisp and cold on his skin. Marshall Seo was fundamentally a temperamental person: a fast driver, a reckless fighter, prone to taking leaps off of three-story buildings instead of finding the stairs. But Benedikt grounded him. Benedikt Montagov moved through the world with such intricate care–his steps calculated, his thought process tunneling miles deep–that Marshall would stick around for ten lifetimes trying to figure him out.
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