The rich writing and worldbuilding of Chloe Gong is back and better than ever.
Foul Lady Fortune [Buy Bookshop Amazon] takes place a few years after the events of These Violent Delights [Buy Bookshop Amazon] and Our Violent Ends [Buy Bookshop Amazon]. Those two books were a Romeo and Juliet [Buy Bookshop Amazon] retelling, set in 1920’s Shanghai drug wars with a fantastical twist. They are fun and creative takes on the classic play (See my reviews here and here for more).
Foul Lady Fortune follows Rosalind, who allegedly died in the chaos years ago. But, instead, she was reborn as Fortune. Fortune is essentially an immortal assasin. She heals quickly and doesn’t sleep anymore. Now, amid a string of “chemical killings”, her mission is to pair up with a spy to infiltrate a Japanese newspaper as a married couple and figure out some key details. Obviously, Rosalind can’t let her new husband know either of her real identities, so she spends her nights stuck in her room, concocting poison while pretending to be asleep.
But, her husband also has secrets, and boy does it get messy. And that last sentence of the epilogue left my jaw on the ground.
Gong’s writings are so rich with detail that her books are always a fun read. Am I tired of reading ‘pulled a face’? Yes. But I’ll forgive the repetitive phrase because there is so much detail elsewhere. Her plots are complex and unpredictable and just a generally good time. And again I say, THE ENDING! I think this one is better than the original duology and I’m standing by that.
Bonus: a historical note on what parts of this story are based on reality.
Needless to say, I am excited to read the second half of Fortune’s story, Last Violent Call [Pre-order Bookshop Amazon] and her adult debut, Immortal Longings [Pre-Order Bookshop Amazon]. 2023 is going to be a big year for Gong and I am here for it.
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Literary HypeWoman 