Review: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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.

What I thought

When I first learned about this book, I was on the fence about reading it. Rosalind was not my favorite character from the first duology, honestly she may have been my least favorite. However, when I saw it on the shelf at the bookstore, my boyfriend convinced me to go ahead and grab a copy. I am really happy to report that I really enjoyed this one and cannot wait to see what will happen next.

Timeline wise, this is book three in the world, that Chloe Gong has created for us. If you do not intend on reading the first duology you can pick up here and move forward. You are given enough information about the first duology to know what happened without confusion. However, if you plan on reading These Violent Delights I would do that first, otherwise you will be completely spoiled.

You get to see some of the characters from the previous duology, mixed in with this new cast of characters. I really enjoyed getting an update on some of our characters from the first duology even if they don’t appear on the page. The relationship between Roslind and Orion is interesting to say the least, and I will be interested to see what happens there. I will be interested to see if Celia gets a love story in the next book. I think some of the groundwork is there for that, but we will see.

What might be my favorite part of these books is that I learned something. It might be a hot minute since I graduated from school, however I do not once remember Imperial Japan’s expansion into China in the 1930s ever being mentioned, nor do I think it was mentioned when my daughter was in school. I really like the fact that you can get an intriguing story that gives you a history lesson. I am thankful that the author tells you which events in the book relate to real events. I think that in general, there is a lot of history that isn’t taught, and I love the fact that it can be relayed in stories like this.

My Rating: /5

Have you read this book? If so what did you think? Tell me in the comments below.