Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong (Foul Lady Fortune book 1.5)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Foul Lady Fortune, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Check out Book Series Recaps for a refresher of the first book.

Check out the Riveted blog for a recap of Foul Lady Fortune.

“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…” - taken from Goodreads.

I will say that I didn’t read these short stories until after I finished Foul Heart Huntsman and I think I’m glad that I didn’t know the spoiler about our favorite couple. Or maybe I would have been more invested in the story.

Visit Chloe Gong’s website.

Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong (Foul Lady Fortune book 2)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Foul Lady Fortune, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Check out Book Series Recaps for a refresher of the first book.

Check out the Riveted blog for a recap of Foul Lady Fortune.

“Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of a Japanese invasion.

Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With the media storm camped outside her apartment for the infamous Lady Fortune, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action after Orion was taken and his memories of Rosalind wiped. Though their marriage might have been a sham, his absence hurts her more than any physical wound. She won’t rest until she gets him back.

But with her identity in the open, the task is near impossible. The only way to leave the city and rescue Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince her superiors that the countryside needs unity more than ever, and who better than an immortal girl to stir pride and strength into the people?

When the tour goes wrong, however, everything Rosalind once knew is thrown up in the air. Taking refuge outside Shanghai, old ghosts come into the open and adversaries turn to allies. To save Orion, they must find a cure to his mother’s traitorous invention and take this dangerous chemical weapon away from impending foreign invasion—but the clock is ticking, and if Rosalind fails, it’s not only Orion she loses, but her nation itself.” - taken from Goodreads.

Unfortunately, I found the beginning slow to start. I wanted the action and our characters to find one another sooner than they did. Once everyone is back together, the story really picks up. While the reader gets glimpses and more of several favorite characters, Rosalind and Orion are the heart of this book. I will say that each character received the ending they deserved. Definitely a worthy conclusion to the story.

Visit Chloe Gong’s website.

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong (Foul Lady Fortune book 1)

 

SPOILER ALERT! Even though this is the start of a new series, it does pick up four years after the conclusion to Our Violent Ends.

Check out the Riveted blog for recaps of both These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends.

“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.” - taken from Goodreads.

An exciting, heart-pounding story that finds Rosalind Lang four years after the conclusion of Our Violent Ends. Now a spy and assassin, she must work under cover with a fellow spy to discover a secret that could change the course of China. With secrets of her own, Rosalind will find that the mystery goes much deeper than anyone ever imagined. Appearances by characters from the former duology help drive the story forward.

Book two is expected to be published in September of 2023.

Visit Chloe Gong’s website.

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong (These Violent Delights book 2)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, These Violent Delights, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Check out Riveted if you need a recap of the first book. 

“The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.

After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.

Roma is still reeling from Marshall’s death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it’s his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he’s determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.

Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren’t prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Juliette and Roma ended things badly between the two of them at the end of the first book. Juliette bears a heavy secret and the monster of Shanghai has returned to wreak havoc. The two are thrown together by feuding fathers to work together to uncover this new threat. Soon, the two grow closer as they try to save their city from the coming war.

This book focuses more on the historical aspect of the time period with tensions bubbling over between the Nationalists and the Communists. Even though I still hold out hope for a different ending, I am excited to see what this author writes next.

Visit Chloe Gong’s website.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (These Violent Delights book 1)

“The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.” - taken from Goodreads.com

“These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,

Which, as they kiss, consume.

• Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

What if Romeo and Juliet didn't die at the end? Instead, they were separated for four years while their rival gang families ramped up their blood feud on the streets of Shanghai. It's 1926 and a monster carrying a deadly disease lurks in a city where the ruling gangs are struggling to keep control over increasing western influences. Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov must put the past behind them in order to save their city. Will these star-crosses lovers be able to put aside old grudges and work together to stop the increasing pandemonium? Both old and new betrayals will be revealed.

To be continued with Our Violent Ends on November 16, 2021.

Visit Chloe Gong’s website.