A review by heyitsjude
Last Violent Call by Chloe Gong

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I never know how to feel about books like this. As much as I missed the characters and Secrets of Shanghai world it didn’t feel needed. That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it. I absolutely loved it. The core four are probably my most favorite characters along with Celia. But I also feel like A Foul Thing defeats the purpose of the TVD duology. Don’t get me wrong, Roma and Juliette are amazing characters and I love their relationship and story. I’m glad they got their happy ending. They deserve it after all they went through. 

But on the other hand, I’m conflicted since their story was a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I really thought they’d stay dead. I feel like them being alive lessens the emotional impact of Our Violent Ends and just the TVD series as a whole. Especially since in TVD Marshall faked his death too. There’s only so many times a character can fake their death. If I had a nickel for every time a TVD character faked their death then I’d have two nickels which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice. Actually, it happened three times if you count Roma & Juliette’s deaths separately. But taking the novella for what it is I would give a Foul Thing 4.5 stars. Domestic RomaJuliette is an adorable and I desperately need more moments of them being happily married in Zhouzhuang.

As for This Foul Murder. It was nice, but since A Foul Thing was already a murder mystery in its own right it felt like the plot of This Foul Murder was too similar following another murder mystery format, but maybe I’m just picky. During This Foul Murder Benedikt and Marshall are on a time sensitive investigation as they pretend to be private investigators and discover who aboard the train is responsible for the murder of a passenger. I missed the BenMars dynamic. And I especially missed Benedikt’s POV. I always found him to be a relatable character and Chloe Gong has a unique way of writing him. He just feels so real. Especially in the way he thinks and acts. How his love language is more reserved in comparison to Marshall’s. 4 stars

This book was so fun to read it was the perfect mix of fluff and action that TVD readers are familiar with. Chloe Gong is a master at writing the most heart warming poetic lines only to end the chapter with a murder or intense cliffhanger and I love it