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A review by harriet_lyra
Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
I had been awaiting this book for months, but as soon as I actually checked it out from the library I was hit with doubts. It's Chloe Gong, of course, so it couldn't be bad, but it couldn't be These Violent Delights either. So I put off reading it for another few days.
I was not disappointed. At all. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it back down (my friend looked at me in horror when she saw me pull a 500+ page novel out of my bag during lunch). It's true that Rosalind's not Juliette, and Orion's not Roma, but it is a completely different book, after all.
Foul Lady Fortune was loosely based on As You Like It, which I had been wondering about ever since we found out Kathleen's real name was Celia. It was a little too loosely based than I would have liked, mainly just people's names, but I did have a lot of fun catching the occasional direct Shakespeare quote. Take this one:
As You Like It:
Rosalind (pretending to be Ganymede): ...What would you say to me now, an I were your very Rosalind?
Orlando: I would kiss before I spoke.
Foul Lady Fortune:
Rosalind narrowed her eyes. "No 'thank you,' only sarcasm. So ungrateful. What would you say if I were really your wife?"
"That's easy." Orion popped his collar, then opened the door for her. "I would kiss before I spoke."
Anyway, the book was very good. The mystery was intriguing and the romance was very well written (well, let me be a little more specific. It was very well written between Rosalind and Orion, and between Celia and Oliver. Phoebe kind of annoyed me and Silas was for some reason just not compelling. But they weren't the focus and they didn't subtract from the overall enjoyment of the book) (Oh, and will there be a Touchstone for Audrey?).
I did have one problem with the book, but it wasn't a matter of the quality, instead on of my preferences, so I suppose it won't really matter to most.
I hold the unpopular opinion that Roma and Juliette really did die at the end of OVE. And more than just an opinion, my love of the original play and my admiration of martyrdom (to a level that is probably hazardous to my health) combined to make it seem plain wrong if they just faked their deaths and lived in peace for the rest of their days. But there were a few hints in Foul Lady Fortune that made me unable to continue stubbornly ignoring that possibility. Which is something I dearly want to do.
But Foul Lady Fortune was amazing and certainly did not deserve the doubts I had of it when I first picked it up. Oh, and Alisa's back!
I was not disappointed. At all. Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it back down (my friend looked at me in horror when she saw me pull a 500+ page novel out of my bag during lunch). It's true that Rosalind's not Juliette, and Orion's not Roma, but it is a completely different book, after all.
Foul Lady Fortune was loosely based on As You Like It, which I had been wondering about ever since we found out Kathleen's real name was Celia. It was a little too loosely based than I would have liked, mainly just people's names, but I did have a lot of fun catching the occasional direct Shakespeare quote. Take this one:
As You Like It:
Rosalind (pretending to be Ganymede): ...What would you say to me now, an I were your very Rosalind?
Orlando: I would kiss before I spoke.
Foul Lady Fortune:
Rosalind narrowed her eyes. "No 'thank you,' only sarcasm. So ungrateful. What would you say if I were really your wife?"
"That's easy." Orion popped his collar, then opened the door for her. "I would kiss before I spoke."
Anyway, the book was very good. The mystery was intriguing and the romance was very well written (well, let me be a little more specific. It was very well written between Rosalind and Orion, and between Celia and Oliver. Phoebe kind of annoyed me and Silas was for some reason just not compelling. But they weren't the focus and they didn't subtract from the overall enjoyment of the book) (Oh, and will there be a Touchstone for Audrey?).
I did have one problem with the book, but it wasn't a matter of the quality, instead on of my preferences, so I suppose it won't really matter to most.
But Foul Lady Fortune was amazing and certainly did not deserve the doubts I had of it when I first picked it up. Oh, and Alisa's back!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence