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A review by greymalkin
Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wanted to love this, I love assassins and spies and interesting potentially-supernatural plots. But alas it didn't quite work for me. While I could forgive Rosalind for being a terrible spy, Orion was even worse than her and he _was_ a spy. And for an assassin she was incredibly bad at tracking people's movements and positioning and body language, all things that you'd think you'd need to know if you are a poisoner assassin. If you're a sniper, you have distance and can focus on angles of shots and such, but if you're up close and personal, you need to know what the person drinks and when and who they'd trust to give them food or drink. Or you have to know if they are wearing thick clothing that your hairpin can go through or if they'll move defensively in a way where you can scratch their skin... sigh. I spent the whole book wishing I could spend the time with Analisa and Phoebe instead, they were at least engaged with their lives. I am pleased about who Priest ended up being, if only because I guessed it from early on and was hopeful it would actually play out that way.
I found the plot and tracking of who got which info where extremely muddled, which made it hard for the twists and reveals to have much impact because half the time I was thinking "did I not put that together or did the author just not tell me?" which is not very satisfying.
The chemistry between Rosalind and Orion was not the worst but it wasn't exactly compelling either. It was more a "you're very hot" lust than any likemindedness of love or devotion. Which would have been fine except for how the ending hinged so much on his love for Rosalind overcoming his programming. I didn't buy that.
I did enjoy the history and cultural details, especially the bits with "Chinese names" and "Western names" which made the Romeo and Juliet stuff easier to understand.
Though dear god please some editor suggest the author include some other article of clothing for them to wear other than a qipao. There were so many references to it that it got distracting. Even just a few references to an "outfit" or "green fabric" or SOMETHING. Surely that wasn't the only article of clothing ever worn by anyone in that time period in Shanghai?? And if it was, then at least describe them differently? I know the fabrics and cut and embroidery and hand details would make a difference!
I found the plot and tracking of who got which info where extremely muddled, which made it hard for the twists and reveals to have much impact because half the time I was thinking "did I not put that together or did the author just not tell me?" which is not very satisfying.
The chemistry between Rosalind and Orion was not the worst but it wasn't exactly compelling either. It was more a "you're very hot" lust than any likemindedness of love or devotion. Which would have been fine except for how the ending hinged so much on his love for Rosalind overcoming his programming. I didn't buy that.
I did enjoy the history and cultural details, especially the bits with "Chinese names" and "Western names" which made the Romeo and Juliet stuff easier to understand.
Though dear god please some editor suggest the author include some other article of clothing for them to wear other than a qipao. There were so many references to it that it got distracting. Even just a few references to an "outfit" or "green fabric" or SOMETHING. Surely that wasn't the only article of clothing ever worn by anyone in that time period in Shanghai?? And if it was, then at least describe them differently? I know the fabrics and cut and embroidery and hand details would make a difference!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Classism
Minor: War