heyitsjude's reviews
175 reviews

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I will be honest I had high hopes for Foul Lady Fortune and I’m not sure if it met my expectations. I don’t know if it’s the right book at the wrong time or I feel conflicted because everyone I know is giving this book 4 stars and higher. Foul Lady Fortune follows Rosalind Lang and takes place four years after the events of TVD. When this book was first announced and Chloe Gong was hinting that it would follow one of the characters of TVD I was really hoping it would follow Celia or Alisa. I found them to be the most interesting characters out of the supporting characters in TVD. As I continued to read Rosalind’s character grew on me and I began to sympathize with her and understood where she was coming from. 

In the FLF we find out that Rosalind has gained what one would consider to be immortality. She can heal from wounds quickly, doesn’t sleep, and doesn’t age. She uses these skills and becomes the infamous assassin known as Fortune. She begins working for the Nationalists and is paired with agent, Orion Hong under the guise of a married couple. At first, I didn’t see their chemistry. And I didn’t like that some of their interactions felt fanservicey for lack of better word. Or like it was written for tiktok: 

”ORION!” Rosalind screamed.

“I AM DOING MY BEST, BELOVED.”

“YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE ME A HERNIA.”

Despite this, I did enjoy their grumpy x sunshine dynamic they had going on. It made for some witty banter and fun moments throughout the book. But I think what made me invested in Orion and Rosalind as a couple were these scenes:

   “Isn’t it strange how we say sorry in Chinese? In every other language it’s some version of “pardon” or distress. But ‘duì bù qǐ…’ We’re saying we don’t match up. Sorry I didn’t do what was expected. Sorry I let you down. Sorry you expected me to save you from harm, and I didn’t—I didn’t.”“Rosalind,” Orion said. 

He had to admit—ever since he’d learned her real name, he’d been obsessed with the sound of it on his tongue. It suited her far better than Janie Mead did.

   “You don’t mean to say that you’re trying to save the whole city from harm. You’ll spend your whole life trying, and you’ll still fail. There is a reason why duì bù qǐ is duì bù qǐ. We’re only human. We will never match up to what everything could be.”

/// 

   “Your life is mine as mine is yours.” It was an echo of her statement from days earlier, but now it was ringing with an entirely different caliber. “If I promise to save myself, can you promise to forgive yourself? Can we make an exchange?”

I can’t, he thought, only the words halted at his throat. She was looking at him with such earnestness that he could not bear to strike her down.

   “I’ll try,” he answered instead. He would promise to wander the ends of the earth and find where the sky began if it meant she would keep her hand there, if it meant he could drown out the rest of his frantic fears by focusing on the sound of her voice. He had gone beyond getting attached to her. She was his guiding saint, the Polaris of his heart.”

MY HEART 💔💔 Those two scenes got me, and they turned me into a High Tide shipper. Unfortunately, these two moments weren’t until near the end of the book. More than 60+% into it. And that’s my whole issue with FLF I enjoyed it. I liked it a lot, but I didn’t love it the way I had hoped. And that’s because there’s a lot going on. On one hand, there’s Rosalind and Orion spies pretending to be married in order to find out the cause of chemical killings around Shanghai. Meanwhile, the Nationalists and Communists are at war and on the side of the Communists are Celia Lang and Orion Hong. And all of this is set against the historical events of when Japan was invading. 

Did I mention there’s also a subplot of Priest. A high ranking communist assassin and no one knows who Priest is until the end of the book?!

Not only is the plot in this book a lot, but all the reveals that occur are overwhelming, but I guess that’s what big reveals are meant for. From the identity of the killer, to the cause for the killings, and the identity of Priest.  

So much happened near the end of this book or past the halfway point that during the first half I felt like I was waiting for something to happen the whole time. Though I did enjoy the book and all its surprises I just wasn’t a fan of the pacing of it all.

I think what I enjoyed most out of FLF was the new characters. Chloe Gong is amazing when it comes to writing characters I get attached to them so easily lol. I was a fan of all the side characters they brought such life to the story especially with their fun dynamics like Phoebe and Silas. 

The ending of FLF was definitely something. It had me on the edge of my seat. I will be seated for Foul Heart Huntsman. 

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

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

3.0

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell

2.0

2 maybe 2.5? Remember when I said this book felt like the filler episode of a TV show. It felt like that for the remainder of the book. Even the conflict of the book was anticlimactic and the cliffhanger ending didn’t leave much to be desired. There wasn’t much character development aside from Baz learning how to control when his fangs appeared. I enjoyed that scene in the book, but other than that there wasn’t much character growth for Simon or Penelope. This book felt more like it was about Baz rather than Simon. I wish they focused more on Simon getting used to living without magic and getting out of his slump. As for the romance aspect there isn’t really any. Simon and Baz are in a stage of “are we or aren’t we?” throughout the book, but it’s never truly resolved. There’s no communication, and their relationship isn’t developed through this book. If anything it feels like it set it back. This makes me feel like Carry On is better as a stand-alone. This book really fell flat for me. I hope the finale, Any Way the Wind Blows makes up for it.

Princess Princess Ever After by K. O'Neill

3.0

A hilarious and cute read. It went by super quickly since it was only around 50 pages. It reminds me of cartoons I like to watch like Steven Universe :)

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

3.0

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

4.0

This cover is very misleading, I was expecting to read a YA romcom about dancing which was part of it. I didn’t expect the book to be such a tearjerker

Nana, Vol. 1 by Ai Yazawa

4.0

I wanted to start the series since I’ve been watching the anime and I love it just as much. The illustrations are beautiful and the manga really inspires me in terms of art style & fashion references. I really like Nana Osaki’s style and overall character but I found myself relating more to Nana Komatsu in some aspects. I feel like volume 1 could be read as a standalone, but I’m excited to see what the rest of the series has to offer.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

2.0

2 or maybe 2.5 stars,,,this book didn’t live up to the hype for me. I enjoyed some scenes like when Marianne and Peggy asked Connell his views on his privilege as a man and the scene when Marianne and Connell exchange emails to each other. I thought the banter within that scene and the intimacy of it was interesting. My biggest issue with the book wasn’t the fact that these characters are dislikable. I understand it’s a character study, but these characters lacked depth. Connell and Marianne had a very “manic pixie dream” vibe to them, and we are constantly told how different they are in comparison to their peers. They’re also given trauma and other burdens to carry which are mentioned in passing throughout the book, but is never truly touched upon. I feel like adding these struggles to Marianne and Connell was meant to add another layer to their character, but in only made them feel more one dimensional. I usually like books where not much happens, and I did like that it was a reflection of life and how people pass in and out of it, but as a whole this book didn’t really do it for me.

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

4.0

3.5 ⭐️ it was a fun and fast read it followed the typical formula for a contemporary romance, but it was written so well. I find with contemporary often one of the two in the relationship feels more fleshed out as a character compared to the other. But both protagonists had great character development, and they felt like real people. Even the supporting characters felt real like they weren’t just pawns to further the main characters. The romance in this book was cute and fun to read about, but what I appreciated most was the depictions of mental health. Charlie has OCD, and severe anxiety while Dev has depression. When reading about what they faced it didn’t feel stereotypical or romanticized. The author showed how these characters struggle with their mental health and how it affects them. I often found myself relating to Charlie in his times of anxiousness with his overthinking and constant apologies through the beginning of the book. I (have a tendency to over apologize and overcompensate too lol ) To see Charlie’s train of thought felt so relatable for me. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and it’s full of great characters and representation.