Showing posts with label chloe gong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chloe gong. Show all posts

Monday, October 23, 2023

Book Review: "Immortal Longings" by Chloe Gong

Title: Immortal Longings
Author: Chloe Gong
Series: "Flesh and False Gods" #1
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Page Length: 384 pages
Publication Date: July 18, 2023
Rating: 4 // 5 stars

So I'm a big fan of Chloe's books. I love her Secret Shanghai universe and I have been eagerly anticipating this adult debut since it was announced. And I really enjoyed it. I'm writing this review a few months on from having read it so I've had some time to sit with my thoughts since I initially finished. 

Besides the characters, what most intrigued me about this book was the setting. Immortal Longings is set in San-Er, a city much like the demolished Kowloon Walled City that once stood in China. It's a city built on top of itself with people packed in like sardines. It's a setting unlike any I've ever read about and was so incredibly vivid. I definitely think the setting is part of what drew me to this story. 

I really liked our two main characters. Calla is a badass and I loved getting to know her. Anton is a compelling adversary turned ally and I really enjoyed him as well. I think mainly I loved the dynamic between these two with the competition and being forced to work together. I will say I'm rooting for the romance but I do think it needs a lot more development before it would become one of my favorites. 

The plot is intriguing. I am a sucker for a competition and I think it's one of those things where tension and conflict is automatically built in to the story. The magic system was interesting. People can jump between bodies which leads to a lot of openings for deception and treachery...potentially a future point of conflict? 

There's not really much I can say about this book. I think it was a pretty good first start to a series and I read through it quickly. It was engaging and I couldn't stop reading. However, I do think it's not as strong as Chloe's other books yet. I'm eagerly anticipating further books in this world, though, especially after the cliffhanger. Overall, it was an enjoyable addicting read but not as particularly mind-blowing as I was hoping for. 



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Sunday, August 6, 2023

July 2023 Wrap-Up


Well July was a rough month. It was a long, stressful, rough month for so many reasons (one of which being my laptop breaking). Because of that, I didn't get as much reading done as I would have hoped. However, I have three new all-time favorites so I wouldn't say it was a failure of a month. I'm hoping August will be a better reading month, though the stress continues so we'll see. Let's go ahead and dive in! 



BOOKS READ

1. 
Title: Falling Hard for the Royal Guard
Author: Megan Clawson
Rating: 3 // 5 stars
Review TK


2. 
Title: Plier
Author: Jane Washington
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review TK

3. 
Title: Immortal Longings
Author: Chloe Gong
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars
Review TK

4. 
Title: Dinosaurs Before Dark
Author: Mary Pop Osborne
-reread-


5. 
Title: Divine Rivals
Author: Rebecca Ross 
Rating: 5 // 5 stars



BLOG POSTS




Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Friday, June 2, 2023

May 2023 Wrap-Up


May was an interesting reading month for me. I didn't get to read as many books as I wanted due to lots of overtime but everything I did read was amazing. I read a total of five books (and got through 400+ pages of another) and every book was 4 stars or above. So while I didn't read very many books this month, the quality of the books were great. Let's dive in! 

Friday, May 12, 2023

Book Review: "Last Violent Call" by Chloe Gong

Title: Last Violent Call 
Author: Chloe Gong
Series: "Secret Shanghai" #3.5
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Page Length: 240 pages
Publication Date: February 28, 2023
Rating: 5 // 5 stars

*Will contain spoilers for These Violent Delights/Our Violent Ends

Last Violent Call is a collection of two novellas set just after Foul Lady Fortune, which is the first in the sequel series to the These Violent Delights duology. Basically, here's a quick little guide on how to read them and where these novellas sit: These Violent Delights -> Our Violent Ends -> Foul Lady Fortune -> Last Violent Call -> Foul Heart Huntsman (which comes out later in 2023). Anyway, LVC consists of A Foul Thing, which follows Roma and Juliette, and This Foul Murder, which follows Benedikt and Marshall. If there's one thing I love most in this world, it's these four characters. 

Let's start with A Foul Thing. Roma and Juliette have settled down into quiet lives in a small village as leaders of an underground arms ring. They live a life of domestic bliss without too much excitement. But one day they're pulled into another mystery, one that ends up impacting them more than expected.

I loved being reunited with Roma and Juliette. I always sort of refused to accept that they had died at the end of Our Violent Ends and when it was announced that they were a part of these novellas I was so excited. Words can't even describe the feelings I had when it was announced. Even though it was only a small novella, getting to be reunited with them was so much fun. The domestic bliss moments...flawless. The love they have for each other...swoonworthy. And with the way this novella has ended, I am pretty confident in saying that they'll be in Foul Heart Huntsman, which makes me so excited to know the gang's getting back together. 

This Foul Murder is all about a murder-mystery set on a train. Benedikt and Marshall are on a seven-day train ride and someone is murdered one cabin over. But if they stop for the police to investigate, their tight schedule will be ruined. Thus ensues hilarity when they convince the conductor that they're investigators and they start looking into the murder. 

I absolutely loved getting a spotlight on these two. As much as I loved them in the TVD duology, they didn't get a whole lot of page time just on the two of them. Getting over 100 pages of just the two of them on an adventure was...amazing. They're so cute together and I loved seeing them in a bit of domestic bliss together since we didn't get much of it in the original duology. I just...I love them so much. 

The two novellas do tie together and should be read in order. The events of A Foul Thing directly cause and impact This Foul Murder, so you'll be spoiled if you read the second one first. I'd say that these novellas were 70% domestic bliss/fluff and 30% plot, which is exactly what I wanted. The plot in these were pretty low-stakes for the characters, but it is an important overarching plot that will play a big role in Foul Heart Huntsman when it finally releases later this year. Chloe Gong is a mastermind. I could dive into why and could take paragraphs and paragraphs to explain but I'll keep it simple and just say she's a mastermind with how she's created these stories. 

Overall, I'm absolutely obsessed with these novellas. I loved getting slice-of-life, domestic bliss stories even if there was still plenty of mystery and murder and stabbing. The plot threads that were left at the end of these novellas leave so much potential for Foul Heart Huntsman, which just has me even more excited for it. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how Chloe wraps up both the duology and this entire world in this final book. I know it'll also be a bittersweet moment, knowing that I won't get anything more from these characters but also finally knowing how it all ends. Anyway, if you are reading the entire Secret Shanghai world, these novellas are a necessity and honestly just so much fun!



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Sunday, May 7, 2023

April 2023 Book Haul


This month was a tame month when it came to buying books. I only got five books this month, which I think is a pretty good amount for me. It's even better when I factor in that I'd previously paid for two in advance, got one for free, and got one on a steep discount. I'm pretty excited about the books I got this month so let's just dive right in! 

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Book Review: "Foul Lady Fortune" by Chloe Gong

Title: Foul Lady Fortune
Author: Chloe Gong
Series: "Foul Lady Fortune" #1
Genre: YA Speculative Historical Thriller
Page Length: 528 pages
Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars

Chloe Gong has done it again. She's written another novel I'm obsessed with and I don't know how I'm going to cope with the wait for book two. 

Foul Lady Fortune is the first in a spin-off duology set after the events of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends. It follows Rosalind, an assassin who can't die, and Orion, a playboy spy, who must pose as a married couple on an undercover mission. This duology contains characters old and new. While it can be read on its own, it will spoil the events of Our Violent Ends so if you're interested in reading the original duology, I would read that first. 

This book has a completely different vibe than the These Violent Delights duology yet also felt like I was coming home. The plot in Foul Lady Fortune is about covert operations, sneaking around in the night, etc. It uses a lot of brain power to follow but it's quite exciting and feels very well-set in 1930s Shanghai. 

Of course, my favorite part of this book, like with the previous duology, are the characters. I am obsessed with all of them. I wasn't expecting all the different POV characters but came to enjoy each. I think my favorites are still currently Rosalind and Orion. Their dynamics were hilarious and the way their relationship progressed made me squeal the entire time.

I was expecting there to be plot twists, but I still was blown away when they came about. My mind is still reeling and I'm still wondering about how things will be resolved after the cliffhanger in this book. I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens next. I'm unsure how I'm going to survive the over one year wait but I think finally get my physical copies when this officially releases will help. 



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Sunday, January 9, 2022

Series I Finished in 2021


This is usually one of my favorite posts to do at the end of each year. However...I only finished one series in 2021. The reading year was dismal overall and reading multiple books in series was difficult for me. I'm hoping that 2022 will be better as there are so many series that have concluded recently that I've been excited for. To make this post a bit better, I am also going to discuss just a few of the series that I hope to complete in the new year. Let's go ahead and dive right in!



The one and only series I finished was the These Violent Delights duology by Chloe Gong. It took me a while to get through the first one since I was slumping pretty hard but I really enjoyed it. I then had an advance copy of the sequel, Our Violent Delights, and read that in just a couple sittings. I absolutely loved the second book even more than the first and it has placed this duology into one of my favorite series of all time. I highly recommend it, though do be reminded it is a Romeo & Juliet retelling and prepare for any heartbreak that might come with that.



Now that I've discussed the one series I finished in the past year, I'm excited to talk about the top five series I'm hoping to read in 2022. As there are over thirty that I have on my immediate series list, it was a bit difficult to narrow down to the ones I'm most excited for at the moment. 

The first is the Hollow Crown duology by Zoriada Córdova. I read Incendiary when it first came out and absolutely loved it. I was so looking forward to the sequel, Illusionary, in 2021 and then my reading slump hit and I never read it. I do plan on reading it ASAP, though, as it will be quite a quick series to finish. I even plan on annotating my reread of the first book which is really exciting.

The next series I want to finish in the new year is the Empirium trilogy by Claire Legrand. I was so excited for the final book, Lightbringer, to come out after the ending of Kingsbane. But it again came out during my insane reading slump and I never felt like it was the right time to reread the series and finish it out. I also have to admit that I'm a bit worried as to how this trilogy will end and how my feelings will be at the end.

The third series I'm talking about is the Shadow Game trilogy by Amanda Foody. I read the first two books last spring and absolutely loved them. However, the second book broke my heart and I couldn't dive straight into the third just yet. And then my slump hit again and I never actually read the third book. It's on my TBR for the next few months and I am so nervous for how this series is going to conclude.

Up next is the We Hunt the Flame duology by Hafsah Faizal. I started the first book at the end of the year and am still finishing. I'm really enjoying it and I'm really just interested to see how the rest of the story goes. I am slumping a bit right now but I'm hopeful that it's not impacting the book too much for me. 

Lastly, I want to finally finish the Veil Diaries by B.L. Brunnemer. This is a book series that I've been following from the very beginning many years ago. The final book came out a while back and I still haven't read it. I want to reread the entire series before getting to the end, but there's also nine books so it is a bit of a commitment. But it's also a story that I love and am looking forward to finishing (for now). There is a sequel series that is coming soon as well, so I definitely need to finish this series ASAP. 

So those are the top five series I want to finish in the new year, out of over thirty that I have on my immediate TBR. Basically, I just want to finish more stories that I've been in the middle of for years. Do you have any series that you want to read in the new year? Let me know in the comments!



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



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Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Blog Tour: "Our Violent Ends" by Chloe Gong + Giveaway


Hello everyone! Today I am so incredibly excited to be bringing you to my stop on the Our Violent Ends blog tour hosted by Turn the Page Tours! Our Violent Ends is one of my top favorite books of this year and I am so excited for it to finally be out so that other people can experience how amazing this book is! As for this tour stop, I have a bunch of fun stuff to share with you today, including a giveaway! However, there will be spoilers for the first book, These Violent Delights, so if you haven't read that yet, come back to join the fun when you have! 


Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls “deliciously dark.”

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.

Author: Chloe Gong
Genre: Young Adult Fiction - Historical, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: November 16, 2021
Book 1: These Violent Delights
Purchase: BOOKSHOP



Chloe Gong is an undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania, studying English and International Relations. During her breaks, she’s either at home in New Zealand or visiting her many relatives in Shanghai. Chloe has been known to mysteriously appear by chanting “Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s best plays and doesn’t deserve its slander in pop culture” into a mirror three times. You can find her on Twitter @thechloegong, check out her website at thechloegong.com or email her at chloegongwrites@gmail.com.

WEBSITE     |     TWITTER     |     INSTAGRAM
 GOODREADS     |     TIKTOK


5 // 5 stars

I loved These Violent Delights. But I adored Our Violent Ends. While in These Violent Delights, I was more obsessed with the characters, I was equally obsessed with the characters AND plot in Our Violent Ends. It truly was the best of both worlds. Simply put, Our Violent Ends is one of my top favorite books of this year. 

Like I said, I was obsessed with the characters from very early on in book one. After how that book ended, I had no doubt that this book was going to hurt them and me in ways I could only imagine. I was correct. It only occurred to me part way through that I was indeed reading a Romeo and Juliet retelling that could end in a number of possible ways, which made me incredibly anxious the rest of the book. 

We hit the ground running in Our Violent Ends. There's a lot of build up in the first book that allowed for this one to take off and pull me in immediately. I didn't want to put it down from the moment I began. The angst was on point. The plot was engaging. The characters were phenomenal. At this moment, I truly have no negatives I can think of regarding this book (hence why it's a five star read for me). 

Another thing I noticed while reading this book was that it was so quotable and full of beautiful writing. Yes, the story was engaging. Yes, the characters were incredibly. Yes, my emotions were at a high. But the writing itself, separate from all of that, was so beautiful. I cannot wait to reread and annotate all my favorite lines and passages once all my preordered copies arrive. 

Our Violent Ends is easily one of my top favorites of this year. As sad as I am that this duology is now over, I cannot wait to revisit it in the future and I'm equally excited for Chloe's next duology featuring a character we met here. I have a few ideas as to who it could be and I am hoping that I'm correct! And while this book did hurt me in many ways, I was left at the end with feelings of awe and hope. And that was beautiful. 



Up for grabs, we are giving away ONE (1) finished copy of These Violent Delights and ONE (1) finished copy of Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong. This giveaway will run from November 1st through 20th at 11:59 PM CST and will be open to U.S. residents ONLY. One winner will be chosen. To enter, click the link below!




Follow along with the rest of the tour and giveaways here!



Thanks for reading!
Lauren



You can follow my bookstagram here for more bookish content!

To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!

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Wednesday, November 10, 2021

October 2021 Wrap-Up


Well, compared to August and September, October was a fantastic reading month. Definitely not the best reading month I've ever had but it was the best reading month of 2021 so far and I am so proud of that. I've found reading very hard for over a year now, so the fact that I was able to read so many books in October makes me very happy! I also enjoyed most of the books I read and found a few new favorites of all time, which I am quite glad about. Hopefully, I can keep up this streak in November but, for now, let's dive into the nine books that I read in October! 


1.
Title: Tryst Six Venom 
Author: Penelope Douglas
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review TK

2. 
Title: Punk 57
Author: Penelope Douglas
Rating: 4 // 5 stars
Review TK

3. 
Title: Corrupt
Author: Penelope Douglas
Rating: 2 // 5 stars

4. 
Title: The Ex Hex
Author: Erin Sterling 
Rating: 4.25 // 5 stars
Review TK

5.  
Title: These Violent Delights
Author: Chloe Gong
Rating: 4 // 5 stars 
Review TK

6. 
Title: Our Violent Ends
Author: Chloe Gong
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Review TK

7. 
Title: Dear Love, I Hate You
Author: Eliah Greenwood 
Rating: 5 // 5 stars
Review TK

8. 
Title: Sweet Obsession
Author: Callie Rose
Rating: 2.5 // 5 stars
Review TK

9. 
Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Rating: 4.5 // 5 stars



Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Lauren



You can follow my bookstagram here for more bookish content!

To get more awesome posts like this post, click the follow button to the right!

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