<i>A million thank you’s to Margaret K. McElderry and Simon Teen for sending me this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.</i>

Of the 289 books I read in 2022, Foul Lady Fortune was my favorite. This book had a lot to live up to—and I’m happy to say that it did! Rosalind is one of the best characters ever written, and this book has just cemented her as such in my personal rankings. But it’s not just her. Every single character in this book—Rosalind, Orion, Celia, Oliver, Phoebe, Silas, Alisa—is so well developed. They feel as if they could walk of the page. I have never met such an expansive cast that is so well done.
This book was a little slower than FLF, and it took a little bit longer for me to really get into, but even in the beginning, I was squealing and kicking my feet at least every other chapter.
Chloe Gong is a master of character, dialogue, twists and turns, and even prose. 
I will admit that it did fall a little short of Foul Lady Fortune, in my opinion—BUT it’s still one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. 
It spent a little less time on the romance, more time on delving into familial relationships. Which, in my opinion is neither a good or bad thing. I’m a sucker for romance, but I really appreciated the depth of all different kinds of character relationships that we got in this book. That said, there is still plenty of swoon. And shrieking because all the couples are just SO CUTE TOGETHER I LOVE THEM. There were a few scenes that had me physically incapable of functioning because of how obsessed I was with these characters.
I really loved seeing more of Phoebe. She was one of my favorite POVs to read in the first book, and since we get a more complete POV from her in this book, it’s even better. I don’t know how Chloe Gong makes me such a sucker for multi-POV when I normally can’t stand more than 2-3 per book. There are well over a half dozen different POV characters, but I never stumbled into the issues I normally face when an book is narrated by so many people. Each character’s voice was distinct, each of their POVs felt necessary, and they were all engaging and easy to get swept up in. I loved every single character in this book so much.
One of my favorite parts of the Foul Lady Fortune was Rosalind’s discussions of her demisexuality and the way love and attraction work for her. Of course, since she’s already in love with Orion in this book, it was less of a theme, but there were still some wonderful discussions and quotes that I cannot express how much it meant for me to read. Because I had an ARC copy, I’m not really supposed to share quotes (because they’re subject to change), but if I remember I’ll come back after release and leave my favorite quote below.
My one complaint about the book is a single storyline—which I can’t get into, because spoilers—but it’s a trope that I don’t love. I understand why Chloe made the decision to do that, I see where it ups the angst and adds to the plot, but I think it took away from my enjoyment of the story. I wanted more development between these characters, and instead it was like a repeat of existing development, if that makes sense? I see what she was going for, but I think it did a bit of a disservice to the story and characters, at least in my personal opinion. 
That said, I do think this was a fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite bookish universes. I can see myself rereading this duology (and TVD) many times in the future. Rosalind is one of my favorite characters of all time, I’m not sure I will ever read anything quite like Chloe Gong’s writing. I can’t wait to see what else she has to come.