Great palate cleanser, fascinating historal story about Shanghai, loved the multiculuralism and 4 languages used in the book ( )

Action packed and interesting ( )

Interesting and unusual. I think that reading her prior duology first would have helped me with context and made this book easier to parse. ( )

There are always so many layers to Chloe Gong’s books, but just when I think I have it unraveled, something else is revealed, and takes me a second. I need to know what happens next desperately. ( )

Intrigue, conspiracy, secrets, and deadly situations mix with politics, romance, and a touch of magic to create an exciting ride.

Rosalind isn't only one of the most feared assassins of her time, but she hasn't aged a day for several years. Her past hasn't exactly been riddled with sunshine, and guilt as well as secrets drive her forward to amend for many mistakes. When her handler assigns her to a mission, which doesn't target someone with their death, she's not sure how to take it. Worse, she's been assigned a partner to act as her husband...a playboy, who is as different from her as different could be. Somehow, they need to discover the secret plans of the Japanese as well as uncover the reasoning behind the murders plaguing Shanghai. But as secrets come to light, the danger...and chaos...grows.

I did read this author's duology, These Violent Delights, and recommend reading that before hitting this series because this new series takes place a few years after the events explored in that duology. Since several of the characters reappear in this book, it would spoil some aspects of that tale if a reader were to go back to it after reading this new series.

The book starts out with a bang, landing the reader smack-dab in the middle of Rosalind's latest mission. And it works well to launch into the thick weave, which makes up the rest of the book. While Rosalind stands at the center of this series, rich sub-characters make it a read, which is hard to put down. This world is full of complicated intrigue and intentions, making it impossible to know what is truly going on or who is pulling what strings (and a little confusing, at times...in a good way). The characters drive this forward in the most delightful ways. There are some, which are simply likable, while many are slippery, at best. The intentions are well hidden and impossible to guess, and this makes it grabbing until the end.

The main characters are a little hard to embrace, and that fits them well. Both Rosalind and Orion are masters of their craft and hard to get connect to because of this. It's no problem to root for Rosalind—luckily, the author spends quite a bit of time letting the reader really get to know her before the large twists hit. Orion, on the other hand, comes across as endearing, but never really sinks in enough to make a perfect romantic connection to Rosalind...almost but the gap between them never truly shrinks. While there is cute banter, the chemistry isn't quite there. But considering the ending (no spoilers, though) and the fact that there are two more books on the way, this might be exactly the way it needs to be. So, I wasn't disappointed. Not yet. (Gosh, there's so much going on in this read!)

While the book holds a very steady, gripping pace with character depth and building intrigue, about 3/4ths the way through, it suddenly shifts gears with a huge twist. This hits hard and flips everything on its head in a way, which I'm still not sure settles in right...although the logic and reasoning is pretty much there. Again, it will depends on how the tale continues from here. So, I'm definitely wanting to read book two because this book is quite a ride and promises tons to come.

I do want to throw in that this is sold as a young adult book, and I'm not sure why. Rosalind might be '19', but she stopped aging, making her truly in her early twenties. She acts way too mature for a teen as do almost all characters in this read. Most of the characters are adults. She works with mostly adults, is faking a marriage, and deals with other adult agents. A few characters are stated to be 18, but if these announced ages were dropped, I'd have never ever guessed the characters weren't adults. But YA-ers are sure to enjoy this read, too. I just see this fitting for older audiences, too.

Summed up, this is a very well-woven and thrilling read for fans of rich historical settings with a side-dish of fantasy. ( )