The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Last Violent Call

Series: Secret Shanghai #3.5

Author: Chloe Gong

Genre: Young Adult, Novella, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

In A Foul Thing, Roma and Juliette have established themselves as the heads of an underground weapons ring in Zhouzhuang, making a living the way they do best while remaining anonymous in their peaceful, quiet life. But when they hear about several Russian girls showing up dead in nearby towns, they decide to investigate—and ultimately discover that this mystery is much closer to home than they ever imagined.

In This Foul Murder, Benedikt and Marshall have been summoned by Roma to find the elusive scientist, Lourens, and bring him to Zhouzhuang. Time is of the essence aboard the week-long Trans-Siberian Express, but when someone is murdered on board, Benedikt and Marshall convince the officer in charge not to stop the train so that they aren’t thrown off-schedule. Instead, they pretend that they are investigators and promise they can solve the murder, but as they dig deeper, they realize that the murder might having surprising ties to their own mission… – summary from Goodreads

There are spoilers in this review!

I loved it so much!!!!

Last Violent Call returned us to the lives of Roma and Juliette, as well as Benedikt and Marshall. This is a novella split into two stories. Roma and Juliette’s is A Foul Thing and Marshall and Benedikt’s is A Foul Murder. While not critical, these stories are important to Rosalind’s story. So, you read these in between Foul Lady Fortune and Foul Heart Huntsman.

This was definitely more of a cozy read than the other books in this series. There was still fighting and death, but it was slower paced, lower stakes (relatively), and calmer.

Typically, I hesitate to read sequel series, which is essentially what Foul Lady Fortune is, but I actually didn’t struggle with the transition or the characters. But it was so fun returning to the original characters and seeing them five years after the events of the previous books.

They have calmed down a tremendous amount and have settled into their new lives nicely. Chloe Gong does a nice job of sharing how the events they have been through still affect them. All of the characters have significant trauma, and it isn’t brushed aside, but it also isn’t the focus of the story.

In this book we get to see the characters settled into their relationships! I love some drama, but I also love happily ever afters! It was lovely to see all the characters settled and in love, with no will they/won’t they that peppered much of the series. I just loved all of the small moments! Chloe Gong truly nailed showcasing domestic romance that I don’t see too much in YA.

Despite not enjoying cozy books too much, I loved this one. I love seeing characters after the events of previous books just living their lives and being happy. This was everything I needed!

In another review of this book I read, they said that there isn’t a relationship in this series that you can’t root for. After thinking about it, I have to agree. I love every single relationship in this entire series, and I root for all of them!

I will say I get very concerned when characters are separated. At the end of Our Violent Delights, I was upset that Benedikt and Marshall weren’t in contact with Roma and Juliette anymore. I loved how quickly it was put to rest that they have been in contact with each other. I loved the small snippets of them being in each other’s lives. I hope in the next book we actually get to see them interact!

My only note: I am already reading Foul Heart Huntsman, and the transition is a little hard. You go straight from these characters back to Rosalind and Orion. While the information in this book is important, the transition can be a little jarring.

Last Violent Call is a wonderful cozy read bringing readers back into the lives of fan favorites: Roma and Juliette, and Benedikt and Marshall! With sweet romances, adventure, and a calmer tone, this is the perfect book to return to their world!

Quotes:

“Science could tell him that the ground was below his feet and the sky was above his head and the early light of the day was upon his back. Roma wouldn’t listen. To him, Juliette was the sun.”

“Marshall Seo was fundamentally a temperamental person: a fast driver, a reckless fighter, prone to taking leaps off of three-story buildings instead of finding the stairs. But Benedikt grounded him. Benedikt Montagov moved through the world with such intricate care- his steps calculated, his though process tunneling miles deep- that Marshall would stick around for ten lifetimes trying to figure him out.

He never would figure him out, of course, which was the fun of it.”

“The last star could burn out and the oceans could dry to nothing, but Benedikt would be there, letting Marshall protest and fuss and grouse until his true face came out.”