Chloe Gong Books in Order (Updated March 10, 2026)

Chloe Gong’s books fall into three main buckets: the Secret Shanghai books, the adult fantasy Flesh and False Gods trilogy, and the YA science-fiction StrangeLoom trilogy. These are separate continuities. The biggest mistake new readers make is assuming everything connects when it does not.

For most readers, the safest starting point is These Violent Delights. It begins her best-known world, introduces the Shanghai setting that made her name, and leads into the only part of her bibliography where spin-off order can create spoilers.

Quick answer

Best Chloe Gong reading order for most readers

1. These Violent Delights
2. Our Violent Ends
3. Foul Lady Fortune
4. Last Violent Call
5. Foul Heart Huntsman
6. Immortal Longings
7. Vilest Things
8. Eyes of Kings
9. Coldwire

That order is not strict across her whole career, but it is the cleanest way to move from her signature YA fantasy into her adult fantasy and then into her newer sci-fi.

The reading-path version

Path 1: Secret Shanghai

This is the place to start if you want Chloe Gong’s signature work.

1. These Violent Delights (2020): A Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, where rival gangs, political unrest, and a spreading madness force Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov back into each other’s orbit.
2. Our Violent Ends (2021): The duology finale turns the city’s instability into outright collapse, pushing Juliette and Roma toward harder loyalties and a much sharper ending.
3. Foul Lady Fortune (2022): Set after the original duet, this spin-off follows Rosalind Lang through espionage, staged marriage, and murder investigation in 1930s Shanghai.
4. Last Violent Call (2023): A two-novella bridge that connects the original duet to the Rosalind books and works best only after Foul Lady Fortune.
5. Foul Heart Huntsman (2023): The Secret Shanghai storyline reaches its current conclusion as alliances fracture, old figures return, and the wider political game closes around Rosalind and Orion.

This is the only Chloe Gong continuity where order matters sharply. Foul Lady Fortune can technically be read first, but it will spoil the outcomes of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends.

Path 2: Flesh and False Gods

This is a separate adult fantasy trilogy.

1. Immortal Longings (2023): In twin cities ruled by body-jumping elites and brutal games, Calla and Anton enter a power struggle built around survival, ambition, and betrayal.
2. Vilest Things (2024): The second book expands the fallout of the first, raising the political stakes and deepening the war between personal desire and public power.
3. Eyes of Kings (2026): The trilogy finale brings the Talin conflict to its last reckoning, closing the body-jumping fantasy line as a full three-book arc.

These books do not connect to Secret Shanghai.

Path 3: The StrangeLoom Trilogy

This is her newer YA science-fiction line.

1. Coldwire (2025): In a future where much of humanity lives in virtual reality, two military cadets uncover a conspiracy spanning both digital and physical worlds.
2. StrangeLoom Book 2 (expected Fall 2026): The second volume is confirmed, but I did not find a stable official title yet.
3. StrangeLoom Book 3 (expected Fall 2027): The trilogy is planned as three books, though the third title also appears to remain unpublished at this stage.

This line is separate from both of her fantasy worlds.

Publication order

1. These Violent Delights (2020): Gong’s debut launches Secret Shanghai with rival gangs, monster-plague horror, and a violent romantic core.
2. Our Violent Ends (2021): The first Shanghai duet concludes with political escalation and the cost of trying to love across a war line.
3. Foul Lady Fortune (2022): Rosalind takes over the Shanghai continuity in a spy-thriller spin-off with fake marriage and serial-murder intrigue.
4. Immortal Longings (2023): Gong’s adult fantasy debut opens a new trilogy built on body-swapping power politics and court-level brutality.
5. Last Violent Call (2023): Two novellas bridge the gap between the original Secret Shanghai duet and its spin-off ending.
6. Foul Heart Huntsman (2023): The Rosalind duology ends while also serving as the broader conclusion to the currently published Secret Shanghai line.
7. Vilest Things (2024): The second Flesh and False Gods book broadens the fantasy conflict and pushes the trilogy toward its ending.
8. Coldwire (2025): Gong moves into cyberpunk-style YA sci-fi with virtual worlds, academy pressure, and geopolitical tension.
9. Eyes of Kings (2026): The Flesh and False Gods trilogy finishes with its third and final volume.

Recommended reading orders

Best order for new readers

1. These Violent Delights
2. Our Violent Ends
3. Foul Lady Fortune
4. Last Violent Call
5. Foul Heart Huntsman

This is the best starting lane because it covers Chloe Gong’s best-known world and preserves reveals that later books assume you already know.

Best order if you want adult fantasy only

1. Immortal Longings
2. Vilest Things
3. Eyes of Kings

This is the cleanest self-contained route for readers who want the adult trilogy and do not care about the YA books.

Best order if you only want the newest series direction

1. Coldwire
2. StrangeLoom Book 2
3. StrangeLoom Book 3

Choose this path if you want the sci-fi side of Gong rather than the historical fantasy side.

Optional extras and side material

Chloe Gong also has a few short pieces tied to Secret Shanghai.

• A romajuliette Christmas Special: A prequel short story set before These Violent Delights.
• The Priest and the Shepherd: A prequel short story connected to Foul Lady Fortune.

These are extras, not required reading-order entries.

Included, optional, and separate continuity

Included

• These Violent Delights
• Our Violent Ends
• Foul Lady Fortune
• Last Violent Call
• Foul Heart Huntsman
• Immortal Longings
• Vilest Things
• Eyes of Kings
• Coldwire

Optional

• A romajuliette Christmas Special
• The Priest and the Shepherd

Separate continuity

• Secret Shanghai is separate from Flesh and False Gods
• Flesh and False Gods is separate from The StrangeLoom Trilogy
• Coldwire does not continue either fantasy line

Where to start

There are three good entry points, depending on taste.

Start with These Violent Delights if you want Chloe Gong’s defining series and the book most readers still associate with her.

Start with Immortal Longings if you want her adult fantasy work first.

Start with Coldwire if you want her newest genre move and prefer science fiction over fantasy.

Latest release status

The most recent Chloe Gong novel already released is Coldwire (2025). The next confirmed Chloe Gong novel is Eyes of Kings, scheduled for August 4, 2026. After that, the second StrangeLoom book is listed for Fall 2026, but I did not find a stable official title on the author site.

FAQs

Do you need to read These Violent Delights before Foul Lady Fortune?

Yes, if you want the best experience. Foul Lady Fortune can be followed on its own, but it spoils the earlier duet.

Is Last Violent Call required?

It is not a main novel, but it is the intended bridge between Foul Lady Fortune and Foul Heart Huntsman, so it fits best in the core Secret Shanghai order.

Is Immortal Longings connected to These Violent Delights?

No. It begins a separate adult fantasy trilogy.

Is Coldwire part of the same universe as her fantasy books?

No. It starts a separate sci-fi trilogy.

What is the best Chloe Gong book to start with?

For most readers, These Violent Delights remains the best first book.

Conclusion

Chloe Gong is easiest to read by continuity, not by treating her bibliography as one continuous line. Start with These Violent Delights for the signature experience, use Immortal Longings for the adult fantasy route, and pick Coldwire if you want the newer sci-fi direction.