Review: Foul Heart Huntsman

Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong (Foul Lady Fortune #2)
Published: September 2023

“That’s what it means to fight for something – to love something. The country is good enough for us to die for. Why wouldn’t you be?”

Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of a Japanese invasion. Rosalind Lang has suffered the worst possible fate for a national spy: she’s been exposed. With the media storm camped outside her apartment for the infamous Lady Fortune, she’s barely left her bedroom in weeks, plotting her next course of action after Orion was taken and his memories of Rosalind wiped. Though their marriage might have been a sham, his absence hurts her more than any physical wound. She won’t rest until she gets him back. But with her identity in the open, the task is near impossible. The only way to leave the city and rescue Orion is under the guise of a national tour. It’s easy to convince her superiors that the countryside needs unity more than ever, and who better than an immortal girl to stir pride and strength into the people? When the tour goes wrong, however, everything Rosalind once knew is thrown up in the air. Taking refuge outside Shanghai, old ghosts come into the open and adversaries turn to allies. To save Orion, they must find a cure to his mother’s traitorous invention and take this dangerous chemical weapon away from impending foreign invasion—but the clock is ticking, and if Rosalind fails, it’s not only Orion she loses, but her nation itself.

Rosalind certainly goes through it in this book, but it is good seeing it. Sure, it’s not at all an ideal situation for anyone involved but it allows us to further see her tenacity, her stubbornness, her cleverness and her eagerness to do right in a world that is becoming more and more wrong – and to also protect those she cares for. Being Fortune is something that Rosalind allowed to take over. She lost parts of herself beneath the cold, heartless assassin but in this story, we get to see her claim back parts of herself she thought forever buried and gone. Allowing herself to forgive her past mistakes and failures, we get to see Rosalind flourish and I absolutely loved getting to be part of it. There is a massive amount of growth between the Rosalind we’re first introduced to in These Violent Delights, to the Rosalind we see in Foul Lady Fortune to the one we see here. Gong really outdid herself with her character. Massive round of applause from me.

Poor Orion has such a hard time here. I just want to wrap him up in bubblewrap and lots of blankets and just cuddle him. Keep him safe. But, of course, I can’t do that. Despite the goings on of this book, he really does shine. His interactions and mannerisms are different (and totally understandable considering what he goes through) but I think it really added to his character. I have always been impressed with Gong’s male leads, for their complexity and dynamics with other characters – most noticeably the female lead – and Orion is certainly no exception.

Alisa, I bloody love you. The snark, the sassiness, the cheek… all of it comes together in such a fantastic way. She draws me in and a lot of the time, I found myself giggling away at what she’d said or done, adding levity into a story that could easily remain quite dark and bleak in its content. I think I will always petition for more Alisa content and should Gong ever revisit this world (which I would never be disappointed in!) then I would massively enjoy seeing Alisa’s story in more depth!

Celia features a little more heavily in this book and I really liked to see it! We got to see her flourish further in her role as a spy, but also see her more vulnerable – floundering when things don’t quite go to plan or trip her up – which I think was incredibly important for her character. She has to grapple with many troubles in this book, both personal and work related, but handles them with grace and humility; which is no surprise to me because that’s who Celia is!

Having Roma and Juliette in this book was EVERYTHING. Having read Last Violent Call, it wasn’t a surprise for me – though understandably it might be for some if they skipped it! – and I had my suspicions after the end of Foul Lady Fortune. But getting to see them on the page once again, interacting with their family with their newfound partnership and confidence… I couldn’t ask for anything better!

How about that for the end of a duology, and the finale of the Secret Shanghai series! The plot picks up very quickly after the end of Foul Lady Fortune and keeps up a fantastic pace throughout – full of mystery, deceit, angst, frustration and adventure. I felt myself utterly swept away each time I picked up the book which isn’t surprising for me since it happens every time I read Gong’s work. I always find a new appreciation for her stories as she continues to grow in her writing and this book is just utter brilliance in my mind. The characters are fantastic too. We have a lot of familiar and old faces make up the cast here – it was like one big reunion and I couldn’t help but love each and every one of them. Something I really liked was that our villain(s) remained rather ambiguous and shrouded in mystery. It helped add atmosphere and intrigue to a story that already had its claws in me – meaning it was ensuring I would never be let go. Not that I would have it any other way. Of course there was romance in this story but I really liked that it was subtle. We had multiple couples fighting for their loves and whilst they all did similar things and had similar goals, they all remained incredibly unique. There were moments that made me heart hurt, made it soar, made it gallop, and made it skip a beat. All around perfection in the romance department. The ending had me feeling all sorts of emotions but one that feels the strongest is gratitude. I’m so grateful to have gotten to experience these stories and truly hope they reach more and more readers for many years to come.

Overall, Foul Heart Huntsman is a stunning conclusion to a story close to my heart.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5