Foul Heart Huntsman is a force of nature. It brings the Secret Shanghai series to a triumphant finish and wraps up one of the best YA series I have read for the past few years.
Chloe Gong did something extremely interesting within her emerging brand of Shakespearean inspired stories by choosing to pivot from the tragedies underpinning her previous work to a comedy. The previous duology in the series These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends drew on aspects of Romeo and Juliet and her adult debut, Immortal Longings, published earlier this year and drew some inspiration from Anthony and Cleopatra.
The bones of Shakespeare here are excavated from As You Like It, a pastoral comedy of disguises, false identities, and miscommunication. Gong brings those latent themes to the forefront in this claustrophobic, tightly plotted tale of espionage, experimentation, and the looming threat of war. This is a series that has consistently raised the stakes, leaving a bloody trail in its wake. Foul Heart Huntsman doubles down on that, with looming threats materialising into real world consequences. The devastating final sequence of Foul Lady Fortune has far-reaching consequences. I absolutely adored the way these consequences linked back to the previous duology and there are plenty of nods for long-time fans, some of which are excellent payoffs from Last Violent Call.
That mesh of mixed identities is particularly prevalent for our heroine, Rosalind. Her cover has been blown and she is exposed as the latest fascination, an immortal super spy and former socialite. This duology has focused so much on her personal growth and development from the original series. It has been a real search for her own self-identity and grappling with the trauma she suffered before. Her voice is so cutting and calculated, but there is a deeply vulnerable ache to it that betrays itself from time to time. For me, it is like watching a flower blossom. That depiction of confronting your own guilt and trauma, no longer allowing it to dictate your life and who you are, is so impactful.
Gong’s writing is, as always, exceptional. She brings in unexpected moments of levity and joy, as benefitting its comedy roots. I did catch myself laughing at some of the witty dialogue and just from watching these characters interact. However, this is a dark story at times, delving into heavy topics and keeping those consequences real and bloody. Like the original comedy, there is a bleeding heart at the centre of it all, disguised in romance and levity. It cannot be fully concealed; it must be faced eventually.
There was one particular chapter ending that I knew was coming and the build-up had been deliciously unsettling. When I reached it, I had to put the book down for a second, stop and just take it all in. It was twisted and evil and so Chloe Gong coded. Luckily, I was able to tell her this in person. Everything truly has been building to this. After finishing this, there was an itch to go back and restart the entire series to see the little nods throughout. There is an attention to detail and mesh of genres that Gong pulls off so well. Those dramatic moments are earned through meticulous build up and only impact so well because you are heavily invested in these flawed, three-dimensional characters. The morality is always murky and firmly placed against the wider cultural and historical backdrop. There is that need to survive and that naïve hope for something better than this, often characterised through romantic aspirations and interactions.
Foul Heart Huntsman brings together a beautiful series that I will hold close to my heart for a long time. It is a bombastic conclusion in every sense.
Foul Heart Huntsman is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 26th.
Will you be picking up Foul Heart Huntsman? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends comes the second book in the captivating Foul Lady Fortune duology following an immortal assassin in 1930s Shanghai as she races to save her country and her love.
Winter is drawing thick in 1932 Shanghai, as is the ever-nearing threat of invasion.
Rosalind Lang has encountered 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 her beloved is the guise of a national tour: convincing 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 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.
