Book Review: Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong
Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong is a stunning, high-stakes conclusion to Gong’s Secret Shanghai duology — a political thriller wrapped in romance, rebellion, and reckoning. Picking up where Foul Lady Fortune left off, this installment catapults Rosalind Lang and her allies into a whirlwind of espionage, heartbreak, and impossible choices, all against the backdrop of 1930s China on the brink of transformation.
As war creeps closer and conspiracies deepen, Rosalind must grapple not only with the enemies closing in, but with her own humanity — and the consequences of what she’s done in the name of country and survival. Her relationship with Orion Hong, strained by secrets and sacrifice, becomes the emotional core of the novel. Their chemistry crackles with tension, tenderness, and the ache of knowing that love alone may not be enough to save them.
Gong’s prose is razor-sharp, her pacing relentless. The political intrigue is dense but compelling, a web of betrayals, shifting allegiances, and moral gray zones that reflect the chaos of a nation in flux. Yet even amidst the grand-scale conflict, Gong never loses sight of the deeply personal stakes: grief, guilt, and the desperate hope for redemption.
What sets Foul Heart Huntsman apart is its emotional depth. Rosalind’s journey is as much about confronting her past and reclaiming her agency as it is about surviving the mission. Gong balances brutal action with lyrical introspection, weaving a conclusion that is both explosive and deeply human.
With this final installment, Chloe Gong cements her place as one of YA’s most ambitious and accomplished voices. Foul Heart Huntsman is fierce, fearless, and devastatingly beautiful — a fitting end to a series that refuses to look away from the cost of revolution, or the price of love.
About Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong
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.
