The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Foul Heart Huntsman

Series: Secret Shanghai #4

Author: Chloe Gong

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

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. -summary from Goodreads

I loved it so, so much!!! I haven’t had a book hangover in a while, but as soon as I put this book down, I got one. This book was just everything! I will do my absolute best to try and include all my thoughts!

Silas and Phoebe held more of a role in this book. They actually had a lot of chapters, which grated on me in the beginning, because I just wanted to read about Rosalind and Orion. However, when things started developing, I was fully invested and loved it. I just wished these things hadn’t happened at the end of the book! Oh, well. I guess we just need another duology dedicated to these two!

That ending was absolutely everything! I loved how it wrapped everything up and, slight spoiler, everyone got a happy ending. Now I have to go get the Barned and Noble special edition to read the bonus chapter! One of the things I loved about the chapter was the reuniting family members and how some of the characters joined a family business. My only complaint (I use this word loosely) was that I wanted to see a little more of Alisa, Oliver and Celia, and Silas and Phoebe to gain a little closure regarding these characters.

I loved, loved, loved Alisa, especially in this book. She was always an appealing character, but she really stepped up this book. She was her own character, when before she was reduced to more of a background/side character. I loved seeing her interact with other characters, especially Rosalind. They have such a cute, fun little friendship! She also went through some character development, which I didn’t realize she needed, but after getting to know her more, I appreciated. Alisa is constantly shocking everyone, character and reader alike, and I was living for it! I especially loved the scene where she was reunited with a character; it had me getting a little teary eyed! Now all I need is a series dedicated to Alisa!

I loved Oliver and Celia! I enjoyed them in the previous book, and they were lovely this book as well. They are definitely more stable than other relationships. Not to say they didn’t have their challenges. Celia finally addresses some things about their relationship, and it all comes to a head. I wasn’t too invested in their part of the story, mainly because it wasn’t as dramatic, but also, I could see where it was going.

Orion and Rosalind! They are wonderful! I love them so, so much! They are so sweet, caring, and protective. They also just have this chemistry. I love reading them. They go through so much in this book, that both stresses and reaffirms their relationship. A slight spoiler, but Orion faces amnesia for the majority of this book. It was wonderful watching them fall back in love. Their parts of the book were definitely my favorite.

I loved all of the reuniting scenes. There were so many and I adored every single one of them! Chloe Gong really knows how to pack an emotional punch. The scenes where characters came back together were wonderful!

I also have say I loved the sibling relationships in this book. We have one that I won’t spoil, but we did get Rosalind and Celia together more, as well as a little look into Oliver and Orion’s relationship. I thought those small parts were well done and fun to read.

Chloe Gong has a way of showcasing grief that I first noted in Our Violent Ends. This is shown again, especially in the beginning of the book, when everyone is missing Orion. She shows how grief is different for everyone and every situation. She also does a good job of not making it the entire story but still shows how it guides the story.

This book was slow-paced. There was still action and adventure, and everything moved along smoothly, it just took some time. I don’t know if that makes any sense.

Foul Heart Huntsman is an emotional, thrilling conclusion, with amazing characters, relationships, and romances, to the wonderful Secret Shanghai series!

Quotes

“Instead, she could let them hover forever in ambiguity, in that space where she was neither accepted nor rejected. If she never asked, she wouldn’t have to face the possibility of a terrible answer.”

“Rosalind was the one who needed to apologize. Rosalind was the one who had been wanting to apologize for five long, long years, wishing she could open a door into the afterlife and obtain some chance to beg for forgiveness.”

“‘I would have found you anywhere. Across the world and under it. No matter how well you hide. It doesn’t matter where you go. I’ll always find you.’”

“It’s easier to save the world, actually. Easier than saving myself. Easier than trying to save you.”

“He couldn’t form the words that described how she existed in his head, but the feeling would balloon in his chest at any invocation- a soft feeling, a sweet feeling, less like sugar and more like springtime’s first warm breeze.”

“‘I’m going to love you again. I have decided to warn you in advance.’”

“They were operatives, but they were also people. Just people- capable of selfishness and love, with the same instincts for preservation and group protection as the first wanders who walked this earth.”

“‘You are bound to me in matrimony. If you break it and descend into another plane of existence, I will chase after you and snatch you back.’”

“I believe in you. Before I put my faith with anything, I would put it with you.“

“‘Of course I was committed to her beyond what was acceptable for the mission. I was so fascinated because I could see the parts of you in her. I’ve loved you this whole time, just split in two.’”

“At any moment the alarms could blare, could bid them to pick up their bags and flee. The ground could break under their feet, the sky could wash out its blue, descend into ash instead. The next month lay uncertain, as did the very next day, but no longer was it time spent in the shadows, hidden without love.”