Foul Heart Huntsman
Chloe Gong
Foul Heart Huntsman
Spies and rebels operate in 1930s Shanghai, where history and fantasy collide in a city of danger and intrigue. A huntsman with a scarred heart takes on a mission that forces him to confront his past. Magic and politics intertwine in a game where loyalty costs everything.
Everything You Need to Know About Foul Heart Huntsman
Shanghai, 1932. The noose tightens as the Japanese military encroaches on China's borders. Rosalind Lang, the infamous Lady Fortune, a spy as lethal as she is ruthless , has been exposed. With media camped outside her apartment and her partner Orion's memories of her wiped clean, she's forced into hiding to plot her next move. What unfolds is a race against time to save both her country and the man she loves, all while the city crumbles around them.
Gong's prose is sharp and atmospheric, 1930s Shanghai feels dangerous and real. Rosalind is one of the best spies in YA fantasy: capable, compromised, human. The romance with Orion simmers beneath geopolitical intrigue without overshadowing it. If you loved Our Violent Ends for its historical backdrop and political stakes, this sequel deepens both.
Violence (spy craft, assassination, warfare), morally gray characters making dark choices, character injury, blood, political/historical context of Japanese invasion of China.
Orion's memory wipe is mostly irreversible, Rosalind must work with him as a stranger for much of the book while fighting to survive exposure. Her handler's true loyalty is questioned. The book ends with a sacrifice play that sets up book 3, and Rosalind's status as 'living weapon' is both her greatest asset and deepest wound.
Readers of These Violent Delights duology who want to stay in Gong's world, this is book 2 of Foul Lady Fortune (separate duology, same universe). Not for readers who need cozy romance; Rosalind operates in grays and moral complexity. Comp: espionage thriller + historical fantasy. Contains romance but it's not the center.
Book 2 of Foul Lady Fortune duology (separate from These Violent Ends). Designed to expand on events of Our Violent Ends for fans but works as its own spy thriller. Book 2 resolves some arcs but leaves larger world-building threads open.
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