When it comes to young adult fiction, no one does it like Chloe Gong. Her writing is always fresh, always new and always exciting. Her books tackle mature topics, yet still maintain the action-packed appeal her teen readers have come to know and love. Chloe Gong often writes from multiple perspectives, which is enjoyable for those who prefer an omniscient plot.
Following the first Lady Fortune book, “Foul Heart Huntsman” picks up with Rosalind Lang hiding in her apartment after being outed as the famed “Lady Fortune,” a nationalist assassin with unnatural healing abilities. She decides to use people uncovering her identity as an opportunity to go on tour across China, to spread hope for the nationalist cause and, more importantly, to look for Orion, her fake husband/spy partner for whom she may or may not have very real feelings. Meanwhile, three secondary characters are moving around the globe as they try to stop a great evil from killing an entire nation with a deadly poison. Rosalind’s story intertwines with theirs and makes for a thrilling, action-packed adventure.
While this book was an incredibly fun read, it lacked some of the structure that “Foul Lady Fortune” had. At points, it felt as though everything happening in the book was a total free-for-all, with the characters on random, somewhat unnecessary side quests, all in a haphazard attempt to get more scenes with Rosalind and her love interest. As a whole, the book had entire subplots that could have been cut out, as there was a lot of unnecessary filler. It is challenging to write for a young adult audience, and, oftentimes, YA novels reuse a few different plots. However, compared to other books of the same genre, “Foul Heart Huntsman” was still significantly more enjoyable. I appreciated Gong’s efforts to diversify her cast as well as introduce many new characters that could continue the story. The story’s setting in Shanghai during the 1930s was original, and having an assassin as the main character is always entertaining. The characters had depth, the writing was compelling, the setting was vivid and the pace of the narrative was superb. Overall, it was an enjoyable read with characters the reader could relate to and care about. Gong truly is a credit to her profession for writing this book, as well as all her others, because only an extremely talented author could create a story as beautiful and well-thought-out as this. The way all of her series are interconnected is fascinating. Gong hides as many Easter eggs in her “Secret Shanghai” novels as Taylor Swift does in her Instagram posts.
