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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
I'm going to miss this world, especially Roma, Oliver and Orion
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Minor: Torture
4.3 not as good as the first one but I'm glad Orion and rosalind got there happy ending
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The papers had splashed her entire identity in the headlines: Lang Shalin, former Scarlet showgirl turned Nationalist assassin - not dead as the city had been left to believe but wrecking chaos and killing merchants up and down the country's coast for four years.
Both Foul Heart Huntsman and the first book in the series have managed to blend historical fiction with romance and some fantastical elements (a girl who is immune to poison and heals easily from all types of wounds). This book also had the tough job of having to tie up many loose ends.
Spoiler
Such as the reveal that Orion Hong is some form of super soldier, whose mind is not his own.Spoiler
Namely, it seems strange that after hiding their identities for so many years that Roma and Juliette will decide to reveal themselves to Rosalind? This part definitely felt like it was to appease fans who would want to get a glimpse of how the star-crossed lovers from the earlier series would be faring now.Rosalind's identity has been exposed in the aftermath of the first book and her fake marriage and ploy to infiltrate into Seagreen Press is no longer required - especially since Orion has disappeared with his traitor mother, Lady Hong. While the Nationalists and Communists are still having their internal strife, the Japanese are gathering their own forces and throwing their lot behind Lady Hong's experiments. Rosalind has been laying low but has her own plans for getting Orion back, one that involves a national tour where she convinces her superiors that she can help to stir up national pride with her heroic deeds as an assassin.
Spoiler
This happens to involve the vial of supersolider serum that she had managed to swipe previously - a vial that Orion's mother hasn't been able to replicate.Meanwhile, Rosalind's sister Celia and Orion's brother, Oliver, have also been working together on the Communist side. When their siblings' identities have been blown, Celia and Oliver have a new mission to tail Rosalind around the nation on her tour as they believe that she may be able to lure Orion out into the open.
As compared to the earlier book, this also felt like a more conventional historical thriller - one of the more convenient plot devices is about why Orion specifically had been chosen as one of the trial experiments.
Spoiler
It turns out that Lady Hong had been experimenting on herself as well as her children and that it is because of this that Orion was one of the choicest picks for experimentation.Spoiler
At one point, he even gets amnesia even after all Rosalind does to get him back...and he couldn't remember anything about their past relationship.Spoiler
Where they had to break Oliver out of the Nationalists' grasp.Notwithstanding this, I felt like Chloe Gong did a great job at typing up the plot events because she's building this story on top of real historical events so she had to weave in all those events while having it make sense in the context of this story. Moreover, despite my issues with some of the plot points mentioned above, I actually really liked most of the characters and they sold me on the romance and character growth. Rosalind has grown to become more self-assured and learns to forgive herself for her past. Orion grows up and learns that his family, while imperfect, does love him. And Celia and Oliver served as a counterfoil to Orion and Rosalind, somehow mirroring them but also diverging from their personalities.
This book was sooooo good. I got bored at the first half buy I honestly did enjoy it.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An amazing finale to the 2 book series, would read again!