The Priest and the Shepherd

Secret Shanghai #2.5

by Chloe Gong

Initially released as a bonus short story in the B&N/Indigo Exclusive Edition of Foul Lady Fortune, The Priest and the Shepherd is now free to read on Simon Teen.

Set six years before the events of Foul Lady Fortune, The Priest and the Shepherd follows Orion's sister, Phoebe, and his best friend, Silas!

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Novella, Romance, Historical, Fiction

50 pages, ebook

First published September 27, 2022

About the author

Chloe Gong is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of critically acclaimed fantasy and science fiction novels, including These Violent Delights, Immortal Longings, and Coldwire. Her books have been published in over twenty countries and she was named one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for 2024. Chloe graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English and International Relations. Born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, she is now located in New York City. Visit her online at thechloegong.com and on Instagram, X, and TikTok at @thechloegong.

Reviews

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Girls are easily overlooked for things like shooting and throwing. It doesn't mean we are bad at it. Sometimes we are even better because no one is looking directly at us while we aim."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

❗This review contains major spoilers from Foul Lady Fortune❗


This bonus story is a prequel to Foul Lady Fortune. It involves Hong Liwen's (Orion) sister Hong Feiyi (Phoebe), and his best friend, Wu Xielian (Silas), also known as Priest and Shepherd, respectively, while they were still young and studying in London together. This story was posted by Chloe Gong via her Instagram, and it can be found on simonteen.com. Also, it is accessible to all readers, although it cannot be downloaded, only read online.

Firstly, the story is only forty pages long, therefore, there is obviously little in the way of plot. Nonetheless, it gives some interesting insight into Silas and Phoebe's relationship before the events of Foul Lady Fortune while they were still students in a foreign country, as well as providing a slightly different image of Phoebe's mother, and the differences between her relationship with Phoebe and Orion. Besides, there are a few mentions of what it was like for foreign people to live in a white country during that time. While there isn't anything triggering in the story, all the characters are cautious around the natives as if waiting for them to strike, which, I believe, says it all.

Moreover, Phoebe and Silas are unsurprisingly adorable. I have been swooning over them since Foul Lady Fortune, with Pheobe's aloofness and Silas's solemnity making them a fun and interesting pair. They have been close friends for a very long time, as suggested in the book, and it is nice to see that friendship while they were children. However, while Silas's feelings toward Phoebe are crystal clear from his point of view, he mentions her constantly, and he is an absolutely adorable simp, any romantic feelings Phoebe might have for him are never mentioned in her point of view. The only indication is comforting him when he feels unsure of himself and making him promise not to leave her alone, sealing it with a blood pack. I want them to get together in Foul Heart Huntsman so badly I am making my own fake scenarios of how it could happen in an epic, romantic, and wholesome way.

Furthermore, Phoebe's mom is an almost completely different person in this story. She taught Phoebe how to aim by gifting her a slingshot and giving her the confidence she needs to practice considering that she is a girl doing 'boy things.' Essentially, she is the reason Phoebe became Priest. She is attentive and kind and visits her children often, even though she has to travel from Shanghai to London by ship to see them. While signs are clearly showing that she is not a wholly good person, even years before she betrayed her own child, such as shady conversations and her not being as attentive to Orion as with Phoebe, this sight of her conflicts with the person she turned out to be. Regardless, after the events of Foul Lady Fortune, not even her motherly side can get me to like her. She sucks.


✨Foul Heart Huntsman comes out on September 26, 2023✨

[rina (hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⊹ 𓏲࣪ 4 stars ★ 𓄹 ࣪ .
⤿ no spoilers in this review

⤷ “ she terrified him. she grounded him. she should have been named after an epithet of the sun instead of an epithet of the moon, because it was inevitable that everything in phoebe hong's vicinity would circle her in orbit. ”

stopp this short story is absolutely so cute <33 i love silasphoebe even more now, and this gave me the closure i needed on silas + phoebe + lady hong.

if you've read flf, you can read this short story on chloe gong's website !! go rnn while it's up ❤

[benedicta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprise! I love another Chloe Gong novel 😩 this woman can do no wrong. There's one word to describe her writing style, elegant.

[jolie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

“Some people fight for the nation; we fight for ourselves.”

first off: why the fuck was this so long bye 😭
second off: silas and phoebe 🥹🥹 so cute!! can’t wait to see rosalind and orion together

i liked that this was in phoebe’s pov!! even though i haven’t read foul lady fortune, ik the story isn’t about her. idk how to feel ab orion yet, but i’m confident i’ll like him! i wish i got to see a bit more of orion’s childhood through his pov in this story, but it was still cute <3

[elsa ✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"girls are easily overlooked for things like shooting and throwing. it doesn't mean we are bad at it. sometimes we are even better because no one is looking directly at us while we aim."

rating: 4☆

i was so excited about this new short story, and as i was reading it i felt like i've already read it before. i checked chloe gong's instagram and saw that it was the bonus at the end of foul lady fortune (barnes&noble edition) and that i had actually read it before :')

[Alaina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, reading about young Phoebe and young Silas was way too freaking adorable. I loved seeing their friendship and how they had a crush on each other. Orion, being the big brother, was grossed by the infatuation between his best friend and little sister. Oh, and their mom showing up? That was interesting.

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

So cute!

[nini ⟡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE STORY OF YOUNG PHEOBE AND SILAS
rating: ★★★★★

Thanks to SimonTeen for putting this as a free read on their website! To be honest, I had no idea this was a thing in exclusive editions of Foul Lady Fortune until now...

✩‧₊˚ background ✧.*
Set before the events of Chloe Gong's Foul Lady Fortune, the story follows Orion Hong's little sister, Phoebe, and his friend, Silas Wu. Both characters have their own internal conflicts to face, but they find a way to connect.

✩‧₊˚ review ✧.*
SPOILERS FOR FOUL LADY FORTUNE AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT YET!
Once the short story was published on SimonTeen's website after Chloe had revealed it was published there, I dropped everything to go read it. I've liked the character of Silas Wu since his introduction in Foul Lady Fortune, and I love how we got more content of him in this short story. Phoebe's introduction as Priest in the epilogue of Foul Lady Fortune had really shocked me, and now I can't wait to find out more about her in the upcoming sequel. I feel like Phoebe and Silas share a very unique connection, and I also have a feeling that this might be foreshadowing something.

✩‧₊˚ recommend? ✧.*
All those readers who have read and liked Foul Lady Fortune will like this short story, as it provides more information about Phoebe and Silas.

[Kalena ୨୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars, the priest and the sheperd are so cute together pls

While this was very short, I'd love any extra addition we get to Chloe Gong's world and I am happy this was released online and not just in the Barnes and Noble exclusive edition. I loved seeing Phoebe and Silas, they're both such great characters from Foul Lady Fortune and I really hope to see a lot more. I think Phoebe is a really great character overall too and I definitely think I underestimated her.

[TW: sick family members mentioned,

[sara سارة · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so so cute, i miss them already. *sigh*

[Chertzo Ember [s: ia]]

I think since I read this before FLF the events in here will make sense to me after I read it, but nonetheless this was nice. I think I might reread this just because.

[Lucy Tonks (the invisible life of a reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was really cute but i wish it followed the shepherd just a tiny bit more

[jagodasbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ymmmm Okeyyyy

[Eya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe Gong never disappoints

[alexrreadsx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not ready for foul heart huntsman oml

[h]

Read this for free via Rivetedlit

[Hajar · Rating 5 out of 5]

دوست ندارم اینجا فحش بدم و خلاصه بگم... من نمیتونم این فایل رو گیرش بیارم
هرکاری میکنم توی سایت نمیتونم حساب داشته باشم
باید برم دنبال اسپویل
این یه بونوس ئه ولی هرچی اطلاعات بیشتر بهتر
چرا هیچکس این بونوس رو جایی نذاشته؟ 💔

[queenie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

it's kinda tiring how chloe gong needs to imprint this character into all her fmcs that they're badass violence-loving & gun-wielding girls who plot to save their lives and all of them are almost caricatures of each other at this point. it's cool, yes, but not when you use that as groundwork for all your characters. besides, phoebe is literally my least fav character in the series (her only contributing factor was priest subplot, let's be real) so this story wasn't really for me. i did like the little mentions that also appear in Foul Heart Huntsman and it was a short read to catch up before getting your hands on the sequel.

[Ruby Rae Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

will be obsessed with anything and everything ms chloe gong reads and I SWEAR to god if these two don't get together I might combust!!!! never knew I needed a brothers best friend childhood friends to lovers from chloe but it's all I ever will think about!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mia ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4) I CAN’T WAIT FOR FHH

[suhani · Rating 2 out of 5]

sorry i could care less

[Aliah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dont know why it took me this long to read a novella but here we are.
Damn silas I didn’t know you were a poet

[kaitlyn ˚&#x1f9a5; · Rating 4 out of 5]

⋆˙⟡ — rating & review: 3.75 ⭐️✨

This was pretty cute. I enjoyed getting to see more of Phoebe and the backstory with her and Silas. Would recommend to anyone who enjoyed Foul Lady Fortune and was wanting a bit more but it definitely isn’t required to understand the story and the characters! <3

⋆˙⟡ — pre read: honestly I’m not too interested in reading this, but I do want to read the full secret Shanghai series so I will. I am definitely interested in seeing what Phoebe has been up to considering the end of Foul Lady Fortune though 👀👀👀

[Sanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We can do anything we want. Rules are only rules if we want to follow them. Laws are only laws if we decide they are."

4⭐️

Short and sweet prequel story! I loved seeing young Phoebe, Silas, and Orion and what shaped them to be the characters we know and love in the future. We got more insight into Phoebe's sharpshooter background, and the boys' motivations. And Phoebe and Silas are so cute!!

[Ashley Catelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She terrified him. She grounded him. She should have been named after an epithet of the sun instead of an epithet of the moon, because it was inevitable that everything in Phoebe Hong's vicinity would circle her in orbit."

How lovely this short story was, how it made my heart sing.

[insane.reads]

urocze to

[maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This absolutely warmed my heart. I love these new characters and honestly, I would devour anything Chloe Gong writes.

[Harir ⋆.˚ ☾⭒.˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

I am happy that I got to learn more about Orion and Phoebes past, I feel for their pain. But I am so happy that I got to read more about Phoebe and Silas since I loved their POVS in Foul Lady Fortune

[mads ! · Rating 5 out of 5]

the vibe and feeling and nostalgia of the novella was unreal considering it was less than 100 pages. i miss phoebe and silas so much 3

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

need foul heart huntsman Now