Review: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins
SYNOPSIS:
“Aerity…” Her father paused as if the words he was forming pained him. “I must ask you to sacrifice the promise of love for the sake of our kingdom.”
She could only stare back, frozen.
When a strange beast terrorizes the kingdom of Lochlanach, fear stirs revolt. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.
Princess Aerity knows her duty to the kingdom but cannot bear the idea of marrying a stranger… until a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention. There’s no denying the unspoken lure between them… or his mysterious resentment.
Paxton is not the marrying type. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast—but the princess continues to surprise him, and the perilous secrets he’s buried begin to surface.
Inspired by the Grimm Brothers’ tale “The Singing Bone,” New York Times bestselling author Wendy Higgins delivers a dark fantasy filled with rugged hunters, romantic tension, and a princess willing to risk all to save her kingdom.
REVIEW:
It has been a while since I dived into a world penned by Wendy Higgins. I finally decided to read the Eurona Duology but getting started on this story was a struggling. The beginning was so painfully slow but after things started to pick up I found myself intrigued and by the end I was ready to immediately dive into the sequel.
I really enjoyed the slow burn chemistry between Aerity and Paxton; there is clearly a mutual attraction there, regardless of how the world seems to keep them apart. There are too many outside factors and dangers lurking about. Aerity belongs to the kingdom, which seems extremely hypocritical when her father was h*ll bent on himself marrying for love and only for love. I just found the king to be delusional and blind to the fact that something bigger is clearly going on here.
As for Aerity, she plays the princess well but it’s clear she has a big heart and is not exactly what she seems. But for a ‘princess willing to risk it all’ she wasn’t a bad-*ss in any sense. She kind of fell flat on the do anything or take action front, I saw no inner strength from her except towards the end of the book when she finally grew a spine. So I am hoping for more development in her character in the sequel. Paxton…I swear that ending and how everything played out had me in a fit of rage. Paxton is so much better than the cliffhanger it leaves him on, I fear for his path and journey ahead.
In terms of plot, as I mentioned, the first third of the book is extremely slow. There is just a lack of action or anything substantial and a lot of world build dumping. But once things start to pick up on the hunt, I quickly found myself invested in the plot line and how things would play out. I adored the various budding romances and new-found friendships that were forming. And if the cliffhanger at the end is anything to go off of, this is only the start of the main adventure and battle to come.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
