New Release Review: The Great Hunt
by Wendy Higgins
I was beyond thrilled to receive an ARC of The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins and I am a huge fan of her work. However, I ashamed to say that I didn’t immediately write my review after I finished the book because sometimes I tell myself I need to digest what I just read…then I loose track of time, and well, today is release day for The Great Hunt, so here is my spoiler-free review! This is book one if this new fantasy duology; I absolutely adored, and highly recommend The Great Hunt if you love fantasy!
The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins
Category: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publication: March 8th, 2016; HarperTeen
Purchase: Amazon
Kill the beast. Win the girl.
A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. 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 understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when 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 keen on marriage. 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 and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.
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, outlawed magic, and a princess willing to risk all to save her people.
Spoiler-Free Review:
[book rating =4/5]“I have only one thing left to offer the man who kills this beast.
I offer the hand of my oldest daughter in marriage.”
The Great Hunt has some of the most beautiful imagery and writing I have read in a long time. It is so lyrical it almost sings to you as you read the words. This book is filled with magic, adventure, romance, and whimsy. The Great Hunt is very different from Wendy Higgins’ Sweet Evil series, but it is not to be missed, especially for fans of fantasy and fairy tale retellings. I have never read the Grimm Brothers’ “The Singing Stone,” which The Great Hunt was based on, but this story felt unique and was full of surprises.
The premise of The Great Hunt is that a kingdom is being terrorized by a deadly beast, and as a last ditch effort to kill the beast the King offers his daughter Aerity’s hand in marriage to the one who can finally slay the beast. Of course this prize is a jolt to not only Aerity, but also to her family, who were the first royal family to declare that anyone can marry for love and not just titles. So this little extra incentive to be able to marry the Princess, the King hopes to spark the interest of all the eligible bachelors as well as skilled hunters of the country of Eurona in order to finally kill the beast that is menacing their lands.
One of my favorite aspects about this book is that the story is really deep and we really get to know so much about a lot of the characters, not just the two or three main characters. The secondary folks don’t feel secondary, especially since this story is told in third person POV, which gives us insight into multiple characters. I easily connected to the story and the cast, and I prefer my fantasy told this way—the characters pop so much more.
Speaking of fantastic characters, Princess Aerity is daring, fun, and full of passion. I absolutely loved her and her willingness to be the prize for her kingdom’s sake. Then there is Paxton Seabolt, the brooding local hunter who joins the hunt, along with his younger brother, Tiern. Other characters include royal family standouts like Aerity’s little sister, Vixie, and Lady Wyneth, as well as some major players in the hunt from all over Eurona, like Lord Lief Alvi and the Zandalee huntresses. The characters are deep and complex and of course just about everyone gets a case of the heart-eyes! There is a strong thread of romance throughout and you can’t help but swoon at times. However, most of the romance is expressed more through feelings or spoken words, and not acted upon.
The hunt was so adventurous and unexpected; brutal and gripping. The other fantastical element was the magical race of people called the Lashed. The Lashed are feared but also respected; for example, the royal family employs a Lashed healer but also maintain laws to keep the general population of the Lashed from practicing magic. It really is a brilliant, creative magical aspect of this story!
The ending was a massive cliffhanger and it totally destroyed me. As the book was coming to an end I was not sure how the story was going to unfold in a way to warrant a book 2 and then—boom—mass destruction of all of my ideas. I really wanted to know more about the Lashed and I definitely wanted more magic but maybe that will be explored more in the next book, since this book is clearly focused on hunting the beast. But, with that ending, I am crazily awaiting book two!
Solid 4 stars; a fascinating and adventurous tale of magic, romance, sacrifice and obligation. I loved the beautifully written fantasy and can’t wait to see how this story ends!
