Review: Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen

BOOK STATS

Rating: ☆☆☆.5
Title: Hidden Huntress
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Series: The Malediction Trilogy #2
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Audiobook
Narrators: Eric Michael Summerer, Erin Moon
Length: 16 hours (500 pages)
Publisher: Angry Robot
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Source: Audible subscription

SYNOPSIS

Beneath the mountain, the king’s reign of tyranny is absolute; the one troll with the capacity to challenge him is imprisoned for treason. Cécile has escaped the darkness of Trollus, but she learns all too quickly that she is not beyond the reach of the king’s power. Or his manipulation.

Recovered from her injuries, she now lives with her mother in Trianon and graces the opera stage every night. But by day she searches for the witch who has eluded the trolls for five hundred years. Whether she succeeds or fails, the costs to those she cares about will be high.

To find Anushka, she must delve into magic that is both dark and deadly. But the witch is a clever creature. And Cécile might not just be the hunter. She might also be the hunted.

MY THOUGHTS

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the first one in the series for a couple of reasons: 1) Cecile and Tristan were separated for a big chunk of the book and I missed their romance, and 2) I figured out the main mystery WAYYYYYYYYY before the characters did.

While most of book 1 took place in Trollus, book 2 explores the human city of Trianon, so we get to see more of the world. Cecile must navigate a complicated relationship with her mother while secretly developing her powers of witchcraft. Meanwhile, Tristan deals with politics in Trollus, which are as fraught as ever.

Even though I figured out a major twist, there were still some surprises for me at the end that made me very excited to pick up the next book.