Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen Review


"Sometimes, one must accomplish the impossible.

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…"


Hidden Huntress is the sequel to Stolen Songbird and the second installment in its trilogy. Hidden Huntress continues the wild and dangerous adventures of Tristan and Cécile. They are apart now. Trapped underground, Tristan is at the mercy of his own father, the king. His allies are gone, and those who still remain loyal to him are in danger or out of reach. Cécile is on the deadly hunt for the witch and knows that the witch is cunning and increasingly difficult to catch. Very difficult, no matter how close Cécile and Tristan get to her. 

Told from alternating POVs of our two favorite characters and heroes, Tristan and Cécile, Hidden Huntress has a whirling, spellbinding, and speeding plot. Enemies are everywhere, and politics and the hunt for power encourages the actions of the villains. Each one of them are different and similar, and every single villain poses a great threat to our heroes. They are a very conniving lot, and they are a nasty piece of work. 

Magic has its price, as said frequently on ABC's Once Upon a Time. To find the witch, Cécile dives in and dabbles with dark magic. Specifically, blood magic. She is powerful but also untrained in magic. However, she is good and she is determined, knowing the consequences of failure. Her desperation for the witch's location has turned her into a single minded character with only one motive, just because she made a deal with the king of trolls. It is truly sad to see Cécile spiraling downwards into great darkness, though the author doesn't touch on that particular subject very much. 

Tristan is the chessmaster, the king who is trapped and checked. But he hasn't been checkmated yet, so there is still hope. With Cécile being far away, Tristan is surrounded by his enemies. His allies are spread far, as said before, and some are lost... forever. Still, he makes the best of it and he is starting to grow as a character. He still has his wits, but what he doesn't have is time. 

The world building gets even better. All those little pieces in Stolen Songbird are used as foundation as Danielle L. Jensen adds in a greater force of opposition. Trouble brews, especially at the end of the book. Where the book go next has yet to be determined, but from the success of this book, the sequel will probably be legendary also. 

In conclusion, Hidden Huntress is an amazing and awesome sequel to Stolen Songbird. There are no places for second thoughts, and everything is at stake. None of these characters, none of our heroes, can make a single mistake if they want to survive and, more importantly, live. Best recommended for those who love magic and myths, Hidden Huntress is a splendid second installment of this trilogy. 

Rating: Five out of Five

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