The Great Hunt

4.5 stars — I thoroughly enjoyed this tale, though I will admit that I’m not sure I would have enjoyed it as much if I’d read it vs listening to it. And that’s because: Saskia Maarleveld as the narrator was FREAKING AMAZING!! OMG, I could listen to her narrate the phone book and I’d do it with a smile. I loved the accents she portrayed, they felt really authentic. And her different voices were ALWAYS consistent and made sense for each character. What I loved the most was that I don’t tend to read a lot of third person POV, particularly ones that are…not close? I don’t know the technical term. But this story changed perspective a LOT, and normally I think that would have annoyed me, but it was so smooth and easy listening to Ms. Maarleveld go from Aerity to Paxton to Wyneth to Vixie to Tiern to…well, you get the idea. I’m SO GLAD I decided to listen to this one instead of just reading, b/c I really think it enhanced my experience, and took a book in a genre that I don’t read as often and made it more accessible. Plus, her voice was just…happiness inducing. So, back to the story. Apparently this is a retelling of a lesser known Grimm fairytale, and I will admit I have NEVER heard of it. But that can be kind of fun, b/c then I don’t go in with any expectations. It was like listening to any fantasy type book. The funny thing about that is that I usually run into the same roadblocks as when I read historical romances…a lot of rules for how the characters should behave. And that showed up in this one too, with our heroine being a princess, and having to follow propriety and all that shiznit. Not my fave, to be honest. But Aerity was kind of fun b/c she was a good mix of a spirited young lady who had notions of what her role would be when she became queen. It was interesting that the way she and her siblings/cousins were raised in the castle, somewhat sheltered, allowed her to not develop the extreme prejudices towards the lashed that the “commoners” did. It’ll be interesting to see how this further develops in the next book, with her desire for change balanced with what her kingdom will accept. All in all Aerity felt very young at times (especially in the romance), but I could see how she was on the cusp of adulthood, and how it was edging closer in her life. Paxton was…kind of a dick. Especially at the beginning. I had a hard time not getting super cranky with him. The thing is, that as the story progresses, I started to better understand how his life experiences and his unique viewpoint kind of made him that way…encouraged him to develop a standoffish personality. It still doesn’t excuse it, but at least I saw glimmers of goodness in him. Now, I don’t know what it says about me, but I did enjoy Paxton and Aerity together at the end. NOT at the beginning, I seriously wanted to smack Aerity for her feelings, but later. I’m not entirely sure what I’m hoping for with their story. There were lots of great secondary characters that played interesting parts. I grew frustrated with the other romances ONLY because they kept harping on “the one to kill the beast marries Aerity”. This is where my “not a fantasy/historical reader” bias comes in, because I’m all like “just let them choose who they want to marry!” I don’t have patience for stupid high society politics. But I did really enjoy Tiern, Wyneth, Vixie, and Mrs. Rathbrook. Lord Alvi a bit less so. I LOVED the Zanderly (sp?) women! That was refreshing and surprising, and I’m interested where that will go. As for the plot with the beast? All in all pretty fun. There were some moments I wish the story would have sped up a bit, but there were definitely some turns I didn’t see coming. And now I have NO idea where it’s going to go. I’m looking forward to finding out. So basically, I enjoyed the story, but if I’m recommending it, I’m going to go whole hog and recommend the audiobook…it made a good book great IMO.

Audiobook Review: Overall – 5 Performance – 5 Story – 5 I can’t wait to start the next one! I confess that the only reason I listened to this book was because I’ll be attending Coastal Magic Convention in February 2022 where Wendy Higgins will be a featured author. Now having said that, I am so happy that I listened to this book. The story was fantastic and the also fantastic audio performance by Saskia Maarleveld grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. The story is gripping with a monster hunt and secret abilities and a couple of love interest/stories going on. This is the first book in a duology so not everything is resolved in this story and I am anxious to read the conclusion in The Great Pursuit.