Book Review: Ever The Hunted by Erin Summerill

Author: Erin Summerill
Series: Clash of Kingdoms #1
Audience: +15
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: December 27th 2016
My Rating: 3.5 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Netgalley and HMH Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or my opinion of the book in any way.

My latest visit into the land of High Fantasy takes me to Ever The Hunted and let me tell you, this was a very interesting story. The blurb and the cover managed to catch my eye, but I was really intrigued by the idea of a girl trying to catch her father's killer, who apparently is her former best friend.

Britta is a pretty interesting heroine. She has her moments when she kinda made me roll my eyes, but it was all explained to me at the end of the book. I liked the fact that she agreed to find out where her father's killer was, to find him and bring him to justice, even if that meant hunting down for her ex best friend. As I said, there were some moments that made me question her state of mind a little bit,. There's a beautiful moment in the book, when she tells Cohen exactly what his and her father's "protection" meant for her once she was left alone, without someone to be there for her, and I found myself a bit disappointed that that aspect of the story wasn't explored more. I can only hope that we'll see that aspect of Britta's life, how she suffered, physically and mentally, in the next book.

I wasn't so sure exactly why Cohen was so loved by Britta. He wasn't as charming to me as Britta made him out to be, and he didn't stand out as much as I expected him to stand out. The ending kind of explains Britta's infatuation with Cohen, and it's interesting to see how that aspect of their relationship will be explained in the next book.

The plot is pretty simple, and easily read. There are a few cliche elements to this story, but I wasn't bothered by them. I read this book pretty fast. All in all, Ever The Hunted was a good read and I'm very curious to see how the story will continue.

Excerpt Reveal: Unrest by Wendy Higgins

Today we’re revealing an excerpt from UNREST by Wendy Higgins! Check it out and grab your copy today!!  

 

Title: Unrest 

Author: Wendy Higgins 

Release Day: February 16^th   

About Unrest: 

Being on the run in the desert means food and sanctuary are hard to come by, but Amber Tate and her crew are not about to give up. Not after having so many of the things they love brutally ripped from them by an unknown enemy who sent their world into the apocalypse.

Survival takes precedence, but once safe shelter is found, their guards fall and the emotions they’ve been holding in are finally released. Anger, insecurities...lust. In their tight quarters, Amber, Rylen, Tater, and Remy can't escape it. The past must be faced, and passions run even stronger in the darkest of times.

In the midst of unrest, their worlds are rocked again when they discover the truth about the war that’s ruined their lives. They thought finding out the enemy's identity would give them the edge; instead it’s revealed terrifying dangers they never thought possible.

Preorder Today: Kindle or Nook   

Get your copy of Unrest: AmazonUS / AmazonUK / B&N / iTunes / Book Depository 

Exclusive Excerpt: 

A golden hue of sunrise turned night into dawn. I sat on a small boulder, staring at the sliver of sun through trees of the Nevada parkland, the same spot where I’d been sitting silently in the dark for two hours in the cold. I couldn’t take Remy’s whimpering and soul-crushing cries each time she fell back asleep in the tent, venturing into nightmares of what she’d seen the night before. What we’d all seen. I might never sleep again.

Mom. Dad. Abuela.

I fought back another wave of debilitating grief that made my bones feel like liquid—like I’d never have the ability to stand again. Have to be strong. Have to be strong. I rocked back and forth with my eyes shut tight. I couldn’t afford to give in to the loss. If I did, it would consume me whole and devour my will to live. I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

We’d been fired up to leave the nature preserve last night and head north to the base in Utah after hearing the Morse code message, supposedly from other military personnel in hiding, like us. But we decided to wait until morning since we needed more light to plan our trip on the map. Plus, headlights in the night would be too easy to spot, and we were all worthless last night, running on adrenaline and vengeance, one step away from crashing. I never did crash or sleep a wink, even though my adrenaline was long gone.

The soft sunrise was too pretty—too majestic—for the way I felt inside. Raw. Like my heart had been grated. During the night, I’d begun to believe the sun would never rise again, and now that it was I felt as if the Earth were mocking what we’d been through, reminding me just how miniscule and unremarkable we were. A new day was happening despite what we’d lost. The world wasn’t stopping to mourn. It felt wrong.

We’d been so close to the camp yesterday where the Disaster Relief Initiative, the DRI personnel, had taken my parents, my grandmother, Remy’s parents, and Rylen’s wife Livia. We watched in confusion as those DRI bastards fled. Then we’d watched in disbelief as Air Force jets dropped a bomb on that camp, obliterating our family and the people from our town. Oh, God.

I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut. Even while the world fell apart around us, I never imagined anything would happen to my parents. I never let myself believe it was possible, even after watching my Grandpa Tate shot and killed by a Disaster Relief Personnel—fucking Derps. Who was I without my parents? I was the daughter of an Army man and a Mexican dancer. A Green Machine and a Señorita. A small bubble of laughter worked its way through a sob in my throat when I thought about my parents’ silly banter with each other. Their relentless love and devotion to me and my older brother, Tater.

The sound of a tent’s zipper wrenched through the morning solitude and I quickly wiped my eyes. I looked over and saw Rylen crouching as he pushed through the opening. The golden hue of sun made his blond hair and the scruff on his face stand out. His eyes met mine and I had to swallow hard at the sight of pain in his expression. I’d already cried so much last night.

Seeing those solemn gray eyes brought back a flood of memories: young, scrawny Rylen Fite, loved and cared for by my parents like he was their own son. And his eyes reflected his remembrance too, as if he felt their absence as prominently as I did. But he’d lost a wife, as well. Maybe she hadn’t been his wife in every technical sense of the word, but he’d been trying to make it right. Every bit of his loss was reflected in the heavy way he sat on the rock beside me and rubbed his face before staring out at the sunrise.

  

About Wendy Higgins:

Wendy Higgins is a soccer mom and backstage drama mama. Most people in her tiny bayside town don’t know she’s a USA Today and NYT bestselling author of paranormal, fantasy, and science-fiction romances. Wendy is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time in her pajamas, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and little doggie Rue. Wendy earned a bachelor’s in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford University.   

Reach Wendy Online:

Email: wendyhigginswrites@gmail.com 

Website: www.wendyhigginswrites.com 

Twitter: @Wendy_Higgins  https://twitter.com/Wendy_Higgins Facebook: WendyHigginsWrites https://www.facebook.com/WendyHigginsWrites/ 

Instagram: @wendyhigginswrites  https://www.instagram.com/wendyhigginswrites/

Comic Book Tuesday #19: Another Castle: Grimoire by Andrew Wheeler, Paulina Ganucheau

Author: Andrew Wheeler, Paulina Ganucheau
Series: Another Castle #1-#5
Audience: +15
Genre: Comic Book, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Oni Press
Release Date: February 28th 2017
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

We are thrilled to invite you on a journey of courage, friendship, and rebellion—Another Castle: Grimoire! This volume gathers all the issues from the hit comic book series centered on the adventures of Princess Misty of Beldora, whose courageous spirit leads to her capture, and ultimately, to a heroic adventure that spans two kingdoms.

Our tale begins when Princess Misty of Beldora, who longs for a more exciting life, gets more than she bargained for when she is captured by Lord Badlug, the ruler of the neighboring kingdom of Grimoire. He intends to marry her and conquer Beldora, leading the land into ruin and chaos. The people of Grimoire already suffer under his rule and desperately need a hero… luckily, Badlug has just kidnapped one! Together with the citizens of Grimoire and a certain bumbling prince, Misty must fight to protect her kingdom and free both realms from Badlug’s tyrannical rule. Misty is determined not to be another damsel in distress; and with her new friends to protect, she'll discover just what it takes to be the hero of the story.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Oni Press in excange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating of the book or the content of this review in any way.

This was a different comic book than what I've read so far, but it was a great change in reading and art style.

I absolutely adored the fact that the women in this story were all powerful, strong, independent, brave and truly capable of saving themselves. At times it felt like the girls got out of sticky situations too easily, but they managed it and I loved seeing that. Misty was a pretty cool heroine, even though I found that her beliefs at the very beginning of the story were too simplistic. I felt as if she thought that attacking the enemy was easy and that her father wasn't doing it because he wasn't brave enough. I liked that she got a wake-up call and that she saw exactly what would happen if she were reckless enough to go into this battle blindly. At the same time though, I liked that, when offered the chance to escape Badlug she didn't take it, because she had friends that needed saving and because she also made a promise. She was bravest than I would have imagined. The secondary characters are also very interesting. This book actually has a pretty diverse group of characters, and I liked that fact.

The story itself is a pretty classic one, with the pretty princess being kidnapped by the evil king, the only twist being that Misty is her own white knight. I thought the ending was a little bit too rushed. I would have wanted for the story to drag out a bit more. That being said, I keep my fingers crossed for some twist in the story, if there are going to be more installments in this story.

Another main difference between this comic book and what I've read so far was the art. The colors were much brighter, more vivid, and there weren't as many shadows as I have come to expect. But I really liked how each character had their own individuality. I never got confused or thought that they looked too similar, like they could all be related, which is a feeling that some comic books have given me in the past. I liked the fact that the panels weren't too crowded.

I also loved that at the end of the volume the authors show how their process in creating this story was, both from the narrative perspective, and from the illustration's perspective. I love it when comic books include such sections.

All in all, Another Castle: Grimoire was a pretty interesting, light read, and I am going to hope that we're going to get the next part of the story (and soon).