Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill Review
Hello Again!
Hope you guys have been having a good week! This unbelievably cold weather has made me just want to curl up with a book all week and stay cozy! This week I wanted to review Ever the Hunted. I have been excited to read this novel for about a month now and finally got the chance this month. I have also already read the sequel, Ever the Brave so I will touch on that a bit also. See my review below, enjoy!
Synopsis
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, a legendary bounty hunter—that is, until her father is murdered. The alleged killer is none other than Cohen Mackay, 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 treacherous 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.
- Barnes & Noble
Review
I just want to start out by saying that Erin Summerill is an absolute sweetheart and an amazing writer, if these two books are any evidence. It was honestly pretty hard for me to find dislikes for these books since I enjoyed them so much. That being said, here are my thoughts.
The pacing of this book was really well done. From the first chapter, I was enthralled and even though it was not set at the constant breakneck pace that some fantasy novels are subjected to, I couldn't stop reading. There was something about the way the characters and the dialogue is written that is unassuming and makes me hold onto every word. The story wasn't trying to be more than what it was and it was refreshing.
Another thing I enjoyed was the introduction of the element of magic to the story. One of my biggest pet peeves is when authors shove all the high fantasy world building elements into a book too fast and overwhelm the reader. This was not the case with Ever the Hunted, the magic element was mentioned briefly at first in internal dialogue and conversation and then gradually introduced more into the story so that suddenly you are fully immersed and realize that you know exactly what is going on.
I also enjoyed the romance portrayed in both novels as it was realistic of a real- life romance, and not a sweeping ridiculous romance that can sometimes be found in other fantasy novels. The romance gets its chance to develop and bloom in both novels which was enjoyable (I won't say more but I loved this in the second novel ;) ). I also liked that Erin wasn't afraid to pull punches and show loss and death. This brought a real connection to the novel because anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one might be able to feel how Britta feels at the loss of her father.
Another thing that Erin did well with this series was keep the cast of characters fairly small, allowing them to develop more so than we might see in a fantasy series packed with many more characters. This helps the reader out bunches, honestly, because it is a lot easier to remember who everyone is if there are less characters to sort through.
There really wasn't much in this book that I didn't enjoy. If I had to pinpoint anything, I would say that for as important of a character as Cohen was, we could have learned more about him and his back story. In the second novel, each chapter is from one of three character's perspectives (one being Cohen) so we get to see a little more about him here, but I would have liked to see some more about him in the first novel. I also felt that there were some smaller plot points or pieces of plot that could have been developed but got forgotten in all the excitement in the second novel. This may be resolved in the third novel though so time will tell!
Conclusion
Overall, I really enjoyed these books and can't wait for the third novel to come out. Both novels were well written, especially as Erin's fantasy debut. If you enjoy fantasy, adventure, and romance, you will enjoy both Ever the Hunted and Ever the Brave.
Length: At 392 pages I think this is the perfect length for this novel
Story Development: Almost from the first page this story grabs you, the development doesn't get stagnant which is hard to find
Romance: Loved the romance in both books
Protagonist Strength: Excellent
Re-readable? Definitely!
I give these books 4 out of 5 stars
