Review - Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen

Hidden Huntress (The Malediction Trilogy #2)

By Danielle L. Jensen

Published June 2nd, 2015 by Angry Robot

464 pages


4 stars - Intense sequel! 


Summary from Goodreads.com:

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…

Review:

*Warning - Don't read if you haven't read Stolen Songbird!!!*

Hidden Huntress picks up a little while after Stolen Songbird ends. Cecile is in Trianon and Tristan is still stuck in Trollus held captive by this father, the King. 

Throughout this book Cecile tries her hardest to find Anushka, the witch that cursed all of Trollus. She spends most of the book in Trianon with Chris, Sabine, her brother, and her mother trying to figure out who Anushka is and where she could be. She is faced with some difficult decisions regarding Tristan and promises to the King. While on her hunt for the witch, Cecile learns more about her own magic, Trollus history, and just about a million other things. 

Tristan is also present in this book and we get to read through his point of view. He is faced with some difficult decisions as well. I really enjoyed reading about how Tristan strategized and played a mental game against their enemies. While Cecile was in Trianon trying to make good on her promise, Tristan was in Trollus trying to figure out his next move and who his allies were. But Cecile and Tristan do end up in each others presence at some point in the book and it was great to see them learn more about each other and grow together. 

The other characters in this book were quite enjoyable as well. There were obviously some that were horrible but I loved the allies that Tristan and Cecile gained in this book. Chris as such a great friend and I enjoyed seeing his relationship grow with Tristan. Sabine was a little suspicious and the beginning but she is truly loyal. Marc and the twins were great as usual. :) 

I did find the sequel to be enjoyable. It's kind of hard to explain the book without giving too much away. All I can say is that this book definitely had me in suspense. It wasn't as great as the first book but that's because both Tristan and Cecile were apart from each other for a good amount of time. Cecile was obsessed with her hunt for Anushka and Tristan was trying hard to make up for his mistakes in Trollus. Despite the fact that some parts were slow, the ending was definitely intense. It was a cliff hanger and had me reaching for the next book. 

Definitely pick this one up if you have finished Stolen Songbird. I'm aware that not all the reviews are glowing but I did enjoy this one and I think it's great to be able to learn more about these characters. 

Vanessa