Hunted by Meagan Spooner Published by HarperCollins ISBN: 9780062422309
on March 14th 2017
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Adaptations, Action & Adventure, Romance
Pages: 384
My rating:
Check it out in Goodreads
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner spins a thoroughly thrilling Beauty and the Beast story for the modern age, expertly woven with spellbinding romance, intrigue, and suspense that readers won’t soon be able to forget.
Beauty knows the Beast's forest in her bones—and in her blood. After all, her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering its secrets. So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters out of their comfortable home among the aristocracy and back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. The Beast.
Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange creature back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of magical creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin, or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?
I loved it
I hated it
It fullfilled all my expectations
It disappointed me so much
The thing is, it all depends on how you approach Hunted, what your expectations are in the first place.
If you expect Hunted to be a fantasy story with a beautiful theme and a fairy tale feel…
You’re going to love this. So, everything you’ve heard about it being so magical and all, it’s true. I love that it’s a dedication to dreamers, a bit like how Strange the Dreamer is too.
Hunted at first reads like any other fantasy book out there, which is not bad at all, just you know… normal. It’s at the end that it goes bananas with the fairy tale thing. And again, not bad at all. The transition is a bit odd, but it’s alright, no biggie. The last 25% is very magic-packed, and I feel like this is where the story truly lies.
As of writing this review, about a week after having finished the book, I have to admit, that in spite of how dazzled I feel by the fairy tale thingy, it could have done without… the entire 75% of the words that came before. No, truly, Spooner could have tweaked the last 25% a bit, and it would still have made sense.
And it makes sense because…
If you’re looking for an amazeballs Beauty & the Beast romance, this is not bloody it
Yeah, and of writing this review, I’m also realizing how angry I am because of that. Because that’s what I expected. I expected a romance like what Tarver and Lilac from These Broken Stars had. And I know it’s not because Spooner can’t write romance or something like that. I still have faith in her, don’t worry.
This is what I know:
Meagan Spooner wrote this story for herself and for everyone who wants more out of their lives and that something is always unattainable, and then maybe you do reach that goal, but you’re never fulfilled.
Or at least, that’s how it goes. It’s not very clear, but that’s part of the appeal. It’s really beautiful.
Now, the romance.
There is a male being here, and they’re supposed to fall in love, and I’m supposed to believe it.
A bit like in fairy tales, where the prince and princess fall in love, get married, get their happily ever after, but with some archery, vengeance, and self-loath(the Beast duh) thrown in.
This is not an action-packed Beauty and the Beast retelling where Beauty happens to discover her destiny or something like that. This is a story of a girl who finds her destiny and happens to fall in love with a beast along the way.
The thing is, I just know that if this had been marketed from the beautiful fairy tale-destiny angle more than the Beauty and the Beast retelling, it’d have been very different, because I’d have had different expectations, so I dare say I would’ve enjoyed it more.
I would have been like:
Wow, this is so beautiful and thought-provoking. Huh, it sounds a bit like Beauty & the Beast. That just makes it more awesome.
Because if you’re going to promise both, then you’re bound to deliver on both accounts, obviously. And for me, the romance was severely lacking.
I don’t even know how this poor beast is supposed to look as a human, which might have been done on purpose, but… but…
I need to know how they look, okay?
It’s not enough to just know they’re human and male.
I need the details!
Fairy tale stars
Romance stars
Let’s see…I love fairy tales and magic and beauty and the beast, as well as These Broken Stars… but that romance really doesn’t sound super frustrating, especially since I’m not really a huge romance person in the first place. But like I said, I am such a sucker for a fantasy filled, magical fairy tale so maybe I’ll have to give this one shot. Awesome review!
Yay! I hope you enjoy it then! This is one of those times where I say it’s not a bad book, just not what I was looking for, but it might be so GREAT for someone else, truly.
And thanks!