Book Review: Hidden Huntress (The Malediction Trilogy #2)

Hidden Huntress (The Malediction Trilogy #2) by Danielle Jensen
Publication Date: June 2, 2015

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…

So it's pretty safe to say that I was extremely excited for this book. In fact, I was pretty much like this

                                                

Especially because of that mother of all cliffhangers at the end of Stolen Songbird. Suffice to say, as soon as I was able, I was going to read this book. I did dive right in as soon as possible, but after reading, I wasn't sure I felt exactly. Don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed this book, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I did with the first novel in this series. I wouldn't say this suffered from Middle Book Syndrome, but there were parts that were a bit slow. There honestly wasn't much actions, except for the end. All that being said, the ending more than made up for the rest of the book, and it set up the third (and final) novel in this trilogy very nicely. I can already tell that the next book will be nonstop action and excitement.

The one thing that I loved in the first book was Trollus itself as well as the mystery behind the trolls. Cecile, along with the reader, were thrust into this world that they had no idea about, and both slowly learned just how powerful and scary the trolls were. Even by the end, there was still the secret of what exactly the trolls were. Even though I had my guesses all along, and I ended up being correct, I just wanted a bit more out of the reveal. It was building and building throughout the story, and then it was almost a "blink and you miss it" type thing. So whatever you do

                                          

However, despite the slow moments, this book was still extremely good. The writing is amazing as ever, and I was quickly swept away back into the world of trolls, witches, and curses. And quite honestly, I never wanted to leave. I do feel that this book was necessary and the events that unfolded (albeit slowly) were crucial to the direction this series will go. If Cecile wouldn't have opened herself up to certain things with magic, there wouldn't be ramifications in the next story, and even further on in this story. Cecile grows a lot in this novel, and because of everything that happens she is forced to make some very difficult choices. And now she must live with those choices.

Ms. Jensen's writing is simply phenomenal and will never cease to blow me away. She writes with such creativity and beauty and I love reading every single word she writes. She has a great talent, and I know that the next book in this trilogy will be even more fantastic! However, I think one of the best aspects of her writing is how well she develops her characters as well as the romance. I was still very much invested in these characters and how everything will turn out for them.

Cecile goes through many ups and downs in this book and is forced to rely on those who do no fully trust her. Nevertheless, she pushes through and comes out stronger and braver. Tristan...that boy will always have a special place in my heart, and I hated how much pain he was in during this book. He also grows and becomes someone that is worthy of ruling Trollus, if he can get there. I loved watching both his and Cecile's development over the course of the book, and it proved that while they are amazing together, they can grow without each other as well. I feel like Ms. Jensen did a wonderful job at remaining true to both characters' personalities in this way. Their romance is the sweetest thing, and while it isn't as fully present due to the course of this novel, the scenes where it was present, was something of beauty.

This novel ends on a cliffhanger again, but as I said, the entire ending sets the third book up perfectly. There are major changes coming, for all of our beloved characters, and I honestly can't wait until I can get my hands on the last book. I have full confidence in Ms. Jensen that she will create a finale that will please all fans and leave us breathless.

Happy reading :)  

~Cassie