arlaubscher's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal death
readwithmoniqua's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book. Love. Loss. And death. Can’t wait for Ash.
mckenzierichardson's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book, because I was a bit bored when I read Ash. I definitely liked this book a lot better. The plot was fast-paced and the characters were much more interesting. Despite the long length of the book, the plot felt like it moved fairly quickly and kept the reader engaged. The story does not follow the traditional exposition-rising action-falling action-climax-resolution setup, but rather contains continuous climaxes as new problems are introduced. At the start of the book, there is a pronunciation guide, which was helpful, given how much I hate not knowing how to say a characters' name. And the characters themselves were so much better than in Ash. Here are characters that actually do things instead of waiting around for others to tell them to do something. I found the characters likeable, although a little annoying once the childish love element comes in. But one of the things that really left me wanting more was explanations of some of the Chinese and Japanese traditions used in the story such as I Ching and qigong. References are made to oracle stones and meridians with no real details on what these traditions are or what they entail. I would have liked to see more details on such practices in the text instead of vague references. Another thing that made this book a bit difficult was the constant shifting of narration. The entire book is in third person, but the focus of the omniscience narrator switches between characters so quickly that it is often difficult to follow and I had to reread sections to figure out who they were referring to. In the edition I have, the short story The Fox, is included. I'd give this story three stars, because while the writing was nice, it was reminiscent of Ash in that not much happened and it left me wondering why I even read it. Overall, I think Huntress was well-written with good characters and an interesting plot.
sapphicreads_'s review against another edition
3.0
Overall I liked the story and the world of this book. Some of the pacing was a bit off and I wished that there was more of a resolution at the end.
caresays's review against another edition
3.0
This book made me feel a lot of feelings. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. It was pretty delightful (except the ending which broke my heart into a million pieces and I was just like, "NOOOOO MY SOUL HURTS"). The BIGGEST thing that bothered me though was the narrator voice. I couldn't understand what was going on. Third-person limited??? Third-person omniscient? Sometimes I thought the chapter was third-person limited and ALL OF A SUDDEN, someone else's viewpoint would just be thrown in! Por ejemplo:
"Kaede's cheeks burned at the dismissive tone in her father's voice. Resentment seethed inside her, acidic and sour...
[Blah blah blah, some talking.]
Taisin glanced at Sister Ailan as if to ask permission, and when her teacher gave an almost imperceptible nod, she said haltingly, 'I-I saw you on a beach - a beach made of ice.' The memory of it washed through her; she felt the same loss and fear she had felt that night in the practice room, and beneath it all, she remembered the deep ache of love" (16-17).
And then it switches back to Kaede again. Wtf, Malinda Lo. This is an amateurish mistake at best, but it repeats itself throughout the book. I can only surmise that she meant to be third-person omniscient, but the consistency is questionable, and for the most part the only two perspectives we get are Taisin and Kaede. But sometimes an additional third character's feelings are tossed in there.
Ugh, aside from this, I really could have enjoyed the read, but this GLARING ERROR kept rearing its ugly head.
"Kaede's cheeks burned at the dismissive tone in her father's voice. Resentment seethed inside her, acidic and sour...
[Blah blah blah, some talking.]
Taisin glanced at Sister Ailan as if to ask permission, and when her teacher gave an almost imperceptible nod, she said haltingly, 'I-I saw you on a beach - a beach made of ice.' The memory of it washed through her; she felt the same loss and fear she had felt that night in the practice room, and beneath it all, she remembered the deep ache of love" (16-17).
And then it switches back to Kaede again. Wtf, Malinda Lo. This is an amateurish mistake at best, but it repeats itself throughout the book. I can only surmise that she meant to be third-person omniscient, but the consistency is questionable, and for the most part the only two perspectives we get are Taisin and Kaede. But sometimes an additional third character's feelings are tossed in there.
Ugh, aside from this, I really could have enjoyed the read, but this GLARING ERROR kept rearing its ugly head.
jcd1013's review against another edition
4.25
I put this on my list to read after reading Ash a few years ago. I remember next to nothing about what happened in Ash, but that didn't change my enjoyment of this book.
laurenpichette's review against another edition
3.0
3.25+/ funnily enough, i actually had to read this book for its romance for my class rather than choosing it because it had a romance in it. but because were on our queer literature section of my adolescent girls books we read this and im a little disappointed. for a book meant to be a queer love story is was exceptionally forced between the two characters and it felt wrong and almost annoying that they ruined the story trying to make it happen. i would have been much happier if they were just really close friends, but no. i more liked the friendship between kaede and con better than the romance. the story itself was good except for the last 50 or pages and then it all felt so rushed and wasnt very satisfying. after spending so much time on this journey, the ending kind of just forgot about all that happened in way and was like here, it happened, the end. so yeah, disappointing but good in some aspects. the world building i will say was exceptionally done.
csamura's review against another edition
5.0
I read this last year but I had to come back and review it because I realized that I hadn't. This has been one of the most important books of my life, blending two elements that have been vital in the shaping of my life, YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi and LGBT. Before reading this epic novel I had never encountered a YA Fantasy work with a lesbian main characters. It may seem silly but this novel completely changed my life and allowed me to open and acknowledge parts of myself that I hadn't before, how I so needed this as a teenager and how grateful I am to Malinda Lo for her work.
This novel truly is an epic. The adventure is slow paced but purposeful, like much of Lo's writing. I appreciate the subtle build of the plot and relationships between the characters because it makes the end all the more poignant. Her characters are always well developed and this novel is no exception, they have stayed with me long since reading it. The fantasy world built in Huntress is strong and beautiful, the character's journey takes as a long with sometimes terrifying and sometimes breathtaking results. The ending is still painful, but it was real and necessary and I love Lo even more for her truth.
This novel truly is an epic. The adventure is slow paced but purposeful, like much of Lo's writing. I appreciate the subtle build of the plot and relationships between the characters because it makes the end all the more poignant. Her characters are always well developed and this novel is no exception, they have stayed with me long since reading it. The fantasy world built in Huntress is strong and beautiful, the character's journey takes as a long with sometimes terrifying and sometimes breathtaking results. The ending is still painful, but it was real and necessary and I love Lo even more for her truth.
abfark's review against another edition
5.0
I found this book to be incredibly engaging and wanted to know everything about the world Lo creates in it. I could read about Taisin and Kayde's studies and adventures to no end. I was especially appreciative of the relationships depicted in this book as they were not your run-of-the-mill fare. Definitely worth your time if you like YA fantasy!