reclusivereader's review against another edition
3.0
I ended my review of book one by saying how GR told me I'd read book two, but after the ending of book one, I was hard pressed to believe it. Having now actually read the book.. what? None of this was remotely familiar. I can't explain it at all but.. hey, it is what it is.
So while book one was a surprise for how much I still enjoyed it, this one was obviously knocked down a peg. I wasn't mad at the plot, the separations, or the losses and conflicts. I was mostly surprised by how there was one major reveal that should not have been a reveal. Or, rather, as it seemed so obvious from the get-go, I was frustrated it took the entire book for it to be unveiled. It was just painful. Yes, the characters had a red herring or two along the way but the fact that it never even crossed their mind.. arg. I wanted to give them a good shake. Particularly because these are not dumb characters.
Having said that, I didn't see other reveals (post-major reveal) coming but really appreciate Jensen's little "hah! you thought you knew it all" move. I should've seen it coming, because this series has always had layers and she's made a lot of smart and atypical choices, but based on how long the main event took.. I just didn't think there'd be room for more. Really enjoyed that.
Otherwise, if not for that complaint, I did enjoy this. Jensen didn't pull punches in the sense that the stakes are high in this world and truly no one is safe. In both how that pertains to what these characters must endure and the friends they lose along the way. We also get further confirmation as to the world and how these trolls initially were part of it all and.. well, other spoilery things I'm not going to hint at. Naturally.
We've come full circle on one part of this conflict but there's much more to come after the ending. And wow what an ending. I certainly didn't expect the author to pull that particular rabbit out of the hat but she did. I'm really hoping we go out with a bang and yes, I'm diving right in to book three.
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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
So while book one was a surprise for how much I still enjoyed it, this one was obviously knocked down a peg. I wasn't mad at the plot, the separations, or the losses and conflicts. I was mostly surprised by how there was one major reveal that should not have been a reveal. Or, rather, as it seemed so obvious from the get-go, I was frustrated it took the entire book for it to be unveiled. It was just painful. Yes, the characters had a red herring or two along the way but the fact that it never even crossed their mind.. arg. I wanted to give them a good shake. Particularly because these are not dumb characters.
Having said that, I didn't see other reveals (post-major reveal) coming but really appreciate Jensen's little "hah! you thought you knew it all" move. I should've seen it coming, because this series has always had layers and she's made a lot of smart and atypical choices, but based on how long the main event took.. I just didn't think there'd be room for more. Really enjoyed that.
Otherwise, if not for that complaint, I did enjoy this. Jensen didn't pull punches in the sense that the stakes are high in this world and truly no one is safe. In both how that pertains to what these characters must endure and the friends they lose along the way. We also get further confirmation as to the world and how these trolls initially were part of it all and.. well, other spoilery things I'm not going to hint at. Naturally.
We've come full circle on one part of this conflict but there's much more to come after the ending. And wow what an ending. I certainly didn't expect the author to pull that particular rabbit out of the hat but she did. I'm really hoping we go out with a bang and yes, I'm diving right in to book three.
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
angelaann88's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. The plot held my interest, and I wanted to know how Cecile and Tristan were going to work together to solve all the problems they currently have. I loved seeing Tristan's character growth and getting to know him better. Although some of Cecile's choices annoyed me (literally groaned out loud at some of her choices), they created the tension for the story (sometimes, you are you're own worst enemy). I'm excited to see where this goes next.
amandapate's review
2.0
After falling completely in love with Stolen Songbird, my expectations were in the clouds. I did not expect to fall with melting wax wings into my death with this one, but it was a crash and burn for me. I was so thoroughly disappointed with this book. I was angry and mad and frustrated. I felt like Cécile lost her agency in this book, and her mother annoyed me to no end. Cécile was completely passive in this installment, which I felt like was a MAJOR problem seeing as she had major agency and spunk in the first book. Her loyalty to her mother confused me, and all the whining and moping really killed this book for me. Overall, I think this book suffered severely from the Second Book Syndrome, and even though I loved the first one, I probably will not pick up the third one in this series. I was that disappointed. I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I gave this book 1.5 stars
I gave this book 1.5 stars
bookishanjali's review
4.0
I loved Stolen Songbird so, of course, I was very excited to dive back into the world. Now to be honest I didn't love Hidden Huntress to the extent that I loved Stolen Songbird but it was still a great read. I think what caused my love for it to dwindle slightly was the fact that there wasn't as much time spent in Trollus as I was hoping for. I really loved the hidden world of the trolls and sadly we didn't get to get lost in it completely because Cecile spent the majority of the book in the land of us humans.
For all of you who have heard me gushing over Stolen Songbird on other social media platforms you know how much I love Tristan so obviously, I found his chapters much more entertaining and interesting than Cecile's, although once again I'm sure that has a little bit to do with the fact that Tristan was in Trollus and I was more interested in what was going on over there than with Cecile. Don't get me wrong I still love Cecile very much but one thing I realized is that I love Cecile more when her and Tristan are together on their adventures since let's be honest Tristan outshines Cecile and without him I found her chapters to read a little slower than usual and well for majority of the book they were apart and I was not happy at all, I missed the romance, the first book had the perfect balance and Hidden Huntress let me down when it came to that and I missed the chemistry between the two.
Besides the issues I stated above I'm still a huge fan of this series. Honestly, the issues I stated above was me more so nitpicking than anything because overall this was an incredible read. Jensen knows how to write swoon-worthy characters with great character development. I love Cecile and Tristan they are definitely one of my favorite book couples out there and with the way Hidden Huntress ended I am dying to get my hands on Warrior Witch.
If you haven't started this series I highly recommend it. It is a MUST that everyone should meet Tristan :)
For all of you who have heard me gushing over Stolen Songbird on other social media platforms you know how much I love Tristan so obviously, I found his chapters much more entertaining and interesting than Cecile's, although once again I'm sure that has a little bit to do with the fact that Tristan was in Trollus and I was more interested in what was going on over there than with Cecile. Don't get me wrong I still love Cecile very much but one thing I realized is that I love Cecile more when her and Tristan are together on their adventures since let's be honest Tristan outshines Cecile and without him I found her chapters to read a little slower than usual and well for majority of the book they were apart and I was not happy at all, I missed the romance, the first book had the perfect balance and Hidden Huntress let me down when it came to that and I missed the chemistry between the two.
Besides the issues I stated above I'm still a huge fan of this series. Honestly, the issues I stated above was me more so nitpicking than anything because overall this was an incredible read. Jensen knows how to write swoon-worthy characters with great character development. I love Cecile and Tristan they are definitely one of my favorite book couples out there and with the way Hidden Huntress ended I am dying to get my hands on Warrior Witch.
If you haven't started this series I highly recommend it. It is a MUST that everyone should meet Tristan :)
morawynsmom's review
5.0
Another gem by new author Danielle Jensen. I cannot say I loved this book as much as the first one, but I still loved it nonetheless. It has a totally different feel to it than Stolen Songbird; it is darker, there is more mystery and action, in my opinion, and it does not take place in the land of trolls; instead we see the protagonist left to fend for herself in the human world, while her true love resides in Trollus to battle his own demons there.
. Readers beware: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU HAVE READ STOLEN SONGBIRD.
The author does nothing to reintroduce characters or give you an explanation on events from the first book, she just plunges right in expecting you to know exactly who or what everyone and everything is, so please read the first book before reading this one, or you will be completely lost and frustrated.
I have to say the plot twist is predictable, but I love her writing style and characters so much, so it did not bother me as much as it bothered some of the other readers. I do have to say that this book is very long and drawn out in certain parts, and some of the typos drove me nuts, because there seemed to be almost no typos in the first book. However those are minor things, and I really think that every single scene in this book is once again necessary in order for the author to achieve what she was hoping to achieve: it all comes together nicely in the end.
In this book we are able to gain a lot of of the back story concerning the witch, the fall of Trollus, and Tristan and Cecile's relationship becomes deeper and more defined as the plot progresses. We also see different sides of each character and get to know them better; I really like how the author allows her characters to grow and gives them depth, it make the story so much more relatable. We do not see as much of Marc or the twins in this book, but we are not left missing their presence either.
Jensen's writing style is still so beautiful and thorough, she does not waste time on mundane details or descriptions, and I love her input of classic historical figures like La Voisin; this book is riddled with myth and magic, and I love her use of the dark arts, weaving suspense through every chapter, leaving me hungry for more..
Cannot wait to read the third installment.
. Readers beware: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU HAVE READ STOLEN SONGBIRD.
The author does nothing to reintroduce characters or give you an explanation on events from the first book, she just plunges right in expecting you to know exactly who or what everyone and everything is, so please read the first book before reading this one, or you will be completely lost and frustrated.
I have to say the plot twist is predictable, but I love her writing style and characters so much, so it did not bother me as much as it bothered some of the other readers. I do have to say that this book is very long and drawn out in certain parts, and some of the typos drove me nuts, because there seemed to be almost no typos in the first book. However those are minor things, and I really think that every single scene in this book is once again necessary in order for the author to achieve what she was hoping to achieve: it all comes together nicely in the end.
In this book we are able to gain a lot of of the back story concerning the witch, the fall of Trollus, and Tristan and Cecile's relationship becomes deeper and more defined as the plot progresses. We also see different sides of each character and get to know them better; I really like how the author allows her characters to grow and gives them depth, it make the story so much more relatable. We do not see as much of Marc or the twins in this book, but we are not left missing their presence either.
Jensen's writing style is still so beautiful and thorough, she does not waste time on mundane details or descriptions, and I love her input of classic historical figures like La Voisin; this book is riddled with myth and magic, and I love her use of the dark arts, weaving suspense through every chapter, leaving me hungry for more..
Cannot wait to read the third installment.
lucywhoa's review
4.0
I...liked it? I was so excited to read the second book in this series. I loved the first book, but this book just didn't capture me in the same way. Perhaps part of the problem was that I forgot certain elements of the world that were really essential to understanding the plot, and had to refer back to the first book a few times to refresh my memory. I think another, larger problem, was that the magic system is actually rather complex, and a lot of it hasn't yet been explained to the reader. This compounded the former problem that I mentioned, because I didn't know if I wasn't understanding something because I had forgotten it, or it hadn't been explained.
Despite these problems, I think that this was a solid continuation of the series, and set it up well for the final book. I just love these characters, and also find the writing (at most times) beautiful, with the occasional clunky sentence, paragraph transition, or cliché. And although the magic system is confusing, I believe it's also a sign that it's rather complex, and with careful reading, could be rather refreshing. I hope that a lot of my unanswered questions about the world are answered in the final book.
Despite these problems, I think that this was a solid continuation of the series, and set it up well for the final book. I just love these characters, and also find the writing (at most times) beautiful, with the occasional clunky sentence, paragraph transition, or cliché. And although the magic system is confusing, I believe it's also a sign that it's rather complex, and with careful reading, could be rather refreshing. I hope that a lot of my unanswered questions about the world are answered in the final book.
bellebookcorner's review against another edition
3.0
I think this one suffer the second book syndrome. There's a lot of reason why I think the first one was better. I read the first book because I was in the mood for a romance fantasy novel. Even better this one turns out to be an enemies-to-lover kind of romance which is one of my favorite. But, it turns out this series was a lot more than that with the heavy and complicated politics, curse and magic rituals. I didn't mind of all that and it was intriguing enough for me. But sadly the second book did not satisfy me like the first one.
This book lacks of romance and focuses a lot more in scheming from both Troll's world and human world compare to the first book. The pacing was too slow and felt dragging at some point. The fact that it was predictable makes it even worse. The plot twist didn't really surprised me because I've guessed it way before it was revealed in the end. The cliffhanger at the end didn't even made me wished I read the third one immediately... That's shows how much I begin to lose my interest in this series.
I think the only good thing in this book is character development on Tristan because we can see more from his POV in this book which really helps understanding him better than the first book.
Honestly, it wasn't that bad but it wasn't that great either. I didn't really wanted to pick up the next book but I was already in the middle of it and it feels kind of suck if I didn't continue it. So for the sake of knowing how it will end, I will push myself and pick it up.
Actual rating: 2.5⭐
This book lacks of romance and focuses a lot more in scheming from both Troll's world and human world compare to the first book. The pacing was too slow and felt dragging at some point. The fact that it was predictable makes it even worse. The plot twist didn't really surprised me because I've guessed it way before it was revealed in the end. The cliffhanger at the end didn't even made me wished I read the third one immediately... That's shows how much I begin to lose my interest in this series.
I think the only good thing in this book is character development on Tristan because we can see more from his POV in this book which really helps understanding him better than the first book.
Honestly, it wasn't that bad but it wasn't that great either. I didn't really wanted to pick up the next book but I was already in the middle of it and it feels kind of suck if I didn't continue it. So for the sake of knowing how it will end, I will push myself and pick it up.
Actual rating: 2.5⭐
joyolivia's review
Just could not get interested in the story like I could for the first one.