Friday, April 24, 2015

Review: Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen


Hidden Huntress by Danielle L. Jensen
Book Two of the Malediction Trilogy
Publisher: Angry Robot
Publication Date: June 2, 2015
Rating: 2 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

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…

What I Liked:

Well, that was disappointing. I didn't completely dislike this book, but I was very, very disappointed, to be honest. A lot of factors were at play - I think my expectations were very high after reading Stolen Songbird, but this book in general was just all over the place. And kind of bad. I can't even say that this book suffer from sequel slump because it's not like this book is boring or slow or could have been skipped altogether. No no - there were serious problems with this book (for me) that went beyond your typical "sequel slump" symptoms.

In any case, this book is my Pili-Pushed recommendation for the month of April. To see all of the Pili-Pushed recommendations, like on the "Pili-Pushed" tag! It's unfortunate that I didn't like this book more, because I loved Stolen Songbird - it's my favorite Pili-Pushed recommendation to date!

It's been two months since Cécile left Trollus, since she and Tristan have been separated. Tristan is a prisoner for conspiring against the king, and Cécile is trying to have somewhat of a normal life in Triannon as a singer. But she is not content with singing anymore - she wants to find Anushka and put an end to the curse. Separated but bound together, Tristan and Cécile must work from each of their worlds to find a way out, a way through, and a way back to each other, to find Anushka. But nothing is simple or easy, and Cécile and Tristan are in much more danger than they realize.

I will say that I was never really bored while reading this book. It's loooooong, and there are times when I really felt the length, but for the most part, I thought the story had decent pacing and interesting events. The twists and turns were predictable (see below). But I couldn't not keep reading, as I wanted to know if my intuitions were correct (they were all correct, because the plot twists were obvious). 

That was really the only thing that I really *liked* about this book - it kept me reading, I kept going. Oh and no love triangle. That's always a good thing. We get Cécile AND Tristan's first-person points-of-view, which is pretty cool, and different from book one. But most of my feelings towards this book aren't all that positive. Read on!

What I Did Not Like:

Seriously, what in the world happened to this book?! Stolen Songbird blew me away! This book lacked the spark and flare that its predecessor had. I'm honestly confused by the huge difference in quality of story, between Stolen Songbird and this book. Things I didn't like: Cécile's seriously passive attitude, the constant guilt-trip-woe-is-me-martyr episodes, the predictability, certain plot arcs in general, the lack of romance. The last one isn't a sticking point, but it didn't exactly help that the romance is pretty much nonexistent in this book.

I'll start with Cécile. I really did NOT like her in this book. I liked her a lot in Stolen Songbird! But in this book, she complains a lot. She lets people boss her around, tell her what to do, tell her what's best for her. The very first few scenes features her mother harassing her into performing this or that. Or there was Chris, physically trying to prevent her from doing something, speaking over her, making decisions for her. This goes on throughout the book. Cécile's mother never stops controlling Cécile, and Cécile never stops her. Cécile goes along with it, though we know internally she gets irritated sometimes. Other times, she's all, I-love-my-mother-la-la-la-everything-is-fine.

I have so many problems with this attitude! Cécile lets everyone tell her what to do, how to act, how to run her life. Does Cécile even WANT to be a singer in Triannon? It sure does NOT feel like that from the beginning of this book, yet Cécile doesn't try to do anything different. She doesn't stand up for herself at all. Sometimes, she gets mad internally (but does nothing), but most of the time, she doesn't even know that someone is owning her like that. SO WRONG.

And tell me why she is blindly following her mother? A woman who hasn't been in her life for years? A woman who only cares about projecting her career goals on her daughter? It's obvious that Genevieve doesn't are about Cécile. Yet Cécile is constantly trying to please her, obey her, cater to her every whim. If this were MY estranged mother... please. That lady would have been shown the door. I don't tolerate people dictating my life.

Not to mention the whole martyr thing got old real quick. Both Tristan and Cécile went through some serious guilt trips throughout the book. Tristan, I was more forgiving towards him, because his guilt made sense. With Cécile, I felt like her guilt was more misplaced, and it was more of her feeling sorry for herself. She did A LOT of moping and whining and complaining and feeling sorry for herself in this book. Lots of pity parties.

This book was totally predictable. There were so many twists that you could spot from a mile away. There was a big one with Anushka that I knew from the beginning. FROM THE BEGINNING. Really obvious. This is the case with most of the "twists".

There were a lot of plot arcs that I really just didn't agree with. To begin with, separating the two protagonists for 75% of the book? I'm not okay with that. But let's pretend that one is okay. The author does certain things to Tristan, and to Cécile, and involving Cécile's brother Fred, and a lot of these events got eye rolls from me, or pissed me off. Like, OF COURSE Fred is going to do this, because he feels this guilt about this and that. It's so frustrating! There are so many plot cliches! I can't say things specifically without giving things away, but you'll have to take my word for it.

Last thing I'm going to talk about (there's more, but I'm tired) - the romance. It's basically not there. There's no romance, no chemistry, and little interactions. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was not happy with the romance.

I was also not happy with the ending, but that had nothing to do with the romance. It's a bit of a cliffhanger, but that's not what is bothering. What's bothering me is Cécile's idiot brain that tells her to do stupid and to not do smart things. Ugh. No spoilers, but... ugh.

Would I Recommend It:

Eh. If you liked Stolen Songbird (like me), then you should give this book a chance. But if you haven't read Stolen Songbird, then don't bother. Not yet, at least. Stolen Songbird was AMAZING. This book? Not so much.

Rating:

2 stars. This book could have been so much better. I had expectations, but this book didn't even come close to meeting any of my expectations... this book was such a disappointment for me. I've seen others enjoy it though, so perhaps I'm just too picky!


Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

20 comments:

  1. WHAT?!?! What a bloody bummer!! =( I'm so saaaad!! =/
    I still haven't read this book and now I'm gonna postpone it for a lil bit because... 2 stars? Crap! =/

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    1. I mean, there is a good chance that you will enjoy the book much more than I did! I'm curious to see what you'll think, Pili!

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  2. Oh no! That is disappointing! Stolen Songbird actually surprised me by being super enjoyable and I was really hoping book 2 kept it up. And I was really hoping they wouldn't keep the two apart for so long :/ oh well/ I have this up to read for review soon, hopefully I'll still enjoy it!

    Thanks for the review, Alyssa!

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    1. Indeed! I loved Stolen Songbird, but this book did not live up to expectations. I hope you like this one more than I did, Cyn!

      Thank you ^_^

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  3. Can you see my super sad face? LOL. I rubbed my eyes when I saw the 2 star rating cause what happened?! Stolen Songbird was all kinds of awesome!! I guess I'll find out soon... There's no turning back after the first book...lol.

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    1. I know! I thought it was great too... but this one was not. I hope you enjoy Hidden Huntress more than I did, Eileen! It is more than possible...

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  4. 2 stars?! I've been wanting to read Stolen Songbird, but this has put me off even wanting to read the first. I don't want to become invested in the story and characters, only to be let down with the second book.

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    1. RIGHT!? I'm half sad that I started the series (because dang, this book was disappointing), but half not-sad because I really did like Stolen Songbird.

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  5. Aaah 2 stars? uh oh, that's a shame because the premise of this novel does sound wonderful. Although, I do appreciate the honest review, thank you for giving it a try! <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections

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    1. The first book was really good too! It's so disappointing when this happens. Thank YOU, Benish!

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  6. Aw man, the synopsis sounded really good too. I hate it when the main character turns out to be NOT okay at all. Ruins the whole book for me. But the honest review is much appreciated! Thanks for that! :)

    New follower on GFC and Bloglovin, btw! :)

    Blessie @ Mischievous Reads

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  7. But.. but.. NOOOO. Damn it. I am so sorry that you did not like this book Alyssa :( But daaaamn it. I have yet to read Stolen Songbird. But I have this sequel via Netgalley. And I'm supposed to read them both in May. And omg. How can I now? lol. Girl sounds like an idiot :( And I do not like idiots. Ugh. And seriously. When I peeked, I saw that they weren't together at all in this book. 75%?! THAT IS FOREVER. Goddamn it. I am not okay with it. Sigh. And not really any romance either? UUUUUGH. I am angry about this book, and I haven't even read it, lol. But I might read them both. Probably. I must. But ugh. I want to love it. But now I doubt it, hah. Anyway. Goorgeous review sweetie :D Thank you for sharing. <3

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    1. LOL. Don't get me wrong, I loved Stolen Songbird. But this one was a mess. If you read them, I hope you like them both! You might really enjoy Stolen Songbird! Hidden Huntress, maybe, maybe not. It could just be me!

      Thank you, Carina!

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  8. OH NO! I'm so sad this didn't work for you. D: I've been looking forward to it, especially to see Tristan and Cecile reunite. Ugh, I'll be so upset if there's not enough romance. :/
    Thanks for your honest review!

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    1. LOL. Yeah I thought of you actually, when I was reading this one. If/when you read it, I hope you like it more than I did, Danielle!

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  9. Oh man, I hate characters who don't stand up to pushy mothers, especially when they complain about said mother :( I loved Stolen Songbird so I probably will end up reading this at some point – hopefully I'll enjoy it more. Great review!

    Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf

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    1. Seriously though! And don't worry, I was in the same position as you were - I loved Stolen Songbird too. But this one was a disaster. Good thing I personally have not been waiting for forever to read it.

      Thank you!

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  10. I'm about to finish this and I have to say I agree with your review. Disappointing overall with very little of the magic and wonder of the first book. :-(

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    1. AH! So glad it wasn't just me (terrible thing to say, but I haven't seen many reviews for this book yet). I'll probably end up reading the next book but pooh, this one wasn't satisfying at all! Ugh -_-

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