Once Upon a Twilight!: Book Review: The Great Hunt by Wendy Higgins

The Great Hunt
The Great Hunt #1
Author: Wendy Higgins
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: March 8th 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen

Kill the beast. Win the girl.

A strange beast stirs fear in the kingdom of Lochlanach, terrorizing towns with its brutality and hunger. In an act of desperation, a proclamation is sent to all of Eurona—kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of King Lochson’s hand in marriage.

Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom though it pains her to imagine marrying a stranger. It would be foolish to set her sights on any particular man in the great hunt, but when a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention, there’s no denying the unspoken lure between them…or his mysterious resentment.

Paxton is not keen on marriage. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He’s determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast and protecting his family—yet Princess Aerity continues to challenge his notions with her unpredictability and charm. But as past secrets collide with present desires, dire choices threaten everything Paxton holds dear.

Here I was thinking this was going to be a slow read. In all honesty, the first few chapters were a bit too much. I was overwhelmed with the world, the details, the characters and everything. I thought I was on a reading slum. Yet, little by little the story started to make more sense, the world became pretty great and I started to like the characters. I love when books do this to you. They creep on you when you least expect it.

The Great Hunt is my first ever novel by Wendy Higgins. I know, shocking! Most of the members of this blog are fans of her. I know her Sweet series are a big deal to many of my friends but I was never too curious to pick up that series. However, when I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to read it. And I am glad I did.

Although Higgins begins the story by providing the readers many information, while introducing you to many characters, there are two specific characters you should care for: Princess Aerity and Pax. Well of course, they are our main characters. These two will have you laughing with their banters. I really loved their chemistry and attraction for each other, let alone their stubbornness. They are too cute together as well as they are apart. They are great characters one can easy love. The other ones are important but you have to be careful as there is a mystery...

While reading this book, I was watching an episode of Teen Wolf, the one where Crystal Reed is back, and well it was perfect timing. I actually pictured her as Princess Aerity, even as some features do not correlate. Yet it was fun picturing her as Crystal because on this episode, Crystal was running from a beast. I told you, it was perfect timing.

The Great Hunt is a mystery book as well as fantasy. I love when these are combine. It's like Game of Thrones. You have to figure out things. It hooks you and you just want to find out the truth. As you read, you're try to think of suspects and putting clues as the story continues. I really love how this story had me doing this. Once I reached the end, which by the way, I didn't know it was series, I wanted the next book right away! Seriously, I hate when a book does that! You have an entire year to wait to read what's to come next. Overall, I really enjoyed The Great Hunt and I would recommend this book to many of you out there...