Ever the Hunted

Ever the Hunted started off pretty well - here's our protagonist, Britta, who is an excellent tracker/hunter, now being forced to hunt down her father's killer, who also happens to be her crush. She finds him but realizes he is innocent (obviously) and then the hunt for the real killer begins. Now, this premise had a lot of potential, you know, with her moral dilemma of his life for hers. He was a childhood friend and also one she loved, so it is difficult for her to do this, but she will because if she does, she has a chance at life. Unfortunately, the story takes a turn downhill when they meet. Let me start with the how and why. Firstly, the overall plot/world-building can be summed up in one word - generic. Two kingdoms - one with magic users and the other without (and where it is illegal to be a magic user)? Hmm, I can think Poison Study off the top of my head; Throne of Glass comes a close second. Five elemental magic - Vampire Academy comes to mind, especially because of the Spiriter thing. Also, the pull she feels? So close to the shadowkissed bond in VA. Male love interest who for some reason goes away and breaks her heart? Nearly every angst-y novel ever! Special snowflake heroine who doesn't know about her powers/was hidden from her heritage? Confusing court politics? No clear demarcation between the two kingdoms yet they know each other on sight? *sigh* Do I need to go on? Basically, while there is nothing overall wrong with the book, the fact that, when you have read so many YA novels, and then you pick up a book that feels like all of them were put in a blender and served to you, it can get annoying really fast. Britta's narration doesn't help either - she knows she has an ability but doesn't realize until mid-way in the novel that she is a *gasp* Channeller? Also, girl, I got tired of your sniffing Cohen like a bloodhound. If a man has gone days(!) without bathing, he is definitely not smelling good - no matter how much you love him! Also, I didn't get the bigotry when it came to Malam citizens' hatred towards the other kingdom - there is no difference mentioned between them (i.e., skin color, hair color, eye color, body shape, whatever) yet they somehow know she has dual heritage? How? Was it just to gain early sympathy for the heroine, or to give her unnecessary insecurity about the relationship with Cohen? And that bond thing - I think it is just setting up for book 2. There is now going to be a love triangle, isn't it? Overall, I would say that since this novel is average, I have given it an average rating.

Britta is an outcast. Her entire life she has only had one friend, Cohen, her father's apprentice. Britta's father teaches her everything he knows, training her and Cohen to be the best trackers in the land. After a tragic accident, however, Cohen leaves, and Britta is left friendless and with no one to rely on except her father. Unfortunately, when we meet Britta at the start of Ever the Hunted, her father has been murdered, and as an orphan who is viewed as illegitimate, she is about to lose everything. Until she receives a proposal that could change her life - track and capture her father's murderer and she can keep her land and remain free. The only problem - Cohen killed her father. Doesn't this sound like an awesome plot? I thought so; I was so excited for Ever the Hunted and was ready to go on a wild adventure. However, the book fell very flat for me. The entire synopsis happens within the first 50 pages of the book, and then...not much happens after that. There was a little bit of excitement that developed in the plot about 200 pages in, but that's a very long time to wait for action. So, if there wasn't much going on in the plot, what was happening for the entire book? For that answer, we have to discuss the characters (namely, Britta). Britta is the most special of the special snowflakes. She has magical powers that she didn't know about until one day she suddenly performs magic. But Britta doesn't seem the tiniest bit concerned about the magic she just created, because she spends the ENTIRE book wondering why Cohen doesn't like her. She is supposed to be tracking her father's murderer, and yet on every other page, she is getting distracted by Cohen's smell of masculinity. Yes, that is actually how his scent is described - whatever that means. Britta is weirdly obsessed with Cohen's scent, which is described about a hundred different ways throughout the book. And she is constantly doubting herself and wondering what she did to keep Cohen from liking her, when he is CLEARLY in love with her. It seriously could not be more obvious. Britta's constant whining really bothered me as I was reading and kept me from caring about the characters or what was going on in the plot. Ever the Hunted was well-written, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. It is full of classic fantasy tropes that we see over and over again in YA fantasy. That doesn't make it bad, it's just not very unique. It could still be an entertaining read, as long as you don't go into it expecting to be taken on a wild ride. Ever the Hunted is focused way more on the romance aspect than on the fantasy adventure. If you like kissing books, you may like this one a bit more than I did. I wanted an epic story, and I got angst, angst, and a heck of a lot more angst. There is something else I need to mention that I noticed as I was reading. Ever the Hunted has a complete lack of diversity. Every single character who has their skin described is white. The only mention of any skin that wasn't pale was one little comment about the people living further south having slightly tanned skin because of the sun. That's it. Everyone is white. There was also a point at which a character scoffed at the idea of women being together. Full disclosure: Britta had asked if two Channelers (people with magic) could produce a powerful child. She was laughed at because all Channelers are women, so they obviously could not be together. Of course, it is true that two women cannot produce a child together, but the way this situation was handled in the book didn't sit well with me. Ultimately, if you are a big fantasy reader, I would not suggest Ever the Hunted. Maybe if you haven't read much fantasy, you will enjoy it. But if you read a lot of YA fantasy, you have probably read this book countless times before. Also, if reading diversely is something that is very important to you, you will probably want to pass on this one. As for me, I don't think I will be checking out the next book in this series.

‘Ever the Hunted’ is the story of a witty and resourceful teenage girl as she discovers more about her childhood best friend (Cohen), herself and her parents. Author Erin Summerill has skillfully outlined cultural details and histories of two neighboring kingdoms. Narrated by our main character, Britta Flannery, readers are kept unaware of several big reveals until Britta learns them herself. Though the first portion of the story involves Britta hunting down her handsome childhood friend, who has been accused of her father’s murder, the duo quickly team up and pursue the real killer. On the way, they learn more about the opposing kingdoms and endeavor to prevent war. ‘Ever the Hunted’ is blissfully devoid of insta-love, love triangles, and whinny gals who need saving. I highly recommend this book to YA and fantasy readers. I’ve voluntarily reviewed this book.