Book Review: Huntress by Malinda Lo

It begins with a vision of a beach made of ice. Taisen stands on the frozen beach, watching a girl row away from her. She does not know the girl, but she knows she loves her, that losing her would be more than she could bear, and that her name is Kaede. When she wakes from her vision, Taisen knows everything is about to change.

The Kingdom is poised on the edge of disaster. Winter is not ending, the sky is gray and plants will not grow. The poor are starving and the people are desperate. The threat of riot and insurrection is everywhere, especially in the borderlands. Rumors swirl of strange, inhuman creatures sighted crossing the boundary between the Xi in the Wood and the humans in the Kingdom. Creatures that may be Xi, fairies that have not been seen in the Kingdom since they vanished into the Wood generations earlier.

When the King receives an invitation from the Fairy Queen to visit the Xi's capital city deep in the Wood, he knows the Queen must have knowledge of the unchanging seasons. Unable to leave, he sends his son, Prince Con, in his place. Two girls from the Academy are also chosen to make the journey - Kaede, skilled with a knife and growing things but not with magic, and Taisen, a powerful sage-in-training who is deeply connected to the magical world.

Kaede recognizes Taisen as a fellow student, but she doesn't really know her. She knows she was chosen for the quest because Taisen saw her in a vision, but Taisen knows she cannot tell Kaede how she felt in the vision - as a sage, Taisen will not be allowed to fall in love or marry. But as Con, Kaede and Taisen travel deep into the Wood, relying on each other for survival, Taisen and Kaede find themselves drawn close into friendship and maybe even love.

Set in the same world as her first novel, 2010 MCTBA nominee Ash, but many centuries earlier, Huntress is both a love story and the tale of an epic quest to save the world. Exquisitely written, Malinda Lo's fay are eerie, jewel-cold and glittering, and will make the hairs on your neck stand straight up. With moments of sweet romance, heart-pounding action, breath-taking suspense and skin-crawling horror, Huntress is high fantasy of the very best sort. Clear your schedule and check it out @ a library near you on April 5th!

Megan
(who checked out 2011 MCTBA nominee The Monstrumologist today - hopefully I'll be able to toughen up and get past chapter 1 this time!)

P.S. Read chapters 1 & 2 over on Malinda Lo's blog!