Book Review: Ever the Hunted

Title: Ever the Hunted (Clash of the Kingdoms #2)
Author: Erin Summerill
Genre: Young Adult | Fantasy | Romance
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 27, 2016
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.
However, it’s not so simple.
The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force (goodreads).

With very little character development and too many moving pieces, I found Ever the Hunted to be boring rather than exhilarating. 
Plot: Ever the Hunted opens up right in the action. Britta's father has been murdered (presumably by her crush), and a local lord proposes that she use her hunting skills to help the Royal Guards hunt down Cohen - said murderer/love interest. While the first few pages of this novel have a strong start, I found it easy to put the book down and go do other things. Part of my lack of interest stemmed from not meshing with the writing style. We can't expect all authors to please all audiences, and sadly I just didn't happen to fall in the right camp with this one. Ever the Hunted moves at a fairly fast pace with a predictable ending. I have nothing really to elaborate on, I just found the book to be boring and run-of-the-mill. 

Characters: Britta is a girl who knows how to survive - her bounty hunter father taught her to track her prey effectively and she isn't afraid to hunt on her own. I liked Britta, she was strong and independent, but there really wasn't much of a difference between "beginning-of-the-novel Britta" and "end-of-the-novel Britta." Her entire character had been established by page one which was a pity. There was nothing to write home about Cohen either, his most interesting feature was murder and that can only last for so long. 

Worldbuilding: The primary lands in this world are basic and underdeveloped at best. There is talk of magic, but the emphasis is so touch-and-go that I sometimes forgot about it. I understand that Summerill is setting up for an epic confrontation, but the world and its politics did get excite me enough to continue. 

Short N Sweet: Ever the Hunted is a repeat of the same-old in the YA fantasy genre with too little character development to make for an interesting novel.  
 


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