Thursday 17 September 2015

Review: Hunted - K.F. Breene

With a new Chosen coming forward, Shanti has lost sight of her duty. With her plans unraveling, she does the only thing she can think of-- frees her brother and a mysterious stranger from a Graygual camp before heading back to beg for Cayan's aid.

Unfortunately, that stranger was precious to the enemy, guarded by one of the elite. A Superior Officer known as the Hunter, this man always catches his prey, and his focus is now on the elusive, violet-eyed girl and the man she ripped from the his hands.

With danger mounting, and one of the best constantly on her heels, Shanti will learn that running will never be enough.

The Warrior Chronicles:
Forged in Blood (Short Story in the Legends: Fifteen Tales of Sword and Sorcery anthology or free if you sign up for the author's newsletter)
Chosen
Hunted
Shadow Lands
Invasion
Siege
Overtaken

Visit K.F. Breene's website for more information

Review:
After absolutely loving Chosen I couldn't wait to find out what happened next so I dove straight into Hunted and K.F. Breene has given us another fantastic instalment in this series. This is quite different to the first book, in some ways it's a bit darker and there is a little less funny banter and humour but that's because Shanti is facing more danger than ever before.

At the end of the previous book we saw her walk away from the help Cayan was willing to offer her, she turned her back on her allies and set off alone because she didn't want to pull anyone else into her fight. Now she's running scared, she's afraid to be on her own, she's afraid to go back and ask for help, she's afraid of her destiny and to be honest I can't blame her for that. She has been under pressure since she was five years old, her people are relying on her to provide them with safety and she's already had to make some horrendously difficult decisions. What I love about Shanti is that she pushes forward in spite of her fears, she just keeps on going no matter how tough things get and she always tries to do her best by the people she cares about. She's also willing to admit when she makes a mistake, she realises that she may have lost her best chance of survival by walking away from Cayan and when she goes back to request his assistance she isn't afraid to apologise and admit that she was wrong to leave like she did.

I'll admit I was a little disappointed that Shanti and Cayan were apart for the first part of the story but I actually enjoyed seeing what they were both up to and it just made it all the sweeter when they were back together again. Cayan isn't planning on letting Shanti get away from him without a fight and he's making plans to build an even bigger army so he can help her on her quest. Shanti on the other hand hears rumours about a man who has been causing trouble for the Grayguals and she thinks she might know his identity so she sets out on a rescue mission. She had always thought Rohnan gave his life to save her but discovering that he survived gives her a new sense of hope. I absolutely loved the introduction of Rohnan, the bond between him and Shanti is fantastic and I like the more playful side that he brings out of her but what I really appreciated was that K.F. Breene hasn't introduced a love triangle. Shanti and Rohnan are like siblings and their relationship is very much platonic but it was a lot of fun seeing them together and I loved the way Rohnan constantly teased her about Cayan.

As far as Cayan and Shanti's relationship goes I'm happy with the way things are progressing, there is definitely a connection there but it's nice that things are developing slowly, especially considering how stubborn they both are. I enjoy watching Cayan's reaction whenever Shanti finds another man attractive and don't think he's going to let her get away with avoiding his advances for too much longer. The side characters get another chance to shine in this book, along with Rohnan and another fab new addition who I'm not going to tell you anything about, we also get plenty more of Sanders (I love that guy!) and Shanti's Honor Guard.

The only thing I think we're missing from this series is other strong female characters, Shanti seems to be really good at collecting people, she inspires loyalty from everyone she meets and they all want to find a way to help her, but they're nearly all guys. We've met very few women and the ones we have come across so far have only had very minor side roles to play. That's something I really hope changes as the series continues but I'm loving everything else. The humour, the action, Shanti's ability to completely annihilate her enemies, the friendships, the budding romance, it's all spot on and I'm about to dive straight into Shadow Lands because I just can't stop myself!

Source: Purchased

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