Huntress by Malinda Lo

I became a fan of Malinda Lo because of Ash, her first novel. I initially fell in love with the cover and bought in the US hardback purely because it blew my mind. I did not read the hardcover. In fact, it is utterly pristine and on my shelf. No, instead I bought the UK paperback of Ash and read it in one sitting. Since then I've followed Malinda's blog closely and not only do I think she's an amazing writer and brimful of talent, I like how she does not back down and how she keeps challenging herself and her audience. But more importantly, I like that she is always telling stories.

Onto my review for Huntress.

About Huntress:

Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance.


To solve the crisis, the oracle stones are cast, and Kaede and Taisin are picked to go on a dangerous and unheard-of journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen. Taisin is a sage, thrumming with magic, and Kaede is of the earth, without a speck of the otherworldly. And yet their two destinies are drawn together during the mission. As members of their party succumb to unearthly attacks and fairy tricks, the two come to rely on each other and even begin to fall in love. But the Kingdom needs only one huntress to save it, and what it takes could tear Kaede and Taisin apart forever. . .

In Huntress, we very early on learn that something bad is set to happen to one of our characters, Kaede. Young Taisin sees it in a vision and it is this vision that changes both their lives irrevocably. Taisin is a trainee mage, a seer, and whilst Kaede is also at the academy she's a bit rubbish at the more intellectual things and instead is sent to help the cook in the kitchen and tend the garden, even though she is of high noble birth. The two girls have no real reason to talk or meet as their lives are very different, as Taisin is a truly gifted apprentice and undergoes a lot of her training privately.

But it is when Taisin has the vision of Kaede in deep peril, followed by the King turning up at their academy with Kaede's noble father in tow and both men in deep distress about a summons from the Queen of the Xi (pronounced like we would pronounce the Celtic Sidhe / shee) that Taisin realises it is all somehow connected.

Kaede is ordered by the king to journey with his son, Prince Con, a handful of guards and of course Taisin to meet with the Queen of the Xi in order to determine what it is that is going on in both their worlds causing the crops to fail and for winter to cling to the lands.

As the small group journeys along, Taisin and Kaede have the chance to get to know each other a bit better. Their friendship is hesitant, reluctant and as the attraction between the two girls blossom, it is contrasted with the young prince Con's very obvious attraction to one of his guards, a young capable woman who is a bit cheeky and tough, but all round cool and lovely. Con's obvious romantic heart made me worry for him. He is a great character and is really the party's impulsive, passionate, heart whilst both Kaede and Taisin represent the more wary, the more dutiful side of that passionate heart.

The writing is wonderful. Malinda Lo is a born storyteller and few enough authors can pull off a travelling quest as it many will treat it as just a journey from point a to b. But what Ms. Lo gives us is a chance to get the know the characters really well, she showcases the dire straits the people and the land find themselves in, and by doing that, we become more and more invested in the small group's survival and journey. We honestly care about them and we want them to succeed in their quest.

The Xi are wonderfully eerie and supernatural and I loved them. When their queen reveals what she requires of our small group of travellers they are shocked but nevertheless decide to carry on, for the sake of both their worlds. And of course, it is here that Taisin realises what the vision she had right at the start of the novel means.

I cried, I laughed and I loved. Huntress is an incredible novel of friendship, love, loyalty and duty. It is a far more complex and far more tense novel than Lo's debut novel, Ash. I love being able to sit down with a book by an author whom I've loved in the past, and then subsequently reading that second or third or fourth book and come away feeling a bit floaty, having seen that author grow from a pretty damn good writer to someone who rocked my reading world. Three authors have done that recently - Malinda Lo and Kirsten Cashore and SJ Bolton.

So, in case you've not figured it out yet, you should buy Huntress. Even if you've not read Ash. They are companion novels but you do not have to know the one to read and enjoy the other. Find Malinda Lo's website here. Huntress is out now here in the UK from Atom.

Ash by Malinda Lo

In the world of ASH, fairies are an older race of people who walk the line between life and death, reality and magic. As orphaned Ash grows up, a servant in her stepmother’s home, she begans to realise that her beloved mother, Elinor was very much in tune with these underworld folk, and that she herself has the power to see them too. Against the sheer misery of her stepmother's cruelty, greed and ambition in preparing her two charmless daughters for presentation at court, and hopefully Royal or aristocratic marriage, Ash  befriends one of these fairies–a mysterious, handsome man–who grants her wishes and restores hope to Ash's existence, even though she knows there will be a price to pay. But most important of all, she also meets Kaisa, a huntress employed by the king, and it is Kaisa who truly awakens Ash’s desires for both love and self-respect...Ash escapes a life with her grim and self-serving stepmother and finds her beloved one...

ASH is a fairy tale about possibility and recognizing the opportunities for change. From the deepest grief comes the chance for transformation.

Ash is on first reading a very quiet book.  There are no blazing battles, no in your face moments of shock and horror.  It is as you sit through the story that you realise that what you're reading is far more than what you expected and also more unusual.  

Obviously, reading the above synopsis you will notice that instead of Ash falling in love with the handsome prince, she instead is captivated by the King's huntress.  I loved this!  Such a wonderful spin on the usual tale which really lifts this lovely story into its very own. 

The author, Malindo Lo, has this ability to draw you into the story as it is deeply atmospheric, making use of what is to hand: the forest near Ash's house as well as the weather.  

Ash's character emerges slowly as she comes to realise her own self worth and that she can make her own fate and that, yes, there is a price to be paid. The question is: are you prepared to pay it to gain your heart's desire or are you going to refrain from following your heart and just give in?

As she learns more about who her mother was, Ash gains more knowledge about her own abilities.  Her meetings with the mysterious fae lord becomes very poignant, especially when his story is revealed, later in the novel.  It is one that immediately creates empathy for him, yet it awakens concern in you as the reader for Ash's future. 

The fact that Ash feels attracted to the vibrant and slightly wild Kaisa is never played down.  Kaisa is a rich, roiling character that I immediately felt drawn to.  She is sweet, charming, wild and clever.  She brings to Ash and she brings to the story, another element, the one of change and danger.  She is the catalyst and the one I felt very strongly towards.  

Their relationship is sweet and hesitant and it takes Ash some time to figure out that this can in fact be something she can reach for.  Being the servant in her stepmother's house she is treated with careless negligence and called upon to do awful menial tasks.  I have read some Cinderella reworkings in which the girl's homelike is so over the top bad, you actually stop caring.  Ms. Lo reigns in the excessive mistreatment and allows us a few pertinent glimpses only.  This really works in that we feel deeply for Ash and her situation.  She characterises the stepmother and her daughters with a few bolds strokes through their actions - these are wonderful examples of show not tell moments and really, it moves the story along without a glitch. 

There is much to love about Ash.  The ending is bittersweet and just perfectly fresh and different. It really surprised me and I will definitely recommend this retelling of Cinderella for older teens and adults who are fond of fairytale reworkings.  There are several of them out at the moment but Ash is unique on this front because we have a main character that genuinely does go through the mill and comes out stronger and with a true heart at the end.  

Find Ms. Malinda Lo's very excellent website here.  She has written some amazing pieces about LBGT characters in fiction for YA readers on her blog.  Do stop by her website - she really is an amazing writer.  Also, she is currently showcasing the cover of her new upcoming novel: Huntress.  Ash is out at the moment, available from all good booksellers.