ARC Review: Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill

Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill
Series: Clash of Kingdoms #1

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publication: December 27th 2016 by HMH Books for Young Readers
Length: 400 pages

Format: eARC

Goodreads

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.

EVER THE HUNTED was one of my most anticipated books of this year, partly because of the BEAUTIFUL cover and partly because the synopsis sounded something that I would really enjoy. Overall, I did enjoy this novel, though there are a few aspects that annoyed me (and made me knock off a few half-stars).

EVER THE HUNTED follows Britta as she is caught by the king’s guard for poaching and is offered her land back if she helps the guard capture her father’s killer, who is suspected to be her ex-fling/boyfriend/person Cohen. With a turn of events, Britta discovers the reason behind her father’s murder and the magical system within the kingdom and within her family. I did enjoy this plot, and many of the parts were fast-paced (which I love!).

With that being said, I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters. Britta was insufferably a Super Special Snowflake, and she was so CLUELESS. Some of the magic system aspects were very predictable, and I wasn’t a huge fan of Cohen. I don’t know if this is because from his description, Cohen definitely isn’t my type or if it’s something else. As a result, the romantic scenes between Britta and Cohen didn’t give the same effect as, say, Juliette and Warner.

Overall, EVER THE HUNTED had a fantastic premise, and many of the action scenes were enjoyable. However, some of the aspects of this novel annoyed me, such as Britta’s Super Specialness and the romance. However, the ending brought about a pretty good cliffhanger (minor but very intriguing), and I’m definitely going to continue this series. Fingers crossed for better character development in Britta!

Have you read EVER THE HUNTED? What are your thoughts? Drop me a comment below!