Ever the Hunted

Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill caught my eye with its beautiful cover first. I picked it up and read the back cover
blurb and found the story idea to be intriguing. A girl is caught poaching in the King's forest and in exchange for her life and her home, she is asked to track down and bring back her father's killer. It just so happens that all the evidence points to her best friend that she's come to think of as more than a best friend.

The beginning of the book was pretty slow, and it took me a while to actually get into it. There are flashbacks continuously throughout the book, and the story takes place shortly after her father's murder but without explicitly saying anything about it until later on. This and the fact that the worldbuilding is done bit by bit as the story unfolds makes it a little confusing and hard to know what is happening for a while.

But then it started to really pick up, and I didn't want to put it down. This book is full of secrets, betrayal, magic, and mystery. The main character, Britta, ends up in a race against time as she tries to find her father's murderer, find out who she really is, and decide what her relationships really are and should be with the other characters, all while two neighboring kingdoms are on the brink of war.

Britta has a hard time trusting people. And it's no wonder she does since there is a constant question about people's motives throughout the entire book. She's constantly questioning everything people are doing, and while it makes it hard for Britta to trust people, it also helps her to look at the bigger picture of what is going on in her world and to not always trust what has always been taught to her.

I really liked how this book focused not only the characters and their personal developments and relationships with each other but also had them questioning the world and the way things were. I think this is a great book for YA readers as they're reaching that age where they are more able to make a difference not just in their own lives but in the world around them.

There are several plot twists that keep the characters (and the reader) guessing which makes for a more pleasant reading experience in my opinion.

There was one aspect about the story that took Britta so long to figure out that I thought was pretty obvious from the beginning that made me wonder why it would take her so long to figure it out. She explains in the story that it's just something her father always told her, but it seems strange to me that she would just believe him and not ever question it when she questions everything else.

I really started caring about the characters though and what happened to them, so I was pleased (while also a little frustrated since it left a couple loose ends) when I found out that there is a sequel so I can read more about these characters.

Just a note: This is not a book for younger readers. It's classified as a YA book for a reason - not only because the characters are that age, but there are also some innuendos as well as some crude language that some of the soldiers use when describing Britta.