Review: Hunter by Mercedes Lackey

Hunter (Hunter #1) by Mercedes Lackey

“Centuries ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were slashed open allowing hideous fantastical monsters to wreak havoc; destroying entire cities in their wake. Now, people must live in enclosed communities, behind walls that keep them safe from the evil creatures constantly trying to break in. Only the corps of teen Hunters with lightning reflexes and magical abilities can protect the populace from the daily attacks.

Joyeaux Charmand is a mountain girl from a close knit village who comes to the big city to join the Hunters. Joy thinks she is only there to perform her civic duty and protect the capitol Cits, or civilians, but as cameras follow her every move, she soon learns that the more successful she is in her hunts, the more famous she becomes.

With millions of fans watching her on reality TV, Joy begins to realize that Apex is not all it seems. She is forced to question everything she grew up believing about the legendary Hunters and the very world she lives in. Soon she finds that her fame may be part of a deep conspiracy that threatens to upend the protective structure built to keep dark magic out. The monsters are getting in and it is up to Joy to find out why.”

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I picked this one up on a whim from my local library and actually ended up enjoying it. I knew nothing about it going in, just the little blurb on the website, and figured what the heck. I’ve got some time to kill and here’s a book to read. Match made in heaven, right? (The last few times I’ve done this, I’ve gotten burned: All the Bright Places and Girl with Glass Feet) Well, this time I was more right than I was those times…

Slotted as a fantasy, I was kind of surprised by the feel of this book. It felt very dystopian to me as I was reading it because Joy reads like The One To Save Us All, but because of the fantasy, ML was doing a lot of backstory and historical explaining to the reader. So it felt very weird for those two things to mesh together, and I’m still not entirely sure which way I would classify this book (my solution: double classification! Dystopian fantasy).

Joyeaux Charmand is young for a Hunter but she (secretly) “popped” at a very young age, so she also knows a lot more than other more experienced Hunters. This was also something that I thought meshed oddly. ML had a character who knew a lot when she was in her element, but she had completely removed her from her element, so did she still know a lot? It was confusing, and I felt like I didn’t really know the full Joy either way.

I did really enjoy Joy’s relationship with her Hounds. Actually, my favorite parts of the book were really the parts with the Hounds…

There’s this underlying current of Big Brother throughout the novel that isn’t really addressed. Sure, it could just be the cameras, but ML implies that it really isn’t. Maybe this will be picked up in book 2, but if this was supposed to be more of a plot line, then it should have gotten more emphasis.

Overall, I did enjoy this one and will most likely pick up book 2 (if that’s happening?), but I definitely think there were some parts that could have been improved upon.

3 out of 5 stars.

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Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

We all have books we love that others hate and books we hate that others love. Tis life. But let’s be honest, when someone hates your faves, a little piece of you withers and dies. Dramatic, but you can’t deny it doesn’t cut you to the core! Well, think about that the next time you rant about a book you hate; you never know who loves it! That said, I’m just giving my opinions here, and if you love one of the books I’m not a fan of, no worries, I’m sure we have other books/series in common 🙂

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A popular book or series that you didn’t like.

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (My review here)

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A popular book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love.

These Broken Stars / Starbound Trilogy by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I don’t know that everyone else hates this series necessarily, but I haven’t seen glowing reviews everywhere. (My review here).

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A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warning: spoilers) or an OTP that you don’t like.

I always come back to this, but Jo from Little Women DID NOT end up with Laurie and to this day I get so angry just thinking about it. UGH.

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A popular book genre that you hardly ever reach for.

A year ago I would’ve easily answered ya contemporary, but that just isn’t true anymore. I’ve been reading so much of it lately, though, that I can’t claim it here! I’m not really sure what my least favorite genre is… I’m not sure I have one! Maybe horror/gore? Yeah, I’ll go with that. Not much into the dark stuff.

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A popular or beloved character that you do not like.

Kelsey from the Tiger Saga by Colleen Houck. I just did not like her character and didn’t enjoy that series whatsoever.

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A popular author that you can’t seem to get into.

The Gone series by Michael Grant. I’ve tried so many times to get into this series, and it just doesn’t work for me. Sad. (Is it? I’m not sure, I just gave up)

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A popular book trope that you’re tired of seeing. (examples “lost princess”, corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)

Love triangles. Hands down. If I have to read one more book about two equally hot/ mesmerizing/good/perfect/omg guys that are both equally in love/dedicated/obsessed with the main character, I’m going to quit reading forever. (Not really.)

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A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade. I get that some people love this series, but I just can’t seem to find any interest in picking it up.

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The saying goes “The book is always better than the movie”, but what movie or TV show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower! I remember seeing it for the first time and feeling like I didn’t know how to feel, because it was so perfect and magical yet heartbreaking. (I’m really hoping the Shadowhunters TV series is going to knock this out for first place, fingers crossed).

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Review: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

“Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.”

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I’m in the minority here, guys, but I did not enjoy this one! I felt like the depiction of mental illness was trivialized and dramatized. It has a very quirky feel to it, but each of the main characters are struggling with some deep emotional distresses. But the consequences of these thoughts/actions aren’t treated with much seriousness, if they’re even addressed at all.

I found it very difficult to relate to the characters; they didn’t feel like real people. Violet from Finch’s perspective didn’t feel/sound like Violet from her own POV, and same with Finch. I felt like I was reading two separate books about four characters. A lot of their exchanges were fluffy/snarky without any true information. I’ve read other reviews and seen it described as “mental illnesses stuffed into bodies”, and this fits so perfectly for me that I’m not going to add any more.

Also, the adults in this novel? I don’t feel like a single one of them represents the average adult. They all seemed like the rare and exception-to-the-rule adults. Violet’s parents just lost their other daughter, and yet only act like parents twice in this book. Finch’s mom is largely absent, which, while this isn’t unusual, it’s how not a like a person she seems even when she is there. The counselors felt like props and there to (poorly) address the mental illnesses in this book.

I did really like JN’s writing style! She has a beautiful way of expressing and describing things, and I have a few quotes that I love from this book. But, overall, I was not a fan and didn’t enjoy this one.

2 out of 5 stars.

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Inside Out Tag

So I loved the new Pixar movie Inside Out! I get Sadness and Disgust on an emotional level; I can’t choose between them. I saw this tag on Sanovia’s blog CreatyveBooks, and knew I had to do it. (Side note, if you aren’t following her, you totally should!).

Now in order of birth (inception?)

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Joy

The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling

This series will never not give me joy (double negative to mean joy = always). I just love, love, love this series. Just thinking about Harry Potter makes me want to read the books all over again. #always

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Sadness

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I’ve already mentioned that I identify with Sadness on a deep, deep level, so matching this with Persuasion does not in any way mean that I dislike Persuasion (because I love it and Sadness, obviously). But, Anne has this deep, soul wearying sadness that she has to deal with on a daily basis, and watching her overcome it is why this is one of my favorites.

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Fear

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

I was simultaneous terrified and obsessed while reading this book. I had so many things to be frightened about happening to each of the two main characters throughout this book. My anxiety levels were just through the roof! I really did enjoy it, so don’t let fear scare you away from reading it (full review here). Also, that horrible, horrible and luckily brief moment where I thought this book wasn’t part of a series (but it is, don’t fret like me).

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Disgust

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This book just seriously grossed me out. The level of detail and thought that was put into murder and planning and just ugh. Every moment of that book had me just wanting to purge everything from my mind and take a long shower.

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Anger

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

I was expecting something completely different with this book, and to say I was disappointed would be a drastic understatement. I personally didn’t enjoy this one (full review here).

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