Emily Lloyd-Jones returns to the beloved world of The Bone Houses and The Drowned Woods in The Wild Huntress, an enrapturing, action-filled standalone fantasy.
The immortal King Arawn of Annwvyn and the mortal King Pwyll of Dyfed celebrate their kingdoms' friendship every five years with the Wild Hunt, a "revel of blood and magic and madness." The victor of the Hunt receives a boon: any wish that magic or power can grant.
Gwydion of Gwynedd is a 19-year-old trickster and diviner. He wants the Hunt's boon to prevent his tyrannical brother from ascending Gwynedd's throne. But Gwydion's no hunter and needs a champion. Eighteen-year-old Branwen is a huntress who uses a magicked eye to hunt monsters that mortals can't see. The boon could cure her mother's devastating "memory sickness," so she agrees to be Gwydion's champion. Pryderi, the 18-year-old son of King Pwyll, who was kidnapped as a baby by an afanc (an ancient monster with a scaled hide), wants to win the Hunt to prove to the king (and himself) that he's more human than creature. The trio form an alliance and battle a conscious forest, dangerous otherfolk, and assassins on their quest for victory.
Emily Lloyd-Jones majestically marries magic and monsters against a backdrop of standout visuals and enticing action. Her fanciful, captivating setting is the stage for apt discussions of fate versus choice and how this relates to power and class. Jones extends this conversation through the way she presents her compelling story: all three characters' voices are given equal space in alternating perspectives, with snappy, droll dialogue and descriptions that tickle the senses. An exceptional story of magic and fortune. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader