The Great Hunt

Written by Wendy Higgins

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

Wendy Higgins, the author of the New York Times bestselling Sweet Evil series, reimagines a classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale with The Great Hunt, a dramatic, romance-filled fantasy with rugged hunters, romantic tension, and a princess willing to risk all to save her kingdom.

When a monstrous beast attacks in Eurona, desperate measures must be taken. The king sends a proclamation to the best and bravest hunters: whoever kills the creature will win the hand of his daughter Princess Aerity as a reward. The princess recognizes her duty but cannot bear the idea of marrying a stranger—she was meant to marry for love—until a brooding local hunter, Paxton Seabolt, catches her attention. And while there’s no denying the fiery chemistry between them, Princess Aerity feels that Paxton’s mysteriousness is foreboding, maybe even dangerous.

Paxton is not the marrying type. Nor does he care much for spoiled royals and their arcane laws. He is determined to keep his focus on the task at hand—ridding the kingdom of the beast—but the princess continues to surprise him, and the secrets he’s buried begin to surface against his wishes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 8, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062448217

Wendy Higgins

Wendy Higgins is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series, The Great Hunt, The Great Pursuit, Flirting with Maybe, and Kiss Collector. Born in Alaska as an Army brat, she lived on five different military bases across the US. Wendy now lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her husband and children, writing full-time. You can visit her online at www.wendyhigginswrites.com.

Reviews for The Great Hunt

[nicolesch-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Contrary to what the description says, this is not a retelling of the Singing Bone. In the original tale, the older brother (Paxton) was wicked and killed the younger brother (Tiern) after he killed the boar (terrible creature) and then the older brother (Paxton) took the boar and claimed the hand of the princess as his reward. Years later a shepherd sees a bone and uses it to make the mouthpiece of his horn, but whenever he plays the horn it sings a song about how the younger brother killed the boar, only to be killed by his older brother. The king eventually hears the horn singing and questions the older brother who doesn't deny that he killed his younger brother and is, himself killed and buried in unhallowed ground while the younger brother's bones are found and buried in the churchyard. Except the fact that there is an animal and whoever kills it will get the hand of the princess, and there are two brothers involved, there really isn't much in this book to claim that it was inspired by the Singing Bone. And granted this is only the first book of a duology, but given the fact that neither of the brothers killed the beast, and they are on good terms with one another, I find it extremely doubtful that the second book will be able to convince me that this story is a retelling of that story. The good: I thought that Aerity was a good character. Most of the time when female characters are faced with an arranged marriage they whine, sulk or run away. Aerity, for once looks at the problem, weighs the good an arranged marriage will do for her people to the pain it will cause herself, and chooses to accept the burden. I also liked Tiern. He was a sweet and unassuming character who genuinely meant well. Unfortunately, he had almost no reaction to learning that his brother was a lashed, and I didn't think that was normal character behavior. Speaking of the lashed, I found the idea very interesting, and it was the one world-building portion of the book that I thought worked well. I also thought that the first scene was very moving, and it made me feel as thought Wyneth had just lost the love of her life. The hunting scenes were enjoyable. I was convinced that the men knew what they were doing, and the boredom, followed by a few moments of action seemed believable.The bad: Wyneth spends a couple of weeks mourning for the man who, in only a few minutes (reading via audiobook) I had been convinced she loved deeply, then a pushy jerk of a guy admires her, and pushes a little to hard to convince her to be in love with him or start an affair with him. I would have thought that was an interesting twist in the story if she hadn't reciprocated, but because Wyneth is immediately cast into something of an America Singer (from The Selection series) character ("My heart is broken...but I'm in love with this guy who I just met who is a little too possessive of me...but my heart is broken,") and that kind of ruined both her character, and the good first scene. I hated Paxton. Yes, he is lashed, which is a difficult thing to be right now. No, he's not interested in having children and potentially giving them the magic that makes his life so difficult, but does he have to be such a blasted jerk? His first interaction with Aerity is to leer at her, and in almost every interaction after that he is a complete jerk, and she still falls in wuv with him. Given how unpleasant he is, but also how cute he's supposed to be, my only guess is that Aerity is deeply in lust with him, because even when people have instalove, the other person has to be at least a little bit nice first. Then Paxton spends most of the book being mean to Aerity, but then suddenly decides that he's in wuv with her too. The end was frustrating. Not because of the sequel setup or the fact that Aerity ended up being engaged to the creep who has fallen in lust with her cousin, and her cousin has fallen in wuv with, in fact I thought that was a good set up. Aerity was being forced to truly give up something she wanted for her people, rather than being just lucky enough to get what she wanted, and the premise of a man who was interested in someone else in the castle, and too pushy to be considered a gentleman, being the man Aerity married is, in fact, a very interesting one. But the end fight scene felt forced somehow. Aerity catches up to them, and manages to stab the beast in it's vulnerable spot, but it doesn't die, and instead bats her and knocks her out and breaks her ribs. Then it kills Tiern, and Paxton gives up killing the beast, and his chance to be with the girl he wuvs, who also wuvs him, to "save" Tiern, but Tiern is already dead and Paxton brings him back to life. If Paxton could bring his brother back to life, why wouldn't he have waited a little longer and killed the beast and then done it? It would have made so much more sense if Tiern had been almost dead, instead of dead. Also, for some reason, after all of the tracking and hunting, and fighting with the beast, the fight seemed too fast. It went from, even after having discovered the beasts vulnerable spot, a large group of hunters and warrior women still couldn't kill the beast to three men and one strong-in-character-and-body-but-not-very-practiced-in-fighting girl were able to kill it. And even though Tiern died and Aerity was knocked out, for some reason, the fight still didn't seem dangerous. I don't have high hopes for the romances, or the fairy tale this book was supposedly based after. Still I did enjoy parts of the book, so I'll give the second book a chance to prove me wrong.

[emily1s · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the Sweet series by Wendy Higgins. LOVED. So I knew I needed this book pronto.I’m not familiar with “The Singing Bone”, but now I need to read it to learn more about this tale!For a while there, I felt like it would never be going anywhere. It was monotonous castle life on every page, unless it was a POV of one of the Lashed.And I am glad for those alternating chapters, because I probably wouldn’t have stuck around had it been Aerity’s world all the time. I’m usually not a fan of the third person POV, but I didn’t mind it here.And once the story picked up, I was hooked. I fell in love with the charming kingdom of Lochlanach and all its residents (especially the hunters).The Lashed are my new favorite creatures. I’m incredibly intrigued. I loved Aerity instantly and adored Vixie just as much. What a cute little family!The Seabolt brothers. Paxton and Tiern are the perfect opposites and I loved their bond and what family meant to them. To choose family over honor or glory is a trait held by few.As always, Wendy Higgins crafted a highly dramatic tale, beautifully written and completely surprising.Once The Great Hunt finally got going, I couldn’t stop and quickly finished it. A consuming read full of twists and turns, romance and deception.You like forbidden magic and kickass women who aren’t afraid to get dirty? The Great Hunt is sure to leave you wanting more (and by that I mean you will be craving the sequel!)REVIEW AT YABOOKSCENTRAL.COM

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once I got over the idea that a king would offer his daughter's hand in marriage to the hunter who managed to kill the great beast that was terrorizing his kingdom, I enjoyed this epic fantasy that seems to be the first book in a trilogy. Aerity has been raised to rule but she has also been raised as the daughter of a love match. Her mother was a circus performer before she married the king. But the king is desperate to save his kingdom and no one has been able to kill this beast who is roaming the land. The land is interesting too because it is inhabited by a despised minority called the Lashed who have the ability to do magic. Since an uprising in a nearby kingdom by a Lashed man who wanted to overthrow the government and murdered a number of people to try to get his way, all Lashed have been in danger. Whenever anything goes wrong, the Lashed are blamed and are often hunted down and killed. The exception in Aerity's kingdom is one Lashed who serves the royal family. Aerity hates the treatment of the Lashed but needs to follow her father's laws.Back to the hunt . . . after the king's proclamation goes out, a number of hunters from a number of kingdoms come to the castle to try to slay the beast and win Aerity's hand. Among the hunters are Paxton and Tiern Seabolt. Tiern is an open-hearted young man just Aerity's age. Paxton is his older, more serious brother. There was a love-at-first-sight moment when Aerity first catches Paxton's eye across the courtyard where the hunters have gathered. Despite his interest in her, Paxton needs to keep her at arm's length because he is a young man with a secret. The crowd of hunters is quickly winnowed down as the beast is very formidable. There are lots of scenes as the hunters try to find and slay the beast. There is natural rivalry among the hunters both because they are from different countries, and because only one man can win Aerity's hand. One of the good candidates would prefer to have a relationship with Aerity's cousin and another - Tiern - is smitten by Aerity's younger sister. I enjoyed this story despite the lack of a happily ever after ending. In fact, the ending leads me to believe that there are more books planned. Fantasy lovers will enjoy this story and be looking forward to more in the series.

[writemoves · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A book about some interesting career choices. Martinez started off at Goldman Sachs on the East Coast. He moved West and worked in Silicon Valley. Most of the drama in his book centered around his efforts with two other men to start up a software business. He offered some interesting anecdotes about various venture capitalists and investors including Chris Sacca. it was a long book ? ? I skipped around sections that did not interest me. Martinez's personal life was a bit interesting ? ? he had two children with a woman nicknamed BritishTrader. He also offered some interesting insights into his stint at Facebook ? ? especially as it relates to its culture.

I've read a couple books on working in Silicon Valley. My personality and energies would never fit in with a Silicon Valley business--- sounds like working within a slave camp. I also would never have had the balls to try to start a business and beg for money. I give Martinez a lot of credit for how he pulled off starting his company.

I agree with some reviewers who thought the book could have been shorter and more condensed. Like I said, I skipped a lot of the book.

[Eva Tol · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

It felt like the author desperately wanted all her female characters to be strong, but saying it and providing no proof only undermines their actual characterisation and irritated me to no end. The love interest is also toxic regarding the main female character, which I certainly did not appreciate. Descriptions of love interest were cliché and and a bit over the top. It’s fast- paced and easy enough to read, but these characters do not set great examples.

[Veronika Koen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Surprised by this book, having read the Sweet series from Wendy Higgins I haven’t expected such a mature well written story - not that I didn’t enjoy those books but the author cake a long way from them. Saskia is one of the absolute best female narrator and she does the story justice. I loved the characters and the original ideas. Can’t wait for the sequel.

[Chantell Selph · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was a good romantic tale. The narrator was enjoyable to listen to and did a great job of keeping each character unique.

[composingcomposer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Contrary to what the description says, this is not a retelling of the Singing Bone. In the original tale, the older brother (Paxton) was wicked and killed the younger brother (Tiern) after he killed the boar (terrible creature) and then the older brother (Paxton) took the boar and claimed the hand of the princess as his reward. Years later a shepherd sees a bone and uses it to make the mouthpiece of his horn, but whenever he plays the horn it sings a song about how the younger brother killed the boar, only to be killed by his older brother. The king eventually hears the horn singing and questions the older brother who doesn't deny that he killed his younger brother and is, himself killed and buried in unhallowed ground while the younger brother's bones are found and buried in the churchyard. Except the fact that there is an animal and whoever kills it will get the hand of the princess, and there are two brothers involved, there really isn't much in this book to claim that it was inspired by the Singing Bone. And granted this is only the first book of a duology, but given the fact that neither of the brothers killed the beast, and they are on good terms with one another, I find it extremely doubtful that the second book will be able to convince me that this story is a retelling of that story. The good: I thought that Aerity was a good character. Most of the time when female characters are faced with an arranged marriage they whine, sulk or run away. Aerity, for once looks at the problem, weighs the good an arranged marriage will do for her people to the pain it will cause herself, and chooses to accept the burden. I also liked Tiern. He was a sweet and unassuming character who genuinely meant well. Unfortunately, he had almost no reaction to learning that his brother was a lashed, and I didn't think that was normal character behavior. Speaking of the lashed, I found the idea very interesting, and it was the one world-building portion of the book that I thought worked well. I also thought that the first scene was very moving, and it made me feel as thought Wyneth had just lost the love of her life. The hunting scenes were enjoyable. I was convinced that the men knew what they were doing, and the boredom, followed by a few moments of action seemed believable.The bad: Wyneth spends a couple of weeks mourning for the man who, in only a few minutes (reading via audiobook) I had been convinced she loved deeply, then a pushy jerk of a guy admires her, and pushes a little to hard to convince her to be in love with him or start an affair with him. I would have thought that was an interesting twist in the story if she hadn't reciprocated, but because Wyneth is immediately cast into something of an America Singer (from The Selection series) character ("My heart is broken...but I'm in love with this guy who I just met who is a little too possessive of me...but my heart is broken,") and that kind of ruined both her character, and the good first scene. I hated Paxton. Yes, he is lashed, which is a difficult thing to be right now. No, he's not interested in having children and potentially giving them the magic that makes his life so difficult, but does he have to be such a blasted jerk? His first interaction with Aerity is to leer at her, and in almost every interaction after that he is a complete jerk, and she still falls in wuv with him. Given how unpleasant he is, but also how cute he's supposed to be, my only guess is that Aerity is deeply in lust with him, because even when people have instalove, the other person has to be at least a little bit nice first. Then Paxton spends most of the book being mean to Aerity, but then suddenly decides that he's in wuv with her too. The end was frustrating. Not because of the sequel setup or the fact that Aerity ended up being engaged to the creep who has fallen in lust with her cousin, and her cousin has fallen in wuv with, in fact I thought that was a good set up. Aerity was being forced to truly give up something she wanted for her people, rather than being just lucky enough to get what she wanted, and the premise of a man who was interested in someone else in the castle, and too pushy to be considered a gentleman, being the man Aerity married is, in fact, a very interesting one. But the end fight scene felt forced somehow. Aerity catches up to them, and manages to stab the beast in it's vulnerable spot, but it doesn't die, and instead bats her and knocks her out and breaks her ribs. Then it kills Tiern, and Paxton gives up killing the beast, and his chance to be with the girl he wuvs, who also wuvs him, to "save" Tiern, but Tiern is already dead and Paxton brings him back to life. If Paxton could bring his brother back to life, why wouldn't he have waited a little longer and killed the beast and then done it? It would have made so much more sense if Tiern had been almost dead, instead of dead. Also, for some reason, after all of the tracking and hunting, and fighting with the beast, the fight seemed too fast. It went from, even after having discovered the beasts vulnerable spot, a large group of hunters and warrior women still couldn't kill the beast to three men and one strong-in-character-and-body-but-not-very-practiced-in-fighting girl were able to kill it. And even though Tiern died and Aerity was knocked out, for some reason, the fight still didn't seem dangerous. I don't have high hopes for the romances, or the fairy tale this book was supposedly based after. Still I did enjoy parts of the book, so I'll give the second book a chance to prove me wrong.

[trigstarom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Received via Edelweiss and Harper Collins Children in exchange for an completely unbiased review.
Also posted on Silk & Serif

So whats the easiest way to describe The Great Hunt? Kill the dragon, get the girl.

The Great Hunt begins with a frightening beast terrorizing the kingdom of Lochlanach through death and mayhem. The king commissions a great hunt filled with the kingdom's best hunters to kill the best and end of beast's reign of terror. In exchange, a winner will marry his beautiful daughter and stand as next in line to the throne. Meanwhile, Princess Aerity struggles with the knowledge that instead of the marriage of love she has been expecting since she was a child, she must enter into a marriage contract of obligation. Unfortunately, in enters the devilishly handsome Paxton Seabolt who steals the Princess' heart who only complicates the young royal's obligation to her family and country.

Paxton Seabolt is a strong, mysterious boy with plenty of secrets to keep hidden, but when he hears the call for hunters to take down the beast threatening his family he cannot turn his back. He vows to kill the beast and doesn’t want to marry a princess or care about the proclamation. That is, until he meets Princess Aerity and realizes she’s more than what meets the eye.

Every time I read a Wendy Higgins book two things happen:

1. I end the novel properly satisfied or excited to read the next book in the series.


2. Awed by the new leaps an already skilled author has made in her writing craft

I swear, Higgins can write any book well without relying too heavily on a formulaic plot. She's written novels about Irish faeries, demons, sins and now a story about a medieval princess in a tough situation.

The romance! What can I say? I rooted for Aerity and Paxton. I loved how stubborn Paxton was and how he strives to protect those he loved making him the stereotypical hero. Aerity was also the stereotypical strong, new age Princess, but largely these stereotypes helped to develop an enjoyable read. She gave up her chance to marry for love to save those she loved and honor her birth right with minimal complaining. I was a bit concerned once it became obvious Aerity was used to a very different life style, that a majority of the book would be wrought with complaints and self-pity. It wasn't. I also loved that I thought I knew how this novel would end based on the stereotypical nature of the characters..don't be fooled, you're in for a typical Higgin's ending!

It’s refreshing to see a romance that isn’t insta-love or based on attraction alone: Aerity and Paxton become friends before they seriously fall for one another!

True to Higgin’s usual style we are given a unique world of magic, intense world building and strong characters. I didn’t wallow in boredom while we worked through necessary but dull parts of the story. The Great Hunt is a one sitting read with plenty of fantasy elements and political struggle to keep you interested between Pax and Aerity's romance scenes. We get to see things from secondary character’s POV which is incredibly helpful in gauging other people’s understandings of event s and adding some really fantastic side stories to the mix.
Unfortunately, I feel this book doesn’t have the ability to garner wide appeal from the masses. The Great Hunt is primarily a true-blue young adult romance with fantasy elements. The entire story is about Pax and Aerity falling in love and the struggle to kill the beast. There isn’t a whole lot of deeper meaning in the scenes or in interactions beyond what is revealed, but it’s a wonderful novel if you’re in the mood for some emotional reading.

I cannot wait for book two! So many things have happened and there are still plenty of mysteries and massive plot developments to wrap up.

My biggest complaint is that all the characters began to pair off mid book which was rather annoying. I found that none of the female characters were strong enough to be on her own for long, looking for love in the hunters rather than being confident. I understand this is a period piece where women exist to marry off..but if its following a modern twist on marriage for love, we can have independent women as well.

Otherwise, The Great Hunt was a beautiful and fun read that took very little effort to read. It was extremely enjoyable and light-hearted regardless of a vicious beast terrorizing the kingdom and some brutal death scenes. This is a great example of why I cultivated a love for young adult because it is simple, enjoyable and in some ways following a formula that is comfortable like old shoes.

The book will appeal to readers of true young adult novels, slow burn romance lovers and fantasy enthusiasts. I wouldn’t suggest this to readers who are looking for more than a sweet, first love sort of romance because this theme permeates every aspect of this novel. I definitely recommend this as a must read for any Higgins fan, though.

[stacyatufi · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

With a nice fast pace and interesting storyline, THE GREAT HUNT was an intriguing fantasy with plenty of action and romance to complement the darker elements throughout.Things I Liked: I actually really liked Aerity as a characters. She was willing to sacrifice her happiness for her kingdom. That isn't a small thing and I thought that she had a really good grasp on the reality of the situation her family and kingdom were in. Paxton was really moody, but he is loyal to his family and the kingdom he lives in. I can respect that.A few other likable things. THE GREAT HUNT had a good amount of mystery to it. I love a good mystery. There was a great cast of secondary characters that helped keep things interesting. The world was great and well built.The Issues: The romance ticked me off more than it made me swoon. Although I liked Paxton, he acted like a true arse to Aerity and did a lot of things to push her away even though he was attracted to her and wanted her. But the worst part was that Aerity actually liked it in some ways. Uggh, what is with that? Not cool. Another issue. There was a lot of sitting around the castle. Even with the neat action scenes there was an equal amount of 'nothing going on' moments.Even with the issues, I still enjoyed THE GREAT HUNT and wouldn't mind continuing with the next book to see how things work out for Aerity and Paxton. * This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: I was underwhelmed by this novel, unfortunately.Opening Sentence: A late summer breeze blew warm over the deep and wide Lanach Creek.The Review:A great beast plagues Princess Aerity’s kingdom. Hunters far and wide are invited to join the hunt: kill the beast, win the princess’s hand in marriage. Aerity finds herself attracted to a strong, silent hunter named Paxton, but he doesn’t seem to even like her. Killing the beast isn’t going to be as easy as it looks, however…I was a massive fan of Wendy Higgin’s Sweet Evil series. I adored her characters, her plot, and the rich world-building. That being said, I had high expectations for this new series, and was excited to receive it for review. For some reason, however, I really couldn’t get into this book, and was left disappointed. There wasn’t any huge problem with the characters or writing style. Mostly, I think I just got bored.Most of the novel is spent largely in pursuit of the beast and in the interest of letting the romance blossom. There is action, yes, but I didn’t find it largely satisfying. There were many times when the hunters would find the beast and engage with it, but it took quite a lot of the book before anything substansial actually happened to the plot. Most of the novel seemed to be world building; thankfully, at the end, it sped up considerably. Still, I found it hard to connect with the characters.I found the characters and romance sort of dull. Princess Aerity is built to look like this perfect character who has trouble thrown her way. She’s talented, beautiful, intelligent, and wealthy – but then she has to give up her freedom to the first hunter to slay the beast. I didn’t think her character was very complex, and she almost seemed too perfect – there wasn’t much that needed to change about her, so there was a lack of development. I almost would have preferred if she was a spoiled brat, because at least she would have had a character arc.The romance between Paxton and Aerity also felt unimpressive. In Sweet Evil, Kai and Anna have this incredible forbidden romance plagued by constant danger. It was probably the humor that got me so sold on them as a couple – they had the cutest one-liners. Paxton and Aerity lacked a spark, in my opinion. Sure, Aerity could talk about her consuming attraction all she wanted, but their conversations were filled with awkward silences and seemingly tension-filled gaps.Altogether, I liked the book. Yes, I did have quite a few problems, but it really wasn’t a horrible novel. I was just left feeling underwhelmed and unimpressed – maybe because my expectations were so high. The relationship didn’t seem to fit. Paxton was too moody, and even when reading from his point of view, I disliked his prejudices and unfair expectations. The characters weren’t my favorite, and I found myself slightly bored in the middle. That being said, I encourage any lovers of Sweet Evil to give it a try, because you never know if you will enjoy it more than me.Notable Scene:The truth of everything began to soak into her, like rain, each drop speaking to her…A stranger.A hunter.Your husband.Overwhelmed, she turned and gathered her skirts, forcing her chin to remain up as she walked steadily from the High Hall.FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Great Hunt. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[jeracafite · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this free eARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review. I was extremely excited to see this available on Edelweiss from HarperCollins! I'm a a big fan of Wendy Higgins with her Sweet trilogy, so I've been waiting for this book since I found out about it. I flew through this novel in one sitting, absorbed into the new world Higgins created. At first it was a bit confusing trying to figure out what character was who, but eventually it all came together. I felt for Aerity. Going 17 years knowing she could marry for love only to have that be ripped from her in order to kill the vicious beast that is killing her people. But she was very professional about it and took it with stride. I really liked Aerity. Paxton was pretty much everywhere when it came to his feelings. He has a reason for it, sure, but it was a bit of a roller coaster trying to figure out what he was thinking and doing half the time. The ending was bittersweet. I'm hoping things will change in the second novel to get the ending that everyone will sure to be wanting when they meet all of the hunters... I'm not giving anything away, but I have my favorite out of the bunch. I loved how Aerity's family does circus events - aerobatic talents! Even though they are royalty they can do things like that! Blows my mind!Intrigued to see what will happen in the second and final novel in this series! I think a lot of people will really enjoy this other world that Higgins created - especially if they are already fans of her work.