I absolutely adored Ash, and while I enjoyed the Huntress, as well, It doesn't seem as entertaining and fast paced. Maybe I've just grown up since then and have read better books, but overall it's still a good read. As a fantasy book I would give it 3 stars, and as a lesbian romance novel I would give it 4.

Malinda Lo is my writing hero. This is a prequel/companion book to 'Ash', and in my opinion is the better book. The writing is fantastic, its refreshing to read a fantasy that isn't Euro-centric, and I loved the characters.

First of all, 3rd POV! WOOT! LOVE LOVE LOVE! The cover reminded me of a Japanese Mulan. Also I ADORED how every chapter, the first letter is intricately decorated. The map is beautifully drawn with great details but was also the simplest map I have seen. All the other maps I've seen always confuses me but this one actually made sense! :) WOOT! This book started out great because of how the parts were separated by a quote from The Book of Change. This totally reminded me of The Relic Masters series (and I LOVED that series) so Huntress had a fantastic start. If you love The Seven Realm series and the Grey Wolf Throne series, you will love this. I love the writing style of Malinda. The words just form in such poetic way. It is so magical and captivating. The story is magical and mystical. The words seem to hypnotize me and dragging me deeper into the book. The world building is just amazing. I love how this book ultimately is a fantasy adventure book but there just a hint of romance. I think these types of book are my all-time favorites. It totally reminded me why I love the fantasy genre. The chapters are divided into little chunks that I adore. When I read, I read in small chunks. The mystery of the whole thing keeps you within the book. The creatures are like the Spiderwick Chronicles. The weirdness like the experiments from Fullmetal Alchemists. I love the Chinese and Japanese traditions in the book. I love the development of the characters. Taisin, and Kaede's relationship grows at a sweet gentle pace. I wish all romances in books can develop so nicely. Most books just rush at the romance but leave everything else hanging. This book is just perfection. Taisin and Kaede's personalities are different but they cohere together very well. They are like a pair of duel blades, together in harmony, one without the other. Shae, Con, Tali, and Pol were well developed. Shae and Con were strong and intelligent, and I ship them! They looked so cute together, a prince and a king's guard. <3333 OTP! I get the feelings while reading this book. Yes, those! It is similar to the ones when I watch FMA/ FMA:B. *shivers* The one thing that stopped me from giving this a 5 out of 5 is because there were parts that I didn't like reading some parts. It was weird because moments ago I loved the story then I was bored. Those parts reminded me of the Iron King by Julie Kagawa (which I only thought was an okay book).

High fantasy has distinctive trademarks, and description is one of them. Malinda Lo takes it to the extreme by opening each chapter with a setting descriptor, which gets old quickly. An omniscient point-of-view with repeated diving into various characters’ heads is another hallmark, and again, the frequency of Lo’s deviation is extreme, so that three characters may be processed in a single chapter. Though sometimes it works, most times it’s just disconcerting. While we’re still on the subject of writing style, the number of names beginning with T and containing an a, i or both letters proliferated with alarming, near-exponential regularity. And Taisin’s bland name matches her character: we see little development in her character, and as she starts off as somewhat timid, it’s good that Kaede’s physical strength and more reliable confidence in herself helps to counterbalance Taisin. The journey-to-discovery trope works well in Huntress despite the randomness of attacks and troubles the group faces. An excellently built confrontation with the villain is led up to neatly through Taisin’s visions, enough so that one wishes for a longer battle versus Ms Evil Bad Guy and less of a twist-tacked-on-to-make-the-book-longer. With the romance between the leads well constructed, Huntress falls in neutral-to-good territory. A worthwhile read for high fantasy readers, but this novel won’t be the one to convert non-fantasy-lovers.

Loved it great story its sad but good Wish there was more

Childlit best fantasy recommendation