Book: Hunted by Megan Spooner

Published May 2017 by HarperTeen|374 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Fairy Tale Re-Telling

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. 

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. 

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

I really liked Hunted!  I really do like reading re-tellings, especially when fairy tales are involved.  Hunted is a re-telling of Beauty And The Beast, and I could definitely see the connections to the Disney movie that we all know and love.  But a little darker, and with some Russian folklore thrown in.  I really liked the addition of the Firebird, and it actually fit really well with the story.  I also thought that having Beauty be blindfolded was interesting as well.  I’m not sure why, but it made the story more interesting.

I also liked seeing the interludes that are narrated by Beast.  Interludes are the best way to describe them because they’re not really chapters.  But I really liked it because you get a lot of insight into who Beast is, and what he’s thinking.  You also get an idea of what happened, though not completely.

There’s something about this book that is cold and icy.  Which really fits the Russian feel of the book.  The snow and cold, and it’s rural and medieval Russia, and it just fits with everything going on.  It definitely feels more Russian than European, which was actually really nice, because it’s different than most re-tellings.  If you want a Russian twist on Beauty And The Beast, this is the book to read.  Actually, if you like Beauty And The Beast, this is a book I would recommend.

There is something about this book that is very haunting and restless, and Yeva definitely has a sense of wanderlust.  She definitely seemed happier when she was able to go between the cabin, her sister’s home, and the castle.  She and Beast seemed to fit well together, because they both seem restless and yearn for something more than what they have.  There’s definitely an…understanding…between them, and I actually really like that they aren’t in a rush to get married.  It would have been easier to have them get married in the end, but they don’t, and that was really refreshing to see.  Especially given it’s rural, medieval Russia.  I may be making assumptions here, but it seems like it would be the thing to do for that period and time period.

4 stars.  I didn’t completely love it, but I did really like it.  If you like fairy tales, Beauty And The Beast, and medieval Russia, this is the book for you!