Exciting Fantasy that will keep you guessing

The Hunt, Book 1 in The Twisted Kingdoms series by Frost Kay, is a fresh and exciting take on the tried and true enemies-to-lovers trope. Tempest (great name for this firecracker with blue hair btw) lost everything in a childhood tragedy only to be raised and trained by the King’s Hounds – the assassins and warriors responsible for protecting the kingdom. Though she earns her title as the first female Hound, Tempest soon learns that her life is not her own. She takes on an impossible task, hunting down the kingdom’s most feared enemy, in a last ditch effort to secure her future.

From the start of the book, I admired Tempest for her fortitude and spunk. It is refreshing that she doesn’t have time to consider courting, instead focusing her efforts on training and revenge. Though her unremarkable appearance (aside from the blue hair) is mentioned several times, Tempest sure has her pick of suitors by the end of this book, not that she has much say in the matter. Surrounded by enemies at every turn, this book was bound to feature some hate-to-love or no romance at all. Luckily, the former prevails, but what is so refreshing about this take is that Tempest continues to cast doubt on all parties throughout the book. She doesn’t trust anyone but her own eyes and ears. Even the men who raised her are suspect. As such, the romance is barely there in this first installment, but it is a satisfying slow burn nonetheless. The tension alone has me itching to get my hands on book 2.

Aside from the romance, the pacing is quick and exciting without feeling rushed. I loved the world building, the characters, and the turmoil that leaks into every page. The building conflict between the not-so-noble King and the shifters who threaten to upend his system, batter Tempest’s wavering loyalties. I was constantly second-guessing characters’ motives. A couple of truth bombs dropped later in the book, had me clinging to my headphones (audiobook), desperately seeking answers.

For those who enjoy enemies-to-lovers fantasies with a bit of mystery, The Hunt is an exciting start to a new series that promises great things for it’s sequels. The audiobook is narrated by Cris Dukehart and Zachary Webber, who’s phenomenal voices bring this story to life.

Thank you to the author for providing me a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 people found this helpful

Not my thing

I couldn’t finish this book. “Strong” girl is actually a Helpless girl and describes every man she meets like they are all the sexiest man around and she can’t control herself. I’m just not a fan of that type of female lead

3 people found this helpful

Really good

I really enjoyed this book 1 of the The Twisted Kingdoms series. Tempest is struggling to find where she truly belongs in this twisted kingdom and uncovers truths that makes her second guess everything she believed in. I can’t wait to hear how her story continues! The characters in this book are well defined and the story intriguing with a good bit of action that keeps you involved.

1 person found this helpful

Pretty good book

Enjoyed. I didn’t want to write this thing, but apparently I have to if I want to leave a rating. So here you go…

Pretty Damn Good

I throughly thought this book earned a review, and I’m generally not not interested enough to put my energy towards such things.
This book surprised me.
The beginning was probably my least favorite part(I believe this part is the clip), if I had to ask you to stick through it, this would be my evidence to perused you to do just that. The world was captivating and romantic with a pull to know more, sink deeper. “Fox” reminded me a lot of Remy Lebeau AKA Gambit, and dude, I’m into that.
Even written well enough that Im not embarrassed that I liked it and will buy in hand to gift my 15 year old to also get to read. ((So hard to find a interesting feminine/adventurous -no crass bs..but feels and intrigue kinda book, …on a side note, If it’s in parentheses the grammar doesn’t matter right))
Anyway…I recommend.
-35. F. Housewife

A great beginning to a fairytale series of mish-mash retellings!

Oh my goodness! How did I not know about this series!!! I love retellings and this is such a great one…well, at least the first book in the series is!! It’s a bit of a mish-mash of fairytales, definitely Red Riding Hood and The Fox and The Hound, but I feel like there’s more. It continues in book two, so maybe I’ll pick up more there. If you like retellings, you’ll love this!!

The narrators were great, and they really brought the story to life!!

Characters

I love the characters and interactions. Voices are perfect. I hope the rest of the series will be recorded

Exciting yet uneventful at the same time

A unique yet not so unique story about a badass chick (who realistically also isn’t so badass). Definitely a slow burn. Don’t get me wrong, I finished it all in one day so it was engaging, but the book ends just as the plot actually starts really. It was just meh but it was still good. I’m stuck between giving it 3 or 4 stars. I just wish I didn’t need to spend another credit just to hear the other 75% of the story.

Your Next Read!!!

Outstanding book! Between the character development and the writing consistency this book delivers a fantastic story with a little bit of everything! Highly recommend!!!

Good story

The story was pretty good, but the women narrator honestly sounded computer generated at the beginning. I got used to it or it for better the more I listened though. And honestly, the story is rather short