Huntress (book) by Malinda Lo

Malinda Lo gets the best covers - I think this one is even nicer than the one for Ash. I don't think it's entirely accurate, though. Assuming that's Kaede, her weapons were a tiny dagger (which I supposed wouldn't look as impressive) and a bow.

Anyway, if you haven't read Ash yet, don't worry, you still should be able to read this book without any problems. I think it would stand alone nicely. The only thing those who hadn't read Ash would miss out on is the hints of King's Huntress stuff near the end of the book.

I'm going to warn romance lovers right now: although things don't end depressingly, you won't find a "happily ever after" for Taisin and Kaede in this book. I could see one for Kaede in a future book, though.

Synopsis:

This book takes place several centuries prior to the events in Lo's Ash, in the same world.

The human world is out of balance. The sun hasn't shone in years and people (except, of course, for those who are rich) are starving. Strange, horrifying, and dangerous creatures have started appearing. When the king receives an invitation from the Fairy Queen, he sends his son, Con, several trusted guards, Taisin, and Kaede on a journey to Taninli, the place where the Fairy Queen lives. Taisin, a prodigy at the Academy who hopes to one day become a sage, saw that she and Kaede would be part of the group going on the journey. Taisin's vision also showed her several things she hopes aren't true: one, that Kaede may die on this journey, and, two, that she will fall in love with Kaede. Sages must be celibate, so Taisin does her best to ignore her growing awareness of Kaede and keep an emotional distance between the two of them.

While on their journey, the group encounters many of the horrific creatures they were told about, and several of their members die. When they finally do make it to the Fairy Queen, they learn what must be done in order to restore balance to the world. And, um, after they do that they have one other thing to do before they're really done.

Review:

At first, I was all set to say Huntress was all-around a better book than Ash. It didn't take half the book for all the main characters to show up, and the various monsters the group encountered added a nice creepiness factor. I thought the bit with the “baby” was particularly horrific. Lo was also not shy about killing people off. I was pretty sure certain characters were probably not going to survive the whole book, but I wasn't absolutely sure, and that was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see their fates.

Ash (book) by Malinda Lo

During Pride Week, Dear Author had a post recommending YA fiction, and this was one of the recommended books. I still intend to read Boy Meets Boy, but I decided to read Ash first because 1) the cover is gorgeous and 2) I was thrilled by the idea of f/f fiction that did not end depressingly and did not read like porn.

One thing, though: don't go into this expecting the romance to be present right away. Ash and Kaisa don't start to spend a lot of time with each other until halfway through the book. This book isn't so much romance as it is fantasy.

Synopsis:

Shortly after his wife's unexpected death, Ash's father remarries. His new wife does not appear to like Ash very much, and Ash's new stepsisters are not particularly friendly, but Ash doesn't experience the full brunt of their dislike until after her father dies. Ash's stepmother turns her into the family's servant (practically the family's slave), claiming that this is only just, considering that the family is hurting financially because Ash's father's business had been doing badly.

The death of Ash's mother put her into such despair that she used to visit her mother's grave every night, despite warnings from others that she shouldn't, because she might attract fairies. After Ash's father dies, she drifts further away from the world of mortals, emotionally, and begins a strange and probably unhealthy friendship with a fairy named Sidhean. Although Ash wouldn't mind it if Sidhean stole her away from the world of mortals entirely, for some reason he doesn't.

Then Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, and things begin to change. She finds herself longing for Kaisa's company to the point where she doesn't even notice how long it's been since she last spent time with Sidhean. Kaisa seems equally interested in Ash - she tells Ash her favorite fairy story, teaches her how to ride, and doesn't seem to mind that Ash is only a servant.

Ash begins to recognize that what she feels for Kaisa is love, but if she is to stay with Kaisa, she must somehow figure out how to break free of her stepmother's control and the hold Sidhean still has upon her.

Review:

This is really a lovely story. Fairy stories are not only a big part of the book, the book itself reads like a fairy tale. It is loosely based on the story of Cinderella, but Lo doesn't feel the need to include every last detail of the basic story, so the result is something that feels very natural and new.