Review: Talk Supe Reviews
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 3, 2014
Chrysalis pretty much stayed in the shadows with her madness well established. At one point, I even compare her to Smeagol (LOTR) when she was talking to herself at the reflection pool. However, I didn't really feel much for our heroine aside from sympathy and that throbbing fear that Aeric might not be able to save her in time. Aeric on the other hand wowed me. Since HUNTSMAN'S PREY is told in his POV, we really get to know him. Aeric's character is similar to the Huntsman archetype, on top of that, he's what you can consider a tortured hero because of an unfortunate event involving a woman from his past. That relationship brought a curse down Aeric which left him jaded and non-receptive in love. At the same time, I love the mish-mash of fairy tale MHall used to make up his character. The monkey wrench is Lissa. For the most part, I kept thinking if MHall is veering off the expected H/h HEA because of Lissa but then she pulled this surprise in the end that is simply ingenious! I'm still thinking of the resolution long-term, it's unconventional but since it's in the Kingdom world, "normal" doesn't really exists.The world building is Wonderland-based with MHall's fanciful additions. There's no insta-love unlike in the previous novellas because the build-up is good. And as I've hinted, there's a love triangle but it was executed in such an interesting way. You actually won't see it play out until the end, leaving a LOT to the imagination. It'll make sense once you've read HUNTSMAN'S PREY. My only critic is I wish there was more to Chrysalis than her madness. I wanted to empathize with her plight but all I felt was sympathy for our heroine. The revelation also felt a little rushed for me, all the info regarding the conflict coupled with the backstory was poured in one blow my head was reeling with info, I have to reread the confrontation part slowly.The resolution is very... interesting. I'll give it away if I saw more. So I'll just leave you with: read HUNTSMAN'S PREY if you love fairy tale retelling. It's sexy, suspenseful, mind boggling and every bit a fairy tale except that it's tailored for adults instead of a bedtime story for kids.