The Great Hunt

This tale of romance and duty, first in a planned duology from Higgins (the Sweet Evil series), suffers from an excess of repetition, marring an otherwise elegant landscape of imagination and wonder. Princess Aerity lives in a home surrounded by love in the magic-phobic kingdom of Lochlanach, protected as the king’s eldest daughter. Yet that tranquility is shattered when a mysterious beast rages across the land, killing indiscriminately. In an effort to save his kingdom, her father convenes a great Hunt, with Aerity’s hand in marriage the prize for killing the beast, a sacrifice Higgins emphasizes repeatedly. Paxton is a simple man who enters the hunt with a hatred of royalty and a desire to rid the land of the beast. He has no interest in Aerity until her enigmatic charm and unexpected compassion catch him unawares. The Hunt is complicated by the sheer number of hunters competing and their discordant viewpoints on magic. The overt object-lesson nature of the story is reminiscent of Grimm’s tales, though the magic-related subplot offers added complexity. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jill Corcoran, Jill Corcoran Agency. (Mar.)