Age: 9th-12th grade

"Nature is out of balance in the human world. The sun hasn't shone in years, and crops are failing. Worse yet, strange and hostile creatures have begun to appear. The people's survival hangs in the balance" (goodreads feature review).

Kaede and Taisin struggle with restless adventure, death, and emerging love on a journey which no other person has taken and returned alive.

Lo has a beautiful way with words and captivating plot movements that kept me entranced through both novels. A prequel to Ash, Huntress mixed reluctant, inescapable romance and fantasy with philosophical musings on war and killing. The ending was extremely rushed and the final battle lasted very few pages (not suggested for the tactics/battle hungry readers) although the concept was unique (Taisin battles the queens daughter through Kaede's mind) I'm not sure why Kaede was not killed by the overly judgmental unicorn. She also randomly becomes the huntress even though she has had trouble killing throughout the book.

A lot of great ideas but not enough time to share them all in enough detail--but a well-written story.