The Wild Huntress

Gr 7 Up–A lethal magical competition binds three unlikely allies together as they fight for the prize: a boon from the Otherking, the immortal ruler of Annwvyn. Branwen, 18, was touched by fae magic as a babe and uses her magic sight to hunt and kill monsters. Gwydion, the prince of an enemy kingdom, hires Branwen to help him win the Wild Hunt so he can use the prize to stop his cruel older brother from seizing the throne—little does he know Branwen wants the boon for herself, to save her mother’s failing memory. Their path becomes tangled with Pryderi, 18, the once-lost prince of Dyfed who wants to win to prove himself and learn where he belongs. The fast friendship makes it easy for readers to get invested in the stakes of the story as chapters alternate points of view, even as the singular grand prize means betrayal is right around the corner. Lloyd-Jones is a deft hand at emotional resonance, tugging at character and reader heartstrings right from the start and ensuring those emotions pay off by the end of the arc. The relatively simple plot keeps the story moving at a fast clip, while strong characterization makes the tale unique to the Welsh-inspired world that’s home to her previous The Drowned Woods and The Bone Houses. Main characters are white.