Long time, no see! Sorry guys, but I finished The Wicked King, the second book in the phenomenal Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, and sort of took a break afterwards. I would have reviewed it here, however I had already read the first book last year and way before I started this blog and I just didn't want reviews for two out of three books in a series! But I am back with a bright new shiny review.
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
Length: 560 Pages
Genres: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
"They called her die Jagerin-the Huntress. She was the young mistress of an SS officer in German-occupied Poland, the hostess of grand parties on the lake, a keen shot. Perhaps she was the rusalka the lake was named for-a lethal, malevolent water spirit."
Trigger Warnings in this book for Murder, Antisemitism, and Graphic Descriptions of Violence
I'm conflicted over this book! It took me at least two months to read it - I was at turns bored and riveted, one minute absorbed in the history and characters, the next wishing they would all just hurry up! I'm very glad I read it because in this book resides one of the best female characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading, and when I finished my heart ached that I wouldn't be able to spend any more time in her head.
The Huntress is told from three different POVs, that of Ian Graham, a British war correspondent turned Nazi hunter, Nina Markova, a woman raised on the shores of Lake Baikal who became a Night Witch for the Red Army, and Jordan McBride, a young girl from Boston with dreams of becoming a photographer. All are united by the same thing, or should I say, person: die Jagerin, the Huntress.
Ian has hunted her for years but she has vanished without a trace. She has been accused of feeding, clothing, and then killing Polish children on the run. Amongst her many victims was also Sebastian Graham, Ian's little brother, an escapee from a POW camp, and a close call where she almost killed Nina Markova. Not long after, Nina emerges from the woods nearly starved and sick with pneumonia after surviving in the wild for months, and is taken in at a Polish hospital. Ian is there and they make a hasty bargain that ends with them married and Nina on her way to England while Ian stays behind. When the book picks up they haven't seen each other in years but they still share one common goal: take down die Jagerin.
Through flashbacks we learn of Nina's backstory and all of these chapters were the most interesting for me. I loved learning about the Night Witches, a group of all female bombers, and I really enjoyed the sense of camaraderie amongst the women, the "sestry". I loved the romance between Nina and Yelena, and was incredibly heartbroken at the way it turned out, almost as heartbroken as Nina herself! Their connection was so real and wonderful that it left her later romance with Ian feeling a bit shallow, though I know Ian and Nina may have shared more similarities. Nina is superb, a foul-mouthed, razor-wielding woman with a love of Georgette Heyer romances. I could have read about her forever.
Jordan McBride is an all American girl with a boyfriend who loves baseball, a dad who works in an antique shop, and aspirations to become a photographer. Her father, who has been widowed for many years, meets a woman, a widow herself and a refugee from Germany who is, you guessed it, die Jagerin, now going under the name Anneliese Weber. With her is a little girl named Ruth who she claims is her daughter. Jordan is suspicious of her, and things only get worse when Anneliese hides a Iron Cross in her wedding bouquet.
This book suffers from what a lot of dual POV books do, one amazing POV bogged down by two less interesting ones. Ian's was the least interesting, but it was easy to get through because he had Nina in them, and his friend, Tony, who later becomes important to Jordan's story. I liked Jordan but the best parts of her chapters was getting a glimpse into the mind of the woman that Nina and the others were hunting. I would have loved to learn more about die Jagerin - I wanted to know her backstory, how she became the monster she was, how she could kill so easily and with so little remorse. In the end we know very little of her motives, and I found that a bit disappointing. The historical detail was amazing, Quinn has a way of weaving it into the narrative that makes it exciting and moving. I loved the author's note at the back explaining just how real many of these events were and the people they were based on. I wish that I could have loved this just a bit more and that's the reason I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 4.
If you're obsessed with WWII like I am I highly suggest you check it out, and please, let me know your opinion!
