Hunting November is the sequel to Killing November and wraps up this duology nicely. November and her boyfriend and ally Ash are on the hunt for her father, who has gone missing, and they have to evade assassins and navigate all kinds of treachery and family secrets to do so. The action takes place mostly in Europe and involves a lot of moving from point to point, but I enjoyed this installment and it was nice reacquainting with these characters. November is so over her head, being involved in a secret society where pretty much everyone wants her dead, but she's determined and tough and as fun as she was last time.
If there's one issue I had it's that the academy setting- who doesn't love boarding school secret societies?- doesn't factor in and now that she's out of school, so to speak, the whole plot seemed a bit less realistic and grounded? I mean, are a few teenagers really going to take down a society that spans the globe and affects world events? In some ways it a by-the-numbers YA story, but I really like Adriana Mathers' writing and the way she keeps the pages turning. This one tops out a little over four hundred pages but I didn't mind, and it didn't feel like it was too long. It didn't have the depth, maybe, that a more realistic story might have but I still liked it. I just liked the first one a lot more.
It is an effective and fun wrap-up to this duology though and I highly recommend it if you like YA secret societies, boarding school books (although again the first book is where all the fun is in that regard), and whatnot. Oh, and I'm happy to report that Aarya and Ines show up in this one and totally steal the spotlight for me, just like they did the first time.
If there's one issue I had it's that the academy setting- who doesn't love boarding school secret societies?- doesn't factor in and now that she's out of school, so to speak, the whole plot seemed a bit less realistic and grounded? I mean, are a few teenagers really going to take down a society that spans the globe and affects world events? In some ways it a by-the-numbers YA story, but I really like Adriana Mathers' writing and the way she keeps the pages turning. This one tops out a little over four hundred pages but I didn't mind, and it didn't feel like it was too long. It didn't have the depth, maybe, that a more realistic story might have but I still liked it. I just liked the first one a lot more.
It is an effective and fun wrap-up to this duology though and I highly recommend it if you like YA secret societies, boarding school books (although again the first book is where all the fun is in that regard), and whatnot. Oh, and I'm happy to report that Aarya and Ines show up in this one and totally steal the spotlight for me, just like they did the first time.
This sounds like a perfect series for me! A YA secret society set in a boarding school?! I will have to give this a try. :)
ReplyDeleteOh it looks quite good!
ReplyDeleteIt seems the end of the story is thrilling.
ReplyDeleteInteresting review.
Regards from Indonesia.
I guess I didn't mind leaving the school, because I got to see how they hide in plain sight in the real world.
ReplyDeleteThe first one does sound better because of that whole boarding school setting. :)
ReplyDeleteHmm, I hadn't heard of this but my interest is piqued... at least about the first book!
ReplyDeleteI've become very spoiled by novellas. 400 pages now scares me, lol.
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of this one. Sounds like a book that I would probably enjoy too.
ReplyDeleteThanks,for sharing your review! 👍✨
ReplyDeleteTeens taking down a society like that does sound like a typical YA, but as long as you still enjoyed it, that's good :-) Bummer though that the academy setting didn't really factor in since I know you like that.
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