The Wren Hunt

The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson

Every winter, Wren Silke is chased through the forest in a warped version of a childhood game. The boys who hunt her are judges, powerful and frightening pursuers, who know nothing of her true identity. If they knew she was an augur, their sworn enemy, the game would turn deadly.

But Wren is on the hunt, too. Sent undercover as an intern to the Harkness Foundation─enemy headquarters─her family’s survival rests on finding a secret meant to stay hidden.

As the enmity between two ancient magics reaches breaking point, Wren is torn between old loyalties and new lies. And trapped in the most dangerous game of her life.

The Wren Hunt did not disappoint. The story was every bit as beautiful and intriguing as the cover and blurb suggested it would be.

It was definitely a case of love at first sight when I laid eyes on The Wren Hunt. But then that gorgeous black and gold cover started giving me flashbacks of the Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. The Hazel Wood was my most anticipated book of 2018. But as atmospheric and unique as the The Hazel Wood was, the overall story was a bit too dark and depressing to satisfy my specific reader tastes, and the ending left me feeling disappointed.

Surprisingly, there were other elements in The Wren Hunt that reminded me of The Hazel Wood too, but in a good way. It was every bit as atmospheric, it had big plot twists, and it included these dark little stories that were simmering beneath the surface of the main plot, which slowly grew in importance.

The Wren hunt started off on a strong note by jumping straight into a scene about the twisted children’s game which hooked me in the blurb. From there, the story continued along at a good steady pace. I quickly became invested in the main character’s life and the interesting plot kept me turning the pages so I could find out what was going to happen next. The story is filled with many nail biting scenes when Wren has to go work undercover, sneaking around the organization run by her very dangerous and powerful enemies. But the most satisfying part of the story, by far, was finding the best slow burn romance I have come across in a very long time.

There were a couple of things I wasn’t crazy about, though. I wasn’t a fan of the magic system. I didn’t like the talk of human sacrifices and divinations and rituals that were hinted at from time to time. Wren also had one very disturbing vision in the opening chapters of the book that was hard to stomach. And some of the little poems and stories were slightly darker than I would have liked them to be. But, fortunately, these things didn’t play a big enough role in the story to detract much from my overall enjoyment. Because of the above points, I originally gave The Wren Hunt a 4 star rating, but the more I reflect on the story, the more I realize how much I love it compared to all the other books I’ve read this year. So, I think it actually deserves a five star rating for being my favorite read for the first half of the year. I’m looking forward to reading more from Mary Watson in the future.