ARC Review: Huntress and the Nightingale by Amara Luciano

Image copyright of Gabi Luciano

Huntress and the Nightingale is the second novella released by Amara Luciano and I was lucky enough to be a member of her street team and am so glad I was!

I really enjoyed her first novella, Bride Of Dreams but, Huntress and the Nightingale completely knocked it out of the park.

Synopsis:

Once a huntress blessed by the gods, Zahria has since become a murderer without honor. She loses herself in wineskins, paying a private penance for the sins she’s committed in her royal lover’s name. But the kingdom she can’t escape has no use for drunken cowards. 

When the queen’s secret menagerie of exotic birds breaks free from the palace, revealing themselves as the reclusive shape-shifting clansmen who dwell within the Unforeseen Forest, the queen demands Zahria do the unthinkable: Kill the forest-made beasts plaguing the realm, then destroy the cursed forest itself. A sin, in the eyes of Zahria’s gods, for which there would be no redemption. 

But Zahria is weary and has lost too much. All she wants is to return to her homeland after a century of secrets and lies. With a heart long past the point of breaking, fulfilling the queen’s task could mean her freedom at last.

How can Zahria resist such a bargain?

Review:

This novella was so fascinatingly dark and brutal and I loved every word of it. The magic of this world was so intriguing and I just wanted to know more about it. The pace of the story was great and I never felt like there was a part that dragged or was slow and boring. The storytelling was beautiful and I was hooked until the very end and want to know what happens next!

Zahria is a total badass and is morally grey and I absolutely loved her. She accepted that she had made some poor choices in the past and realized that she needed to make some changes. I really liked how at the end of the book she felt like she still needed to make amends and redeem herself, even though she just saved the kingdom, and that her redemption wasn’t just automatic because she had done so.

I felt like the romance(s) were written very well and that Zahria’s internal struggle was very realistic. She still had these lasting feelings from the old romance that didn’t just magical go away because of a new love interest. The new romance wasn’t rushed or insta-love, which was also a plus, and was left open to potential in the future.

I would love to see more of this world and the characters in the future. I’m dying to see what Amara comes up with next. If it’s anything like Huntress and the Nightingale, it’s sure to be amazing!!!

Rating: 5 stars