This should not be labeled as a standalone book.

Even with the “explanation” of what happened in the prequel series, I was absolutely and utterly confused the entire time. It felt like there were so many things I should know and understand but like I was homeschooled and didn’t get “that” part of the education that everyone else got.


Could I have read the prequel series? Absolutely. But, considering that this was MARKED as a standalone, I didn’t.

On top of all that chaos, the writing was just 😑 for me. Nothing was spectacular or exciting and I really just felt like I was over it the entire time. And the ending wasn’t even finished? Not like cliff-hanger not finished, but like, where’s the rest of the damn story?

This gave me an irritation I didn’t need.


I am thankful to NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK for access to this Arc. It’s just absolutely not for me.

Hi!!!! i didn’t manage to finish this book…

I haven’t read the other books in this series which was a strong contributing factor as to why ! Throughout the story i often felt like i was grasping to understand specific events. Whilst this was described as a book that didn’t require you to have pre read the others, i was extremely confused in points and felt like i was a few steps behind …

I think it should be strongly encouraged to read the other books in the series before tackling this one. overall i enjoyed the authors writing style though

I really enjoyed this read!
I loved the prologue and the backstory accompanying the main book. I thought I was diving into an already established series so I was a little nervous at first. But, the story flowed really well and I was able to understand our main character and empathise with her plight. Mihi was a wonderful protagonist, smart, headstrong and the type to never back down from a fight. Upon finishing and reading the author note, I realised that this book was in fact the start of a series. The previous 2 books already released by the author were prequels to this. You don't really need to have read them in order to understand the backstory, the prologue is very detailed.
I'm definitely keeping my eye out for the next book in the series, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read and I can't wait to read more of Mihi's story along with some of the other characters who I hope will get more of a spotlight in the series.

(I received this digital arc from netgalley)

I was really excited to start Huntress of the Hallowed Forest, but after making it to about 54%, I decided to pause for now. Although this book has a lot of potential, I feel that in order to fully appreciate it, I need to first dive into Lilly Inkwood's previous series, The Red Kingdom. The world-building and context are so deeply rooted in that earlier series that I think reading it first will help me better understand the universe of the Three Kingdoms and its intricacies.

The story is told from a first-person, multiple POV perspective, following three distinct characters, Blanche, Celine, and Mihi. Each voice was unique, and I found Mihi’s storyline particularly engaging, as it was action-packed and filled with energy. However, I did feel that her romance developed a bit too quickly, leaning into the well known trope of insta-love, which was a bit of a turn off for me. This was the point where I decided to put the book down temporarily.

At this stage, I don't feel confident enough to finish or rate the book fairly. I believe I owe it to myself—and to the author—to go back and explore the world of the Three Kingdoms from the very beginning to fully immerse myself in the lore and context.

I’m still looking forward to continuing this journey once I’ve caught up on the prior series, and I’m excited to return to this story with a deeper understanding of the world.

I did not read the series before this one so it was a little hard to get into but it did a good job of briefly covering what happened. I would definitely recommend reading the first series before this one!

4⭐️

This was a nice fast-paced, adventure-filled read! I haven’t read any of Lilly Inkwood’s books before, and you don’t have to have read Rise of the Fallen Court or The Kingdom Is a Golden Cage (but might help for some character development/insights into the world that I missed due to not reading). That being said, I did really enjoy this and am looking forward to the next instalment!

I was glad for the recap of the duology the proceeds it. without that I would've struggled to get into this book.

This is a very fast-paced book with very easy to follow world building. at about 300 pages, I poured through it in one sitting.

One of the things I liked most was the 3 POVs

I had a very tough time getting into this book in the beginning. It felt like I needed more information before diving into the first page. After I got about 40% into the book I really enjoyed the storyline. Some scenes felt so rushed that I had to go back to see where they came from (specifically near the end when Mihi tried to save Mael from drowning, everything happened so fast and I was so lost to how it all even started.) I did really enjoy seeing how everything and everyone’s story came together.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Huntress of the Hallowed Forest by Lilly Inkwood is a first person multi-POV romantic fantasy continuation of the world of the Three Kingdoms started in the Red Kingdom duology. Mihi is the illegitimate daughter of the Red Kingdom’s king and a huntress living in exile. When her half-sister, Celine, is in the middle of a succession crisis, Mihi ignores her call and sets off a chase to bring her to Celine’s side.

I have not read the previous duology, so I do not know how Huntress works as a continuation of the previous books or how Mihi fits among Celine and Blanche as the star of her book. There are family trees in the back of the book and the different relationships are made very clear through Mihi, Blanche, and Celine’s POVs. I think the previous books might have more worldbuilding and as this book is very much building off the other two, I would recommend reading the previous duology first before reading this one.

This is a very fast-paced book. At about 300 pages, I breezed through in about three hours. The prose isn’t very dense, in part because there is a lot more plot and character focus and not as much focus on worldbuilding. The voice also reminded me of YA fantasies that I have read, pulling the reader along as we stay deep in each character’s POV. For readers who are struggling with denser books but still want an adult fantasy, this could be a good bridge to do so.

Of the three POVs, Mihi was probably my favorite. Her story is the one pushing the plot forward the strongest and she has a romance arc with Fabian, a young man traveling with her. Mihi struggles with her attraction to him but starts to give in more and more over time. Unfortunately for her, he’s hiding secrets just like everyone else is and he will not help her achieve her desire to be left alone. The other interesting thing about Mihi’s POV was how aware she is of Celine but how little she wants to do with her half-sister. I will probably pick up the Red Kingdom duology purely to see if that is expanded upon because I love stories about messy sibling relationships.

I would recommend this to fans of YA fantasy looking for an adult fantasy and readers who prefer a lighter touch in regards to worldbuilding

After reading the prequals The Kingdom is a Golden Cage and Rise of the Fallen Court, I was excited to fast-forward to the time of exiled Mihi - a huntress playing a dangerous game to protect those with powers. Her own gift of time jumping comes at a cost. The book switches between settings and points of view to build up the bigger picture of the delicate politics and plotting across kingdoms. As with Inkwood's other novels, things are not as they seem and the reader is thrown between allegiances, just as Mihi and her mysterious rescuer will be.
The book is pacy throughout but in particular towards the end where I literally felt my heartrate quicken. Different threads come together in a dramatic scene and Mihi faces a huge personal and moral choice.
I think the story would adapt well to screen and be a great bedtime escape for lovers of character-based fantasy who enjoy intrigue and spinning plates.


Thank you to OMC for an advance copy of Huntress of the Hallowed Forest.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK and One More Chapter for granting me a digital arc of this book. Sadly I've had to DNF it as I wasn't aware this a continuation of a series and one that all the events of the last inform the present plot. I tried to muddle on but it was too confusing and in the end I called it quits. I will need to invest time in reading the prequel series before I can complete this book.

It sounded excellent premisse and I was excited to read it, but wish I had been warned that you needed to read the first series to make heads or tails of this book. Sorry but I won't be continuing or reviewing this book outside of Netgalley at this time as its not fair to the author or book because I wasn't able to complete reading it. Just wasnt't the right read for me now, I hope to have time to check out other books so I can read this one day.

HUNTRESS OF THE HALLOWED FOREST - LILLY INKWOOD

When I saw the opening chapter of Huntress of the Hallowed Forest, I quickly realised that the world within this book had been written about before. But before we get to that, here's a quick synopsis:

Born the daughter of the Red Kingdom's King, and raised in exile as a huntress in the Green Kingdom, Anne-Mihielle has been forced to fight for everything she has. But when death visits the Red Kingdom, and a crisis of succession is triggered, her past comes calling.

Lilly Inkwood has written two prequels to this book, which cover events in the Red, Blue and Green kingdoms. The opening of Huntress of the Hallowed Forest starts with a summary of the key characters and events within those books, and it's A LOT of information. As this wasn't mentioned on the NetGalley page, I pivoted and tried to answer this: can Huntress of the Hallowed Forest be read as a standalone?

The answer is yes, but I feel like you would get so much more out of this story if you had read the prequels, which I hadn't. 

If you're happy to not get too in depth, then the main storyline - Mihi's story - is easy enough to follow. There's action, high stakes, cool magical powers and romance. This will tick a lot of boxes for any fantasy reader.

However, there are many interactions and events within the book that allude to the reader having a deeper understanding of the kingdoms, the characters and what had gone on before. For me, it felt like I was always a few steps behind, missing some bit of key information that would enhance the emotional impact of things that happen in this particular book.

I'd strongly recommend getting your hands on the prequels before diving into this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: 29 November 2024

Review score: 3/5

TWs: Violence, d*ath, s*xual content

This book sounded so good, and I was excited to read it, but it fell very flat. We’re basically dropped into the middle of a plot and it doesn’t get better from there… I was confused for the entirety of it and didn’t end up finishing. The writing was also lacking and could have used some MAJOR editing. It just felt incomplete and like I was missing something.

you are dropped in the middle of a plot line and if you haven’t read the first two then the politics and magic system are near impossible to understand. also i couldn’t cope with the changes in language, like how everyone had french names but then they spoke a language similar to german but then they say stuff like “bloody” and “buggering”. that might just be my brain but it made my head fuzzy, lols.

i couldn’t keep a track of how characters were related or why they held any significance, i think a character list would be extremely helpful. however, there is a bit of a pull when you read this, as in you have no idea what’s going on or who these people are but you’re intrigued to find out what is going on between the kingdoms.
im not sure i would call this an appeal and perhaps this is something that would be corrected by reading the first two books, but honestly this is the only thing that kept me going through and not dnf’ing this book - which i hate to do.

overall writing style is extremely descriptive and requires a certain amount of concentration to even grasp a hint at what is happening. there is no doubt that this author is a brilliant writer, dedicated to creating such a vivid story so i will probably try and read the first two and come back to this at a later date!

“Is this what my marriage has been reduced to- gaping holes?”

“Huntress of the Hallowed Forest,” by Lilly Inkwood

Okay so, this book wasn’t bad but just felt weird and disjointed. The super long time jump from the other book she wrote with these characters just ended up feeling weird because I was missing so much information. There were good characters and an interesting plot with tons of political intrigue if that’s your thing but, felt way to different than the other book. There were more characters and more POV’s and felt kindof throw around while reading. 3 out of 5 stars.

-Magic, Mages, Witches
-Political Intrigue
-Multi POV

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

I thoroughly enjoyed this addition to The Three Kingdoms series. I appreciated the retake on what had already occurred in previous books so I didn't need to do a full reread. I thought this story flowed well with the series!

Thank you to Netgally and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC

I have very conflicting feelings about this book. I like the world, the magic, and the main characters/plot. I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was a filler instalment in a series rather than the first book of a new one. It was like being thrown into a second book without reading the first. I feel that reading the previous series would have provided a LOT of context to who these people are and how they found themselves in this situation. When I finally started to get a grasp on what was going on, the story ended at what I felt was a midway point rather than the entire story arc.

There were things that didn’t ever get clarified. I have no idea why the mages are sought out- are we in a medieval setting where witchcraft was illegal and demonic? Or is this high inquisitor just salty that he didn’t get chosen to have these powers? And speaking of powers, how do these people come to inherit them. I think having an MC who can freeze time and time-jump is a great concept, but I don’t understand why some people have these powers and others don’t. There is not an indication of the character needing to train her power, we just get thrown in to having a character who is already mastered it. I think seeing Mihi’s life before she was head of the mages would’ve helped me to connect with her character better, alongside giving the reader something to invest in. Instead, I felt disconnected from her, like I was meeting her late in life with minimal context. The book overall could’ve benefitted from more backstory, especially scenes of her being exiled and learning about her powers. The romance felt very abrupt. It seems like it was trying for an enemies-to-lovers trope, but there was no development to support it. Once he got her alone they were together with an intensity that felt unearned. My one big thought is that for a series with complicated plot and character development, the author chose to name the kingdoms Red, Blue, and Green which feels overly simplistic and lacking in creativity. Overall, I think the book lacked development in many areas that could have improved the overall reading experience.

Although, with that said, I enjoyed the romance, betrayal, and unexpected twists. While I didn’t see them coming, they made sense once revealed and fit in to the story arc excellently. Although, The description of the book holds spoilers for the whole thing (like the fact that she is travelling with an exiled Duke the whole time although that’s not revealed till the end!). I am eager to read more about these characters and find out how this story ends, I just wish it was advertised as the set up for a series that should be read AFTER the first two.

I had really hard time getting into this since it felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story that was already happening. Thank you for the opportunity but this is unfortunately a DNF for me.

Huntress of the Hallowed Forest is the first book in The Three Kingdoms series, however it is heavily related to the two books in the prequel series, The Kingdom is a Golden Cage and Rise of the Fallen Court. The thing I loved the most about those two books was the complexity of the schemes of everyone involved. Huntress of the Hallowed Forest starts with a summary of the previous two books, which I think was a necessity given how much goes on in those and how much it ties into this new series. Although the recap is really useful even as a refresher to recent readers of the other two books, I think new readers coming into this book fresh might be a little confused just because it is so intricate.

I enjoyed seeing previous main characters come into this book with their own POVs, which worked really well alongside the new POVs for Anne-Mihielle and Maël. Anne-Mihielle's plot really sucked me in, and it felt like everything set up in the prequel series was already paying off in this new series. I love how the world is opening up even more, and introducing even more people and subplots. The ending was amazing and I can't wait to see where the series goes next!

As always, I love the complexity of everyone's schemes and how every book builds on the previous ones. There are clues and hints of things to come in each book, and I can't wait to see which hints I've completely missed when the next book comes out! I would definitely recommend reading the two prequel books before this new series for maximum emotional impact and understanding. It's such a clever and intricate series that it's definitely worth reading in full!

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

Such a good story for me. I rated it 4 stars because I really loved this book but wasn't perfect for me. The characters are immaculate, the plot is good.