The Huntress: A Novel (Dark Queen) (Paperback)

by Susan Carroll (Author)
Key Phrases: dark queen, scrying ball, witch blade, Lady Danvers, Silver Rose, Faire Isle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Fun, intricately plotted and with lots of derring-do, Carroll's latest should be popular with fans of historical romance. With a temper to match her fiery hair, Catriona O'Hanlon leaves her liege, Ariane, the Lady of the Fair Isle, to locate a sorceress's daughter and bring her to the Faire Isle, where she can be protected from the Dark Queen and the coven of the Silver Rose. The girl's father, Martin Le Loup, is living incognito with his daughter in London as dapper Englishman Martin Wolfe. Martin's an agent for Queen Elizabeth's spymaster and is conflicted about his job to ferret out Catholic threats to her majesty. As Cat and Martin spar with and fall for one another, danger lurks in the forms of the coven and the Medici. Carroll strikes a balance between froth and craftsmanship. (July)
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From Booklist
Wrongly accused and exiled as a witch, fiery Irishwoman Catriona O'Hanlon, a true daughter of the earth, serves Lady Ariane, ruler of Faire Isle. When Cat and Ariane learn that the sinister coven of the Silver Rose has been resurrected, they fear that this return to the dark arts will threaten the stability of the thrones of both England and France. Determined to replace French queen Catherine de Medici with one of their own, the Sisterhood of the Silver Rose plans to kidnap the daughter of their foundress from her protective father. Equally determined to recover the cult's dread Book of Shadows, Catherine de Medici dispatches a witch hunter to infiltrate the group. Mired in the midst of all this treachery, Cat must summon all her mystical powers to foil the diabolical plots and protect the sanctity of Faire Isle. Fast-paced historical fiction with a supernatural twist. Flanagan, Margaret

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st Edition 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 edition (July 31, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345490614
• ISBN-13: 978-0345490612
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #202,785 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Dark Queen Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Susan Carroll tied up loose ends from previous Dark Queen books, August 9, 2007

By	Sri Carapiet "bookworm" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was very surprised (albeit pleasantly) to find out that Susan Carroll's latest novel is the continuation of her previous Dark Queen trilogy. I loved her story about the Chenney sisters but she left out a few things in 'The Silver Rose' unanswered. So I eagerly devoured this book in one sitting last night. I loved it! Susan Carroll is a very talented writer and one of her main strengths is her ability to draw complex characters yet appear very real.

Catriona O'Hanlon is a refreshing heroine. She's free-spirited, feisty, able to wield her sword and shoot arrows with the best of them, and always speaks her mind. Although she appears to be fearless, she's actually quite vulnerable and a bit insecure inside thanks to her past treatment by her family and clan.

The book takes place a few years after the end of 'The Silver Rose' so Martin LeLoup has gone through some changes, perhaps not so much physically, but his experience as a father to talented Meg and life on the run has made him very cautious, if not downright suspicious, to anything magic. Thus he wouldn't allow Meg to even mention anything magic related.

Meg is also a unique character and Susan Carroll manages to capture Meg's innocence, confusion, and fear as a child filled with knowledge and power of magic beyond her years without making her appear to be some sort of Messiah or irritating know-it-all brat. The dialogues she had with Cat in one of the scenes when she started to open up a little bit nearly broke my heart for the little girl.

As usual, Susan Carroll also manages to combine historical facts and fiction so seamlessly that the story flows smoothly and evenly paced.
We get to know what happens finally to the Book of Shadow, and Ariana appears in a small dose and we get to know if she's finally able to have the child she longed for or not. We also get a glimpse of Catherine de Medici's ending.

All in all, it has been a pleasure reading this book. If only I could find 'meaty' historical novels like this more often.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic addition to the series, August 22, 2007

By	C. Boyd - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was so glad to find this continuation of the Dark Queen series. This novel is full of the same suspense and intrique as the other novels, but this one brings a new levity and sense of humor with it that the others lacked in. I hope that Susan Carroll will continue with the story lines of the characters introduced in this book, because while more of the Cheney loose ends were addressed, now there are a whole new set to contend with. Happy reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just Okay, March 27, 2008

By	Sara P. "Sara" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

If you read the other books in the Dark Queen series you will want to read The Huntress. Alone, the book would not have a leg to stand on. The book follows the same plot lines as the previous novels in the series. The plot drags in a lot of areas and is very predictable. Cat, while interesting at times, could have been better developed as a character as well as Maegera. I also did not like when the book switched character point of views in some chapters.

Catherine's short appearances were another weaker point in the book. It did not add much in terms of plot development and the way she was written made her seem as threatening to the characters as a parakeet.

The Cheney Sisters were barely mentioned and Ariane only made a cameo appearance. Miri and Gabrielle, were absent for all of the book with a few short sentences making a few statements about Miri's life. Maybe the author is setting up for Book 5 by not discussing them in this book. Since the series is really about the Cheney Sisters I would have liked for them to be interwoven into the plot.

I have to be honest that I am a little surprised with all the 5 star reviews. The book carries a great deal of flaws. All in all a decent afternoon read but not a book I would recommend or give it a glowing review.