From USA Today Bestselling Author Holly Renee, comes the second book in the scorching romantasy series with enthralling secrets, impassioned enemies, and luring tension.
Verena was the lost princess of Marmoris, the very thing we had spent our entire lives looking for, and I had let her go.
The lingering taste of her mixed with the deep ache in my chest over her betrayal haunted my days and nights. I knew she was hiding something, but her secrets were far more treacherous than I could have imagined.
Though I wished my own betrayal hadn’t been so bitter on my tongue.
Now my dreams are haunted with the way her deep blue eyes looked up at me in shock when I revealed I knew her truth.
The way I crave for her to look at me now as I hunt for her.
Me, along with half of the rebellion.
If my father finds her before me, there is no telling what he will do to her.
And even though she’s the little traitor I’d always thought she was, I couldn’t allow him to find her.
But his orders were clear. The princess is to be taken by the rebellion or she would be taken by the gods. I don’t know which is worse.
She is the heir to our kingdom, the daughter of the cruel king who was responsible for my mother’s death, and the key to winning our rebellion.
I vowed to my father that I would find her, the one person I wish I didn’t have to.
Verena is the hunted heir. But more than anything, she is mine.
Koistyfishy –
Ok, 𝐃𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞 you are forgiven…let’s be for real though, he was always going to be forgiven.💖
Ok, so this book picks up pretty much right where the end of book one left off and it’s basically full throttle until the very last page (which came way too fast somehow).
𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐚 is on the run and as the title so clearly explains, she’s being hunted…by the rebellion and her father’s guards…but also Dacre because ‘ol boy realizes he ‘done messed up big time’ and has to get to her before anyone else does. We get dual POVs throughout this book and truth be told, I honestly preferred Dacre’s POV over Verena’s. I enjoyed “watching” all of his realizations and it dawning on him how truly and massively he messed things up. On the flip side though, I also really liked the fact that Dacre didn’t take all the blame. Verena does share the blame and you don’t see that in a lot of romantasy books. It’s usually all blamed on the MMC even if it’s not 💯 their fault.
For the length of the book I think the story flowed nicely and events happened in a realistic timeframe. The forgiveness, the spice, the revelations, etc. I selfishly wish the book had been longer, but I feel that way with 99% of books I read. I wish Verena and Dacre would have had more time together in the book, but the time they spent together was 🤌🏻💋. Those two are straight 🔥 and lord help the poor people that try to keep them apart.
That ending…that ending was 🤯. If you thought the cliffhanger of book one was something…hang onto your butts, people. Holly Renee chose violence with that ending. Sweet, sweet literary violence. Brava ma’am.
Lauren Bollen –
This book ended when it felt like the story was just beginning. I was disappointed in the structure and the length of the story. It felt like things were just taking off as it ended. I enjoy the relationships in the story but it definitely needed a lot more meat.
Lauren –
This is easily one of my most anticipated reads.
If you haven’t read the Veiled Kingdom yet…RUN!🏃🏻♀️ Because the Hunted Heir is the second book in the series and I mean it when I say you need both in your life. Reading these books felt so comfortable, so good, I enjoyed every second.
And what can I say?! This book delivered! I loved Dacre and Verena even more than in the first book, the tension, the spice,… ugh friends, it was perfect! Oh my Dacre boy, I think I’m in love
And of course there is a cliffhanger that leaves you speechless, but I tell you one thing: I live for these.
Koistyfishy –
3.5 Tumultuous Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5
I was so excited for this, and I can’t help but be a little disappointed. I feel like I’ve been edged to the worst extreme by the book and the cliffhanger. Holly teased me and played with me and my emotions and while there was some relief, the book ended way too soon… leaving me wanting. Wanting more book, wanting more plot, wanting more Dacre, wanting more action… just wanting MORE!!!!
NOTE: This is a sequel to The Veiled Kingdom and cannot be read out of order, so there might be spoilers for book one in here. If you don’t want to see them, please stop reading. If you do it’s either because you do not care about spoilers or you have already read book 1… either way if you spoil something for yourself from book 1 – I did warn you….
This kicks off directly after the events at the end of The Veiled Kingdom. After being thoroughly used by Dacre and her identity revealed, Verena is on the run. She is desperate to get South to finally escape the Kingdom. BUT She is being hunted, as the name suggests she is being hunted by the king’s men, who somehow now know she’s on the run. And she’s being hunted by Dacre and his father. Dacre’s father desperately wants to get his hands on Verena to use her as a bargaining chip against the King. As a result, Dacre needs to deal with the dilemma of does he support his father’s cause (which we know from book 1 was ALREADY on a rocky slope) or follow his heart and protect Verena at all costs – he only has to get her to forgive him first…
Look, this was a filler book and it’s blatantly clear that is what it is… The pacing of this was a little off. 50% was tooo slow with not much happening except “travelling” and then it rushed through the end as everything kicked up into overdrive and went a little whack. The next thing I knew I was at 80% and I was DREADING the end because as much as not much had happened, I WAS ENJOYING MYSELF. I didn’t want it to end because then it would be over and I’d have to wait months again for the next book. Months for my next fix of Verena… MONTHS OF WAITING FOR MORE OF DACRES DIRTY MOUTH.
Holly Renee did say that the book is short, but I remember The Veiled Kingdom being pretty short as well and she managed to pack a serious punch in that story with plot, world-building, characterisation and vibes. This one was lacking on all of these… the characters didn’t seem to grow much in this and Dacre lost a bit of his spark from book 1. He had such a deliciously dirty mouth in book 1 and turned generic in this… I expected more groveling and a little more “fight” from Verena based on how her heart was stepped on and abused at the end of book 1. The only character that grew was Dacre’s dad and he grew into an even bigger A than before and should suffer a very painful death!
I battled a little bit with the world-building and how the world is made up. I don’t understand the magic system as it’s something that was never really gone into detail to explain (I am hoping given the hints we got in this that this is expanded on in book 3). The world also felt the size of a shoebox. “News” travels too quickly and she encounters her pursuers way too frequently and quickly for someone who is alone and can easily slink into miles of forest.
But I have to give it to Holly Renee, she knows how to entertain. As much as I have a few qualms, I devoured this book – inhaled the pages and I thoroughly enjoyed being back in the world and seeing these characters again. I think the fact that she made me love them so much in Book 1, is why I was slightly disappointed in book 2…because I have to now wait for book 3.
The Tropes and Microtropes to look forward to are:
▶ Second Chance Enemies to Lovers
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Touch Her/Him You Die
▶ View is Amazing (Looking at Her)
▶ She Stabs Him
▶ One Bed
▶ Spicy/Steamy Bath Scene
▶ Cages her with his arms
▶ Hand Necklaces
Basically, READ THIS… While it’s short, it’s entertaining and if you loved The Veiled Kingdom this is a great little read to whet your appetite for the ultimate epic conclusion coming in book 3!!!
STAR WORD FACT: Holly Renee used TUMULTUOUS 5 times in this book…
Alyssa –
4.5 to 5 stars ⭐️
Considering it had been about 130 days since I read The Veiled Kingdom, I really wanted to savor The Hunted Heir. However, the cliffhanger from TVK made me consume this book. It completely surpassed my expectations. Holly Renee knows how to constantly deliver action using masterful writing that transports the reader right into the story.
I appreciated that the author dove more into building the enchanting world that Dacre and Verena are fighting to survive in. With book 2, Holly Renee has complicated the two-sided world of kingdom vs rebellion. Right from the start, readers can expect character growth along with views on what the corruption of power and greed looks like from both sides.
Verena’s feelings on trust and her effort to understand the world around her (as well as her place in it) is very relatable. Holly Renee’s description of a sorrow caused by a loss that never heals is poetic. Her writing about the cost of power and greed is truthful. The author writes in a very understanding way. I never feel overwhelmed by any of the world building and terminology used.
I would love to see more world building actually. A couple of things that could be furthered explained are the religious systems, kingdom histories, and surrounding countries or lands. However, the storyline was not lacking without this information. I throughly enjoyed what we did learn in book 2 and suspect there will be more world building in book 3.
The spice and romance between the FMC and MMC was just right. Not over done but not lacking. It fit my preference.
I’m deeply invested in the characters and cannot wait for the final book in the trilogy!
NOTE!!!!! Be sure to read the trigger warnings. There are topics that could be sensitive to some readers.