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Hunt the Ever Wild
Not yet published
Expected 23 Jun 26A new gothic standalone that combines the gaslamp fantasy of C. L. Polk’s Witchmark with the slow-burn rivals-to-lovers romance of Isa Agajanian’s Modern Divination and the whimsy of Howl’s Moving Castle.
When the king calls a hunt for the Lichtenwald forest’s elusive phoenix, wizard Sy jumps at the chance. Years ago, he indentured himself to the crown to pay for his magical education, and an unbreakable spell binds him to carry out the king’s every wicked whim, or face certain death. The prize is enough to pay off his debt, but he can’t survive the forest alone. Seeking help, he finds Anya, a skilled huntress living on the Lichtenwald’s edge, and lies about splitting the prize.
But Anya’s lying too. Cursed by a witch after killing her familiar, Anya must find the phoenix and bind it to the witch by the summer solstice, or else suffer a gruesome transformation. With the curse worsening and the Lichtenwald swarming with wizards, she needs Sy on her side – for now.
Neither of them can split the prize, nor win alone. And despite the growing attraction between them, betrayal remains their only option.
But anything is possible in the forest.
And the forest is hungry.
When the king calls a hunt for the Lichtenwald forest’s elusive phoenix, wizard Sy jumps at the chance. Years ago, he indentured himself to the crown to pay for his magical education, and an unbreakable spell binds him to carry out the king’s every wicked whim, or face certain death. The prize is enough to pay off his debt, but he can’t survive the forest alone. Seeking help, he finds Anya, a skilled huntress living on the Lichtenwald’s edge, and lies about splitting the prize.
But Anya’s lying too. Cursed by a witch after killing her familiar, Anya must find the phoenix and bind it to the witch by the summer solstice, or else suffer a gruesome transformation. With the curse worsening and the Lichtenwald swarming with wizards, she needs Sy on her side – for now.
Neither of them can split the prize, nor win alone. And despite the growing attraction between them, betrayal remains their only option.
But anything is possible in the forest.
And the forest is hungry.
336 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 23, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Hunt the Ever Wild is an excellent cozy fantasy following a magician and a hunter in search of a phoenix. Sylas is a magical scribe, conscripted to serve the king until a fortune has been repaid for his education, when the king issues a summons: he wants to be transformed into a phoenix and live forever. Sylas recruits Anya, a hunter with her own motivations: a wicked witch has placed a curse on her, and unless she can capture the mythical bird herself, she will become a moth. The two stumble through the forest, evading others on the hunt, becoming friends and then something more.
The story felt very cozy, but was still more serious than some of the cozy fantasy stories on the market. The book leaned into the descriptions of walking through the woods and the taste of a fresh berry plucked off the vine, but also had multiple corpses show up on-page, in addition to violence against humans and animals. The magic system is somewhat gruesome, focused on writing glyphs using the scriber’s own blood.
The magical system was interesting and well developed; the author thought through the consequences of using magic too little or too much, the physiological implications and the power dynamics. The world building integrated the complexities of the magic system with the distinctions around social class. It created a system that felt very hands-on and authentic, rather than abstract.
The character development in this story was excellent and compelling. Both of our main characters grow and change throughout the story. This change is ushered in both by the larger plot and by their relationship with one another. It was compelling to follow two characters who are so set on betraying the other yet can’t help themselves but work together.
The pacing of this book started a little slow, but the story really picked up at about the 30% mark. The romance was well developed, though I do wish the characters had spent a little more time together in the second act.
The story features one explicit scene. The scene has descriptions of kissing and heavy implications of more, but nothing explicit is described on-page.
Thank you to the publisher for this advanced reader copy!
The story felt very cozy, but was still more serious than some of the cozy fantasy stories on the market. The book leaned into the descriptions of walking through the woods and the taste of a fresh berry plucked off the vine, but also had multiple corpses show up on-page, in addition to violence against humans and animals. The magic system is somewhat gruesome, focused on writing glyphs using the scriber’s own blood.
The magical system was interesting and well developed; the author thought through the consequences of using magic too little or too much, the physiological implications and the power dynamics. The world building integrated the complexities of the magic system with the distinctions around social class. It created a system that felt very hands-on and authentic, rather than abstract.
The character development in this story was excellent and compelling. Both of our main characters grow and change throughout the story. This change is ushered in both by the larger plot and by their relationship with one another. It was compelling to follow two characters who are so set on betraying the other yet can’t help themselves but work together.
The pacing of this book started a little slow, but the story really picked up at about the 30% mark. The romance was well developed, though I do wish the characters had spent a little more time together in the second act.
The story features one explicit scene. The scene has descriptions of kissing and heavy implications of more, but nothing explicit is described on-page.
Thank you to the publisher for this advanced reader copy!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Read as an arc from Netgalley. 4 stars.
A fun fantasy story. I knew I was going to like this within the first page or two with the words, "The king wants to be turned into a bird." and so the story goes. The king wants to be immortal, and to do this he thinks being turned into a phoenix will do the trick. So he creates a little competition, a challenge, whoever can do it first will get $50,000 (or the kingdoms equivalent of $). And so the hunt for the phoenix begins, in a magical forest that is anything but friendly.
We get a nice mix of humour (but not too much), adventure, snarkiness, dark moments, a touch of romance, friendship, betrayals, and there's a girl slowly turning into a moth.
I had a lot of fun reading this. My only real issue is that sometimes it seemed like there was sentences missing, and sentences put in out of nowhere that didn't belong. I'm not really sure how to explain it. Maybe like during edits certain paragraphs and sections didn't fully fix the flow when removing or adding sentences. Or maybe it's just the author's writing style. I don't know, but it was a bit jarring at times.
Still overall a good book and fun to read. I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.
A fun fantasy story. I knew I was going to like this within the first page or two with the words, "The king wants to be turned into a bird." and so the story goes. The king wants to be immortal, and to do this he thinks being turned into a phoenix will do the trick. So he creates a little competition, a challenge, whoever can do it first will get $50,000 (or the kingdoms equivalent of $). And so the hunt for the phoenix begins, in a magical forest that is anything but friendly.
We get a nice mix of humour (but not too much), adventure, snarkiness, dark moments, a touch of romance, friendship, betrayals, and there's a girl slowly turning into a moth.
I had a lot of fun reading this. My only real issue is that sometimes it seemed like there was sentences missing, and sentences put in out of nowhere that didn't belong. I'm not really sure how to explain it. Maybe like during edits certain paragraphs and sections didn't fully fix the flow when removing or adding sentences. Or maybe it's just the author's writing style. I don't know, but it was a bit jarring at times.
Still overall a good book and fun to read. I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.
Did Not Finish
April 24, 2026—Thank you netgalley for the arc—
I hated doing this but DNF at 51%. I very rarely DNF a book so doing this pained me. I didn’t give up instantly, I took time away from the book and went back several times but I just kept struggling.
The basis of the book and storyline drew me in and I did like the premise. A strong independent FMC and a MMC who’s been given a hand into the life of the rich but is barely getting by. The kings wizards, their magic and how it’s drawn from the blood and then woven into script to form a spell was a great idea.
What I struggled with was the slow pacing and repetitive writing. Some things were over explained and then the same point was reworded and repeated but in a different way. I kept waiting for it to get to the point. The inner monologue would go off on such a tangent that I forgot where I was in the book and what was actually happening. Something that was already said paragraphs before would then be brought up again and rephrased, I felt like I was going round in circles.
The basis of the book still had some great ideas. It’s just the writing style wasn’t for me I’m afraid. I thought it was best to be honest with my review and I really hope I haven’t offended the author.
I hated doing this but DNF at 51%. I very rarely DNF a book so doing this pained me. I didn’t give up instantly, I took time away from the book and went back several times but I just kept struggling.
The basis of the book and storyline drew me in and I did like the premise. A strong independent FMC and a MMC who’s been given a hand into the life of the rich but is barely getting by. The kings wizards, their magic and how it’s drawn from the blood and then woven into script to form a spell was a great idea.
What I struggled with was the slow pacing and repetitive writing. Some things were over explained and then the same point was reworded and repeated but in a different way. I kept waiting for it to get to the point. The inner monologue would go off on such a tangent that I forgot where I was in the book and what was actually happening. Something that was already said paragraphs before would then be brought up again and rephrased, I felt like I was going round in circles.
The basis of the book still had some great ideas. It’s just the writing style wasn’t for me I’m afraid. I thought it was best to be honest with my review and I really hope I haven’t offended the author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5⭐
I really love love loved this! This book was so full of magic and whimsy, and the story pulled me in. The magic system was so unique, and I loved the parallel between the structured magic of the Academy versus the magic of the Lichtenwald and all the creatures that live in it. Anya and Sy were really well written, because you can really understand why they were doing all the things they did (the miscommunication in the last 1/3 of the book almost made me lose it though). My only complaint is that , but otherwise I really liked every moment of this story.
I really love love loved this! This book was so full of magic and whimsy, and the story pulled me in. The magic system was so unique, and I loved the parallel between the structured magic of the Academy versus the magic of the Lichtenwald and all the creatures that live in it. Anya and Sy were really well written, because you can really understand why they were doing all the things they did (the miscommunication in the last 1/3 of the book almost made me lose it though). My only complaint is that , but otherwise I really liked every moment of this story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A fun whimsical read, where scribes are the ones to hold magic in the city.
Anya and Sy are both lovable characters— and a perfect opposites attract pairing.
Anya who lives at the edge of the forest is a badass huntress full of practicality and wits. Sy is a artist, now turned King's wizard. Sy is from the city, and “hires” Anya to help him navigate Litchenwald, a magical forest, in search for a rare Phoenix for the king. Both fueled more by need over desire, this follows growth and re-discovery of life’s greater quest.
Overall this was quite an enjoyable read. As S.E. Kiser’s debut novel, I’m excited to follow along!
Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for this eARC.
Anya and Sy are both lovable characters— and a perfect opposites attract pairing.
Anya who lives at the edge of the forest is a badass huntress full of practicality and wits. Sy is a artist, now turned King's wizard. Sy is from the city, and “hires” Anya to help him navigate Litchenwald, a magical forest, in search for a rare Phoenix for the king. Both fueled more by need over desire, this follows growth and re-discovery of life’s greater quest.
Overall this was quite an enjoyable read. As S.E. Kiser’s debut novel, I’m excited to follow along!
Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for this eARC.
December 2, 2025
Kiser crafts a vibrant landscape where the glossy veneer of civilization digs questing fingers into the vicious, untamed, and inexplicable. Alive with timely societal parallels in the moral compromises of fettered city scribes, this is a glorious lyrical debut that haunts long after the reader exits its sentient forest
April 22, 2026
Kiser’s debut story takes you on an magical quest into the Lichenwald forest. Where reluctant partners Sy and Anya must fight their way through the forest to capture the mystical phoenix.
Fun read with interesting characters. If you love a book with a Dual POV, bisexual MMC, reluctant partners to lovers, a quest and commentary on wealth inequality this is the book for you.
Fun read with interesting characters. If you love a book with a Dual POV, bisexual MMC, reluctant partners to lovers, a quest and commentary on wealth inequality this is the book for you.
December 22, 2025
Hunt the Ever Wild is an exquisite debut, full of all my favorite things: enchanted forests, a city that glitters as it rots, and a romance that sparkles. Through a gaslamp fairy tale of a world, the story grapples with the true meaning of beauty, riches, and the wild. There is such materiality in Kiser’s writing: to read is to be swallowed by the Lichtenwald, by the flora and fauna and magic. If you love folkloric, romantic tales like Howl’s Moving Castle, this book is for you.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews