What do you think?
Rate this book
Destined #5
Hunted: Alba's Story
Love is a battle with high stakes. Too bad I’d never been less likely to win.
Newly-minted healer mage, Alba Mattas, has only ever had one goal—to be swept off her feet by a rich, handsome man. The richer and handsomer, the better. Alba is gorgeous, and she knows how to flirt to get her way. Finding true love should be easy, right?
But when her suitor’s wealthy, well-connected mother discovers her son’s interest in Alba, everything changes.
Alba is banished from the city and sent into the Badlands on a mission. Lost in the mountains, Alba is close to death when help appears in the most unlikely form. Will this unexpected refuge keep her safe or put her in greater danger than ever?
Her search for love has failed. Beauty has ruined her life. And now her troubled twin sister, Briar Rose, is in serious peril.
For the first time, Alba has bigger concerns than her own survival.
Hunted: Alba’s Story is a Snow White retelling set in a magical world filled with hope and sweet romance. It is Book 5 in the Destined series, a collection of overlapping fairy tales set in the same world. Each story is self-contained, with its own protagonist and satisfying happily-ever-after, but they also tell an overarching story. Read them in order:
Torn: Novelette Prequel to Cinderella
Book 1 – Fated: Cinderella’s Story
Burned: Weslan's Story - a Destined series short from Weslan's point of view (free on Instafreebie http://smarturl.it/burned-signup )
Book 2 – Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story
Book 3 – Twisted: Belle’s Story
Book 4 – Betrayed: Ruby’s Story
Book 5 – Hunted: Alba's Story
Book 6 – Cursed: Briar Rose's Story - Release date TBD
Newly-minted healer mage, Alba Mattas, has only ever had one goal—to be swept off her feet by a rich, handsome man. The richer and handsomer, the better. Alba is gorgeous, and she knows how to flirt to get her way. Finding true love should be easy, right?
But when her suitor’s wealthy, well-connected mother discovers her son’s interest in Alba, everything changes.
Alba is banished from the city and sent into the Badlands on a mission. Lost in the mountains, Alba is close to death when help appears in the most unlikely form. Will this unexpected refuge keep her safe or put her in greater danger than ever?
Her search for love has failed. Beauty has ruined her life. And now her troubled twin sister, Briar Rose, is in serious peril.
For the first time, Alba has bigger concerns than her own survival.
Hunted: Alba’s Story is a Snow White retelling set in a magical world filled with hope and sweet romance. It is Book 5 in the Destined series, a collection of overlapping fairy tales set in the same world. Each story is self-contained, with its own protagonist and satisfying happily-ever-after, but they also tell an overarching story. Read them in order:
Torn: Novelette Prequel to Cinderella
Book 1 – Fated: Cinderella’s Story
Burned: Weslan's Story - a Destined series short from Weslan's point of view (free on Instafreebie http://smarturl.it/burned-signup )
Book 2 – Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story
Book 3 – Twisted: Belle’s Story
Book 4 – Betrayed: Ruby’s Story
Book 5 – Hunted: Alba's Story
Book 6 – Cursed: Briar Rose's Story - Release date TBD
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2019
70 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
About the author
Kaylin Lee
13 books78 followersKaylin Lee lives in the Pacific Northwest with her real-life hero husband and two sweet kiddos. After a lifetime of staying up too late reading stories, she now wakes up too early writing them. It was probably inevitable.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 7, 2019
I have enjoyed Kaylin Lee's Destined series from the beginning, but this one tops the cake! I'm not even a huge Snow White fan. This book, I think, was the best in the series thus far.
Hehe! The characters in this were lovely. First off, I love how much more we see of the previous characters. They're integrated in this tight-knit family and it's nice to see that in a book for a change. Alba kind of took me by surprise. Her character growth was so natural and so beautiful to watch. She truly felt like a Snow White character to me: beautiful but humble, sweet and loving, kind. Even despite how she fretted over physical beauty in the beginning and doubted her own beauty and worth, she still came off as humble to me--she never really realized just how beautiful she was and she never really felt as beautiful as she truly was. Watching her learn to feel beautiful and to treasure who she was was a treat. I loved that she was a healer, too! So neat! Si was sooo cool! Kay, maybe I'm just a sucker, but he fell right into the good guy zone for me. I liked him right off and watching him develop and grow was a lot of fun, too. The seven dwarves, guys! I don't know that there have ever been cuter dwarves! I just wanted to hold them all! I want stories for them! I want more of them! I completely fell head over heels for them. The relationships between them were possibly my favorite part of the book. I love watching siblings care for each other, so devoted and dynamic. Definitely well done there! The Evil Queen character was unique and played well into the hands of the story, I thought. She was well done, too.
Oh, man, guys! The setting was so much fun! I loved getting a front row seat in the Badlands!! It was such a treat to finally get an inside glimpse of the Bandlander culture! I wish we could have dug even deeper into their culture and I certainly hope we see more in the final book. Something that's been really neat about this series is how each book has given us a bit of a different part of the Destined world. We haven't seen the Western part of the world much yet, but maybe we will in the next book. It's clearly becoming more and more important. From the beginning, I have been sucked in by the setting. The political intrigue and the laws of nature, of the land, the cultures and the mages and their heritage has been the most fascinating part of the whole series to me. This book (and the last one, really) sort of pulled the series out of that singular fascination and brought more bits and pieces to my attention. I'm now more invested in the story itself, and even a little more invested in the characters.
The story loosely follows the Snow White tale. I liked the nods to the classic: the mirror, the beauty, the seven dwarves, the sleep, the poisoned apple (food). They were all very cleverly woven into the Destined world and Alba's story personally. I think my favorite were the seven dwarves! I loved each and every one of them! This one continues the overarching story that Lee has been developing in the series and moves us along from where the last book left off. Honestly, I didn't really see the overarching series connections so strongly in the beginning as I am now--and I'm enjoying them! The first three kind of got off to a rocky start, I think, though I really enjoyed the plots and the characters and the world thoroughly. These last two have really begun to pull everything together in a much more cohesive way.
This book was a page turner! It was pretty fast paced, I thought. As much as I love the others (and don't get me wrong, I do!), none of them have been as engaging and enthralling as this one. I was hooked in! I had a hard time putting this one down. I think Mrs. Lee's upping her game with this book, and I'm very excited to see the finale (and sad! I didn't realize it was coming so soon!) with one of my favorite tales: Sleeping Beauty!
I only caught one or two minor typos, and no story inconsistencies. It was well-written, and perfectly paced. Intriguing. It drew me in and kept me hooked throughout while further developing the overall plot and the characters. Fantastic job!
Content: There is no foul language and all clean romance--nothing worse than a kiss. There was very little, and very mild violence. There are more curses in this one than any of the previous book, but personally, they were all very mild (a tingling feeling, immobilization, one cursed object, a few people who were basically under mind-control) and well handled. I almost feel like "curse" is misleading.
Note: I was graciously given an ARC from the author. The reivew reflects my own thoughts and opinions despite her generosity.
Hehe! The characters in this were lovely. First off, I love how much more we see of the previous characters. They're integrated in this tight-knit family and it's nice to see that in a book for a change. Alba kind of took me by surprise. Her character growth was so natural and so beautiful to watch. She truly felt like a Snow White character to me: beautiful but humble, sweet and loving, kind. Even despite how she fretted over physical beauty in the beginning and doubted her own beauty and worth, she still came off as humble to me--she never really realized just how beautiful she was and she never really felt as beautiful as she truly was. Watching her learn to feel beautiful and to treasure who she was was a treat. I loved that she was a healer, too! So neat! Si was sooo cool! Kay, maybe I'm just a sucker, but he fell right into the good guy zone for me. I liked him right off and watching him develop and grow was a lot of fun, too. The seven dwarves, guys! I don't know that there have ever been cuter dwarves! I just wanted to hold them all! I want stories for them! I want more of them! I completely fell head over heels for them. The relationships between them were possibly my favorite part of the book. I love watching siblings care for each other, so devoted and dynamic. Definitely well done there! The Evil Queen character was unique and played well into the hands of the story, I thought. She was well done, too.
Oh, man, guys! The setting was so much fun! I loved getting a front row seat in the Badlands!! It was such a treat to finally get an inside glimpse of the Bandlander culture! I wish we could have dug even deeper into their culture and I certainly hope we see more in the final book. Something that's been really neat about this series is how each book has given us a bit of a different part of the Destined world. We haven't seen the Western part of the world much yet, but maybe we will in the next book. It's clearly becoming more and more important. From the beginning, I have been sucked in by the setting. The political intrigue and the laws of nature, of the land, the cultures and the mages and their heritage has been the most fascinating part of the whole series to me. This book (and the last one, really) sort of pulled the series out of that singular fascination and brought more bits and pieces to my attention. I'm now more invested in the story itself, and even a little more invested in the characters.
The story loosely follows the Snow White tale. I liked the nods to the classic: the mirror, the beauty, the seven dwarves, the sleep, the poisoned apple (food). They were all very cleverly woven into the Destined world and Alba's story personally. I think my favorite were the seven dwarves! I loved each and every one of them! This one continues the overarching story that Lee has been developing in the series and moves us along from where the last book left off. Honestly, I didn't really see the overarching series connections so strongly in the beginning as I am now--and I'm enjoying them! The first three kind of got off to a rocky start, I think, though I really enjoyed the plots and the characters and the world thoroughly. These last two have really begun to pull everything together in a much more cohesive way.
This book was a page turner! It was pretty fast paced, I thought. As much as I love the others (and don't get me wrong, I do!), none of them have been as engaging and enthralling as this one. I was hooked in! I had a hard time putting this one down. I think Mrs. Lee's upping her game with this book, and I'm very excited to see the finale (and sad! I didn't realize it was coming so soon!) with one of my favorite tales: Sleeping Beauty!
I only caught one or two minor typos, and no story inconsistencies. It was well-written, and perfectly paced. Intriguing. It drew me in and kept me hooked throughout while further developing the overall plot and the characters. Fantastic job!
Content: There is no foul language and all clean romance--nothing worse than a kiss. There was very little, and very mild violence. There are more curses in this one than any of the previous book, but personally, they were all very mild (a tingling feeling, immobilization, one cursed object, a few people who were basically under mind-control) and well handled. I almost feel like "curse" is misleading.
Note: I was graciously given an ARC from the author. The reivew reflects my own thoughts and opinions despite her generosity.
January 3, 2020
Kaylin Lee's Destined series has captured my heart and mind from the beginning, and Alba's entry is no different. In fact, it currently stands as possibly my favorite in the series.
While the stakes in Hunted aren't as high as they've been in the series overall, the tension is still beautifully tuned. The pacing is brilliant, creating a book that I started reading and lost myself in until it was over.
While a few things here and there made me sigh and roll my eyes - and I won't mention them here, because spoilers - they are pretty typical young love things and I can forgive a few cliches in pursuit of a story as wonderful as this.
While the stakes in Hunted aren't as high as they've been in the series overall, the tension is still beautifully tuned. The pacing is brilliant, creating a book that I started reading and lost myself in until it was over.
While a few things here and there made me sigh and roll my eyes - and I won't mention them here, because spoilers - they are pretty typical young love things and I can forgive a few cliches in pursuit of a story as wonderful as this.
June 5, 2020
A good story, as always
As always, Kaylin Lee delivers an excellent tale with realistic, satisfactory growth of her main characters. I must say that I didn't connect as well with Alba as I did to Ella and Rapunzel (and later, Briar Rose), but i can still recognise that this was well-written, and appreciate that her protagonists are truly different personalities with more than superficial variation. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you've read other bits of this series. It also made me appreciate Cursed (book 6) much more.
As always, Kaylin Lee delivers an excellent tale with realistic, satisfactory growth of her main characters. I must say that I didn't connect as well with Alba as I did to Ella and Rapunzel (and later, Briar Rose), but i can still recognise that this was well-written, and appreciate that her protagonists are truly different personalities with more than superficial variation. I would highly recommend this book, especially if you've read other bits of this series. It also made me appreciate Cursed (book 6) much more.
May 18, 2020
4.5 Stars
One of the best Snow White retellings I've ever read. Snow White isn't generally my favorite, but we've been following Alba since book one and finally getting to her story was worth the wait. I have loved the whole series. This book takes us outside the city walls and into the Badlands. Of course, the happy ending was slightly marred by the dire peril her sister is in, but I had the last book waiting in the wings so it was okay. Great character growth arc.
One of the best Snow White retellings I've ever read. Snow White isn't generally my favorite, but we've been following Alba since book one and finally getting to her story was worth the wait. I have loved the whole series. This book takes us outside the city walls and into the Badlands. Of course, the happy ending was slightly marred by the dire peril her sister is in, but I had the last book waiting in the wings so it was okay. Great character growth arc.
February 16, 2020
The best of the series so far. This was the first book that I really felt like the romance had a proper amount of development to it. Alba and the love interest ACTUALLY spend time together. There's conversations, time spent together, etc. So it was nice to finally have a romance where I felt like the characters fell in love because they had time to get to know each other and liked what they saw in the other person.
I normally don't like characters like Alba or Snow White retellings so it was refreshing to enjoy both. Alba starts out silly and flighty but quickly gets a reality check and there's a nice progression of character growth. I also liked that the "dwarves" had sufficient page time where they didn't all get muddled together for lack of development. There was definitely differences between each of the 7 and they were easy to keep separated in my mind.
Again there's some great strides made in terms of the arcing series plot. The one weird thing was the lack of completion at the end. The last 4 books had pretty solid endings whereas this one stops before certain points are resolved. I understand though that finishing up Alba's story would've ruined things for Bri's story (#6) and it stopped at a weird point to uphold the stability of the next book.
I normally don't like characters like Alba or Snow White retellings so it was refreshing to enjoy both. Alba starts out silly and flighty but quickly gets a reality check and there's a nice progression of character growth. I also liked that the "dwarves" had sufficient page time where they didn't all get muddled together for lack of development. There was definitely differences between each of the 7 and they were easy to keep separated in my mind.
Again there's some great strides made in terms of the arcing series plot. The one weird thing was the lack of completion at the end. The last 4 books had pretty solid endings whereas this one stops before certain points are resolved. I understand though that finishing up Alba's story would've ruined things for Bri's story (#6) and it stopped at a weird point to uphold the stability of the next book.
October 2, 2020
Nicely Done
Snow White retellings can be a little too close to the original causing the reader to be board.
This retelling however was nicely written and it actually took me awhile to figure out Alba was Snow White.
The emotions of Alba and Si and their interactions are fun and entertaining.
I highly recommend this retelling.
Snow White retellings can be a little too close to the original causing the reader to be board.
This retelling however was nicely written and it actually took me awhile to figure out Alba was Snow White.
The emotions of Alba and Si and their interactions are fun and entertaining.
I highly recommend this retelling.
February 24, 2021
Fairy Tale Retelling
Snow White Retelling. Magic healing and curses. Fantastic Retelling with heroes and villains. Alba and her sister, Brier Rose, are helping to heal people and save them from the dangerous masters. Plus finding true love along the way. I highly recommend it! Happy Reading!
Snow White Retelling. Magic healing and curses. Fantastic Retelling with heroes and villains. Alba and her sister, Brier Rose, are helping to heal people and save them from the dangerous masters. Plus finding true love along the way. I highly recommend it! Happy Reading!
May 12, 2020
It's a tough call, but I really think Alba's story might be my favorite of all the Destined books! It has so many subtle references to the original Snow White tale and it's such a fun surprise to run across one while reading.
December 23, 2019
Excellent continuation of the series. Always entertained and the twists put on classic fairy tales are fresh and interesting.
January 5, 2020
Review coming soon!
November 7, 2020
This is my favorite in the series so far.
January 19, 2021
I really enjoyed this story.
Content: clean- some violence
Content: clean- some violence
December 1, 2019
I think this was my favorite story in this series because I’m a military brat and I’ve lived through what Alba did. And I just felt a real connection with her. The story was great and the development of Alba’s character was well written! I can’t wait to read Bri’s story next!
February 20, 2020
Loved this book! Such a great spin on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Can't wait for the next book.
August 17, 2019
Impressive Snow White retelling
Such a good story, and there are aspects of it I found personally relatable. Like in my teens I can remember becoming so fearful of certain social situations that I'd get very sick. And also, a decade plus later, as a Navy wife, I struggled with how to help my sons with the sense of loss they experienced when their daddy went to sea. These were great lessons, among others.
The primary characters of the story are all quite well developed. Alba grows into a strong, more confident young woman, and it's enjoyable reading that process. Si is a fascinating character as Alba's love interest. That makes it difficult to like him very much for a while, but he does grow on you and show himself to be an honorable young man. The remaining six brothers are easy to like.
The curse in this Snow White retelling is a very unique twist. There are enough run-ins with other curses as a build up, prior to the final one, that it gets pretty intense. It's great!
Kaylin has done another wonderful job in her series. I'm looking forward to Bri's story!
Such a good story, and there are aspects of it I found personally relatable. Like in my teens I can remember becoming so fearful of certain social situations that I'd get very sick. And also, a decade plus later, as a Navy wife, I struggled with how to help my sons with the sense of loss they experienced when their daddy went to sea. These were great lessons, among others.
The primary characters of the story are all quite well developed. Alba grows into a strong, more confident young woman, and it's enjoyable reading that process. Si is a fascinating character as Alba's love interest. That makes it difficult to like him very much for a while, but he does grow on you and show himself to be an honorable young man. The remaining six brothers are easy to like.
The curse in this Snow White retelling is a very unique twist. There are enough run-ins with other curses as a build up, prior to the final one, that it gets pretty intense. It's great!
Kaylin has done another wonderful job in her series. I'm looking forward to Bri's story!
July 27, 2019
I received an advanced copy of this book from the author for review.
I loved this book. It’s been awhile since I've read fantasy and this reminded me of my great love for the genre. Alba is so likeable, so vulnerable but so determined. Her strange relationship with her sister is sad, and I truly felt that. The romantic interest she develops is funny yet strong. I love her ability, healing, and love the way she uses it. A lot of the book takes place in an underground bunker, but I didn’t tire of it. The banter between her and the other characters, though it took me a little while, and going back to confirm who was who, was fun and sweet. Besides being beautiful, she didn’t remind me too much of Snow White, but this book was still great. I can’t wait for the next book. Thank you to the author for the great read and the opportunity to review it!
I loved this book. It’s been awhile since I've read fantasy and this reminded me of my great love for the genre. Alba is so likeable, so vulnerable but so determined. Her strange relationship with her sister is sad, and I truly felt that. The romantic interest she develops is funny yet strong. I love her ability, healing, and love the way she uses it. A lot of the book takes place in an underground bunker, but I didn’t tire of it. The banter between her and the other characters, though it took me a little while, and going back to confirm who was who, was fun and sweet. Besides being beautiful, she didn’t remind me too much of Snow White, but this book was still great. I can’t wait for the next book. Thank you to the author for the great read and the opportunity to review it!
August 26, 2019
This has been a really good series, and gets better with each new story.
Alba is a twin and her sister is Bri (Briar Rose - a name familiar to all of us who love fairy tales). In this story we get several descriptions of Alba's person, white skin, rosy lips, black hair - Snow White, actually her name comes from the snowy mountain Alba! Clever.
It's not a wicked step mother who is trying to kill her, but the Masters and the mother of her suitor! The dwarves end up being seven brothers, the youngest one being quite adorable.
If you haven't read any of the series, I suggest starting from the beginning because they do build on one another and you see many of the same characters throughout. We first meet the twins as young girls in the very first story.
This is a clean read.
Alba is a twin and her sister is Bri (Briar Rose - a name familiar to all of us who love fairy tales). In this story we get several descriptions of Alba's person, white skin, rosy lips, black hair - Snow White, actually her name comes from the snowy mountain Alba! Clever.
It's not a wicked step mother who is trying to kill her, but the Masters and the mother of her suitor! The dwarves end up being seven brothers, the youngest one being quite adorable.
If you haven't read any of the series, I suggest starting from the beginning because they do build on one another and you see many of the same characters throughout. We first meet the twins as young girls in the very first story.
This is a clean read.
September 25, 2019
This book was incredible, just like every other book in this series. I loved all of the characters, but especially Drew. I loved that there was a young child normally present in this book, children are so blunt in the funniest way and so many of his comments or statements made me snort or giggle. I also really loved how this book and entire series is completely clean, language wise and romance wise. Books that for that criteria and are still well written and interesting are so rare, and this author is one of the best authors who fit into that spectrum. The next book cannot come soon enough, I want to find out what happens to Bri!! But it will be bittersweet as well because it will be the last book in the series 😭
August 2, 2019
Loved it
I loved reading Alba's story. It was close enough to the original Snow White to make me smile at the familiarity, yet unique enough to keep me guessing. I can't wait to read Bri's story in the next book!
I loved reading Alba's story. It was close enough to the original Snow White to make me smile at the familiarity, yet unique enough to keep me guessing. I can't wait to read Bri's story in the next book!
August 17, 2019
True loves kiss
We all yearn for true love so pure it heals and is faithful this book tells a story of change growth healing and sacrifice for true love couldn't put it down a great plot enjoyable
We all yearn for true love so pure it heals and is faithful this book tells a story of change growth healing and sacrifice for true love couldn't put it down a great plot enjoyable
October 3, 2019
I truly enjoyed seeing Alba grow into a brave and courageous young woman ! This book was full of adventure and plenty of similarities to the original tale. I can’t wait for the final book in the series!
August 25, 2019
An amazing twist on the snow white story!
Like all of Lee's books, this story is well written and clean. I really liked the character growth through out the story.
Like all of Lee's books, this story is well written and clean. I really liked the character growth through out the story.
September 3, 2019
Omg
I have years from this book. I loved Alba's story. If you haven't had a chance to read the entire series,I would strongly suggest you do so.
I have years from this book. I loved Alba's story. If you haven't had a chance to read the entire series,I would strongly suggest you do so.
September 11, 2019
Alba
I love this series. I have read 5 in a row. They have fantasy elements, which I have not read before. But I will again.
I love this series. I have read 5 in a row. They have fantasy elements, which I have not read before. But I will again.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews