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Hidden Huntress
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Hidden Huntress Chapters 16-25
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Chapter 16
The imposter is Lessa. Although Tristan has discovered who she is underneath her disguise, he doesn’t know what her motives would be to help the King. He leaves the auction and heads back to the palace where he hopes to find answers.
He goes to see his aunt, but the first thing he notices is that his mother seems angry, which is out of character. At first, he thinks that she is angry with him, and asks his aunt what is wrong with her. Although his aunt will never say anything outright against the King, Tristan pieces together the clues she gives him and realizes what he is seeing is his father’s anger reflected through his mother because of their bond.
Tristan and his aunt “resume” a match of Guerre, which she notes he’s losing, and he notices she’s commissioned a new game set. The pieces have the faces of people he knows. He has very few players left, and all bear the faces of his allies. His aunt’s pieces are black, the king piece bearing the face of his father. The black pieces vastly outnumber Tristan’s players. They start discussing strategies for the game, which is code for how to bring the King down. Through the game she informs Tristan that his father still hopes to control Tristan.
Tristan tells her his strategy is to use his own piece – the white king – to assassinate his father. But his aunt tells him that plot will play into the other player’s strategy. She then adds another set of game pieces that are red in color – Angoulême. Through the game, she reveals to him that killing his father while Roland is heir is exactly what Angoulême wants, and worse, that Roland is completely under the Duke’s control. Before he can think on this further, all the mirrors in the room explode, and his mother starts to scream.
Chapter 17
Cécile sits in her dressing room waiting to begin her performance. Sabine comes to assist in her preparation and Cécile notices how much her friend has changed. She also remembers Tristan saying that out of everyone, Sabine took her disappearance the hardest. Sabine blamed herself for Cécile’s disappearance and Cécile begins to understand that Sabine’s recent actions come from a place of love. Before she is about to go on, her mother suggests that they fire Sabine as she’s a troublemaker, but Cécile won’t have it. She threatens to quite if her mother gets rid of her friend.
She goes on stage to perform and can’t shake the feeling that she is being watched. She sees motion in the Regent’s box, but she can’t make out the individual’s face. By the time the performance is over and she can take a good look, whoever was in the box is gone. She is shaken with the knowledge that Anushka could have been the one in the audience.
Chapter 18
Glass flies through the air as the Queen loses control. Tristan and his aunt use all of their power to protect themselves. Unwittingly, Élise walks into the room, forcing Tristan to throw himself in the way of his mother’s magic in order to protect his friend. Ordering Élise to go find his father, he takes off the manacles to free his magic from the limitations of the steel and tries to control his mother without hurting her until his father has arrived.
When the King arrives, his mother’s rage subsides and Tristan is surprised to see the amount of concern on his father’s face for his mother’s wellbeing. He watches in silence, realizing that his father genuinely cares for his mother, and it gives him a brief moment of hope that his father might care for him as well. Then his father turns on him, and orders him to put the manacles back on or he’ll put more in their place.
Élise approaches and they discuss what happened. Tristan tells her that it wasn’t his mother’s rage they witnessed, it was his father’s, and that they need to discover who provoked it. Élise agrees to help him. Before she goes, he asks for her help putting his manacles back on. She does so in exchange for his promise that when he’s king, half-bloods will be allowed to be bonded to anyone they choose. He agrees.
Chapter 19
Accompanied by Chris, Cécile rides to Pigalle to speak with Catherine. She’s nervous, because she knows that the King’s messenger is watching her, and also strongly suspects that Marie is in league with Anushka, therefore is watching her as well. Cécile and Catherine discuss how a witch’s power is inherited, and Cécile indicates that it came through her paternal side, as her grandmother is a witch. Cécile then asks Catherine about curses and blood magic and how to break them. When they start to discuss blood magic, Catherine warns Cécile that it is a slippery slope.
Heeding her warning, Cécile asks why Catherine was dismissed from Lady Marie’s service, believing that it must have been because it was discovered she was a witch. Catherine is amused, and tells her that Marie had originally employed her because she was a witch, which given the laws against witchcraft, shocks Cécile. Cécile mentions that Lady Marie has taken a special interest in her since she is performing for her. Almost immediately Catherine asks her to leave, explaining that she was dismissed for meddled in things she shouldn’t have, and that she won’t make the same mistake twice.
After she is kicked out, she finds Chris, who’s been eavesdropping. He admits to have stolen one of Catherine’s grimoires that last time they were here. Since she offered to help Cécile, he was planning on returning it, as he was disturbed by its contents. But when Catherine kicked her out he decided to keep it. She looks through the book and one page in particular stands out to her. Cécile makes a choice then to ignore Catherine’s advice about staying away from blood magic.
Chapter 20
Tips is examining the real plans for the construction of the tree with Tristan. He’s surprised that the blueprint is so different. They turn their discussion to how Tips lied to Tristan about his true name, and Tristan asks how that is even possible. Although Tips isn’t completely sure, he believes it has something to do with being part human, although not all half-bloods have the capability, as it takes quite a bit of willpower. Tristan tells Tips that Lessa is masquerading as Anaïs, and as he’s explaining the situation, he realizes that his father already knows that some half-bloods can lie and is using that information against his enemies. Tristan tells Tips he has an idea. That it’s more than a bit mad, and if it goes poorly, they might both lose their heads. Tips agrees to go along with it anyway.
Chapter 21
Chris arrives at Cécile’s home with a chicken in tow. It is the last piece she needs to perform the locator spell she found in Catherine’s grimoire. When they arrive in the kitchen, Cécile begins the spell, which is supposed to create a burn mark showing Anushka’s location on the map of Trianon. She can feel the magic working, but once the spell is complete, there are nineteen burn marks on the map. It didn’t work. Disappointed and frustrated, she starts to wonder who she has become. Chris assures her that she has not turned evil, that she’s only trying to help those she cares for.
She begins to clean up the mess, but when she tells Chris to throw the map in the fire, he hesitates. He notices that at least ten of the burn marks are in cemeteries. Wondering if it has something to do with how Anushka has been maintaining her immortality, they decide to check out the locations. They discover that all but two of the markings are graves or tombs of dead women. One marking is out of the city limits, but the last is within the castle walls. They cautiously make their way to castle keeping a safe distance. All of a sudden Cécile feels compelled and starts moving dangerously close to the castle gates, eliciting the threats of the guards. Chris stops her in time and they decide to stop their hunt for the night.
When she arrives back home her mother is there waiting. She sees through Cécile’s flimsy lie. Her mother has no idea where she’s been. But she assumes Cécile is having an affair with Chris. They argue and her mother forbids her from going out. Angry, Cécile retires to her room. When she enters there is red writing on the wall that says tick, tock, Princess, and she knows her time is running out.
Chapter 22
Tristan is summoned to see the King, and though it’s part of his plan, he’s nervous. He can hear the mob of angry half-bloods outside. He is given protection on his way to the throne room because many half-bloods want to kill him. When he arrives, the King tells him that he’s been accused of destroying all the work that had been done on the stone tree. Tristan admits to being guilty. The half-bloods in the throne room begin shouting, demanding that he be punished. The King voices his surprise at Tristan having destroyed the structure he’d dreamed of building, and Tristan tells him that it was because “they weren’t his plans.” The crowd speculates on his meaning, and then Tips steps forward. He tells the King that Tristan’s actions were motivated by spite, because when he tried to regain the half-bloods support to move against the King, they rejected him.
Tristan watches his father’s reaction as Tips recites the conversations he had with Tristan, all of it the truth, which the exception of the last: that the half-bloods wanted nothing more to do with him, and that they’d go to the grave before seeing him on the throne. Tristan confirms the conversation happened. Which it had. That Tips had been lying through his teeth when he’d said it did not change the fact the words had come from his lips. No one in the room doubts that Tristan has confirmed Tips’s words, except the King, who has used the same ruse before himself.
The King knows Tips is lying, but he can’t call him out without revealing the half-bloods ability to all those present. Caught up in his own web of duplicity, he believes that the half-blood mob calling for Tristan’s death is an act – that Tristan once again has them under his control. He asks Tips what the half-bloods want. Tips tells him that as punishment, they want the King to order Tristan to rebuilt the stone tree. The King agrees, but then Tips demands that Tristan promise to finish it (which was not part of Tristan’s plan). Furious, the King tells Tips he has no right to ask for such a thing, but Tristan gives his word anyway. The King tells him under his breath that he was a fool to bind himself so.
As Tristan heads back to his room, he’s pleased that he was able to trick his father. There is a tray of food waiting for him. It’s from his aunt who says that she still cares about him so she sent this tray with Élise. He looks for a message, but finds none. Giving up for the moment, he starts to eat the soup on the tray and finds the name Anaïs written at the bottom of the bowl. Élise has discovered the source of the King’s anger.
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Chapter 23
Trapped in her room Cécile mulls over everything she has learned so far. They know that Anushka is somehow using the deceased women they found in the graves to maintain her immortality. As she continues to mull through all of the information, Sabine comes in. She admits that she had hoped to free Cécile of her connection to the trolls, but she sees now that they have even more influence over the human world than she had realized.
Cécile tells Sabine her theory about the Regency. She believes that the Regency began when the trolls became trapped in the mountain. The Regent was put in place to hold onto the power until the trolls could kill Anushka. Cécile believes that the Regency wanted to keep the power so they have been hiding Anushka while conducting witch-hunts to appease the trolls. Catherine might have been in the castle to help Anushka stay young. The only way they can confirm this, however, is by doing a spell as Catherine refuses to talk to her.
Cécile performs the same spell that she used on Élise and she watches Catherine’s memory. The memory opens with Catherine reciting a spell for eternal youth. Then the memory follows Catherine through the castle. She arrives at a woman’s door, but Cécile can’t see the stranger’s face. Catherine tries to tell the woman that she wishes to stop; she is having a hard time hiding the bodies and she doesn’t want to practice the dark magic anymore. The woman says that she must continue. Cécile notices that the woman makes Catherine’s spell sound vital, rather than just a spell for vanity. The memory ends and Cécile still hasn’t seen the woman’s face. She decides then that she must speak to Catherine again. The only problem is getting around her mother.
Chapter 24
Tristan is fulfilling his promise to work on the tree. The project is a constant drain on his abilities, however, and he can feel the wear of constantly using his magic. Despite the dire effects on his health, he loves working on the tree and helping his people.
As he is walking to one construction site, he hears Pierre yelling at some members of the Builders’ Guild. There had been a small quake the night, but Pierre believes the Guild hasn’t done a good enough job checking to see if the tree needs adjustments for shifts in the rocks. Reminding them that this is against his father’s orders, Tristan checks the magic of the tree himself.
One of the men steps forward and asks Tristan to explain what he’s doing. While Pierre is still yelling at the other two builders, the troll reveals to Tristan that many of the builders have suspected that the King had given them false plans. He tells Tristan that the half-bloods are not the only people who want Tristan on the throne. Many full bloods feel that Tristan is their only chance at survival. Just then a messenger comes from the palace. He is there to announce the engagement of Prince Roland and Anaïs.
Chapter 25
It has been a week since Cécile took Catherine’s memory, but she has been unable to go see her thanks to her mother’s monitoring of her activities. She asks her mother how much longer she’s going to be so restricted, and her mother tells her only until the masque is complete. After that, she doesn’t care what Cécile does. Cécile notes that her mother seems to be obsessed with the event. Julian is present, and he is amused by their arguments. He professes a desire to go out, and Cécile convinces her mother to let her go with him.
Cécile convinces Julian to go with her to Pigalle, and she leaves him in the carriage while she goes in to see Catherine. The other witch is drunk on absinthe, and tells Cécile to leave. But when Cécile extracts the stolen grimoire from her bag, Catherine flies into a rage. It is short lived. Cécile tells her about the memory she stole from her mind, and presses Catherine for more information on the woman she was serving. Catherine tells her that for a long time, all the woman wanted was creams that would keep her from aging, but that one time she asked for a love potion to use on the Regent. She didn’t want to make it, because it would be a betrayal of Lady Marie, but out of fear she did it anyway. But instead of the potion making the Regent fall in love with the mystery woman, it made him fall in love with Catherine, which was a disaster. Cécile tells her that she suspects the mystery woman was a witch herself, and that she altered the potion as a way to get rid of Catherine. She offers Catherine a chance to get back at the woman who ruined her life by helping Cécile find her.
3. Tristan is pretty angry/disgusted to learn about the betrothal of Anaïs (Lessa) to Roland. What were you thinking at this point? Did you believe this was more of the King’s manipulation, or did you think that Lessa or Angoulême was putting a strategy into play? Tell me all your guesses. spoiler
I was kind of grossed out about the betrothal between Anais (Lessa) and Roland for they are half siblings so that is kind of wrong. i think Lessa has a strategy in play for she did try to kill Tristan. As well as that i think that she feels like she has a rightful claim to the throne and so she is trying to get it in anyway possible.
1. I have never quit a series because of a character death, I have had to put it down for a bit, but I usually keep going as long as the main character doesn't die. :) 2. The chicken murder did freak me out a little, and I understand why she had to do it, but it was still a little freaky. I can't say, I really don't know if I would do it or not.
3. I thought it was Angoulême trying to control Roland and take over.
4. I thought it showed his real character, how honest and good he can be.
5. I was so frustrated cause I was trying to figure it out so badly lol my theory was that she was finding young girls to suck the youth out of.
1. I haven't had the issue of stopping a book because of my favorite character dying yet, but when I do stop a book it's either because my favorite is either never addressed again or if something happens to completely alter their personality from nice to not so nice *cough* ice like fire *cough*2. To be honest, I think Cecile did the right thing. Sure dark magic is malicious and evil, but it was necessary. I'd like to also say that Cecile had used all her previous resources before she resorted to dark magic, so it's not like she had any feasible options at this point (not to mention the pressure of the kings promise too). I would say that I would've taken the same decision Cecile had taken if that was my last option...no matter how horrendous a crime chicken murder is.
3. Okay when it came to the betrothal I was a little weirded out too. To me, the king didn't seem like someone who would have his pure blood line tainted by union to a half blood, even though it was perceived to be a union with a pure blood and that this entire thing could very well be a plot, because the king isn't someone who would take the chance of even thinking about the farce of engagement when Roland was very much under Angoulemes control (and the king was aware of this). Personally, I also didn't think Angouleme would do anything like this either because his main goal is on getting either Tristan or the king (or both) outta the way so that when Roland becomes king, Angouleme will become all but that. So this led me to think of the culprit being Lessa because she has been the one who was denied to grow up in a royal household with as much importance as that of Tristan and Roland because of her blood, so it makes sense that she would want to marry into the bloodline to gain that power and importance.
4. I think Tristan for once made an uncalculated move based on his feelings after the fiasco with Cecile. From a strategic standpoint, he could've been smarter and avoided getting tangled up in a promise he didn't need to make, like his father advised him to. However, the fact that he did make such a decision resonated with the half bloods to some degree because of his sincerity about his need to help, and this is what ultimately won them over. By abandoning logic and thinking with his heart, Tristan definitely became stronger and more capable since he was completely devoted to it NOW, after realizing its importance as he was so close to losing it. So yeah I don't think he made a mistake per se.
5. Alright so this entire thing is a HUGE BIG FAT spoiler, so if you haven't read the entire story yet, DO NOT READ THIS!
I personally was thinking in the same state of mind that the author was hinting at, but my conclusions didn't quite align with hers. What I thought was happening was that Genevieve was either aiding anushka or was anushka herself. Obviously we find out that the latter was true, but not quite in the way I imagined it. I thought that Genevieve was anushka in the SAME body through the years rather than shifting through bodies of a blood line. With the talk of glamour spells and creams, I thought that anushka was killing off these people in order to take their life spans as hers, and that she was late in doing the same to Cecile, making her resort to the aforementioned glamour spells to make herself look young.
1. No, I only quit a series if I can't connect with the characters or don't like the writing. Although, Game of Thrones may be the only tv series I've quit for a reason like this (haven't decided if I'll finish where I stopped watching). Not because all the good guys die (although that helped the decision), but the violence and Sansa-thing.This is also common, but I don't quit a series if my ship/favourite pairing don't end up together. It's actually a bit sad when people quit a great series because their pairing sank.
2. I actually liked the dark magic Cecile; I felt it was an interesting twist. The spell was wrong, but I can't say she would have found another solution that worked to the same degree, at least in Hidden Huntress.
1. Not with a book, but I did stop watching Downton Abbey after the killed the love of my life. *sobs uncontrollably* It was so unfair! It took me over a year to finally watch the rest of the seasons but I now see it with distaste. Also, Maggie Smith, she is worth it.2. I would have done it. I'm very much against murdering chickens but considering Cecile's situation, it's worth a try. I'M SORRY CHICKEN. :(
3. My first thought was EW. Roland, evil and all, is still a CHILD. Lessa a full grown woman, possibly around her 20's? Anyway, this was definitely Lessa's and Angouleme's plan to ensure the crown. At this point, Roland started to appear more of an evil puppet than an actual calculating threat. King Thibault's plans suddenly became unclear to me, and this frightened me. I didn't know what was going on in his brilliant mind other than make Cecile hunt for Anushka.
4. It was right of him to do it. I'm glad he did! His promise isn't as as binding as the use of a name, but as Trolls seem to value promises and their words as much as their honor, they tend to work hard to keep them. However, I did fear that this promise would tear him apart and bring him an early death. Just as Cecile's promise to the king was making her go mad. But I hoped it wouldn't go as bad. I mean, there still was a third book to go. Also, back to question 1, I think I would have died if he died because of this promise and I would have chased you, Danielle, with a pitchfork. 0:)
5. Before the cemetery scene, I just thought Anushka was changing identities throughout the times. Like faking pregnancies or just having lots and lots of babies (them being dead or somewhere in the world), setting herself apart from society, using magic to glamour herself, then come back to the stage, repeat, until the point Cecile comes into the story. But after this... I started suspecting the ugly truth.
1. I don't think so, because I don't think I've ever read a book in which a character I loved was killed (and the story continued). But I think there's a high chance I would. The book would have to have a lot of other characters I love for me to keep reading.2. At first I would say that I would have tried to find another way, because once you start doing wrong things, it is probably hard to tell when to put an end to it. But considering Cécile was rushed by the promise she made to the king, I don't think she could have done it differently.
3. I honestly don't remember what I thought about that when I read the book the first time. I'm not very good at these manipulation games the king and Angoulême play, so I didn't know what was going on but that didn't surprise me hahaha.
4. I think he was right to do it. He needed to prove himself trustworthy again and I was glad he would get his allies back and that he would take a leap of faith and "bind" himself to them.
5. At this point I thought that Anushka was using magic to keep herself young, and that magic somehow required people to die (something like she needed to "suck the life out" of other people in order to remain young and alive). (view spoiler)
Danielle, may I suggest you add in the messages with the questions a link that explains how to hide spoilers with html? I think a lot of people might not know how to do it. Here's one! :)https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
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Chapter 16 – This is one of my favorite scenes in the novel, because it reveals the sorts of conversations Tristan has been having with his aunt all through his life. Also, it’s the second time in as many chapters that Reagan has been mentioned. Which given that she’s not been an important character, should make you start wondering how she’s going to come into play.
Chapter 17 – The friendship between Cécile and Sabine was really important to me, and I really like how we are starting to see how far Sabine has come from the girl who was scared to ride a horse to the young woman she becomes. IMHO, Sabine has one of the most developed character arcs of all the secondary characters in the series – she really changes and comes into her own.
Chapter 18 – In this section of chapters, but this one in particular, I wanted the reader to see the King more as a man and less as a uniformly villainous villain. Hidden Huntress is full of little clues to what’s going on in his mind, and I loved drawing on them for Warrior Witch.
Chapter 19 – The chapters where Cécile and Catherine interact were rewritten more than any other part of the novel. I really struggled with how I wanted to characterize Catherine. She was originally more of a mentor/teacher, but I ended up making her more of a reluctant ally.
Chapter 20 – Tristan likes to eat when he’s working on a problem. It’s a character trait that pops up over and over again, and one of the awesome entries for the Hidden Huntress art competition featured him nibbling away as he worked on his plans.
Chapter 21 – Nineteen burn marks. THAT number was quite the challenge to come up with, because there were a whole bunch of factors. I wish I still had the scraps of paper where I worked out the number, but at any rate, I’ll write a post about it when we get further along in the book.
Chapter 22 – Figuring out how to trick the King in this chapter took me forever to figure out. One of the hard parts about writing characters that are supposed to be super clever strategic geniuses is that I have to think up super clever genius strategies. Which given that I’m not a super clever strategic genius, is often quite the challenge.
Chapter 23 – Not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but if I every use a specific ingredient in a spell, it’s because it has a real-world property that relates to what the spell does. Rosemary is good for the memory. In Warrior Witch, Cécile uses Lobelia and Passiflora for two different spells.
Chapter 24 – This is sort of a funny story, but one of my mom’s friends told me once that she thought Pierre was the only likeable character in my novels.
Chapter 25 – Cécile makes quite a few BIG MISTAKES in this series, but taking Julian to see Catherine is the only one I actually consider stupid.
1.) I've never actually stopped reading a series just because a character died. Even if it was my favorite character. I'll probably get a little angry at the author for doing that, but I'll keep reading because I always need to know how a story ends. And then, by the time I get to the end, I'll usually forgive the author for killing off my favorite character. Afterwards, I can judge the book without taking that death into account.2.) I understand why Cecile performed those dark spells; she was desperate to find Anushka and keep Tristan safe. But I'm still not all that happy about the dark magic itself. The chicken-killing spell really made me cringe; she was murdering an innocent, trusting chicken for its blood!
But in the long run, it was probably right for her to do it because she needed to find Anushka as quickly as possible. And it wasn't as if she was having any fun doing those spells, so her humanity is still safe.
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Hi Morgan,
SUPER ICKY, RIGHT?! Yes, Lessa definitely has plans of her own. She IS the daughter of the King and sister to Tristan, so can you really expect anything less?
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2. The chicken murder did f..."
Hi Abby,
I think a lot of people guessed that was how Anushka was staying immortal... sort of like the queen in Snow White and the Huntsman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-UMN...
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Hi Adriyannna,
Ugg, the Sansa thing was so horrible. Also the burning of the little princess. I was not happy about them showing us all that.
1. Yes I have. I eventually finished it but I was unhappy with the outcome, particularly since it was very unexpected.2. Difficult to say. I do believe she should have learned more before delving into anything. She needed to know all the consequences but with no one willing to teach her it made it that much harder. Desperate times call for desperate measures and I have my doubts as to whether she was really willing to do any of what she was doing. Yes she wanted answers, she needed them in fact, but then there’s the compulsion of the king. It’s hard to say how much was her will to do and how much was forced by the king. In her shoes though, I don’t think I wouldn’t have been willing to do it, but there’s still the question of how much was her will and how much was the king, she may not have had any choice in the matter.
3. It was disgusting, they were brother and sister and he was only a child, however monstrous he still was. I think it was a little bit of all three using her. Lessa wanted to be Queen, to be given the place she’d been denied by her birth, Agouleme need Roland in order to take power and the king needed the engagement to keep pushing Tristan’s buttons, but also at the time you could also start reading between the lines to the ploy of a desperate man. The engagement works all ways but most especially for Lessa and Agouleme.
4. It was a good thing really. He needed their trust, he needed to prove himself to them after all his epic fails and this was one way. Building it was necessary to prove that he could in fact be a good leader and act in the best interests of his people which was something he failed epically to do in Stolen Songbird, this was the beginning of it for that.
5. YES! Honestly I knew it had to be some kind of blood magic, her book and the way it only opens for her bloodline is a big clue as to how powerful this is. Hoe exactly I didn’t guess until a little later but still hadn’t been too off. I figured she’d become some kind of vampire-like creature or was using some very dark magic to accomplish it. Both of my guesses were right she is a parasite and it occurred with some very dark and very powerful dark human magic
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Hi Shreya,
That's a very astute analysis of the Anais/Roland betrothal - I'm impressed!
(view spoiler) I LIKE red herrings :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_her...
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I REALLY need to watch Downton Abbey. I love historical fiction so much. I was OBSESSED with The Tudors.
The only series I can remember quitting because a character died is the Star Wars novels. Chewie died and I was done.
1. I think I may have once or twice, but I can't remember a specific title. For the most part though, I keep reading because if I like that series enough to really have a favorite chracter, it has other redeeming qualities for me as well.3. I thought it was more of an Angoulême scheme, and I too was digusted. I think I hadn't really made up my mind about Lessa before that, but after this...You know how much I love (REAL) Anais lol
5. I'm not going to say too much, but I was definitely starting to have some suspicions that it was a lot closer to her than she thinks.
1. I haven’t yet had one of my favorite characters from a book series die on me, so no, I haven’t quit reading something because of that. I have quit a few tv shows though. And it’s not so much that my favorite characters were killed off, but HOW they were killed. Usually they die in some kind of violent and completely unnecessary way simply for shock value, or they go totally out of character just for the sake of drama and end up causing their own death. And usually these deaths don’t impact the story in any meaningful way. I just think that if the only way writers can create drama is to kill a character unnecessarily, then maybe they need to rethink the story. And if that character really just has to go, there are ways to get rid of them without having to resort to killing them off. I guess I’m just really tired of all the shock value deaths. But yeah, if I ever encounter a favorite character death like any of these in a book series, I most definitely would stop reading. It’s probably the surest way to get me to quit a story. That and OOC characters in general. I feel like if you need to make your character do stupid things or go against their previous characterizations without reason simply to further the plot, the story was probably pretty weak to begin with. I could talk about this forever, so I’ll just stop here. lol2. Haha I live in the grey these days, so yeah, I think Cecile can commit chicken murder and still be a good person trying to do the right thing. I really think the intentions behind her actions are what are important here. It’s not like she set out to murder any and all chickens. The chicken’s sacrifice had purpose, and afterwards, they were going to give it to a family in need, so it wasn’t wasted. And if there were any other options available to Cecile, I’m sure she would have saved sacrificing the chicken as a last resort. Would I have sacrificed the chicken? If I had no other options, yeah, I probably would.
3. I was thinking ewww because Roland and Lessa are siblings!! Half-siblings, yes, but that’s still incest. Also, Roland is just a kid. And I was worried because I can’t imagine anyone would want to be bonded to an insane troll child. I’m not sure this was the King’s doing, honestly. If it was, then why was he so angry about Anais? It doesn’t seem right that Angouleme would be behind this either because he believes Anais is still alive, so I guess that just leaves Lessa.
4. Well, I haven’t finished reading the whole book yet, but for now it seems like it’s been a good way to gain the half-bloods’ trust back.
5. I figured she was stealing power from other people/witches to keep herself young, sort of like in True Blood when Marnie kills Jesus. Or like in the movie Hocus Pocus with the potions and child sacrifices. lol
1. Yes i have2. The chicken murder scared me.
3. I thought it was Angoulême trying to control Roland and take over.
4. I thought it showed his real character, how honest and good he can be.
5. My theory is a bit vampiristic. I think she sucked the blood of young maiden , that's why she could be an immortal
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1. Oh never! I don't think I could ever just stop reading a story I would always have to know what happened, especially why that character needed to die!! I hope this isn't foreshadowing something to come in Warrior Witch!2. I think black magic always comes at a price and always hungers for more (well it always does in almost every book I've read that involves dark magic). I think getting the location was key in helping Cecile figure some things outs but it also came at a price. I think it was worth it and I would have done the same thing!
4. I think 100% Tristan giving his word to the half bloods to build the tree was a good way to earn their trust. It came at a huge price to him but I think he violated their trust so deeply in Stolen Songbird that he needed just as big of a promise to help right that wrong. Plus building the tree was something that needed to be done for Trollus in general!
Danielle wrote: "Here are the discussion questions (a bit early, because I'm off to Emerald City Comic Con tomorrow) You can answer as many or as few as you want, and you can also pose questions about these chapter..."1. Not that i remember Edit: on second thought I was super disappointed reading Mistborn when a character died but i ultimately stopped resding because i didn't forsee a good sequel after such an epic and conclusive first novel.
2. I think it was not a good step for her, nothing good ever comes of dark magic.
3. Ew
4. I dont really know if that was an effective way to gain their trust and certainly there is a lot of risk in it but he did have those intentions in the first place so i dont think it's the worst thing ever
5. I knew who Anushka was and how she was alive from the library scene in SS so that whole part of the book wasn't terribly interesting for me.
1. I HAVE stopped reading a series when one of my favorite characters dies before. I'm one of those people who reads the ending before I start the book and if I don't like where they end up, I either wait for the sequel, stop reading, or put it off for a while. Knowing the ending has never ruined a book for me, though, because it's not the fact that they get there that interests me, but HOW the characters get there. Anyway, I did this with the Divergent series and briefly with The Infernal Devices. I'm probably going to do this with the Half Bad trilogy because of reasons. I've definitely stopped watching A LOT of tv shows because of this, though. I was so angry about a character on Teen Wolf dying that I ended up writing a 40 page paper about it (I also included Supernatural and Penny Dreadful - it was about fridging female characters).
1. I don't remember I stopped reading a series because my favorite characters died. lol2. It kind of creeped me out at some point. Dark magic is somewhat scary (reminds me of Hex Hall lol). But Cecile has good intentions and during desperate times, there's no helping it but resort to what you think is the best method.
3. At first I was like "wth? Pedo!" Hahahaha. I thought Lessa might have been too desperate to attain power so much because, seriously, to agree to be betrothed to a child???
4. I don't think it's a mistake, but it's totally risky, because we all know how promises in Trollus can bind someone in the worst possible way. But I also think that it's the best way to gain their trust.
5. It's hard to guess her method tbvh, but I know it involves extremely dark magic. Haha
1. I've read alot of books where a favorite character dies unfortunately,I never stopped reading though, they usually end up being my favorite series weirdly enough. I think it'd be different if the love interest died but I haven't had that happen in a book yet and hope it doesn't! 2. I don't think dark magic is smart to use, it's called "dark" for a reason lol but I think Cecile did what she could and hopefully won't resort to it often.
3. I definitely think it's Angauleme or Lessa playing some sort of strategy because they are using Roland's power.
Mod
Hi Mandy
Killing off the love interest is certainly risky business (which means I'd totally be down with doing it, hahah!). If the novel is classified as a romance, you couldn't get away with it. But if the romance is only a subplot, that's different. A good example is Carrie Ryan's (view spoiler)
Mod
2. It kind of creeped me out at some point. Dark magic is somewhat scary (reminds me of Hex Hall lol). But C..."
Hi Erika,
There is no limit to how far Lessa is willing to go, that's for sure. Incest aside, she's pretending to be Anais, who was only 17 when she died, which is why no one in Trollus is too concerned about the age gap. I sort of had Tommen and Margaery from Game of Thrones in mind for that plot twist.
1. I haven't... yet. lol We shall see Walking Dead... We shall see...2. I think she was right to perform it. I know it's dark and all that... but maybe I think more darkly too? lol
3. I totally thought it was Angouleme trying to bump into the Royal line. If the king broke off the betrothal between Tristan and Anais, then why would he let Roland marry her? Unless he knew it would never happen?
4. I think it was a mistake to give his word. I think he should have worded it better?
5. I had my guesses and suspicions from the beginning... They turned out to be half true? lol I didn't figure out the How she stayed immortal.
Mod
2. I think she was right to perform it. I know it's dark and all that... but maybe I think more darkly too? lol
3. I totally..."
Yesssss. Given the King had no interest in Tristan marrying Anais because of the affliction in her bloodline, it makes no sense that he'd want her to marry Roland. Plus, he knows who she is, and as villainous as he is, the King does have his limits on how far he'll go with certain matters. Lessa, on the other hand...
Mod
Hi Brittani!
Gahhhhhhhh!!! The idea of reading the ending first is like sacrilege to me. I've never done it, and I never will.
I also stopped watching Supernatural because they kill all the female characters. Annoys me to no end that the male characters can die/almost die, then be resurrected/saved a zillion times, but the girls never get the same treatment.
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Hi Kelsea
I do enjoy pushing the moral limits of my characters, because I've always found it interesting how far people will go to save themselves, someone they care about, or to accomplish something important.
Mod
Hi Ashley,
I'm a total character killer, so hopefully I don't aggravate you too badly!!
Danielle wrote: "Brittani wrote: "1. I HAVE stopped reading a series when one of my favorite characters dies before. I'm one of those people who reads the ending before I start the book and if I don't like where th..."Everyone who knows that about me like, recoils in horror every time. I can't stand the suspense! Especially because I will build up my expectations and then sometimes be disappointed with the ending, even if it's amazing.
That was part of what I talked about! Particularly in Supernatural, the dudes are resurrected SO MANY TIMES, but the ladies rarely are. If, on the very slim chance they are resurrected, they're usually treated as monsters/forces to be stopped, to make the double standard even more gross. I loved that paper, it was so much fun.
1. I have never stopped reading a book series because one of my favorite characters died because even if they do die, the plot moves forward and the story goes on. I have however stopped reading a book series when my favorite character becomes unrecognizable, and when I feel like the writer went completely 180 on the character. 2. The ritual did scare me a little bit because of what she was doing, but I feel she did it because didn't know any other way. It was necessary for Cecile to do it, and I feel like if I were in her shoes I would've done the same thing.
Mod
2. Difficult to say. I do believe she should have learned more before delving ..."
Hi Karim,
It's a very good question how much of what Cecile does is motivated by the compulsion she's under. If she'd been acting entirely of her own free will would she have done things differently? Impossible to know, although Tristan contemplates that very question at the beginning of Warrior Witch.
Mod
Hi Thissi,
A few of you have mentioned characters doing a complete 180. Do you have examples of this? Does it bother you because the character because someone you dislike, or because you think the author isn't being true to the character they created?
Danielle wrote: "Ellie wrote: "1. I haven't... yet. lol We shall see Walking Dead... We shall see...2. I think she was right to perform it. I know it's dark and all that... but maybe I think more darkly too? lol ..."
Also! Random Fact 20!!! <3 I looove his little habit of eating. so cute <3
1. ALMOST. Characters are what keeps me in a book the most, so I usually consider dropping the book if my favorite character dies. Luckily, that doesn't happen often though. Generally my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE character is kept alive. Or the death ends up being faked. Oh yeah, also I decide to keep reading anyway because I hope and pray that the character isn't ACTUALLY dead. Surprisingly, they end up being alive most of the time.
1. I don't think I've ever quit a series because a fave character is killed, but I have given up on series because they seem to get twisted and prolongued and adding more drama just to keep it going, and I just lose interest. I have been seriously upset because a character died and I hate when that happens, but up to this point, I haven't given up on a series for it. Now, I'm worried about casualties in this book!! O_o2. I can sort of understand Cecile trying to use any resources at her disposal to try and get some answers, but as her main flaw... she cannot see the forest because of the trees, so she keeps on blundering a bit short sightedly, and the compulsion from the troll promise is not helping...
3. I'm not really sure whose plan it is to get Roland bethroted to Anäis/Lessa... I'm sort of thinking it is mostly Lessa's plan but she might have convinced both Angouleme and the King that it was their idea?
4. I think Tristan's promise was the right thing to do, even if it's gonna cost him greatly because of how the promise combined with his situation is taxing him and his magic. It's at least a step in the right direction, playing the big game and tricking his father but also doing what he thinks it's right and revealing a truth to the half bloods.
5. Cécile's suspicions were making me doubt my own theories, but after the latest revelations... I'm still trying to figure out a few things, but I think my theory still stands! I get the feeling the masque will be really important and will reveal if I'm right or not!
Danielle wrote: "Thissi wrote: "1. I have never stopped reading a book series because one of my favorite characters died because even if they do die, the plot moves forward and the story goes on. I have however sto..."I don't know about everyone else, but when I say a character doing a complete 180 I usually mean that the author goes back on what they wrote of the character, and made them a completely different person from who they were before. I understand character development and how a character grows, but it's different if they butcher the type of character that the person was by completely changing their personality, which ends up making them unrecognizable. I feel like it bothers me mainly because the author doesn't stay true to the character they created, and because it feels like they changed their mind on what the character should be like midway through the books. I like when there's consistency, and it irks me when something abruptly changes like that.
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1. I have never quit a series because one of my favorite characters has died. Usually it's because I can't connect with the book or characters, but that always happens within the 1st book for me. 2. Cécile is so desperate, because of the magic in regards to the promise she made to the king, that I get why she choose to go after dark magic, I think if I was in her shoes, and felt the pull of her promise, I'd do the exact same thing.
5. While I figured out who Anushka was before Cécile did, I had no clue how she was staying immortal. When we found out the how, I was shocked. It was such a clever twist!
Thissi wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Thissi wrote: "1. I have never stopped reading a book series because one of my favorite characters died because even if they do die, the plot moves forward and the story goes on. I..."Hi Thissi,
You're the winner of this week's signed edition of Warrior Witch. If you could just send me an email at penny.reeve@angryrobotbooks.com with your address then I'll get a copy out to you as soon as possible.
Thanks,
P
Thissi wrote: "1. I have never stopped reading a book series because one of my favorite characters died because even if they do die, the plot moves forward and the story goes on. I have however stopped reading a ..."Hey Thissi,
I haven't yet received your email. Can you please let me know your address so I can get your copy of Warrior Witch arranged?
Thanks,
Penny
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Unlike with the Stolen Songbird read-along, there are quite a few people who are reading Hidden Huntress for the first time. If you think your answer might spoil things for them, please mark it as a spoiler using html. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
One participant on this thread will win a signed copy of WARRIOR WITCH, courtesy of my publisher, Angry Robot Books
1. Have you ever quit reading a series because one of your favorite characters died?
2. Cécile begins to delve into some fairly dark magic (chicken murderer!), and it only gets worse through the novel. Do you think she was right to perform that spell, or do you think she should’ve found another way? Would you have done it?
3. Tristan is pretty angry/disgusted to learn about the betrothal of Anaïs (Lessa) to Roland. What were you thinking at this point? Did you believe this was more of the King’s manipulation, or did you think that Lessa or Angoulême was putting a strategy into play? Tell me all your guesses.
4. Was Tristan giving his word to the half-bloods to build the tree a mistake or a good way to earn the trust of the half-bloods? Feel free to reference the rest of the novel, but hide your answer as a spoiler if you think necessary.
5. Cécile discovers quite a few clues about Anushka in these chapters from the spell that revealed all the graves, to the memory she steals from Catherine, to the information Catherine willingly gives her during their visits. Did you have any guesses on how Anushka was remaining immortal? Hide your spoilers!