Early Reader Review: The Last Huntress by Lenore Borja

Source: From the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Last Huntress by Lenore Borja 

Series: Mirror Realm #1
Publisher: Sparkpress
Publication Date:  November 1, 2022

 

Format: Paperback ARC

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Alice Daniels has a problem. Her reflection keeps misbehaving when she looks in the mirror--and the longer she ignores it, the harder it tries to get her attention. On her eighteenth birthday, she learns why: she is a huntress, someone gifted with the power to enter mirrors and the magical world that exists beyond. But with this power comes immense responsibility, for in the Mirror Realm lurks an evil that has infected the human race for centuries: demons. It is up to her and her three huntress sisters--with the help of one handsome and overbearing protector--to hunt and banish this evil one demon at a time, thereby keeping the chaos in check. But when an ancient god pays Alice a visit that turns deadly, it is clear the Mirror Realm is more than it seems, and she soon finds herself in a race against time to save the life--and soul--of the one man the gods are determined to never let her have.

The Last Huntress is a story of redemption and sacrifice, the bonds of true sisterhood, and the impossible, sometimes frightening, things we'll do for love.

Review: 

Alice is the last huntress, a gift given to her by a Greek deity to help rid the world of demons that invade people's bodies. Normally, there are only three at a time, but Alice is now the 4th, and she has been gifted more than her cohort. 

This was such an interesting premise. I really liked this idea of a girl fighting evil through mirrors and the sisterhood that she would form with the other hunters, however some of this fell a little short. It was like a weird mix of Greek mythology and Alice in Wonderland mashed together. It was trippy at times and very spellbinding merge of these concepts. I am not sure if that was the authors intention, but it was cool nonetheless.

I really enjoyed the characters; the group of girls was interesting and fun, and Alice was a good main character who adapted well to her situation. I think that the lore and Greek mythology was handling wonderfully, you can tell research was done to pull it all together. I also really liked the descriptions and time they spent in the mirror realm and the descriptions of how it came to be. 

That being said, there were a few instances that rubbed me the wrong way, the biggest being that the story felt slightly disjointed because of the time jumps and changes throughout. I also felt like it was not clear what were dreams and what was real for some of those transitions, and it made it difficult to follow. I also was not a big fan of the romance in this story. Alice and Colin are soulmates, and it is portrayed as insta-love, which can be done well, but I feel like it wasn't given enough lore/explanation to tie it all together that wasn't just cringey to me. ...and then Colin gets super possessive and scary and I hated that, no matter the love and soulmate thing - it was not cool. 

Overall, I really liked the premise of this story and the world that was created, but I wanted more world build, and I wanted more fleshing out of the characters.