The Huntress

Having read the previous books in the series and really enjoyed them, I was not disappointed with The Huntress. If you like your romance mixed with suspense, you'll enjoy this novel. I even re-read it!

Susan Carroll is the author of the Daughters of the Earth series: The Dark Queen, The Courtesan, and The Silver Rose. This series is set in France in the 1580s. This book is the story of Cat O'Hanlon, the assistant to Ariane Cheney Deauville. Cat, the Huntress, is skilled in warfare of all sorts, including swords, and longbow. Ariane, the oldest of three sisters, is a healer and leader on Faire Isle, off the coast of France, a haven for the Daughters of the Earth, sort of white witches. There are evil witches, including Queen Catherine de Medici, and a group sworn to serve the Silver Rose, a witch whose destiny is to destroy Catherine and lead the Daughters to great power through her ability to decipher the ancient Book of Shadows. The Silver Rose is actually Meg, the young daughter of Martin le Loup. Martin and Meg are in hiding somewhere in England, and Cat must find them and protect them, and bring them to the Faire Isle for safekeeping. Martin is in London working in the theatre, and for Walsingham, the advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, as a spy. It is an exciting time when men can make their fortunes through strategic alliances. Martin is devoted to his young daughter, wants to raise her as a young gentlewoman, and hopes to make her forget all memories of her witch mother, Cassandra and her knowledge of the Book of Shadows. Cat cannot make Martin flee to the Faire Isle, so she remains in their house to keep them safe. Cat also tries to help a very confused Meg, and to ignore her feelings for Martin. Evil and dark events threaten both Meg and Martin, as minions of the Dark Queen, Catherine de Medici and followers of the Silver Rose both try to get to Meg and the Book. Queen Elizabeth faces threats from plotters and must decide how to deal with the menace of her older Catholic sister, Queen Mary. There are dashing fights, fires, arrows, devious plots, arrests by the queen's soldiers, tattoos of allegiance, magic and romance galore in this thrilling sequel to The Silver Rose. Armchair Interviews says: Susan Carroll does it again.

I was so glad to find this continuation of the Dark Queen series. This novel is full of the same suspense and intrique as the other novels, but this one brings a new levity and sense of humor with it that the others lacked in. I hope that Susan Carroll will continue with the story lines of the characters introduced in this book, because while more of the Cheney loose ends were addressed, now there are a whole new set to contend with. Happy reading.

By 1585 the Dark Queen Catherine de Medici knows her power is abating while Queen Elizabeth's is growing. Thus the Silver Rose Convent has flourished and the practitioners of the dark magic fears the prophecy of the earth daughter has begun especially when the comet soars across the sky. The Dark Queen knows she must act now or lose her power for eternity. Faire Isle huntress, Catriona O'Hanlon is sent to England to find the notorious Book of Shadows and Meg, the Lady of Faire Isle. However to bring Meg home, Catriona must battle with the young girl's protective powerful mage Martin Le Lupe. Still Catriona is a huntress with skills beyond the norm. She finds Meg and much more as she learns of Catherine's plot to assassinate the Virgin Queen and falls in love with her natural enemy, Martin. The fourth Dark Queen sixteenth century romantic fantasy (see SILVER ROSE, THE COURTESAN, and THE DARK QUEEN) is a superb historical that will have the audience enthralled throughout. As with the previous tales, women are on the world stage (at least in a mystical Western Europe) as they battle for control. Fans will appreciate this terrific entry in a great saga as the heroine struggles between protecting her Lady, her queen, and her heart. Harriet Klausner

I was very surprised (albeit pleasantly) to find out that Susan Carroll's latest novel is the continuation of her previous Dark Queen trilogy. I loved her story about the Chenney sisters but she left out a few things in 'The Silver Rose' unanswered. So I eagerly devoured this book in one sitting last night. I loved it! Susan Carroll is a very talented writer and one of her main strengths is her ability to draw complex characters yet appear very real. Catriona O'Hanlon is a refreshing heroine. She's free-spirited, feisty, able to wield her sword and shoot arrows with the best of them, and always speaks her mind. Although she appears to be fearless, she's actually quite vulnerable and a bit insecure inside thanks to her past treatment by her family and clan. The book takes place a few years after the end of 'The Silver Rose' so Martin LeLoup has gone through some changes, perhaps not so much physically, but his experience as a father to talented Meg and life on the run has made him very cautious, if not downright suspicious, to anything magic. Thus he wouldn't allow Meg to even mention anything magic related. Meg is also a unique character and Susan Carroll manages to capture Meg's innocence, confusion, and fear as a child filled with knowledge and power of magic beyond her years without making her appear to be some sort of Messiah or irritating know-it-all brat. The dialogues she had with Cat in one of the scenes when she started to open up a little bit nearly broke my heart for the little girl. As usual, Susan Carroll also manages to combine historical facts and fiction so seamlessly that the story flows smoothly and evenly paced. We get to know what happens finally to the Book of Shadow, and Ariana appears in a small dose and we get to know if she's finally able to have the child she longed for or not. We also get a glimpse of Catherine de Medici's ending. All in all, it has been a pleasure reading this book. If only I could find 'meaty' historical novels like this more often.