This came to me as an ARC from the World Fantasy convention late last year.  I brought it home and stuck it on Toni’s to-read pile since my own pile was too big with books I’d promised various people to read and a few new ones from favorite authors. Toni finished it in days, at the most.  She stayed up late in bed, reading it, keeping me awake with the light on.   Since I often like the books that she likes, I picked it up the first chance I got to add something un-required to my list.

I loved it.

Malinda has confident and easy voice, and stuffs you right into her world without so much as a by-the-by.  I like this technique when it’s executed well, and reading Malinda’s prose was quite close to experience reading Neil Gaiman’s prose.  She simply brings a magical world fully to life.

I also liked that this is unapologetically a YA with a central love relationship between two girls.  We do live in a world that’s changing, and its good to see same-sex relationships treated with respect and delight and yet not in-your-face.  The relationship is part of the plot, important, but not the central story.  Huntress is a book about a magical quest and about growing up that includes a same-sex relationship and treats it as normal like air or water.  Well done.