Name: Mae Gabriel Loke's review of Hunting November by Adriana Mather
Item: Hunting November
Rating: 5
Author: Mae Gabriel Loke

Adriana Mather

Surviving a few weeks at the world's most lethal boarding school was one thing. But now comes the real test: Can November Adley find her missing father before her enemies find her? Subterfuge is the name of the game in this thrilling sequel to Killing November, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Hang a Witch. After surviving a crash course in espionage at the mysterious Academy Absconditi, November has only one purpose: finding her missing father. Along with fellow student (and heartthrob) Ash, November follows the clues that her father left, embarking on the deadliest treasure hunt of her life. The first clue is in her hometown, where old friends beckon and unexpected enemies lurk around every corner. The second clue is in Europe, where revelations about her family's history will plunge her into an international web of deception, lies, and intrigue. The third clue is deep in enemy territory, surrounded by the most skilled assassins and master strategists, and where everyone wants her and her father dead. Can one girl with limited training infiltrate a centuries-old organization that is powerful enough to topple empires? November only knows that she'll do whatever it takes to save her father . . . or die trying.

Hunting November

Mae Gabriel Loke

Holly

I loved Killing November. It had everything I love in a book--boarding schools, spies, murderous plots , a cute love interest, it had my name written all over it. Hunting November, while still really, really good, didn't quite live up to the hype of the first book in my humble opinion.

Summary

Hunting November follows November and Ash as they try to track down November's father, a Strategia who was thought to be long dead, but in reality, had been in hiding for the past twenty years before sending November off to the Academy.

I adore the characters (yes, even Aarya. She grows on you), they're all so different and interesting, and I appreciated how we got some backstory for Ines and Aarya (view spoiler)[even though that ended up serving as a tug to the heartstrings just for Ines to die fighting Jag (hide spoiler)] and this book had more tense situations, I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for the majority of it. I also appreciated there not being a love triangle, the majority of the drama of the story was focused on the situation at hand, and not on November's romantic feelings (though there was a little romantic angst)
 
However, I really missed the Academy. I loved the teachers and classes that we got to see, and the setting was truly mysterious--granted, we got most of the answers to November's questions in the first book. I also feel like the explanation for everything that happened to November was too clean and tidy--don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending, but it felt like it came out of left field; there were no clues that I can recall of hints to the bigger picture in the first book.

Overall, I love this duology, but I love the first book a little more.

Laura

"Aut cum scuto aut in scuto"
#1: Killing November ★★★★★
#2: Hunting November ★★★★★

Sara Bow

Mega Abschluss, hoffe aber so sehr, dass die Autorin noch mehr Geschichten über die Stratega herausbringt !!

Clara hash

J'ai ADO-RÉ l'entièreté de la duologie. Tout est vraiment bien ficelé et l'univers créé au travers de la Strategia est très convainquant, à deux doigts d'être triste que ce ne soit qu'une fiction. J'ai adoré les révélations de la fin, et quasiment tous les personnages (ce qui est quand même très très rare).

Rien d'autre à dire à part, lancez-vous dans cette duologie, c'est très rapide à lire

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher and netgalley. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Hunting November

Author: Adriana Mather

Book Series: Killing November Book 2

Rating: 3.5/5

Publication Date: May 5, 2020

Genre: YA Thriller

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, secret societies, spy stuff, murder)

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Pages: 368

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Surviving a few weeks at the world's most lethal boarding school was one thing. But now comes the real test: Can November Adley find her missing father before her enemies find her? Subterfuge is the name of the game in this thrilling sequel to Killing November, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Hang a Witch.

After surviving a crash course in espionage at the mysterious Academy Absconditi, November has only one purpose: finding her missing father. Along with fellow student (and heartthrob) Ash, November follows the clues that her father left, embarking on the deadliest treasure hunt of her life. The first clue is in her hometown, where old friends beckon and unexpected enemies lurk around every corner. The second clue is in Europe, where revelations about her family's history will plunge her into an international web of deception, lies, and intrigue. The third clue is deep in enemy territory, surrounded by the most skilled assassins and master strategists, and where everyone wants her and her father dead. Can one girl with limited training infiltrate a centuries-old organization that is powerful enough to topple empires? November only knows that she'll do whatever it takes to save her father . . . or die trying.

Review: Overall, this was a good book. It had a lot of action in it and the writing was really well done. The world building was also great and the pacing matched the tone of the book.

However, I feel like the book was a bit too tropey for me. It was a bit like Bourne Identity and it had the feel of it, but I just felt like it followed the tropes that a lot of action/thriller/spy books do. The romance also felt force and the characters didn’t feel that developed to me.

Verdict: It was good, but not my style.

Samantha Bass

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I would say it's a definite 3.75 stars.

We pick right up from the action at the end of Killing November, which was a little disorienting since I haven't read the book in a year. We immediately jump into action as the characters race off into action, getting the party started. 

I thought it was a great end to Killing November. There was action (duh, they're like spies), drama, and good endearing moments. The biggest reasons why I didn't give this a higher rating though is 1) I was immediately thrown into action with no recap, or explanation, just action. I'm not a big fan of that personally. 2) There were some moments where certain characters experienced a total personality switch from book 1 to 2. And it remains unexplained. 3) I thought the ending was sweet, but it was predictable and felt a little lack luster to me. 

Besides those issues I thought this was an awesome sequel! We get a nice, even end to November's story and I'm fairly satisfied.

Lynn Braden

November and Ash have left Academy Absconditi and are on the run looking for November's dad. He has left November a series of clues to lead her where she needs to go and to the people she needs to see, which offer some surprises along the way, including unexpected help from other students at the Academy.

With November and Ash on the run, Hunting November lends itself to a faster pace than Killing November, which is isolated to the location of the school. The book reminds me so much of a young adult version of the John Wick movies with the Strategia Families, the ruling council, and the rules they all must follow. The plot is a fun ride but a little over the top in terms of violence and drama that sometimes overwhelms the character development. Overall, however, this is an enjoyable story with lots of action and political intrigue making it well worth the read.

Mae Gabriel Loke &
Hunting November by Adriana Mather

Reviews

Join the club

Mae Gabriel Loke &Hunting November by Adriana Mather

Reviews

Join the club

Mae Gabriel Loke &
Hunting November by Adriana Mather