ladygrey
I wasn't sure about Ever the Hunted at first because the first few chapters are all internal monologue. It gave a bit of worldbuilding, but with only the barest context so I didn't really track most of it. I figured the import parts would come back around again when they mattered. The result, however, was a lot of telling things that could have been shown. And without some character interaction it threatened to get very boring, very quickly.
Thank goodness, that it does bring in other characters before too long. Though it's maybe 5 chapters before it gets to the good character. The flashbacks help some with that. Once Cohen shows up, then it's interesting because it feels like the story finally starts moving.
And once it's moving…. it's pretty good. Summerill uses decorative language subtly and skillfully. It feels like old school fantasy more than a YA book. A well evoked world that takes time for the characters to connect, for the emotional story to progress as much (or more than) the plot. In the same vein as Robin McKinley or Robin Hobb, but much better than Hobb in my opinion and not as abstract as McKinley. The story is more in the past than the present and it unravels well with enough questions and actions in the present to feel like momentum.
There's an odd editing miss here or there (like when he's between her and the door then he pushes off the bed). But for the most part, it's a solid story well told.
