2.5 stars 
 I received an ARC of Ever the Hunted from Edelweiss and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 
 I was very excited to get an advance copy because of all the early buzz and praise surrounding this book. Also I loved the cover and the blurb, so my expectations were high for Ever the Hunted. Unfortunately I ended up disappointed once I finished it. I found the book to be boring, the characters are forgettable and the writing is flat. There were no surprises, every plot twist and turn was predictable. The writing is awkward and lacks fluidity. Random facts are presented to us without any reason or explanation behind it. For instance, in the beginning of the book, Britta is in mourning for two months after her father's death. We learn that she almost starved during the mourning period but it is never really addressed or explained why did she almost starve. Is it their custom not to eat during the mourning period? Was she not allowed to leave her house to fetch food or hunt? Are people not allowed to see or visit her? Lack of details in the writing such as this annoys me because it makes a book one-dimensional. 
 Also while I did not hate reading the book, I hated the ending. On one hand the ending is anti-climactic and on the other hand the author brings yet again another random development that just does not make any sense. It is not true to the story and the characters, and is done solely to prepare ground for the second book without any regard if it fits with the story or not. I don't want to say any more so as not to spoil the ending but I really disliked what the author did. I was going to give this book 3 stars but that ending nocked it down to 2.5 stars. I think this book is from the debut author and maybe this is why the writing is not polished and hopefully will improve in follow up books. Not sure I will be picking the second book though. The perfect story has captivating writing, highs and lows, developing and building up to an explosive and satisfying conclusion. Ever the Hunted does not have any of that. There are a lot of very positive reviews for Ever the Hunted and so it looks like I am in the minority for not liking the book. C'est la vie!