Review: The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed

Author: Mackenzie Reed
Edition:  eBook, Audiobook
Publisher: Harper Teen (October 31, 2023)
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Synopsis

My Review of The Rosewood Hunt

The Rosewood Hunt is a delightful YA mystery with a twisty treasure hunt, unexpected friends and family secrets!

I received a free digital eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

A Book to Devour

I love a YA Mystery and treasure hunts and (the romance not withstanding) was a big fan of the Inheritance Games series. So when I learned that The Rosewood Hunt was pitched to include a treasure hunt, family secrets and it was perfect for fans of the Inheritance Games? Well, dear reader, I was intrigued.

While it took me quite some time to finally get around to reading it, I ended up devouring The Rosewood Hunt in one day. I simply couldn’t stop!

Overall, I would say this is a fun book. The stakes simply aren’t that stressfully high. Yes there’s potentially millions of dollars at stake and eventually our main characters get chased by mysterious guys with guns, but the fun setting and character dynamics make this more of an adventure story than anything else. Which isn’t to say that it’s all fun and games. The Rosewood Hunt manages to weave in one of my favourite themes in stories: grief.

The Tendrils of Grief and Growth

Lily’s father died by suicide a year ago and she is firmly in the grasp of the tendrils of grief when a second death rocks her world. Suddenly, her gram, in many ways the center of her orbit, is dead too.

And while Lily quickly gets wrapped up in the thrill of the hunt, her grief and anger at the world and herself are ever-present companions in her story. When we meet Lily, she’s sympathetic but also fundamentally a rich girl who grew up with more than a smidge of entitlement. By the end of the book, she has grown and matured into someone who is much clearer on what they want and what the people around them need too. From a lonely grief-stricken girl dreaming of taking over the family business and feuding with her cousin, Lily turns into a self-assured young woman who cares deeply about her friends and using her resources in ways that benefit not just her own dreams, but those of the entire town.

Personally, I enjoyed seeing that development a lot because honestly, I didn’t expect a fun adventure mystery book to include quite this much character growth and nuance!

A Cast Worthy of a Teen Movie

Any mystery needs a good cast of quirky characters, and The Rosewood Hunt delivers.

I find unlikely teams of teenagers delightful to read about, they’re all so stubborn and unique in their budding identities and it always makes for a great dynamic. In The Rosewood Hunt, our crew couldn’t be more Breakfast Club:

• Leo, the jock and mansion yard-boy with complex family dynamics and a much deeper soul than his jock-ness might betray.
  
• Caleb, the nerd who of course at one point hacks a security system and is a stickler for a good plan
  
• Quinn, the mean lesbian with a knife, struggling against family expectations and the social games of high school. Yes, she is my favourite, why do you even need to ask!
  
• Lily, the former queen-bee, the princess who’s much smarter than people probably give her credit for but also much more flawed.

If that’s not a winning combination for a team of amateur sleuths hunting for a treasure, I don’t know what is! Oh, and did I mention this book involves a brief scene at a masquerade ball? Yeah, The Rosewood Hunt has it all!

Riddles and Clues

The Rosewood Hunt promises a treasure hunt, and it does deliver! If you’re expecting some intricate scheme of riddles and clues, this isn’t the book for that.

Instead, what unfolds is a small web of clues personal to each of the teens and locations in town, that reveal something about them and about the beloved Gram. It is a bespoke treasure hunt just for them, true to the grandma with a gleam in her eye concocting this plan. It even involves invisible ink! I wouldn’t quite call it “a fun romp”, but it’s pretty close to it.

Overall…

… The Rosewood Hunt was a delightful mystery and I absolutely devoured it in one sitting. The treasure hunt was fun, I liked all the characters and their growing dynamics and there were enough twists to keep me hooked. If you are looking for a fun book that still packs some depth, The Rosewood Hunt could be the perfect summer read for you this year! I feel like it begs to be read while on a beach or in a hammock.

This book is for you if…

…you like mysteries that feature treasure hunts, like The Inheritance Games.
…you are looking for a book that you can devour in one sitting

A post you might also enjoy:

My review of The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.