Series: Hunter #1, Thieves #6
Audience: +18
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment LLC
Release Date: January 20th 2015
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
A New Heroine Rises...*Disclaimer: I received this ebook from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
Kelsey Atwood is a private detective with a problem. She came from a family of hunters, growing up on the wrong side of the supernatural world. Tracking down bail jumpers and deadbeat dads may not make her a lot of friends, but it’s a lot safer than the life she turned her back on. She was hoping to escape from the nightmares of her past, but her latest case has brought them right back to her door.
A young woman has gone missing, and she didn’t go willingly. When Kelsey discovers that the girl is actually a shifter, she knows she should drop the case and walk away. But this shifter was a sweet kid, and she’s in serious trouble. More females are missing and the evidence points to a legendary killer. Bodies are piling up, and her case is becoming center stage for a conflict that could shatter the fragile peace between wolves and vampires.
As the hunt intensifies, she finds herself trapped between two men—Gray, a magnetic half-demon lawman, and the ancient vampire Marcus Vorenus. Both men call to her, but when a shocking secret about Kelsey’s family is revealed, it could ruin them all. To stop the killer, she will have to embrace the truth about who—and what—she truly is.
I love Lexi Blake's Masters and Mercenaries books, and when I saw she also had a paranormal series I knew I had to try it out. I am super happy I got my courage on and tried it out, because I had a ton of fun reading it.
This felt like a classic story within the urban fantasy genre, with Kelsey a PI being hired for a job she's not really willing to take on. I loved seeing her struggle with the idea of going back to the supernatural world. I also liked her work ethics. Once she was in she was all in, and she did her job spectacularly, which isn't always a given. But she was professional and no matter her personal feelings about going back to the world she swore never to return to, she didn't let her fears, doubts or feelings affect the way she did her job, and that was really important to me.
Gray is a guy who didn't really convince me, really. He felt too possessive, too "in love" with Kelsey, and I kept thinking I didn't really like him all that much. And his relationship with Kelsey felt fake and too. But, as I have come to expect from Blake, she explained it all in the end of the book and I had a kind of "Ah-ha!" moment. At the same time I realized that I had to give Gray props, because he did kind of warned Kelsey and the reader that something fishy might happen.
Then you have Marcus. Marcus is one very strange vampire. He didn't feel all that put together as he wanted Kelsey to believe, and throughout the book we see him kind of having weird reactions to certain things and situations. I assume a lot of this is explained in the original series, so I won't judge him too harshly.
The pacing is perfect and I managed to read this book pretty fast. I loved how we also got to understand Kelsey's past and her reasons for not wanting to have to deal with the supernatural world. I do wonder if she'll finally get to tie up the loose ends of her childhood, if she will ever get revenge on what the man who raised her did.
I loved reading this book and I most definitely loved the difference between this book and the Masters & Mercenaries series that I love and adore. Because they are different, not just in the obvious genre department, but also in the feel of the story. Which is awesome. I also loved that this book proved that I could trust Blake to make sense and to steer the story in such a way that makes sense in the end. Definitely read this book if you're an urban fantasy/paranormal lover.
