I’m having some trouble with the internet and posting. Lucky for me, Sue A. stepped in and saved the day!

A few months ago I offered some books for review. Sue volunteered to read Shiloh Walker’s HUNTERS: HEART AND SOUL and provide a review. Here’s the book information:

In the shades of night, when the evil are free to seduce the weak and indulge their desires, there are still those who will fight to the death for the innocent. They are called the Hunters.
They are at the heart of a sensuous and strange new world…

But in this strange enclave of midnight retribution and swift justice, some will come to discover a hunger they’d never imagined, a love that crosses unnatural boundaries, and a blood reckoning with a damnable past that could save the Hunters or destroy them.

Here’s the review:

Shiloh Walker has previously written about the Hunters in a series of e-books from Ellora’s Cave. HUNTERS: Heart and Soul is however the second book from a “new series” about the Hunters from Berkley Publishing. The first book was Hunting the Hunter and the third installment is Hunter’s Salvation which was just released. The author’s website states that it isn’t necessary to read Ellora’s Cave series of Hunters books before reading these from Berkley, she does however point out that there are recurring characters in the new series that originated in the first series.

I was hesitant to read the book because I generally don’t like to jump into the middle of a series, much like I don’t like to jump into the middle of a pool. I much prefer to start at the water’s edge and wade my way in, but as a result of HelenKay’s generosity I found myself doing just that.

The book is comprised of two inter lined stories, “Soul of a Hunter” and “Heart of a Hunter.”

“Soul of a Hunter” tells the story of Leandra, who was born a witch. After being attacked by a feeding vampire and being left near death she is feed by an ancient vampire, Malachi a Hunter, who becomes her trainer. While Malachi is able to mentor her to control her new powers he cannot help her exercise her demons. Before joining the Hunters, for many years from childhood Leandra had served the Scythe and believed the Hunters to be evil. As a result of that belief she was lead into committing many wrongs some of which resulted in blood being shed and even a death of a Hunter. When the blinders come off and Leandra is brought to the realization that she has been lied to by the Scythe and that there is no way to undo all the wrongs she committed. As a result she is eaten up by her guilt and remorse. Five years later Malachi brings her back into the fold of the same Hunters she harmed. Unable to forgive herself she keeps herself apart from the Hunters. But the presence of one shape-shifter Hunter, Mike won’t allow Leandra to forget her past sins, as he’s the one she shot that fateful day and it was his friend that she killed. There’s a strong attraction between Leandra and Mike which is more than either of them can resist or fight. A relationship quickly develops. But Leandra must survive the threat to her mind and body brought about by an amoral child witch, before she can truly be free of her past and accept her future and her place with the Hunters. And it takes the help of one special Hunter to save her.

“Heart of a Hunter” continues on with Kelsey, who appears as a minor character in the first story, and with Malachi. Kelsey is asked by the Council of which she is a member to find and bring back Malachi. The Council having lost a member is in sore need of its eldest Council member, Malachi. But Malachi has purposely isolated himself, where only a dream lover he’s had for hundreds of years keeps him company. When Kelsey finds Malachi, she finds him deep in his grief for his friend and fellow council member. They find comfort in each other in the most basic of acts, but inexplicably Malachi abandons Kelsey afterwards leaving her hurt and bewildered. Kelsey is required to escort the Select in their duty of collecting the amoral child witch who is to be brought before the Council. Leandra warns Kelsey about the mistake she about to make and tells her to talk to the child witch. Upon talking to the child witch Kelsey makes a unbelievable discovery. It’s so unbelievable that she has very few people to turn to. Kelsey steels herself to approaching Malachi once again only to have him fail her once more. She turns elsewhere for help and finds herself needing to reach deep into herself as well to survive. Malachi has second thoughts and must act before it is too late and lives are lost.

I was dropped into the middle of this series but I found myself quickly finding my footing in terms of my understanding of the Hunters’ world and its inhabitants. The characters are well drawn and their emotions are palpable. I also appreciated the strength and prominence of the female leads in the stories. This in no way took anything away from the appeal of the male leads. The sex is explicit and plentiful, but expressed with tender emotions. I did have some problems following the story when told as a dream sequence, but that could just be me as I’ve always had problems understanding dreams. There were some good plot turns to keep the story interesting and moving along. And the two stories are weaved together well, with each story getting a satisfying ending. There is also a number of supporting characters that I expect to see getting their own stories told.

Check out an excerpt and buy the book here or here.

Super job, Sue - thanks!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 9:54 am and is filed under About Authors, About Books, About Guest Bloggers, About Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.