Anthology – On the Hunt

A collection of stories by Jessica Andersen, Shannon K Butcher, Deidre Knight and Gena Showalter, published February 1, 2011.
Genre: paranormal romance
Cover: scary eyes



Four hot authors come together in this steamy collection to tell new stories about shadow creatures, intoxicating magic and hunters who know a little something about a good slay.

In Gena Showalter's Ever Night, Rose Pascal is swept into a dark, haunting world every year on her birthday-a world ruled by a warrior king who hunts her kind. Neither of them can deny the passion that soon consumes them both.

This was a story, unlike anything I have read before. On her 18th birthday, a young girl is swept from her bedroom into a different world, where she is considered a spy and will be killed. Except the King of this realm takes a fancy to her, and binds her to him. Every year on her birthday, she will return to him... instead of just showing up somewhere in this world.
Of course her parents don’t believe her and even have her committed. Rose is lonely, until she finds out there are others like her, people who disappear on their birthday. Some don’t come back though …
She learns how to fight and how to defend herself, but she is still no match for a seasoned warrior. And Vasili wants to keep her for himself, but she will have to want to stay.

This was a fascinating world, with different races, continued darkness and rain.
The ending felt very rushed with way too much trust thrown in on both sides. I would have liked something different. I don’t think this story is part of one of Gena’s worlds.

7 stars.

In Shannon K. Butcher's The Collector, demon hunter Neal Etan sets out to acquire a powerful artifact but finds much more in beautiful Viviana Rowan. The antique dealer's touch strengthens his magic-and her life may be in Neal's hands if they don't recover the artifact in time.

This story certainly gave me a taste for a series I want to read, as it is part of The Sentinel Wars. I want more and I will read this series one day. I liked the little parts about the world that are told here, an ancient society thought to be extinct, but not. Warriors fighting demons and finally finding their mates hidden amongst the humans. Of course that last part is not original, but the how and why sure is. Yes, I want more.

9 stars.

In Jessica Andersen's Crystal Skull, archaeologist Natalie Albright's dig gets shut down amid rumors that she has awakened the local demons. But when the terrifying underworld creatures attack, Natalie must team up with her ex to survive. As they fight the ancient menace, they discover a destiny that binds them together-and threatens to tear them apart.

I have read this series about the end of the world as prophesied by the Mayans in December 2012, Doomsday, and really enjoyed it. So a new story set in this world was a welcome trip to memory lane. If you haven’t read this series yet, yes it is dated as the world did not end, but it is still a good series.

8 stars.

And in Deidre Knight's Red Angel, Jamie Angel, leader of the deadly Nightshades, has tracked every kind of monster and demon that roams the darkness, but none of his experiences can prepare him for falling in love with one of the creatures he's been trained to destroy.

As usual, one story in an anthology is just not as good as the rest. Hunter’s fighting demons is fine with me, those same hunters having guardian angels, ok.
A hunter falling for an angel, ok, perhaps, it is forbidden and the angel is punished for wanting to be human. But I just did not like the Hunter hero, Jamie Angel, and his persistent touching when Sunny says no. In the end, too much religion for me, and characters I did not fall for.

4 stars.

All in all, 3 out of 4 is not bad, and I am not even a Gena Showalter fan. Have you read it?

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian