Review! Hunted by the Others by Jess Haines

Hunted by The Others

Jess Haines

Zebra

May 4, 2010

ISBN-10: 1420111876

ISBN-13: 978-1420111873

They are the Others--the vampires, mages, and werewolves once thought to exist only in our imaginations. Now they're stepping out of the shadows, and nothing in our world will ever be the same again. . .

 In A Town Like This, Being A P.I. Can Be Murder

Shiarra Waynest's detective work was dangerous enough when her client base was strictly mortal. But ailing finances have forced her to accept a lucrative case that could save her firm--if it doesn't kill her first. Shiarra has signed on to work for a high-level mage to recover an ancient artifact owned by one of New York's most powerful vampires.

As soon as Shiarra meets sexy, mesmerizing vamp Alec Royce, she knows her assignment is even more complicated than she thought. With a clandestine anti-Other group trying to recruit her, and magi being eliminated, Shiarra needs back-up and enlists her ex-boyfriend--a werewolf whose non-furry form is disarmingly appealing--and a nerdy mage with surprising talents. But it may not be enough. In a city where the undead roam, magic rules, and even the Others aren't always what they seem, Shiarra has just become the secret weapon in a battle between good and evil--whether she likes it or not. . .

I had been itching to read this story for months now and when I started it, it quickly became apparent that it wasn't going to be exactly what I had expected. The main character, Shiarra, is supposedly a P.I yet honestly, at times she was a down-right moron with the worst case of TSTLitis I've ever seen! To give her some credit, after she made some monumental mistakes, she really kicked herself up for it and admitted that hey, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to taunt the big bad vampire? Oh, lord. And she does make up for it, although it takes her a good chunk of the story to straighten herself up. 

On that note, Royce - the big, bad yummylicious vampire - is one of the things that kept me reading the story. I was highly intrigued by this sexy vampire and I really would have liked to have read some of the story from his POV but it's written in Shiarra's POV. Nevertheless, he easily became one of my favorite characters! The other secondary characters - Like Arnold, the nerdy mage whose motive might not be so pure and there's also the ex-boyfriend who is also a werewolf, Chaz, just to mention a few - really added more depth to the plot. 

Hunted by the Others is Ms. Haines's first book and as such, I feel it's a pretty good start! What I really liked is that she doesn't throw too much world-building at the reader, just enough to start the series with. And sure, while there were some moments where I just had to roll my eyes at the heroine, the reader can definitely see her transition from clueless P.I. into kickass-take-no-crap heroine and it's a highly entertaining story! With lots of funny moments, plenty of action and a bit of a romance, Hunted by the Others is a fun read and I'm definitely going to be reading the next book in this new series.  

Lush Rating: 3.5!