Hunted by the Others by Jess Haines (H&W Investigations #1)
May 4, 2010
Urban Fantasy
Paperback, 352 Pages
Zebra

Why I read: Author asked for a review

Favorite Quote: “I don’t bite without permission, Ms. Waynest. Or did you want to stay and chat?”

Shiarra Waynest lives in a world where vampires, werewolves and magi came out to the public after 9/11 deciding to use their supernatural strength and financial backing to help the US pull out of the devastation. Since then, through many court battles, the supernaturals have won against discrimination and have the same rights as humans. However, just because there are laws, doesn’t mean people are still not afraid.

Shia and her friend Sara own and operate H&W investigations, a firm that tracks missing people or does surveillance for clients, while they let the police do the actual enforcing. One evening Shia finds herself having dinner with Veronica, a mage whom belongs to The Circle. Veronica needs help – she suspects a vampire, Alec Royce has a focus, a magical device that can allow the owner to control a vampire or werewolf and do evil bidding. The Circle wants a human to get close to Alec, having no magic or supernatural abilities to make him suspicious and find out where he is hiding the magical stone. Shia is terrified of this job, but desperate for money, and she figures she can do this one job and live comfortably the rest of the year.

Alec has other plans for her – and she soon finds herself with the tables turned. When Veronica meets an unfortunate demise and she is forced to work with another magi, Arnold, she realizes many are out to get her, even those that call themselves The White Hats – a radical human group that oppose supernaturals. After her ex-boyfriend reappears in her life, and surprise he is a werewolf, Shia feels her life is getting out of control and she will need all of her friends help if she is to make it in this supernatural world.


Hunted by the Others is the first in the H&W Investigations series by debut author Jess Haines. Shiarra is a very human person in a very supernatural world. At times I felt like she was way out of her league when dealing with these vampires and magi – which is not necessarily a bad thing. I like that this heroine is not always in control, and terrified of the things that go bump in the night. The times when an actual confrontation occurred, she seems to turn into a badass girl that could kick butt. She has the help of a special belt that gives her an edge during fighting, but I didn’t always buy into her abilities. There is no mention of her training or anything to fight these evil beings, yet she prevails against some of the evilest of them all.

My other complaint is the lack of action in this book. There is a lot of talking, cute talking, but still a lot of words, and not a lot of action. We are introduced to Alec Royce at the very beginning. Mysterious, wealthy Mr. Sexy vampire, only to have him barely make an appearance. I wanted something more at times, more than just Shia and friends planning on what they were going to do.

That being said, I immensely enjoyed her friends. We have Chaz, her ex-lover who never told her he was a werewolf until he surprised her by changing in her living room. He wants back in her life badly, and with a little help from over obtrusive mom, he gets that wish. Arnold plays a big role and becomes a friend as well as Magi protector. I wasn’t too sure why she was afraid of Veronica the first mage she meets, and then when Arnold offers his help, she takes it without being afraid of him. But he is a good character and brings fun into the story.

Although I have some reservations with Hunted by the Others, I am still interested to see where Jess Haines takes us with the sequel. A decent foundation has been set, and I think Shia and company have some good adventures ahead of them.


Rating: 3.5/5

Recent Reviews:
All Things Urban Fantasy – 5/5
Fiction Vixen – 3.5/5
The Book Lush – 3.5/5
Goodreads


Stop back later today for an interview with Jess Haines.