Hunting in Bruges (Hunters Guild #1) by E.J. Stevens
Urban Fantasy
Release Date: 11/11/2014
Sacred Oaks Press

Reviewed by Sheena 

Blurb: With a desire to prove herself, protect the innocent, and advance within the ranks of the Hunters’ Guild, Jenna Lehane hits the cobbled streets of Bruges with blades at the ready. Someone, or something, is murdering tourists and dumping their bodies in the city’s scenic canals. With the help of a mysterious stranger, Jenna begins to piece together clues that are dotted throughout the city like blood spatter.

Determined to stop the killings, Jenna delves into a bloody local history that only raises more questions–but some secrets are best left buried. Jenna must put her combat training to the test as she struggles to unearth the truth about an ancient enemy.

Favorite Quote: Once my vision cleared, I went to the one dark window in the room and met my reflection with a feral smile of my own.  It was time to go hunting.

I love urban fantasy with vivid, dark and dangerous paranormal characters. Very much.  That being said, the problem I have with Hunting in Bruges that it is very slow and kind of meanders through the plot,  which sounds appealing and interesting.  This sort of languid experience can easily spiral into boredom and I found myself juuuuuust being able to stave off the rapid fire fluttering of my eye-lids- a sure fire sign that the book was making me a little drowsy.  Jenna is a fierce demon and paranormal predators (of a variety) Hunter and most importantly a survivor.  Her early childhood consists of a series of hard knocks where the hits just kept coming until she was adopted and accepted into the Hunters Guild. From there she honed her skills and lands herself a career making (or breaking) assignment in Bruges, where humans are being killed in the coldest of blood.  It was very clear the author has a deep love for her world building.  The imagery is absolutely fantastic.  You really can see the cobblestone streets and feel the wind chill in the air of the quaint medieval style city Where things get dicey for me is the disconnect I experienced with the heroine.  The secondary characters are more of a draw than Jenna.  Specifically, I really found myself drawn and intrigued by a clever fairy, Natasha, who played a small but pivotal part in the murder mystery:

The comb in Natasha’s hand froze mid-stroke and she turned to face me.  She licked her lips and beckoned me forward. Faeries loved to bargain, and that desire can be their downfall…the woman was beautiful, but there was no warmth in her smile.  Her eyes were glowing chips of ice and her lips were the color of frozen blood…she wet her lips and languidly stretched and crossed her legs, luckily for me, I wasn’t into women, or trading sex for secrets.

“How about I promise not to kill you.”

Natasha leaned forward, a slow smile building on her lips….”

And we most certainly cannot forget about Ash, her companion of sorts in Bruges who definitely is so much more than meets the eye.  I love his offbeat banter, his hotness and the way he handles Jenna.  They will certainly be a kind of slow burn between the two.  I usually like my characters to come together fast and furious, consequences and birth control be damned! Ha- but in this case, I can understand the scenic route these two will have to take to really “get” to one another.

This Hunter’s Guild series has potential.  The sticky spot I found myself in is that you can’t help but draw a reference from amazing female paranormal warrior/huntresses from other popular series and the only disconnect is that Jenna feels kind of flat.  I actually am partial to author E.J Stevens style and the gotcha, ah ha! moments really appealed to me, but unfortunately, the cadence and pace of the story along with Jenna feeling less than multi-dimensional really made Hunting in Bruges lag for me.  I hope Stevens kicks it up a notch in her next planned Hunters Guild novel as there is really nice framework and potential.

 Grade: C

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