The Hunted

Hunter Circles Series, Book One

By: Jessica Gunn

Narrated by: Shannon Condon

Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

I'm Krystin Blackwood, and I've only ever been good at one thing: killing demons of Darkness. But at 24, I'm about to face my toughest challenge yet: shifting from working alone to joining a team of three other Hunters. Newbie Hunters.

They don't know their magik, they barely know their place in the world, and when they find out the secrets I've been carrying, they'll definitely decide it's safer if they don't know me.

But unfortunately for them - and me - Darkness has other plans. Lady Azar, Darkness's heir, stole my new team leader's kid two years ago. Now, she and her lackeys are rallying to exchange Ben's kid for me because of the power I wield. I'm one half of a prophecy to save an ancient city the Powers of Good lost centuries ago. And if I fail or die before that happens, the destruction of that city will be felt across all planes of existence.

If we can't find Ben's son before All Hallows' Eve and somehow save him without putting my life at risk, that existential explosion will absolutely happen. But it'll be nothing compared to the destruction wrought if Lady Azar changes Ben's son into a demon...and her minion

Because the only thing more dangerous than me with a blade is a father's wrath.

©2017 Jessica Gunn (P)2018 Jessica Gunn

The Hunted

Witches and Hunters are in the same circles. The magic running through their veins may not be pure, but they have the choice to either protect or destroy lives. Demons run amuck and something is brewing right inside the city, but no one knows where the main group lies…and no one can get close enough to find out without ever having a chance of escape. Gunn has a power-charged novel, filled with action and paranormal elements.

Krystin Blackwood has a new team, which doesn’t bode well for her. She doesn’t feel like a team player, but that is exactly what the higher ups in the fire circle seem to think is best for her. They were always making assumptions about her life from the time that she was young until now. Always moving her around, talking about fulfilling a prophecy that she was destined for. When she meets Ben, the need to control his powers overcomes her sensibilities about keeping the team safe. Someone who is close to Ben has been kidnapped, which makes Ben’s emotions control his powers. They run everything. Between the both of them, will they learn how to work together or will they destroy everything, including themselves by trying to run into the lion’s den without a backup plan.

Gunn has an interesting story, but it lacks a bit of originality and it predictable. The story seems to flow well; however, the characters are a bit underdeveloped. Condon has a very strong female voice, although she appears to have some trouble with character differentiation. It may not be the best for this type of story. Since this review is complementing the audiobook, it is unclear if the grammatical and pronunciations are mistakes from the narrator or the author’s writing. If you are a reader of YA Paranormal, you may want to give this story a try. It is the first book in the Hunter Circles Series; therefore, readers are able to dive right in.

An audiobook was provided to Turning Another Page by Audiobookworm Promotions and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a three-star rating to The Hunted by Jessica Gunn.

It's fun!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I live in New England and always enjoy reading books set in the area. This book did not disappoint. It is a good start to what promises to be an interesting story. Looking forward to the second installment.

The Hunted

Great story, good world building. Very enjoyable. Will recommend to friends.
"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Has potential to be a great series.

Rating 3.75
Writing 3.75
Narration 3.75
This is book one in the Hunter Circles Series and it feels very much like scene setting. When the story first opens you are hit with a whole lot of information. Too much for me to take on board completely without having to replay the beginning. Having said that, this was a fast paced, intense and gripping, story with magical Demon hunters, pure evil and those that seem to fall somewhere in-between.
There is a prophecy and a prophesised, Krystin Blackwood, who is one of the main protagonists and powerful magically. Ben is the other lead character, he is a father looking for his child that was taken as a baby. If he doesn’t find him then there is a strong chance that he could be used for evil. (if he hasn’t already) Honestly that is all that I can tell you about the actual story without spoilers.
Shannon Condon did a good job with the narration, she had the intensity and urgency of situations expressed really well and maintain momentum throughout. Her voice was clear. and her speech concise. My criticism is that the voices of the character were not always clearly defined and caused confusion at times.
The Hunted ended on a cliffhanger, and while cliffhanger’s are annoying, I feel that the series has real potential to develop into a fantastic Urban Fantasy series and that Jessica Gunn has put as much as possible into this first book in the Hunter Circles Series. The Hunted has set the scene well and left the reader/ listener with plenty of questions that need answering and scope for more exciting action.
My reason for this particular rating was that for me, The Hunted and the narration felt higher than a 3.5 but fell shy of a 4 star rating.
I was given a review copy of The Hunted by Jessica Gunn and Audiobookworm, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Pretty good

Mystery, action, and magic in abundance! Most of the characters are interesting but one drove me bonkers each time he flies of the handle. I enjoyed the book but it was a hit juvenile at times. The narrator did a good job! I received a free copy of the audiobook and have voluntarily left this review.

Has potential.

The Hunted is the first book urban fantasy the Hunter Circles series. There is an interesting story here, though honestly it feels similar to many others I've read before. My real problem is how Ms. Gunn starts the story. The first chapter just feels like one massive info dump. So much of the of what is told to us could have been fed to us little by little instead of just dropping massive amounts of information/backstory on us all at once, which is one of my pet peeves. Hopefully Ms. Gunn continues to work her craft because I think she shows potential.

I received a copy of this audio title in exchange for an unbiased review.

Fast-paced new urban fantasy story with demon hunt

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. My overall review is 3.5 stars.

The Hunted is a new paranormal urban fantasy story kicking off a series full of action, fast-paced scenes, and lots of angst. We have witches and demon hunters, and of course demons, but also additional magical powers. We have a cast of young hunters who each have a particular demon on their hit-list, for various reasons. And for good reason- Giyano is a parent-killing, son-kidnapping type of demon. But there is more than meets the eye with him.

Our main character duo - yep this is an alternating POV book - both have a backstory. Krystin is of the Blackwood line, and is prophesized to be "the one" and Ben's son was kidnapped as a baby and he's fighting to get him back before he is used as a pawn for evil darkness.

Sometimes it feels like there is a lot going on, but it happens so quickly. The book is full of fight scenes, ambushes, and angst. While we understand our main characters' motivations, I feel like there's more that we're not told yet. More depth that maybe the future books in the series will deliver.

This is the type of book that would make a fabulous episode arch in TV shows like Supernatural. Though my boys would have ended things differently I tell you, the sort of cliffhanger makes it so future books are possible. It definitely had a "battle's done and we kinda won" feel to it (thanks Buffy) but it wasn't fully satisfying because of the challenges and difficult decisions.

As for the narration, it was quite good! I will say I sometimes had a difficult time remembering who was narrating that chapter if I came back to it in the middle. But otherwise the narrator did a great job with the fast-paced action and the emotional angst felt by our characters and was pleasant to listen to.

Not for me

The characters in this book are meant to be in their early to mid twenties yet they acted like teens. If I was not told and reminded at times I would have thought that they were eighteen. They really acted immature at times and they are meant to be one of the best. I found this a hard to believe book. It was not for me but others might like it more then I did.

intense fast pace intriguing

Fast pace. Intense action. Dual POV. Intriguing characters. Backstories. Angsty. Cliffhanger??? Sort of yes. That to me felt like it would be left up to the person that was listening to the narration. There were some resolutions, but was it conclusive. There were depths to the characters that you get to see through the dual POV. The narration was intense and matching for the pacing of the story. There were times that you were not quite sure which POV was being heard. So don't get distracted or you will be back tracking.

Great Series Starter

As book 1 of the series I thought The Hunted did a great job introducing the characters and laying the groundwork for the series. Following Krystin's journey is exciting and fast paced with lots of action. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing the story to life. I really enjoyed the world the author has created and am definitely interested in reading more in the series.