Hunt (Wildcats #0.5)
by Rachel Vincent
Blurb:
It’s been more than four years since Abby Wade survived capture and torture by a quartet of rogue shifters. Back then she was a scared kid, just trying to survive.Now Abby is all grown up, and if she’s learned anything from training with Faythe Sanders, the world’s first female Alpha, it’s that she can take care of herself—and anyone else who comes along. So when her college roommate is abducted from a campsite deep in the Appalachian woods, Abby knows exactly how to get her back…
The rules of the hunt are simple. Kill or be killed.
Abby Wade is not ready to die.
My Review:
I was really excited for this novella which starts the new spin-off series Wildcats. I do think this story adds something to the main story and it relevant it wasn’t as good as I expected. Something happened that threw me off a bit and I couldn’t figure out why this was happening it didn’t make sense for the characters to do that, only towards the end of the story you find out their motivation and then it finally made sense. It just bothered me up till that point and it prevented me from enjoying it as much. It did surprise me when the truth came out and I realized what was going on and what these people had done, it was disgusting, but it did explain their behaviour.
It’s not a fun story, it’s pretty harsh and dark and while that’s part of this series I didn’t expect the short story to only focus on this. Towards the end some things happen that I assume will impact the events of Lion’s Share, so I think it’s handy to read this short story.
The short story is pretty short and I couldn’t get a good feel for Abby, but she seems like a nice main character. She still deals with ghosts from her past, but you do notice she has grown and she makes a decision in this story that might not be the wisest, but I did like she decided to do this even though she was scared. There are also some hints dropped about Faythe training Abby, so it was fun to hear about Faythe already and see how she had helped Abby. I also liked when Jace made an appearance towards the end and it’s already clear that Abby likes him.
There’s not much world building in this book, so I think it’s necessary to read the Shifters series first if you want to know more about the world. I wouldn’t recommend reading it out of order, although I guess it is possible if you really want to, but you miss a piece of background as it doesn’t et explained in detail here.
To conclude: this was a short story that set up the stage for the first book Lion’s Share. The events in this book confused me a bit until the end when things did make sense. I am curious to see how these events impact the story in Lion’s Share though and it was a nice set up, it was a bit darker then I expected.
You can add Hunt to your to-read list on Goodreads
You can buy Hunt here:
– Amazon
– B&N
– Kobo
– Smashwords
Other books I read and reviewed by this author:
– Rachel Vincent – Oath Bound (Unbound #3) – 4 stars
– Rachel Vincent – With All My Soul (soul Screamers #7) – 3 stars
At first, I used to read prequels before books #1 in series, but lately I tend to read them afterward. Once you already know the characters and the world building, it’s easier to feel at ease reading a novella/short story 🙂 The eyes of the girl on the cover really bothered me, lol !
Red Iza recently posted…Review / Chloe Neill : Dark debt
I have read book 1 and on the one hand I think it’s good to read the prequel first and it does add somethign, but indeed if you read the first book first you have a better idea of what’s going on and can better place the novella in perspective. So yeah reading prequels after the first book is a pretty good idea in most cases. I agree with you when it comes to the eyes, I like the hint to their shifter nature, but every time I see the cover those eyes bother me.
Lola recently posted…Review: Hunt by Rachel Vincent
I’ve been really excited for this spinoff series, Lola. I’m worried now about this ‘thing’ but I’ll still read it. I just adore Vincent’s writing and this world in particular. I hope having read this helped you with Lions Share and that LS was a great read!
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…Travel by the Book ~ Cold Mountain/Asheville
I have read Lion’s Share as well and this novella makes more sense in that light and it’s still good, but the start of this novella bothered me and it only later made sense. As the novella isn’t too long you don’t have to wait too long to figure things out which helps. I did really enjoy Lion’s Share, I had some small issues, but I really enjoyed it overall and finished it in a few sittings. If you like the author her writing style I think you will enjoy this series.
I haven’t read any of her books, but good to know that this one ties in to another series even if its introducing something new.
I’ve had that happen too where one thing happens in a book and it ruins my full enjoyment even if it was only the one little thing.
Sophia Rose recently posted…The Relationship Coach by Sylvia McDaniel #Review
The Wildcats series is a spin-off of the Shifter series, although I would recommend readign the Shifter series first as this series does take place afterwards.
Yeah that one thing just bugged me as it didn’t made sense, until later it did, but then it already ruined my full enjoyment of the book.
Lola recently posted…Review: Hunt by Rachel Vincent
I haven’t read anything by this author before but this sounds really good. Thanks for the great review. I also love that cover. Her eyes are absolutely awesome. That’s one of the reasons I don’t care for the headless torso book covers, I love seeing interesting eyes. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and I’m glad you like my Raturday post. 🙂
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Review: Merry & Seduced by Shelley Munro
I really like this author her writing style and have read all of her books so far. I think it’s a great cover, although I think her eyes are slightly creepy, but I do like how it hints to their shifter side. And she can actually shift only her eyes like that in the book.
Lola recently posted…Review: Hunt by Rachel Vincent
I really need to read the shifters series! I have the first couple books on audio and I feel like I’m going to be so behind if I don’t start on them soon, with this spin off. I’m glad you enjoyed the short, even if it left you confused a bit too long. I hate when that happens – twists are nice, but you also need to not be too confused.
Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun recently posted…Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch
I loved the shifter series, even though the main character can be a bit annoying at times. There’s only one book released so far in this spin-off and I haven’t heard anything yet about the next book, so there’s still time to catch up ;).
The confusion in this one was annoying, especially when the plot is interesting, but it kept bugging me as it didn’t make sense. Well it did make sense, but it was only revealed later. I am happy it was a short story so the wait wasn’t too long.
I haven’t actually read this series – although, the premise does sound amazing. The girl in the cover, her eyes are freaking me out though :/ Lovely review overall.
Benish recently posted…Giving author’s another opportunity? ♥
It’s a great series! I would recommend to start with the Shifters series as this is a spin-off of that one and I think reading the Shifters series first is mroe enjoyable. While I like the touch of her shifted eyes on the cover as that actually happens in the book, they freak me out as well!
Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: I don’t Watch TV
This series is new to me but it does sound interesting. It’s a shame that it did create a little confusion regarding the events, glad it made sense at the end.
Sharon @ Sharon’s Book Nook! recently posted…Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher – Review
The ending mostly made up for the confusion and after reading the first book in the series it makes even more sense and put it in perspective. I would recommend this and Rachel her Shifters series as I really enjoyed them so far.
Lola recently posted…Bookish Resolutions Challenge: March Recap