Hunted by the Others by J. Haines

Seriously, I cannot believe I waited as long as I did to pick up Jess Haines’ Hunted by the Others. I had such a hard time putting this book down.  If you haven’t picked this up yet, why not?

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…

With all the kickass heroines that have been popping up, it’s refreshing to come across one that doesn’t want anything to do with the Others. Even knowing that an Other case could help her financially, she doesn’t see the ending pain as justifying it.  She’s no match for it; she has no delusions about this and that is fabulous.  However, it’s hilarious that with all the avoiding she does, she still gets pulled into a case with not just the magic users (the Circle), but with both the vampires and weres.

It’s this case that is really fabulous too.  Throughout the entire novel, we know there is something out there, something affecting the Others and no one has a clue as to who is pulling the strings.  There’s a very obvious answer that anyone will pick up within the first couple of chapters, but the mastermind doesn’t end up being that obvious.  Whenever I thought I had something figured out, Haines would throw in a twist that came out of nowhere, but worked beautifully with both the plot and the characters.

A lot of the plot worked because the characters were developed so well.  We have this private detective who only wants to keep her business afloat and doesn’t want to work with the Others.  We have Others who know this and still try to get around her.  We have these lunatics who can’t get a clue, even when it’s shoved into their faces, and yet they tend to be there when Shia needs them.  A best friend who is willing to help, but doesn’t try to steal the limelight.  And seriously, the one character that I totally want to see more of is one who pops up for a page or two and then disappears.  It doesn’t matter that Hunted by the Others is about Shia, but by the end, it wasn’t just her I was attached to.

There is one aspect that I am dying to see pan out.  For fans of LK Hamilton’s Anita/Richard/JC triangle, you’re going to love the interactions between Royce, Chaz and Shia.  These three totally remind me of Hamilton’s triangle when Richard was first introduced; however, there’s going to be so much less drama with Haines’ triangle.  For one, Chaz doesn’t care that he’s a were.  In fact, it’s who he is and he doesn’t try to hide it.  I don’t think these three will go the route of Hamilton’s, but when I first read them, and this idea popped into my head, my first thought was that they were going to be a better triangle than Anita, JC and Richard.  Royce is totally trying to get into Shia’s pants and take her immortality, but he doesn’t hide that and he’s very obvious when he tries to manipulate her to do what he wants.  Chaz is an animal and yet he tries to calm his beast down so that he can be with Shia.  In fact, his beast gets calm when she’s around.  At least he seemed to be towards the end.  The only thing is, I don’t think this triangle will be around for long.  Wait until you read the blurb for Deceived By The Other in the back of Taken by the Others and I think you’ll get that idea as well.  Well, just wait until you read Taken by the Others – I don’t think Chaz has learned his lesson where Shia is concerned.  Not yet at least.

As to the world building, Haines does a fabulous job introducing us to the society she has created.  There are so many layers that Shia is going to end up getting involved with (seriously, does any of us really think she’s going to be left alone?) and Haines focuses on them just enough to set the stage, but doesn’t overwhelm us.  We spend a little time learning about the Circle and the other magic users; we get a glimpse of how the vampires work; and we see a taste of the werewolves.  We’re never really given so much information that the plot gets lost, but enough that shows that there is more than what we’re seeing.  It definitely leaves areas for us to explore later on and I can’t wait to see more of it.

Overall, I have to say, I know a book is fabulous when the author keeps me guessing and the story is so easy to get lost in.  Hunted by the Others totally does that with me.  We have this fabulous character, trying to get by while these extraordinary beings keep throwing her obstacles into her path and she doesn’t let them phase her.  She knows her limitations and instead of bemoaning it, she works around it.  Jess Haines has create a fabulous world and characters who not only seem realistic, but ones I just can’t wait to see more of.  If you haven’t picked up Hunted by the Others yet, then you really need to.  I promise, you won’t regret it.

Read Order:
Hunted by the Others
Taken by the Others
Deceived by the Others
Justice for the Others (2012)

Also reviewed by: Book News and Reviews, Fiction Vixen Book Reviews, All Things Urban Fantasy, Lurv a la Mode and The Book Lush

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

8 Comments

  1. Oh, I loved the book too and for some reason haven’t read a review yet. But I did love it and I am so glad Taken by The Others is out!!

    Great Review!

    • @Jess – I know it’s a little late, but when I don’t rush them, they come out so well sometimes. *grin*

      @Sandy/Sharon/Jenni- Amazon had it for free!? I want a digital copy. Damn. It’s no longer free. *sigh*

  2. I have heard nothing but good thing about this series. I also picked it up for free and plan on reading it next. I really like books with magic users in them right now.

  3. Great review! When I first heard about this book I really wanted to read it. I kind of forgot about it until someone mentioned that it was free for the Kindle @ Amazon. I just got my copy of it the other day. I’ll have to give this one a try. Also, for those of you who may not have been able to grab it while it was free (if it’s not anymore that is!), it is loanable if you have a Kindle or any other Kindle App (iphone, pc).

  4. Since this was being offered for free, I grabbed it last week and I also grabbed the sequel a few days ago when it was offered by Amazon for $2.99 (one day only deal). Your review has definitely encouraged me to move it up on the TBR pile.

  5. I haven’t read this book/series yet but like JenM…i grabbed the free ebook last week. Looking forward to reading this series, great review.

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