Series: Execution Underground #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published by: HQN on August 27, 2013
Format: ARC
Pages: 376
Source: Author
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Jace McCannon has one loyalty: the Execution Underground. Despite his mixed blood, his hatred for the werewolves he hunts is legendary. But in his search for a sadistic killer, Jace finds himself face to face with a stunningly seductive packmaster…and longing for a night with his mortal enemy.
Nothing can stop Frankie Amato from defending her kind—or catching the rogue responsible for killing women in her territory. For that, this alpha female needs Jace’s skills more than she wants to admit. But as their investigation exposes evil truths, need burns into a passion that dare not be fulfilled. For to do so will have deadly consequences for them both…
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Kait Ballenger delivers a sexy romance with plenty of suspense and humor in the latest addition to the Execution Underground series!
As a member of the Execution Underground, bad boy and half-breed Jace McCannon lives to hunt and kill werewolves. While tracking a vicious killer on assignment, he encounters a beautiful alpha female werewolf and goes against everything he stands for when he lets her live and brings her to his home. Frankie isn’t just another beautiful woman, she’s a packmaster trying to find the same killer who’s brutally killing the females in her community. Jace and Frankie each have their secrets, but the attraction they feel for one another is put to the test when they’re forced to work together to find who’s responsible for the slayings.
My favorite aspect of this book is the unique supernatural elements Ms. Ballenger adds to the story with the Norse mythology twist surrounding the hero, it was unexpected and interesting. Jace is one of my favorite type of heroes, he’s an Alpha male with little regard for the rules and has a dark past that’s left him a bit tortured, but a good guy to the core. He’s hidden his true identity from all of the Execution Underground members with the exception of David and uses his past to fuel his hatred for werewolves. Falling for a werewolf was never an option, which makes his relationship with Frankie complicated, to say the least.
Our heroine Frankie is described as beautiful, smart and fierce and proves to be all that but she also comes with a couple of insecurities. She’s outspoken when it comes to pack business but sometimes has a hard time expressing her feelings which is a bit frustrating. The almost insta-love between her and Jace is not my favorite kind of romance, but I get the whole mate thing when it comes to werewolves. I just feel a lot of the conflict between her and Jace could have been avoided by just communicating. Jace was a jerk to Frankie for half of the book which made me wonder why an Alpha were like her would “fall” for him after everything he does and says. Frankie is a bit of a contradiction at times, but she does step up to the heroine plate towards the end of the book. Are they my favorite couple? No, but I did enjoy the steaminess of their romance…I just wanted a little more of an emotional connection between the two.
After reading Shadow Hunter and falling in love with Damon Brock I found his portrayal in this book to be a little out of character for him. He’s a hard ass who demands respect and is always going at it with Jace, even though he was the one who recruited him into the EU. I know that Damon isn’t in the right state of mind after what happened to him (you’ll have to read his novella) but I’m thinking the author was just giving us Jace’s POV of Damon Brock, Jace isn’t exactly known for his subtlety so I can totally understand why he would have a problem with authority.
Although I enjoyed Jace and his bad boy ways but the character who stood out the most in Twilight Hunter for me was his close friend and fellow EU hunter David Aronowitz. His character intrigued me from the first time he’s introduced, he’s an exorcist who’s lost the love of his life and is battling his own demons (no pun intended). While helping Jace he finds his long lost love Allsún, which sets up the next story in the series. I really can’t wait for David and Allsún’s story!
Twilight Hunter combines a dark and gritty world of supernatural hunters with a sexy romance, a little mystery and non-stop action. Kait Ballenger has developed an unpredictable world with compelling heroes that keeps you coming back for more. Anything can happen and there are no guaranteed HEAs in a world where evil lurks at every corner. One thing about this series is for sure, once you meet the men of Execution Underground there’s no going back!
Books in the Series:
RtDS Review
This one sounds interesting! I love that there’s a female alpha, something I haven’t really seen. I also haven’t seen half-breed wolves (I’ve seen it with vampires…dhampires) so that’s also unique. And the weaving in of Norse mythology! Wow – lots of unique elements. Sounds like the characters are a bit frustrating and I do not like insta love, but can overlook it if enough of the other elements are strong. I’m definitely going to give this one a try. Great review Lori!
I wasn’t a big fan of the short story/prequel for this series but the small excerpt of read of Twilight Hunter really piqued my interest! I think the premise as a whole as the potential for a lot of story development.
Nice review, I do have this series on my wishlist.