Hunter

Mercedes Lackey — 2015

They came after the Diseray. Some were terrors ripped from our collective imaginations, remnants of every mythology across the world. And some were like nothing anyone had ever dreamed up, even in their worst nightmares. Monsters. Long ago, the barriers between our world and the Otherworld were ripped open, and it's taken centuries to bring back civilization in the wake of the catastrophe. Now, the luckiest Cits live in enclosed communities,behind walls that keep them safe from the hideous creatures fighting to break through. Others are not so lucky. To Joyeaux Charmand, who has been a Hunter in her tight-knit mountain community since she was a child, every Cit without magic deserves her protection from dangerous Othersiders. Then she is called to Apex City, where the best Hunters are kept to protect the most important people. Joy soon realizes that the city's powerful leaders care more about luring Cits into a false sense of security than protecting them. More and more monsters are getting through the barriers,and the close calls are becoming too frequent to ignore. Yet the Cits have no sense of how much danger they're in-to them, Joy and her corp of fellow Hunters are just action stars they watch on TV. When an act of sabotage against Joy takes an unbearable toll, Joy uncovers a terrifying conspiracy in the city. There is something much worse than the usual monsters infiltrating Apex. And it may be too late to stop them

Reviews

Carley Whitehead@carleydanielle

Mar 4, 2022

2.5 stars I’m torn because I really wanted to love this, but it feels like a rehashing of all the YA tropes and the main character is nothing special. The writing also feels very basic, with a lot of tell instead of show.

Jessica Williamson@jlw_writes

Dec 5, 2021

*May 2021 Re-read* Revisiting this world is one of the best decisions I've ever made. I loved this series the first time I read it. The world building is done so dang well and I love the characters (Joy and Knight especially) but they're all fun to read. So very happy to come back to it! 4.25 Stars This book just scratched the surface of this new world, and I'm so excited to read more! I enjoyed the writing most of all, the descriptions, the world building, oooooh how much I enjoyed it! I've read a lot of negative reviews about how this book is basically one giant info-dump, and yeah, you can find it if you're looking for it, but honestly, I was so interested in learning more about the world I didn't want it to end. The faster I could read more about the world, the better. The other big complaint is people feel like Joy is a prime example of the "chosen one" trope because of things that happen to her in the book. And honestly, I feel like the "chosen one" trope relies heavily on you being born special, it's something you have no control over. This isn't the case for Joy. The amazing, one-of-a-kind things that happen to Joy, seem to happen more for the fact that she's a decent person. Her kindness, her care for others, her wanting to keep the world safe. These all have to be taken into consideration when deciding how "special" she is. Being the "chose one" isn't a choice. Being kind to your fellow man is. As for the other characters, Josh and Knight were amaaaazing. I love them. I want to shrink them down and carry them in my pockets. Especially Knight. Karly is also a high-level of kick-ass woman. Really enjoyed this one. Going to start book 2 tomorrow!