Review--Hunted by the Others

They are the Others--the vampires, mages, and werewolves once thought to exist only in our imaginations. Now they're steeping 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 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...

Lately I've been picking up new to me authors and new authors just in general. Gotta support the newbies you know, I'll be one soon someday too! I hope!

Anyway, I just finished Hunted by the Others by Jess Haines and it was fantastic! I loved it from beginning to end! It was a rather fast read too, despite having to work and still work this weekend. I found myself addicted to reading, not wanting to stop at all!

The book was pretty fast paced, but in a good way. The action just kept on going and going. There was hardly ever a dull moment! Even when Shiarra must take a "break" from the going ons--murders and trying to find the focus--she still attends her brother's birthday part at her parents' house. And who does she find when she walks in the door? Why none other than her ex-boyfriend! That's when he steps into the picture as the BOC describes!

It was a rather comical moment almost, because she showed up with her new mage friend, and yeah, the mage is a guy. So that presented some good dialogue and whatnot!

Shiarra was a great character too. She was flawed but still good. There is a prejudice amongst the humans and the Others. The Others are the supernaturals and not everyone likes them, some even want them dead, such as the White Hats. They are the ones trying to recruit Shiarra as well and they are a persistent bunch and deadly scary too, despite being just humans. I liked the Shiarra was s slightly flawed, she couldn't help not being a big fan of the Others, but she does learn more about them and tries to overcome this prejudice. *Hope that's not too spoilery, it doesn't really feel like it is.

Other characters that were great were Sara, Shiarra's best friend and partner in her P.I. business. Sara was a great friend and witty too. She would say the most unexpected things, yet you know you were possibly thinking of them too. Chaz, her ex, was a great character too, even though we don't see too much of him. We learn more about him a little bit when he talks to her, getting his side to their breakup. Arnold, her new found mage friend was great too! He was basically the image of a computer/video game geek, but he was still rather intelligent and proved to be a good friend in the thick of things.

Alec was an interesting character too. He was the vampire Shiarra had to work with in some ways and he was very mysterious and intriguing. There is more to his character development but it would lead to spoilers, so I will have to stop there.

There was a little bit of romance too. Not a whole lot, so this book was really great to me! There was romantic tension quite a bit in the ending half, but this definitely wasn't a romance kind of book!

The ending was great too. The mystery/crime is solved and resolved. There are a few loose-ends here and there but nothing over the top. One thing, I did guess at, because there was a little hint. But one of the other BIG things, I sort of guessed but then dismissed happened at the end too and it was still a shocker!

Overall a fantastically GREAT read! I give it 5/5 stars!

This is definitely a book you ought to check out, it has a lot to it, vamps, Weres, mages! Looking forward to the next book in the series Taken by the Others which comes out January 4, 2011!