BLOG TOUR + EXCERPT: HUNTER MOON

HUNTER MOON (The Moon Series #4) by Jeanette Battista

Review + Excerpt

**This is the 4th book in the series so the summary and review might contain spoilers**

Published November 21st 2012 

Pulisher:  Createspace

*Copy provided by the author for review* 

With the threat of a werehyena takeover dealt with, Kess, Finn, and Rafe can finally enjoy the tentative peace Miami has to offer. As Kess moves forward with her decision to open up the territory to peaceful weres, she knows that the Keepers of Divine Order—a group of werejackal assassins—are watching her every move. If her plan fails, she knows they won’t hesitate to eliminate her and her friends.

When several werehyenas suddenly disappear and Mebis, the Keeper assigned to Miami, goes unexpectedly missing, Kess fears the worst. But even she’s unprepared for this latest threat: a hunter hiding in plain sight whose only goal is killing werecreatures. Can Kess and her friends survive this most dangerous game?

I think this book is my fav in the series. 

Things are looking good for the gang. The werehyenas are put of the question and now Kess, Finn and Rafe can concentrate in making their idea of the Council work. And avoid death by the hands of the keepers. But then a Hunter comes to town, and he wants to finish his collection before the time is out. 

This book had a few surprises I didn't see coming. Hunter Moon is full of secret plans, unexpected events   and lots of prank courtesy of Finn and Rafe.

What I really loved about this book was the chance to see how all the characters grow and develop into their roles.

Kess is now in full Clean Leader mode, she understands her duty to her people in a different light and she wants to keep Miami safe. 

Finn proves his strengths and his maturity like never before. And Rafe kinda learns to stand up for himself. And still this last two can act like 5 y.o. making sure you have a laugh.

We have Laila back, and with Laila in the picture... wild behavior is at order. We see a vulnerable side to her in this, and I really liked it.

The story of the Hunter, Lukas, was really good. The perfect character you can hate for all he's doing, and at the same time, you do have a little sympathy for him. 

A character that surprised me was Zamiel. At first, I wasn't so sure about him and what that could mean for the whole story (He appears in the prologue) but as the story unfolded, I got to like him. (as much as you can like him).

I'll admit, I cried with this one... The last conversation between Mebis and Laila? Yeah... get tissues. But it was so sweet and perfect, it was totally worth the tears! 

With this book, Jeanette brings more elements to this world full of werecreatures, and it works out perfectly. I couldn't put it down. The tension grows through all the book in a game of hunter and pray. And this time, they're threaten by more than a rival clan while the pressure of The Keppers is always present. 

Some say this is the last book in the series, I don't know about that... the book ends with a cliffhanger and I really hope there will be more... 

EXCERPT

 

Three Years Earlier

 

His name was Lukas Jaegar. He was going to make a deal with the devil.

He lit the saltpeter mixture, the dust igniting in the pentacle pattern he had carved into the wood-planked floor. The flames flickered out almost immediately, leaving a burning line of embers that glowed redly in the darkened room. He stepped inside another pentacle, this one drawn in black paint on the hardwood floor. He’d memorized the incantation months ago, but it had taken him some time to get all of the ingredients he would need for the summoning.

He wanted to make sure he got everything right. Being eaten by a demon wasn’t the way he wanted to spend his eighteenth birthday.

He breathed deeply to steady himself. He was in his family’s cabin in the woods. They hadn’t used it in years—not since the nightmarish hunting trip with his father and brother. There was no one else around for miles, which suited Lukas just fine since he couldn’t afford any interruptions. During the weeks of preparation leading up to this moment he hadn’t been worried—there was too much else to occupy his mind. But now that he was here, alone, with the moment of acting upon him, his whole body shook with nerves.

It was too late to turn back, even if he had wanted to. There was nothing else for him now.

Lukas spoke, his voice low and rough. Candle flames flickered on the edges of his vision. His words came faster, as if they were being pulled from him now, as if something else was controlling the spell he cast. He forced himself to slow, to say the words properly and keep his focus on the center of the empty pentacle.

He finished the incantation with the final command. “Zamiel, I summon you! Zamiel, I call you! Zamiel, come forth!”

Nothing happened.

Lukas wasn’t stupid and he had the patience that all hunters had. He merely stood in his own pentacle, staring at the one opposite him. He had waited for hours for a deer to show itself; he could wait a few minutes to see if a demon would appear.

At first there was nothing. Then a sign: a telltale haze around the edges of the candles behind the pentacle. It was like the heat shimmer that he sometimes saw on hot summer days. He waited a few more moments to see if whatever was there would solidify further. Lukas thought it might be playing a game with him; he’d read that demons were cagey and loved to catch humans out. He had no intention of stepping out of his protective pentacle until he knew the thing was banished or had agreed to his terms.

“Zamiel! Show yourself!”

The grin appeared first. It was wide and sharp, and contained a great number of very pointed teeth. The grin was followed by the rest of Zamiel, who appeared in the form of a tall, thin, dark-haired man. His age was indeterminate; he could have been twenty or sixty. His skin was smooth and pale, almost lacking of color, making him look rather dead. He was dressed in a form-fitting black suit.

“Hello,” the demon said, drawing it out in a leer.

“Zamiel?” Lukas frowned at the entity.

“You did call me.” The demon prowled the edges of the pentacle, testing its boundaries, then stood with its arms by its sides in the center of it.

Lukas swallowed hard, a little rattled. He hadn’t actually thought that he’d be successful, no matter how badly he wanted to be. But here was Zamiel, trapped in a pentacle, awaiting his command. Still, in all of the times he’d played the scenario out in his head, he always asked for the same thing.

“I want to make a deal.”

Zamiel’s left eyebrow lifted. That was the only expression he made.

Lukas stopped, waiting for some other reaction. He hadn’t expected the demon to leap up and clap its hands in joy while singing a jaunty tune, but he had expected a bit more of a response. “Didn’t you hear me?” he asked finally, losing his patience. “I said, I want to make a deal!”

“Oh, I heard you,” the demon said, pausing to examine its perfectly tipped oval fingernails, fingernails that tapered into sharp points at the end. “I’m just waiting for the rest of it.”

Lukas narrowed his eyes. He’d already planned what he was going to say, what to ask for. If he was honest with himself, he’d known for years. He came from a long line of hunters—the men in his family had been great hunters for centuries. And Lukas wanted to be the greatest of them all. Perhaps then his father would look at him again, and actually see him.

His head bobbed once in a slight nod, an unconscious gesture. “I want to be the greatest hunter ever. I want to hunt and kill things no other hunter has ever dared.”

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