| Series: | Hunter #3 / Thieves #8 |
| Pub. Date: | Oct. 17, 2017 |
| Publisher: | DLZ Entertainment |
| Length: | 476 pages |
| Source: | InkSlingrPR |
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I'm very greedy for this series, to the extent that I did an entire series re-read last year and then bought the whole series from Lexi at the RT Convention. So I did a happy dance when I saw we had a new installment coming out this month. And, seeing as I got the ARC on my birthday... happy birthday to me!!!
As this is an urban fantasy series, you really need to read all the earlier books before embarking upon Sleeper. There are new storylines for each book, but there is also a continuing series arc that would be difficult to follow. Plus, all the books are awesome so... just read them.
Anywho, our heroine and Nex Apparatus, Kelsey Atwood, is still a slightly crazy kickass killing machine (a/k/a bringer of death). In this installment, Kelsey is investigating the deaths of halfling demons and continuing to stalk and try to eliminate her nemesis, Nemcox. We see factions from various planes getting in on the action, including Earth, Heaven and Hell. I liked this plot conflict and enjoy all the action. Kelsey is maturing as a character, stepping away from the crazy and settling into her powers. We learn something interesting and unique about the history of the Nex Apparatus and the Companions, and I'm interested to see how this changes the series dynamic in future books.
As for the romance, my favorite character of the series, Marcus Vorenus, has had to take a step back. We knew after the last book that, unfortunately, Kelsey was not going to be his happily-ever-after... and man, do I really want that for him. So now I am really really hoping for a spinoff series for Marcus. Especially if it includes the freaking magical painting!
Much of Kelsey's settling comes from accepting her wolf and her relationships, and getting her men on the same page. While I didn't expect to like Trent so much, he came out on top for me in this book. I loved his patience and understanding, and that he was the voice of reason so many times as the plot progressed. He was honorable and self-sacrificing, and I really wanted Kelsey (and Sloane) to be more open to him. Sloane came off as aloof and unreasonable at times, and I wish we had more character development for him. (Or maybe we have had it, and its just not registering in my mind.) It's weird to see Sloane's seeming devotion to his family given that they want to basically imprison him in Hell for the rest of eternity... but hey, family is family I suppose.
I continue to love all the children in the series, which is surprising to me as I'm not a kiddo person. Lee plays a larger part in this book and there are some things fate has in store for him that sound interesting. So overall there are lots of little threads out there to be tied up and I'm not worried about one of my favorite series going away anytime soon.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received as part of the blog tour with InkslingerPR.
About the Author
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
Excerpt
“Your Highness, please back away.
In fact, it would be best if you left the room altogether.” Felix put himself
between me and Roberts. “Kelsey, I need you to push her down. Push her back
down for a few moments. Marcus will be back soon and he’s going to take care of
you. Being around those angels unsettled you. I don’t know if you noticed, but
at the end of the meeting, your ward fell off. You didn’t have it on when
Oliver shook your hand. He’s unbalanced and now you are, too. It’s like a
contagion for someone like you. Oliver’s illness has called up your inner wolf
and she’s angry.”
“Perhaps if I touch her,” Henri
began. “I’m an academic. I don’t have the same connection she has with Marcus,
but I might be able to help.”
“I’m not unbalanced.” It didn’t
matter that my hands were shaking and they had been ever since I’d left the
angels behind. “I’m going to talk to the wolf whether you like it or not. He’s
been handling silver. It’s the only reason his hands wouldn’t have healed. Even
then, a couple of hours would have done it. Unless the freaking silver he held
came straight from Heaven. What about it, Roberts? How did you spend last
night?”
The wolf was shaking his head. “I
don’t know.”
That wasn’t an answer I was
willing to accept. I was about to explain that to everyone when Chad stepped up
and got in my face.
“I’m taking him out of here now,”
Chad explained. “You’ll let me or we’re going to have trouble.”
I was ready for trouble. I was
fairly sure I grinned, the idea of fighting a vamp lifting my spirits high. For
the first time in what felt like hours, I went still. “You’re not going
anywhere.”
Chad turned, his shoulders
squaring, and I felt the world begin to bend around me. Chad belongs to one of
the rarest classes of vampire—the magicians. As far as I knew, he was the only
one walking the night at this time. He could form illusions so real you could
taste food, feel imaginary rain on your skin, utterly believe whatever he
wanted you to believe. I’d come up against him before. I might be one of the
only people in the world who could see through him.
“It won’t work,” I said calmly as
reality seemed to go dark and I heard the hissing of snakes all around me. “Do
you not remember what happened the last time you pulled this shit on me? It
took three tranqs to take me down. I don’t think you have those on you today.”
“I won’t need them.” Chad lifted
his hand and the world shifted.
“Holy shit,” Casey said, climbing
up on his desk. “What the fuck is happening?”
Snakes were happening. They were
crawling from the woodwork, twitching and hissing my way. The fibers of the
carpet beneath my feet lengthened and formed more snakes until they were a
menacing mass, threatening everyone in the room.
Well, except for Chad, who had
lifted his husband into his arms and prepared to take him away.
I let my wolf loose a bit. She
knew this was all an illusion. That primitive part of my brain that Chad was
accessing, the lizard brain that merely wanted to survive, was taken over by
the wolf inside me. The alpha wolf didn’t want mere survival. She wanted to
dominate, and that meant seeing past fear, trusting her instincts over what her
eyes perceived.
The minute I opened the door, I
felt her surge through me.
“I’m not letting you go. I can’t.
I’m conducting a murder investigation, and I believe your boy here just became
my prime suspect.” My hands twitched, eager for a fight, and I realized how
long it had been since Marcus and I had thrown down.
Too long. Remember that whole
thing about needing sex or violence to feed my inner wolf? Well, she was hungry
and there was a whole lot of violence in Chad’s eyes.
I welcomed it. I could feel the
need rise like a wave threatening to engulf me. This was why I had a trainer in
the first place.
I gritted my teeth because Chad
turned on his power. I could feel those fucking snakes climbing my legs and
sinking their fangs into me. I refused to pay any attention to them despite the
fact that I ached to rip the fuckers off me and toss them aside. To do that
would have given the magician more power. If I bought into it, if I took my
eyes off the only thing in the room that was real, I would end up like Casey,
who was screaming like a girl.
“Let me pass, Hunter,” Chad said.
I stood my ground like the good
Gandalf I was. Except I kind of wanted to shove my nonexistent staff right up
old Chad’s ass, and then we would see if he sent snakes my way again.
The anger rose, rapid and quick,
a flash fire coursing through me. I didn’t even realize when I had reached for
the fireplace poker. All I knew was it was suddenly in my hands and I was going
to use it. I could see myself shoving that piece of wrought iron right through
his heart. It wouldn’t kill him. I would need wood for that, but then again, I
didn’t want the fight over so quickly.
I raised the poker, ready to
start.
“Stop it, both of you.” Donovan
stepped in between us, but I didn’t care at that moment. I hadn’t felt this way
in forever, not since Marcus had taken me in. I hadn’t been so out of control
that I didn’t care who I hurt as long as I got to hurt someone. I would fuck up
Donovan, too. All that mattered was seeing blood, feeling bones crush.
“You see, I told you she’s far
gone and I can’t fix her anymore. I’ve called Gray and he has an idea of what
to do,” Marcus was saying.
I wasn’t listening.
I started to bring the poker down
Donovan’s way, but I was stopped in mid swing. A hand held my wrist, an arm
going around my middle and hauling me back against muscled flesh.
“Stop it,” Trent growled in my ear. “You stand down right
this second.”
Thieves / Hunter Series
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