His Darkest Hunger [Mass Market Paperback]

Jaguar Shifter Jaxon Castille has one objective. Find and kill his former lover, Libby Jamieson. He has been hunting her for three years, ever since she betrayed the anti-terrorist unit they both belonged to resulting in the death of his cousin, and then disappeared without a trace. Vengeance is all he's thought about for three years and now the moment of truth has arrived.

Deciding to face Libby before he kills her he soon realizes she has no idea who he is, she is poor health and something is very wrong. When a sniper takes a shot at him in the diner while he confronts Libby, Jaxon realizes he has been set up and he is the target. He also realizes that his feelings for Libby are far more complicated than the anger and hatred he's harbored the past three years. Instead of killing Libby, he takes her to his compound where he assembles his former teammates to track down and discover who has put out a hit on him and what it has to do with Libby.

Juliana Stone has written a story that truly encompasses the saying, "There's a thin line between love and hate." Jaxon is angry to the point of hatred toward Libby but at the same time is fighting his physical attraction to her. Disgusted when his body responds her to, he becomes angry and at times takes his frustrations of his own weaknesses out on her. He seems torn between his dedication to vengeance and romantic feelings he thought died with Libby's betrayal.

Libby also feels some attraction to Jaxon, but has no idea if they had a relationship in the past. She is confused by Jaxon's hot and cold behavior as he rides a range of emotions from lust and occasional tenderness to anger and animosity. She seems to think he is the key to helping her regain her memory and is basically at his mercy. She feels herself being drawn to him, but then put off by his conflicting behavior.

Once Libby begins to regain her memory and the true circumstances of her betrayal and disappearance come to light, not only must Jaxon face his enemies but also the deeper feelings for Libby he has masked with his anger for so long. However with the return of Libby's memories comes the strength and determination of her former self. Jaxon is not the only one with enemies and she must find a way to face her enemies and to reclaim something taken from her far more precious than her own life.

Although the sexy Jaxon is pure alpha male, and quite a hero, Libby steps up as an amazing heroine in His Darkest Hunger. Based on her behavior early on in the story, I thought I'd be reading a story with a helpless heroine needing to be saved by the big aggressive alpha. However Libby is revealed as a strong, capable and very likeable heroine that does a little saving of her own. She and Jaxon become a very nice compliment to each other as they battle their enemies, realize things are not always as they seem, and discover a love that runs deeper than either of them ever knew.

The action is fast paced and the fight scenes are exciting with a nice mix of hand to hand combat and magic. What I really liked is although there is plenty of alpha male goodness, it's the women who really step up and kick ass when it counts. Go girls!

His Darkest Hunger is an exciting, sexy, fast paced tale of love and betrayal. Juliana Stone has created a dangerous and interesting paranormal world with characters that are flawed, but redeemable that will leave you looking forward to the next book in the series.

I was supposed to be working at home today. But then this book - the book I read the first few chapters of online and then immediately ordered - was delivered to my door. And I didn't do any work.

There are so many - too many - shifter romances out there these days, and most have little to distinguish them from each other. This one is wholly original, and is not bogged down in too much world building, or too much focus on the magic of it all rather than the story.

I could pick the book to pieces and complain about word usage, a few too many adjectives, or other minor things. But when it comes down to it, I read this in one sitting, and I simply couldn't put it down.

Juliana Stone has created a supernatural world that exists very closely with ours. Shifters and other supernatural people work for government security agencies. Jaxon is a jaguar shifter, and Libby is a human who worked with his unit. She disappeared for three years, after an apparent betrayal of Jaxon and the rest of the team, and now that she's finally been found, not only does she have no memories of the past, but she has clearly been tortured for a long time.
There's not much that can top a story where the hero wants the heroine dead! I might be sick and twisted, but with that as the opening hook, I knew I was going to love this story.

I loved both lead characters in this book. Libby can be damaged and frightened and yet still find her strength. Jaxon is wonderful, but conflicted and angry enough to make him interesting.

Stone does an excellent job of something so many other authors - including popular series writers such as Kresley Cole - have not managed to do. She has created a complex world and yet manages to explain it without a single information dump. The story never once lets up to give us pages of detailed explanation of how the world works. Instead we learn things as the story goes on, as we need to know them. This was incredibly well done. My hesitation with starting new paranormal series is that they usually come with too much unnecessary world building. That isn't the case here.

There is another book coming out in this series later this year, and I have already ordered it.

He had impatiently waited three long years for the right moment to kill his former lover for betraying their antiterrorist team; her seditious actions led to the death of a team member. Now in Winterhaven, jaguar-shifter Jaxon Castille begins his assassination of his former human lover, Libby Jamieson.

Jaxon easily enters her abode and knows he could kill the human traitor before she would even know he is there. However, something does not feel right with what he observes of her; so he hesitates on pulling the trigger. Instead of the Libby he knew, he realizes she is a tortured shell who remembers nothing. Taken aback by her amnesia and his damn feelings Jaxon brings his former teammates together seeking the truth, but remains unaware that the deadly predatory DaCostas clan stalks each of them.

This is an enjoyable urban fantasy starring two lead characters whose acrimony and animosity towards one another seem greater than the love each tries to conceal from the other. The world of Stone is a foreboding grim realm that enables the audience to believe in shapeshifting clans. Although the exciting story line has some shaky moments, readers will appreciate this dark fast-paced tale of betrayal.

Harriet Klausner

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