The Midnight Hunt [Paperback]

First, I have to preface a few things. I love dogs. I have the most awesome, expressive, human like dog on the planet. Seriously. I also think wolves rock. Fascinating animals. I have read other books by Radclyffe (aka LL Raand) and have quite enjoyed them. This is NOT one of them.

To be totally honest & fair, I have to disclose, I couldn't make it through this book. I lost interest in the first 3rd and skimmed the rest. So grain of salt.... But this is my review/ impression:

It's not that the story is poorly written, although I did feel the style & flow was more stilted or maybe...forced, than what I find usual for Radclyffe. (One nitpik - The constant reference to Sylvan as "Alpha" by every character felt really clunky, forced, and drove me frickin nuts) And I honestly don't have a problem with the genre, although I do feel the market is now so saturated with these types of vampire/werewolf/etc stories it's hard to find anything very original or gripping anymore. This one isn't either.

My problem was more that the focus was just a little too animalistic or beastial for my tastes, especially in the sex scenes. I get that Raand is trying to be true to "pack behavior", wolf behavior, primal instincts and all, but it got to a point where they lost a little too much of their human quality too and I just couldn't relate anymore.

I'm pretty open, but the somewhat "bestiality" imagery of the sex scenes was not sexy or sensual, but rather a major turn off for me. Half the time I couldn't tell if the characters were full wolves, have shifted wolves, human or something in between... with sex glands that appear or extend....and frankly, I didn't understand what the anatomy was. Everyone seems to be in "heat" or having "werefever" which seemed to translate into constant and never satiated "sexual frenzy". Also lots of wolf /pack behavior to show a character was below the "alpha" (licking jaw lines and stomaches to show you're under them), growing canines to bite shoulders and shimmering fur shifting in and out or whatever which kinda grossed me out and completely pulled me out of the story, especially when i thought they were in human form....so honestly my "ICK factor" was just too high and the whole thing was just not my personal cup of tea. I felt like I was reading about my neighbors' dogs sex lives. Which is definitely not sexy. And hard to empathize with. It just got a little too clinical and animal behaviorialistic for my tastes. In the end, I want to read about beings, supernatural or not, who have an emotional connection. Not a base dog connection.

I get that Sylvan, the alpha, is waiting for her "chosen mate", so in the meantime she's having sex with vampires, but not letting herself orgasm with them so somehow it's not having sex???. This part of the genre bugs me too. It's always a predestined "soul mate" that somehow seems more about instant sexual obsession rather than true emotional connection or romantic love. That's okay. Fine. But I guess I was looking more for a love story or dramatic journey other than just a sex story focused on bestiality sexual imagery which is just not my thing. And to be fair, maybe a romantic love story was never Raand's intent. Regardless, it left me a little grossed out and cold.

But hey, based on the other reviews, it seems right up everyone else's alley. Just not mine.
Couldn't get into it.

Radclyffe writing as LL Rand does an excellent job of telling her version of the paranormal world. The focus is mostly on the weres with vampires in the secondary plot. The story is solid, the action is fast paced, and the sex scenes are even better. It's Radclyffe after all, what did you expect, tame? The first in her Hunter Series, this book does a great job of setting up the world and getting right into the thick of things. There are plenty of sub stories waiting to be told in later books. Stay tuned! I couldn't put my copy down when I got it and reread it quickly.

I admit that I was very skeptical in making this book purchase. The only paranormal novels I had read prior to this was Anne Rice's Vampire/Mummy collection (as a teen at that). Maintain an open mind and enjoy this high intensity story with a werewolf/vampire twist by L.L. Raand (aka Radclyffe).
You know you will get rich/sexy characters and torrid sex scenes from this award winning author. This latest novel focuses on a world in which weres, vampires, and other unusual creatures have come out of hiding and are fighting for political rights/protections from the government. Leading the fight is Sylvan Mir, the Alpha/pack leader of an area group of weres.
Sylvan's world is turned upside down when she meets ER physician Drake, after a member of her pack is attacked. Attraction is immediate for the two characters but Drake is a mere human, thus an unsuitable match for the Alpha. Yet, this isn't Sylvan's only concern. Someone is targeting the local females with a disease that could wipe out the were population.
I strongly recommend picking up Midnight Hunt. You won't be able to put it down.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 25 reviews  4.4 out of 5 stars