THE HUNTER AND THE HUNTED
In the days when powerful witches used their magic to shield humanity from demons, their allies and guardians were a group of men gifted with preternatural abilities of their own–the witch guardians. But when a band of witches traded their humanity for demonic power, the ancient bond was broken, and the guardians became the hunters.
Darcy MacAlister knows nothing of demons or magic. But this beautiful young woman is about to discover the truth about her past . . . and her future. For she is a witch–not just any witch, but the key to breaking the curse that has plagued witches and the men who hunt them. For if a hunter kills an innocent witch by mistake, the price is no less than a piece of his soul.
Axel Locke, gorgeous leader of the Wing Slayer Hunters, has sworn never to shed the blood of the earth witches who have resisted the temptation of demonic power. But when his sister is cursed by a demon witch, he discovers that Darcy MacAlister may hold the cure–if she can master her newfound powers in time. When the chase begins and Axel and Darcy come face-to-face, this hunter must weigh his soul against his honor–and against his heart.
Jennifer Lyon, where have you been my whole paranormal reading life?
This is one of those books that sticks with you long after you read it. It’s even better b/c it was so unexpected. I just thought it sounded good. Witches and witch hunters. Curses and death marks. It sounded like a recipe for reading success and it truly was.
Darcy MacAlister has no earthly clue that magic even exists, let alone that she’s a witch. She’s just a normal woman, running her family’s mortuary and mourning the death of her adoptive mom. She’s always known she was different; not everyone hears voices in their heads. Or not the sane ones, anyway. When she starts getting emails from herself telling her to “Run”, she’s mystified. It’s when she gets a phone call telling her to run that she finally listens. Almost too late.
Axel Locke to the rescue. Or not.
Axel has a mission: find Darcy MacAlister and force her to save his little sister’s life. While he doesn’t immediately believe her when she claims that she’s not a witch, he starts believing when he realizes she’s actually telling the truth. That makes his life even harder since he only has a certain amount of time to either make Darcy save his sister or kill the demon witch that cursed her. Axel would much rather have Darcy save her b/c killing a demon witch will make him a rogue, a soulless witch hunter that only cares about killing witches.
Axel was your textbook alpha male. Hawtness.
I loved that Darcy wouldn’t take any crap from Axel. From the very beginning, he took charge and pointed her in the direction he wanted her to go. Darcy didn’t stand for that and it didn’t take long for her to turn the tables. She was such a great heroine; smart, strong, and independent. I thought that her reaction to the fact that she was a witch was right on. Of course it helped when she remembered certain things that happened in her childhood.
Axel was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He wanted Darcy almost as much as he wanted her to heal Hannah. Yet he was raised believing that a witch’s blood would trigger an insane bloodlust that would ultimately cause her death. He was very confused at the protective instincts that arose in him when it came to Darcy. All he knew was that he had a connection with this earth witch when it seemed entirely impossible.
I think Jennifer Lyon has created a fabulous world with Blood Magic. She started the story arc with Axel and Darcy and it’s just going to keep on going. I can’t wait.
4.5 out of 5.
This book is available from Ballantine. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Casee, I’ve been waiting for your review!! LOL 🙂 Saw this one at the bookstore, but wasn’t convinced. I guess I’ll be picking it up later today 🙂
Oooh, sounds good! I just finished Angel’s Blood by NS and am itching for another good paranormal author. Yay! Thanks! 🙂
Nath, I hope you like it as much as I do!
ErIn, so glad you liked Angels’ Blood! You’ll definitely like this one.
Jennifer Lyon has also written contemporary romances and mysteries under her “real” name, Jennifer Apodaca. I’ll admit it – I pouted when I learned she was contracted to write a paranormal series. But she’s really excited about this series, and really happy with her new venture…so it’s kind of hard to be bitter.
But damn, I wanted more mysteries from her. Oh well.
That said, I did buy this book. It’s in the TBR and everything. Just not sure when I’ll get to it since I have wicked evil paranormal burn out.