emily_harris00's review
1.0
Such a disappointing sequel. Really loved Zara Lain - she's such a lovable bitch - and enjoyed seeing glimpses of her in this novel. I just did not like Ryann at all (?!?!) so found it very difficult to sympathise with her, and felt next to no emotions for many of the secondary characters except for Ellie.
As [b:Bloodlines|10779905|Bloodlines (Demons of Oblivion, #1)|Skyla Dawn Cameron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337877930s/10779905.jpg|3866967] was SO enjoyable, I'm definitely going to finish the series. Fingers crossed that [b:Lineage|11838427|Lineage (Demons of Oblivion #3)|Skyla Dawn Cameron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337877867s/11838427.jpg|16793639] is entertaining enough that I can finally get back to my absolute crush (a.k.a Zara) in [b:Exhumed|13110398|Exhumed (Demons of Oblivion #4)|Skyla Dawn Cameron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337878067s/13110398.jpg|18283854].
As [b:Bloodlines|10779905|Bloodlines (Demons of Oblivion, #1)|Skyla Dawn Cameron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337877930s/10779905.jpg|3866967] was SO enjoyable, I'm definitely going to finish the series. Fingers crossed that [b:Lineage|11838427|Lineage (Demons of Oblivion #3)|Skyla Dawn Cameron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337877867s/11838427.jpg|16793639] is entertaining enough that I can finally get back to my absolute crush (a.k.a Zara) in [b:Exhumed|13110398|Exhumed (Demons of Oblivion #4)|Skyla Dawn Cameron|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337878067s/13110398.jpg|18283854].
alexiachantel's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
A young hunter out on her own for the first time. Her first vampire kill. Her first look at herself as a killer. Not everything is quite what she expected.
Hunter begins with Ryann’s distorted view of the world. Being raised by the church and trained her whole life to rid the world of demons and vampires it is difficult for Ry to buck the system and realize maybe she (and those who are in charge of the Hunters) were wrong. In the real world very little is truly black and white. So can Ry live with herself in the dissolution that it is? Or can she take the risk and experience life by making her own choices and her own real friends (Ellie) for the first time?
The voice Cameron uses to tell this tale is so different from Bloodlines you might think it is not related to Hunter. But then in saunters Zara Lain and there is no doubt, Zara is still the same. It can be appreciated that Cameron used new characters and brings new views. But it will be an anxious wait to the next Demons of Oblivion book where Zara is once again the main character. While we wait at least we get little snippets and references to Zara and Nate, enough to get us through? Hope so.
A young hunter out on her own for the first time. Her first vampire kill. Her first look at herself as a killer. Not everything is quite what she expected.
Hunter begins with Ryann’s distorted view of the world. Being raised by the church and trained her whole life to rid the world of demons and vampires it is difficult for Ry to buck the system and realize maybe she (and those who are in charge of the Hunters) were wrong. In the real world very little is truly black and white. So can Ry live with herself in the dissolution that it is? Or can she take the risk and experience life by making her own choices and her own real friends (Ellie) for the first time?
The voice Cameron uses to tell this tale is so different from Bloodlines you might think it is not related to Hunter. But then in saunters Zara Lain and there is no doubt, Zara is still the same. It can be appreciated that Cameron used new characters and brings new views. But it will be an anxious wait to the next Demons of Oblivion book where Zara is once again the main character. While we wait at least we get little snippets and references to Zara and Nate, enough to get us through? Hope so.
maggiel1993's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
errantdreams's review
5.0
Skyla Dawn Cameron’s urban fantasy Hunter (Demons of Oblivion) (Volume 2) comes at the world from a different angle than book one, Bloodlines. In that book, the main character was narcissistic vampiric assassin Zara Lain. In this book–which takes place I think a few years after the first–our main character is a very well-armed nun, Sister Ryann David. She’s 19 years old and about to graduate into being an official Hunter for the Venatores Daemonum. Their calling is to kill all demons (vampires count as demons). When one of their own is slaughtered by a vampire, a group including a couple of older Hunters (still under 30 as Hunters rarely survive past 30) and several new graduates is sent to destroy the vampire. Ryann is sent to make contact with a psychic named Ellie Rhys, who turns out to be a drunkard and a flirt who enjoys nettling Ryann. The vampire the group is going up against is incredibly dangerous, leaving many questions unanswered. Why has a group of mostly-new-graduates been sent after her? Why doesn’t she just kill them all when she encounters them? And why is Ryann, who’s only trying to do the right thing, becoming more and more ostracized by her peers?
I love Ryann as a character. She’s the polar opposite of Zara: empathetic, caring, thoughtful, and she doesn’t swear. She hasn’t really been in the outside world apart from an occasional grocery trip since she was a baby, when she was taken in by an orphanage from which the Venatores Daemonum recruit. She’s been told that her mother didn’t know who her father was and didn’t want to keep her. Her entire family is her fellow Hunters, but she doesn’t entirely fit in. She has a crush on her mentor, Christian, but then so does everybody, and anyway he’s together with fellow Hunter Grace even though that’s forbidden. She’s at odds with an older Hunter who’s leading this mission because he has it in for her. Her friend Rebecca seems to be kind of a fair-weather friend at best. And Father Matthew seems to have something against her.
By trying to help Christian with something she gets on the bad side of her mission leader, who’s looking for any excuse to torpedo her career (which is also her life). She meets some good people–Ellie’s partners in the psychic detective business–who are kind to her.
There are plenty of fights–it doesn’t take long before Ryann runs into her first vampire. The vampires are stronger and faster, but Ryann has been trained all of her life to do just this. So even though she has problems and often needs help from her team, she still kicks butt. Zara does make an appearance in this one, and this clearly takes place after the end of book one but less than 10 years later (you’ll understand what that signifies if you’ve read the entirety of book one). Obviously any book in which she shows up is going to have a body count.
The pacing is on point, the characters are wonderful, there are more hints about some big event to come, and Zara calls Ryann “Buffy.” You can’t go wrong!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/07/review-hunter-skyla-dawn-cameron/
I love Ryann as a character. She’s the polar opposite of Zara: empathetic, caring, thoughtful, and she doesn’t swear. She hasn’t really been in the outside world apart from an occasional grocery trip since she was a baby, when she was taken in by an orphanage from which the Venatores Daemonum recruit. She’s been told that her mother didn’t know who her father was and didn’t want to keep her. Her entire family is her fellow Hunters, but she doesn’t entirely fit in. She has a crush on her mentor, Christian, but then so does everybody, and anyway he’s together with fellow Hunter Grace even though that’s forbidden. She’s at odds with an older Hunter who’s leading this mission because he has it in for her. Her friend Rebecca seems to be kind of a fair-weather friend at best. And Father Matthew seems to have something against her.
By trying to help Christian with something she gets on the bad side of her mission leader, who’s looking for any excuse to torpedo her career (which is also her life). She meets some good people–Ellie’s partners in the psychic detective business–who are kind to her.
There are plenty of fights–it doesn’t take long before Ryann runs into her first vampire. The vampires are stronger and faster, but Ryann has been trained all of her life to do just this. So even though she has problems and often needs help from her team, she still kicks butt. Zara does make an appearance in this one, and this clearly takes place after the end of book one but less than 10 years later (you’ll understand what that signifies if you’ve read the entirety of book one). Obviously any book in which she shows up is going to have a body count.
The pacing is on point, the characters are wonderful, there are more hints about some big event to come, and Zara calls Ryann “Buffy.” You can’t go wrong!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2020/07/review-hunter-skyla-dawn-cameron/
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