booklovinmamas's review against another edition
4.0
Full Review posted on A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog
(I am only reviewing Shadow Hunter from After Dark)
I read Gena Showalter's The Darkest Angel back three years ago and loved it...and I was excited to read the debut novel of Kait Ballenger's upcoming Execution Underground series.
Kait Ballenger gives you not only vampires, but she also makes sure to let you know that other supernaturals are going to be in the series as well. Be prepared for some steamy sex scenes and action-packed adventures in this book. It may be short, but it opens up the series very well.
I recommend this book to PNR lovers out there everywhere. I give this book 4.5 moons, and I look forward to reading Twilight Hunter when it comes out.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
(I am only reviewing Shadow Hunter from After Dark)
I read Gena Showalter's The Darkest Angel back three years ago and loved it...and I was excited to read the debut novel of Kait Ballenger's upcoming Execution Underground series.
Kait Ballenger gives you not only vampires, but she also makes sure to let you know that other supernaturals are going to be in the series as well. Be prepared for some steamy sex scenes and action-packed adventures in this book. It may be short, but it opens up the series very well.
I recommend this book to PNR lovers out there everywhere. I give this book 4.5 moons, and I look forward to reading Twilight Hunter when it comes out.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
enchantressofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Shadow Hunter is a novella that is part of the "After Dark Anthology" and can be read as a stand alone.
Damon is part of an elite team called Execution Underground. They keep us humans safe from the supernatural! Each team member specialized in a species or type of supernatural and Damon is a Vampire Hunters. When tragedy strikes, he is blinded by the rage of revenge and will stop on nothing until he gets it! Tiffany, hunts the vampire responsible for killing her brother. Will they be able to work together to reach their ultimate goal?
Action packed from the very beginning! Their attraction to each other is evident from the moment they meet and both have decided to not let that distract them from their ultimate goals. Kill the head vampire!
Let's talk characters! Both are individuals who have suffered losses in their lives and that is what motivates them in their current missions. Damon is guilt ridden and blames himself for the death of his partner, Mark. He is truly alone as the only other person in his life has left him because of Mark's death. The author did a great job of sharing his emotions of loss, grief, torment and anger but not once did it come across as whiny. No one likes a whiny guy! Especially if they are supposed to be the hero!
Tiffany is a strong, kick ass independent and smart heroine! (Thank you Kait!) She is utterly alone in this world and has put her life on hold to avenge her brother! I mentioned that she's smart and how she goes about getting close to the head vampire is great. While dangerous, she doesn't make those "stupid" mistakes that some heroines do in books that you just want to smack them across the back of their head!
There's a connection between Damon and Tiffany (trying to give you spoilers here!) and Kait (author) does a fantastic job of providing the readers with the back story without rushing it or providing so much information that you end up lost trying to figure out exactly what's going on. The back story is interesting! Definitely one of the reasons I'm looking forward to reading the next installment!
Steaminess! These two are HOT but without getting too into the graphic details, which in this case worked great! I really liked that the author didn't fall into the latest trend with regards to the heroine's innocents and having the hero insist he's not worthy and try to preserve it. Both characters were realistic and honest. Though there was an instant or two when some things that Tiffany said didnt' make her sound so "innocent" but everything else was written great so it doesn't really distract or make you pause too much.
I was pleasantly surprised with Shadow Hunter! And the ending! You're left with "What? NOOOOOO!!!!" and then fade to black! Damn! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading the series and seeing Damon's story evolved until we get to his book which is slated to be the sixth book in the series. No worries though, I have it on good authority (the author) that we will get to see Damon throughout the series and see his story evolve!
I received "Shadow Hunter" for a fair and honest review by the author, Kait Ballenger.
This and other reviews available at Viviana, Enchantress of Books
Damon is part of an elite team called Execution Underground. They keep us humans safe from the supernatural! Each team member specialized in a species or type of supernatural and Damon is a Vampire Hunters. When tragedy strikes, he is blinded by the rage of revenge and will stop on nothing until he gets it! Tiffany, hunts the vampire responsible for killing her brother. Will they be able to work together to reach their ultimate goal?
Action packed from the very beginning! Their attraction to each other is evident from the moment they meet and both have decided to not let that distract them from their ultimate goals. Kill the head vampire!
Let's talk characters! Both are individuals who have suffered losses in their lives and that is what motivates them in their current missions. Damon is guilt ridden and blames himself for the death of his partner, Mark. He is truly alone as the only other person in his life has left him because of Mark's death. The author did a great job of sharing his emotions of loss, grief, torment and anger but not once did it come across as whiny. No one likes a whiny guy! Especially if they are supposed to be the hero!
Tiffany is a strong, kick ass independent and smart heroine! (Thank you Kait!) She is utterly alone in this world and has put her life on hold to avenge her brother! I mentioned that she's smart and how she goes about getting close to the head vampire is great. While dangerous, she doesn't make those "stupid" mistakes that some heroines do in books that you just want to smack them across the back of their head!
There's a connection between Damon and Tiffany (trying to give you spoilers here!) and Kait (author) does a fantastic job of providing the readers with the back story without rushing it or providing so much information that you end up lost trying to figure out exactly what's going on. The back story is interesting! Definitely one of the reasons I'm looking forward to reading the next installment!
Steaminess! These two are HOT but without getting too into the graphic details, which in this case worked great! I really liked that the author didn't fall into the latest trend with regards to the heroine's innocents and having the hero insist he's not worthy and try to preserve it. Both characters were realistic and honest. Though there was an instant or two when some things that Tiffany said didnt' make her sound so "innocent" but everything else was written great so it doesn't really distract or make you pause too much.
I was pleasantly surprised with Shadow Hunter! And the ending! You're left with "What? NOOOOOO!!!!" and then fade to black! Damn! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to reading the series and seeing Damon's story evolved until we get to his book which is slated to be the sixth book in the series. No worries though, I have it on good authority (the author) that we will get to see Damon throughout the series and see his story evolve!
I received "Shadow Hunter" for a fair and honest review by the author, Kait Ballenger.
This and other reviews available at Viviana, Enchantress of Books
buuboobaby's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
When the author approached me to review this novella, I jumped at the chance. I hadn’t had the chance to read a PNR in a while, and there’s something about a group of people who are brave enough to face down slavering monsters that I find appealing. This is the introduction to the Execution Underground series, and it’s also the romance between Damon Brock and Tiffany Solow. While Shadow Hunter didn’t work for me completely, it did serve to get me interested in the series. But, yeah, that non-ending. Oh, how I don’t like those, so make sure you have Twilight Hunter near at hand (or at least on pre-order), because you are going to want it!
Damon is suffering from guilt and remorse after the death of his best friend and partner, Mark. Mark was killed in a raid on a vampire nest, and Damon hasn’t forgiven himself for allowing his friend to die. Worse, he has to live with the guilt that he left Mark’s sister, Tiffany, with no family. Damon and Tiffany had been exchanging letters for years at the urging of the higher ups in the Execution Underground because he was having trouble dealing with his emotions and stress. So, it was either write to someone, or pour his guts out to a shrink. Damon’s correspondence with Tiffany begins with one sentence, and grows into something deep and meaningful to him over the years. Tiffany doesn’t hesitate to pour her feelings into her letters. and before long, they have fallen for the other. They never acknowledge these feelings before Mark’s death, however, and after, Tiffany is too busy being angry and resentful that Mark was killed, to feel anything but rage and betrayal. She blames Damon for abandoning her brother to vampire killers.
Damon has sworn to get revenge on Caius, a very old and powerful vampire, so he moves to Rochester, New York with every intention of tracking him down and killing him. He is dismayed to discover that Tiffany has the same goal in mind. When she tries to capture him and turn him over to Caius in a bid to prove how loyal she is, they both get a rude awakening. After a tense standoff, Damon and Tiffany are reluctantly forced to work together. There is something not right going on in Rochester, and they are going to have to join forces if they hope to put a stop to Caius and his nefarious plot to destroy the vampire hunters.
Shadow Hunter featured one of my favorite tropes – younger sister falling in love with her older brother’s friend. I loved the twist here – after falling in love through the letters, Tiffany blames Damon for causing Mark’s death so he could bask in the glory killing an ancient vampire. Wow! Though the fireworks started exploding before she realized who he was, Damon still had to do some fancy footwork to get her to trust him again.
I enjoyed the world building and am looking forward to revisiting this paranormal version of Rochester. While I found a majority of the book a quick and exciting read, I felt that it lost steam when Damon was choosing his team, the heroes of future installments of Execution Underground. I also didn’t like the ending, which is to say, there was no ending. Shadow Hunter stops with a complete cliffhanger, something I am not fond of at all. So, while I felt letdown when I hit the last page, I am looking forward to Twilight Hunter, which will be in stores in August.
Grade: B-
When the author approached me to review this novella, I jumped at the chance. I hadn’t had the chance to read a PNR in a while, and there’s something about a group of people who are brave enough to face down slavering monsters that I find appealing. This is the introduction to the Execution Underground series, and it’s also the romance between Damon Brock and Tiffany Solow. While Shadow Hunter didn’t work for me completely, it did serve to get me interested in the series. But, yeah, that non-ending. Oh, how I don’t like those, so make sure you have Twilight Hunter near at hand (or at least on pre-order), because you are going to want it!
Damon is suffering from guilt and remorse after the death of his best friend and partner, Mark. Mark was killed in a raid on a vampire nest, and Damon hasn’t forgiven himself for allowing his friend to die. Worse, he has to live with the guilt that he left Mark’s sister, Tiffany, with no family. Damon and Tiffany had been exchanging letters for years at the urging of the higher ups in the Execution Underground because he was having trouble dealing with his emotions and stress. So, it was either write to someone, or pour his guts out to a shrink. Damon’s correspondence with Tiffany begins with one sentence, and grows into something deep and meaningful to him over the years. Tiffany doesn’t hesitate to pour her feelings into her letters. and before long, they have fallen for the other. They never acknowledge these feelings before Mark’s death, however, and after, Tiffany is too busy being angry and resentful that Mark was killed, to feel anything but rage and betrayal. She blames Damon for abandoning her brother to vampire killers.
Damon has sworn to get revenge on Caius, a very old and powerful vampire, so he moves to Rochester, New York with every intention of tracking him down and killing him. He is dismayed to discover that Tiffany has the same goal in mind. When she tries to capture him and turn him over to Caius in a bid to prove how loyal she is, they both get a rude awakening. After a tense standoff, Damon and Tiffany are reluctantly forced to work together. There is something not right going on in Rochester, and they are going to have to join forces if they hope to put a stop to Caius and his nefarious plot to destroy the vampire hunters.
Shadow Hunter featured one of my favorite tropes – younger sister falling in love with her older brother’s friend. I loved the twist here – after falling in love through the letters, Tiffany blames Damon for causing Mark’s death so he could bask in the glory killing an ancient vampire. Wow! Though the fireworks started exploding before she realized who he was, Damon still had to do some fancy footwork to get her to trust him again.
I enjoyed the world building and am looking forward to revisiting this paranormal version of Rochester. While I found a majority of the book a quick and exciting read, I felt that it lost steam when Damon was choosing his team, the heroes of future installments of Execution Underground. I also didn’t like the ending, which is to say, there was no ending. Shadow Hunter stops with a complete cliffhanger, something I am not fond of at all. So, while I felt letdown when I hit the last page, I am looking forward to Twilight Hunter, which will be in stores in August.
Grade: B-
dreamer4ever's review against another edition
4.0
Great new author, can't wait for the full novel, this one ended with a hell of a cliffhanger!!
yohina1989's review against another edition
3.0
The Darkest Angel - Read long time ago
After Dark
*A copy was provided by author for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not compensated for my review.
Synopsis:
Wow, I just read the blurb after finishing this book, but that is one of the most misleading blurbs ever, so I hope they change it. Rochester isn’t Damon Brock’s first assignment. Damon is a seasoned hunter who went to Rochester for a good reason. And that last sentence, don’t even get me started.
Anyway, back to the book itself. I was really excited when Kait asked me to review this prequel to her new paranormal series, Execution Underground. I’m always up for a new vampire series, but sadly, the vampires are evil in this one. Also, I didn’t think about the fact it was a prequel until I started reading. I think the problem for me with reading a prequel without having read the series first is that it’s hard for me to get into the character and the story, since I know things won’t be resolved in the end, I don’t want to get in too deep. This is just the problem I had with Damon and Tiffany. I was reluctant to get into their story because I knew somehow this won’t be their entire story. But somehow, despite how I resisted, they still sucked me in.
Damon is a hardened hunter who’d come to Rochester to kill the vamp who murdered his partner. He’s your usual arrogant and tortured hero. I didn’t really feel a special connection to him because there was really nothing to make him stand out from the long list of alpha males I’m already in love with. As for Tiffany, she’s doing her best to hunt vampires. She came off as strong and capable, but sometimes too rash and reckless as well.
Despite Damon and Tiffany’s past, which I won’t reveal, I still feel like their romance moved too quickly. I just didn’t feel enough connection before they jumped into bed together, especially since both Damon and Tiffany had such huge reservations about sleeping with each other like two pages before the sex scene happened. I wished they’d waited, or that they never slept together until Damon’s full length book, but with the ending, I understood why they had to be together.
Like I said, it took me a while to truly get into the story. It’s very fast-paced and a lot happened in this prequel that kept me flipping the pages. I also became really attached to Damon and Tiffany by the end, when everything seemed to work out. What stopped it from being amazing is the lack of world-building. Since I’ve read so many paranormal romances, it takes a lot for me to love a new series nowadays. There are a lot of places where vampires flashed red eyes and hissed with fangs. I’m just so used to it. Also, on a personal level, I’m a vampire-as-good-guys fan, rather than the other way around.
If you’re a PNR fan, I would say give this a try, but I would wait until the first book, Twilight Hunter, comes out. Or, if prequels are your thing, go ahead and read this. I know a lot of other bloggers have really enjoyed it. Either way, I think the series is worth waiting for and I’m going to reserve my judgment until I read Twilight Hunter.
After Dark
*A copy was provided by author for review purposes. All opinions expressed are my own and I was not compensated for my review.
Synopsis:
Wow, I just read the blurb after finishing this book, but that is one of the most misleading blurbs ever, so I hope they change it. Rochester isn’t Damon Brock’s first assignment. Damon is a seasoned hunter who went to Rochester for a good reason. And that last sentence, don’t even get me started.
Anyway, back to the book itself. I was really excited when Kait asked me to review this prequel to her new paranormal series, Execution Underground. I’m always up for a new vampire series, but sadly, the vampires are evil in this one. Also, I didn’t think about the fact it was a prequel until I started reading. I think the problem for me with reading a prequel without having read the series first is that it’s hard for me to get into the character and the story, since I know things won’t be resolved in the end, I don’t want to get in too deep. This is just the problem I had with Damon and Tiffany. I was reluctant to get into their story because I knew somehow this won’t be their entire story. But somehow, despite how I resisted, they still sucked me in.
Damon is a hardened hunter who’d come to Rochester to kill the vamp who murdered his partner. He’s your usual arrogant and tortured hero. I didn’t really feel a special connection to him because there was really nothing to make him stand out from the long list of alpha males I’m already in love with. As for Tiffany, she’s doing her best to hunt vampires. She came off as strong and capable, but sometimes too rash and reckless as well.
Despite Damon and Tiffany’s past, which I won’t reveal, I still feel like their romance moved too quickly. I just didn’t feel enough connection before they jumped into bed together, especially since both Damon and Tiffany had such huge reservations about sleeping with each other like two pages before the sex scene happened. I wished they’d waited, or that they never slept together until Damon’s full length book, but with the ending, I understood why they had to be together.
Like I said, it took me a while to truly get into the story. It’s very fast-paced and a lot happened in this prequel that kept me flipping the pages. I also became really attached to Damon and Tiffany by the end, when everything seemed to work out. What stopped it from being amazing is the lack of world-building. Since I’ve read so many paranormal romances, it takes a lot for me to love a new series nowadays. There are a lot of places where vampires flashed red eyes and hissed with fangs. I’m just so used to it. Also, on a personal level, I’m a vampire-as-good-guys fan, rather than the other way around.
If you’re a PNR fan, I would say give this a try, but I would wait until the first book, Twilight Hunter, comes out. Or, if prequels are your thing, go ahead and read this. I know a lot of other bloggers have really enjoyed it. Either way, I think the series is worth waiting for and I’m going to reserve my judgment until I read Twilight Hunter.
littleread1's review against another edition
4.0
***I only read Shadow Hunter so my review is only for Shadow Hunter***
Quickie Review:
I really enjoyed how Ballenger drew me into the world of the Execution Underground but never left me feeling confused or lost, yet at the same time moved the story along and allowed me to get to know the characters. It can be hard for me to connect with the characters in a short, but I found myself caring about their feelings and what happened to them. While I found myself confused at some of their decisions and disagreeing with some of their choices I could still empathize with their pains and struggles.
It was a great introduction to Ballenger’s debut series, Execution Underground, and I am certainly looking forward to diving right into Twilight Hunter.
Quickie Review:
I really enjoyed how Ballenger drew me into the world of the Execution Underground but never left me feeling confused or lost, yet at the same time moved the story along and allowed me to get to know the characters. It can be hard for me to connect with the characters in a short, but I found myself caring about their feelings and what happened to them. While I found myself confused at some of their decisions and disagreeing with some of their choices I could still empathize with their pains and struggles.
It was a great introduction to Ballenger’s debut series, Execution Underground, and I am certainly looking forward to diving right into Twilight Hunter.
mariahtexidor's review against another edition
3.0
Finished Ballenger’s prequel. It was okay, not mad I read it but didn’t love it. Of course I got into it by the ending but don’t think it’s enough to start the Miniseries. I think I’m just not into vampire/werewolves storylines at the moment. Gave me True Blood/Twilight vibes. The sexy scenes and action scenes were fire though!
franjessca's review
4.0
Full Review posted on Book Lovin' Mamas
(I am only reviewing Shadow Hunter from After Dark)
I read Gena Showalter's The Darkest Angel back three years ago and loved it...and I was excited to read the debut novel of Kait Ballenger's upcoming Execution Underground series.
Kait Ballenger gives you not only vampires, but she also makes sure to let you know that other supernaturals are going to be in the series as well. Be prepared for some steamy sex scenes and action-packed adventures in this book. It may be short, but it opens up the series very well.
I recommend this book to PNR lovers out there everywhere. I give this book 4.5 moons, and I look forward to reading Twilight Hunter when it comes out.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
(I am only reviewing Shadow Hunter from After Dark)
I read Gena Showalter's The Darkest Angel back three years ago and loved it...and I was excited to read the debut novel of Kait Ballenger's upcoming Execution Underground series.
Kait Ballenger gives you not only vampires, but she also makes sure to let you know that other supernaturals are going to be in the series as well. Be prepared for some steamy sex scenes and action-packed adventures in this book. It may be short, but it opens up the series very well.
I recommend this book to PNR lovers out there everywhere. I give this book 4.5 moons, and I look forward to reading Twilight Hunter when it comes out.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.