ARC Review: The Hunt by Chloe Neill

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It's time once again, Saucy Readers, for the next fabulous book by one of our very favorite people in the world, Chloe Neill. This is the third installment in her Devil's Isle series which we have adored and told you about here and here. Anne and I had a slightly different reaction to reading the book, although we ended up at the same place in the end. 

 Come through the jump and see what we thought of The Hunt, spoiler free of course!

Barb's Take:


This one was surprisingly slow-going for me. I'm not sure if that was because of where my head was in life, or if I was just irritated with Liam and with Claire for not calling him on his shit. But at about 70% I finally got into it, understood why Claire was letting that stubborn fool stew in his own wrongness, and saw his remorse. After that I finished the book in no time.
It's just a different NOLA
I am consistently awed by Chloe Neill's world building in this series. It's my beloved New Orleans, but because it's post-apocalyptic it's missing every bit of the charm and beauty of the Crescent City, and I actually love that creative choice. There's no music, no art, no amazing food, but the dark, gritty city contributes to the painful determination of the characters to continue making their lives in dire circumstances with no end in sight.

 I loved to hate the way the bad guy developed in this book. I WAS NOT expecting the person to be who they were, which I'm sure is the point. I connected the dots early on about what the big problem was, but the who and the why was deeply painful and unexpected. And discovering who it was, and how absolutely cold, devoid of human empathy, that person was was devastating. A brilliant stroke of writing.
Entertaining AND devastating
One of my favorite things about this series is the very relevant social commentary built into the story. Chloe Neill deftly weaves into her tale themes of segregation, prejudice, empathy or lack thereof, and the horrors of war. For me the best tales are ones that entertain me while at the same time making me think more deeply about the world and Devil's Isle does that brilliantly. 

 In all honesty I felt that the plot dragged at bit until the end. That said, the ending was jaw-dropping and exhilarating, ensuring that I'm now on pins and needles for the next installment in this unique series.

Anne's Take: 

BS didn't get Anne down!
I had the opposite reaction to Head Wench Barb. I loved this book from the start. Maybe I just have more patience with Liam and Claire's bullshit, and there's a lot of it. Maybe I was just in better head space for it. Maybe it's because I'm Irish and a stubborn asshole too. Whatever the reason, their back and forth, not communicating bull didn't bother me. I actually really enjoyed Claire fending and fighting for herself. We knew she could handle herself, but it was great to see her proving it without having Liam there to interfere. Also, she needed Liam to come to terms with his magic on his own. There was no pushing him into it. Did he go about it the right way? Probably not, but he and Claire both needed that time apart.

 There was so much to love in this book. The glimpses of New Orleans, both the physical aspects and the spirit of New Orleans. If you've never been to this charming city, the Wenches all highly recommend it. The spirit of that city gets into your blood and your soul and doesn't let go. I was also extremely amused by the bickering between Liam and Gavin, the obvious jealousy and animosity between Malachi and Liam, Gavin's quips and jokes, really just Gavin all around. I really, really loved him in this book in particular. He was some much needed comic relief and perspective. And Moses, I love that little devil.

 I, too, saw the writing on the wall with regards to the rest of the plot. I thought the villain was a nice change of pace. They weren't a total whackjob like Ezekiel or a money grubber like Rutledge. At least, that's not all they were. I don't want to talk too much about it, lest I give something away. But, as despicable as this person was, I thought they were a really great character and a really nice addition to this series. 

 I can't wait to see where this series goes and I refuse to believe that this could be the last one. I need at least one more book to wrap this up. 

 Wench Rating: 

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