I had high hopes for The Hunter, and I am delighted to say it did not disappoint. It was a fun ride, from start to finish, with an awesomely eclectic mix of old west action, steampunk adventure, and paranormal romance. It's a high-concept story that could have fallen apart in so many places, and which could easily have crossed the line from inspired to ridiculous, but which deftly holds it all together.

When we first meet Colt Jackson, he's largely innocent of his family's calling and, as a result, about to get his head handed to him by demon horseman. In essence, he provides the reader with an accessible window into the story, giving us an excuse to learn about the mythology (both Hunter and Darkin). Fast forward a decade, and it's now Colt who so religiously pursues the family calling, putting himself at odds with his brothers, the law, and every supernatural specimen to cross his path. Although a little dour and single-minded, Colt is also the very epitome of an old west action hero, and definitely worth following along with.

In pursuit of a legendary Book that he believes will help to seal away the Darkin forever more, he crosses paths with the sexy, succulent, sensual, Lilly . . . the succubus who answers his summoning. As is so often the case with me, I identified most strongly with Lilly and, through her, really found my way into the story. I loved her multiple layers of identity, her conflicting passions, and her dubious loyalties. She's a woman beholden to both demon and mortal, destined to betray one (or both) when the time comes. With that in mind, she's also a woman of awkward inhibitions, one who teases and toys with her captor/rescuer in the naughtiest manner (as a succubus should), but who also flirts with him in the sweetest ways (as a young woman should).

What follows is an exciting romp, full of enough twists and turns to keep the story exciting. Colt and Lilly are great leads (who make a great couple) who could easily carry a novel, but they're smartly assisted by some fantastic secondary characters, who keep things fresh and interesting. Steampunk mad-scientist Marley is definitely one, fallen angel/vampire/demon-lord Rathe is another.

With this being the first part of a trilogy, we don't get a tidy tying up of all the loose ends, but it's definitely a story that works very well as a self-contained volume. There's a little bit here for everyone, but the various genres all mesh together wonderfully - there's never any sense of things being forced or arbitrarily dropped into the narrative, just to satisfy the conventions of one genre or another. Definitely a fun read, and one that has me excited for The Slayer (April 2012) and The Chosen (Dec 2012). ( )

Winchester, Remington and Colt Jackson are the Chosen. Or are they? They don’t believe so. They believe they are just Hunters. Those who keep humanity safe from supernaturals. However, every supernatural, also known as the Darkin, do believe it especially a part vampire, part fallen archangel demon lord named Rathe. He wants the Book of Legend, so that he can rule Earth and the Jackson brothers are the keepers of 1/3 of it. Rathe sends Lilly, a succubus, to Colt when Colt summons a demon to help him in his search for his family’s portion of the book. And then the fun begins.

I enjoyed this book very much since it was a bit like reading an Indiana Jones or The Mummy story (both movies loved by me) where they race to find an artifact. The characters were well-fleshed (and yummylicious!) and easy to picture in my head. The story flowed smoothly with no noticeable hiccups. The action was fast-paced and not overdone. The characters are likeable except for Rathe, of course. He’s not meant to be liked and boy, oh boy, I can’t wait to see him get his.

This is part one of three parts, one for each brother as they each look for 1/3 of the book. If they are the Chosen, and they’re certainly not admitting that they are, then they need all three portions of the book and all three brothers to seal the Gates of Nyx and keep the Darkin, Rathe in particular, out of the realm of humanity.

I can’t wait for Winchester’s book, ‘The Slayer’ due out in April followed by Remington’s book, ‘The Chosen’ due out in December. Bring it! ( )

Reviewed by Jen
ARC provided by Zebra for Book Tour

When we agreed to host Theresa Meyers on her blog tour, I jumped at the chance to read The Hunter. I've been curious about steampunk but still hadn't read any books with the genre. But it's one that's been growing in popularity recently, so I decided to check it out. The Hunter was a fun introduction.

The Hunter is the first book in a series that follow the Jackson brothers. They are "The Chosen", paranormal hunters. They're destined to put together The Book, which was torn into three pieces and spread to different corners of the globe to keep out of the hands of those that would rather use the information held inside for evil rather than good. So Colt is the first brother to start the hunt for The Book. To get to the supposed hiding place, he needs the help of a demon and so he ends up summoning Lilly. Lilly wants to be free of the demon lifestyle and agrees to help Colt if he'll help regain her mortality.

The plot is interesting enough. But to make it steampunk, we have to throw in those interesting gadgets. So what started out as a Western with paranormal elements now also includes a mechanical horse, ray guns, and early blimps (at least that's how I pictured their flying machine).

I enjoyed the journey Lilly and Colt took me on and has lots of fun trying to imagine the gadgets Ms Meyers created. I'm looking forward to the following books in the series. After an interesting twist at the end of The Hunter, I can't wait to see how Ms Meyers is going to handle Winchester and Remington's (Colt's brothers) stories. ( )

The Jackson brothers are considered the Chosen. Winchester, Remington and Colt were trained to hunt down supernatural beings. In the first book in this trilogy we are introduced to Colt Jackson, the youngest of the three brothers. Meyers starts the book with Colt’s first experience with a demon and right away we are shown the bravery inside of him. You also see that Colt has always felt left behind because his father tried to protect him from the world that his brothers were already deep into. Unfortunately, a demon took that choice away from Cy and he was forced to train his youngest to be a hunter like his brothers.

Now Colt only knows hunting and strives to live up to his father’s notorious reputation. He is an outlaw whereas his brothers have set up shop in respectable jobs and have turned their back on the hunting life. Colt feels it is his responsibility to find all the pieces to the Book of Legion before humanity perishes. To do this, he must pair up with a demon. The demon who shoes up is a feisty succubus, Lily, with an agenda of her own.

Lilly has been studying the legend looking for a way out of her bargain with Rathe (part vampire, part archangel and all demon lord) who made her a succubus after offering a deal to save her sister. Rathe has his own agenda, revenge, against Colt after he killed his baby girl (who was a vampire). Knowing that eventually Colt will succumb to Lilly’s advances, he sends her to help Colt find his piece of the Book.

Neither banked on falling in love and on this Indiana Jones adventure find that they will do anything to save each other’s life. Loved all the fun steampunk attributes of this book combined with a western theme. Marley Turlock was one of my favorite characters. He is the inventor that builds all the Jackson boys toys. The best one is Tempus, the mechanical horse, of Colts. If you love steampunk you will love The Hunter and will look forward to the next book and reading about another delicious Jackson brother! ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

While the cowboys and aliens mash-up may have disappointed at the box office, Theresa Meyer’s blend of Wild, Wild West steampunk and demonic forces was everything I could have hoped for and more. With cinematic action and characters that keep you guessing, I know I’m going to enjoy following the Jackson brothers all the way through this series.

Despite a hat tip to a number of great romance tropes, THE HUNTER doesn’t fall prey to any common pitfalls. Colt and Lilly both have secrets to spare, but Meyers doesn’t use those secrets as landmines to set the romance back. With one minor exception that sparked a confrontation (that fell entirely flat for me), I liked how upfront both of the main characters were. Even without the smoking physical chemistry, I would have pegged Colt and Lilly for a happily ever after based on communication skills alone. And that’s a good thing, as Meyers doesn’t pretend that her hero and heroine exist in a vacuum of physical attraction. Put Colt and Lilly in a room with Colt’s older brother and a sexy shape-shifter, and it’s a comedic dance of wandering eyes and appreciative glances. Nothing over the line, but enough that I felt Meyers wasn’t afraid to bend the romance rules.

Colt and Lilly’s relationship also gives me high hopes for the other two Jackson brothers, who show a little bit of their future love lives in THE HUNTER. I’m particularly interested in Remington’s flame, as the fiery shape-shifter China has a bit of a spark (and an interesting history) with Colt, but it looks like book two, THE SLAYER, will tell the story of Winchester and his vampire love interest. Meyers has impressed me with her ability play with familiar tropes and genre classics, so I’m confident that Winn and Alessandra will have no trouble holding my attention until book three.

Sexual Content: Sex scenes, references to prostitution. ( )