3.5 stars
|
Maxine Kiss is the last Demon Hunter on Earth, a hereditary position passed from mother to daughter when the mother (always violently) dies. Although Maxine hunts and destroys demons which infest humankind, she is also protected by these creatures. During daylight hours she wears her own five demons as tattoos, markings covering most of her body which protect her to such a degree they can deflect bullets. Yet when the sun sets, her demons known affectionately as "the boys" painfully peel themselves from her body to assume physical form; leaving Maxine at her most vulnerable until dawn when her demons again affix themselves to her skin.
I read the prequel to this book over a year ago; "Hunter Kiss", found in the anthology "Wild Thing" and couldn't wait to get my hands on the first full length novel in MML's new and certainly dark, urban paranormal "Hunter" series. Yes there is great character development and certainly plenty of action and some extremely imaginative and clever ideas, but on the down side the plot is chaotic, jumbled and definitely confusing in places. This may be deliberate to emphasise that Maxine is on a voyage herself, learning more of her hereditary skills and her connections to the other supernatural beings she meets throughout the course of "The Iron Hunt", and perhaps further answers will be divulged in future books; however this approach does not make for an easy read. Written in the first person; Maxine's inner dialogues, her search for answers, her confusion over her "Hunter" role and her frustration when an array of individuals able to answer her questions continually fob her off are all overly emphasised and leave the reader equally frustrated.
Another of my favourite authors Gena Showalter has successfully written both light hearted fantasy (her Atlantis series) and a much darker paranormal futuristic series (Alien Huntress) so I had no qualms at all that MML could pull off another genre. After reading this book I am left with some doubts but believe that perhaps this series will improve when more of Maxine's abilities and ties to the Demon world are revealed.
|
|
Why?
|
|
Very short but unfortunately not sweet, what is it with authors who are jumping on the first person bandwagon? I want to know what all the characters are thinking, feeling, plotting. I personally find it boring to have only one person's point of view, hence the 1 star. Also, when discovering it was in the first person, I didn't bother reading passed the first line. It's probably harsh to award 1 star but I was hoping for another incredible series from this talented author not another 'huntress' novel and series I have to avoid.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada