Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.
Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.
When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?
Guys, I had two back to back young adult vampire novels where vampire is the real monster. For serious. I won’t compare the two though, because they came at this from different angles. Instead, I’ll just tell you that both were fantastic.
In “The Hunt” we’re treated to a world where vampires are the majority, and are truly monsters. There is no redemption for them. There is no internal struggle against the hunger. Vamps see a human, they attack and tear apart a human. Feasting on all its juicy bits. If there is only one thing you take away from this review, it’s that the vampires in this book are monsters. MONSTERS. They’re intelligent predators who kill and eat anything and everything with a pulse. They sleep upside down. They are emotionless creatures driven only by hunger. They’re monsters. Think Equlibrium, but with vampires instead of drugs. Got that? Ok, let’s continue.
WAIT! Before I do continue: The vamps are called “people” and the humans are called “hepers” and that’s how I’ll refer to them in the rest of the review.
The main character is a self hating human who wonders why he suffers from this aberration that makes him unlike everyone around him. See, in this world, something happened and hepers are the minority. In fact, they’re almost extinct. It’s not explained, but then cataclysmic disasters in dystopian novels that set up the world don’t really have to be. You know shit’s going to be bad; you don’t really need to know why. Just let loose and go with it. Now, because this main character is pretending to be people (oh look, he thinks he’s people) he ends up getting into this lottery for the last ever heper hunt. And he wins. Isn’t he lucky?
The majority of the novel is him trying to figure out how to make it out of an institute full of hungry people with his blood and organs still inside his skin, where they belong. He goes there worried only about how to make it out alive, and while that priority doesn’t change quickly, it does change. I can’t really say anything else without giving major plot points away. You’ll just have to read it.
Can I just say that this book had the best make out scene EVER? Or maybe it was a sex scene, I don’t really know. (trust me, it’s not what you think and you will not see it coming) It appears that people have different urges than us hepers, so… yeah… it was epic. If you read it for no other reason, read it for that. Sticking true to its YA roots, the heper MC doesn’t actually know how to interact with heper girls, thus allowing for adorable scenes with hand holding and now worrying about lusty teenage urges taking over.
So while there is no canoodling, I don’t know if I recommend this title for the younger YA range… there is an uncomfortable bit at the beginning talking about the death of a young heper girl. Then there’s a lot of eating raw flesh of animals and… well… a couple of hepers here and there. It’s disturbing, to say the least, and I don’t recommend reading it while eating. For serious.
Now, let’s talk about the ending. That’s what you’re leaving me with? Seriously? A sketchy urinal scene that alludes to something you’re not explaining and is stuck in my head thanks to the reporter not partaking in proper bathroom etiquette. A character who’s fate is unclear. And finally a freaking mind blowing revelation? I hate you.
I’m just kidding, you’re totally rad. Now can I have an advanced copy of the next one?
I’m sure someone will point out that there were technical flaws in the writing. I mean, when I wasn’t reading I would think back and go “hey that part was a bit dodgy” but while I was reading I was too enthralled to care. This book was great. If you like your vampires all sparkly and with a soul (and a boner for boning) then this is not your book. If you like hopeless dystopian fiction and/or enjoy your vamps being psychotic serial killers, totally pick this up.
Oh, and the author totally takes the piss out of other vampire fiction, it’s kind of funny.
4.5 stars, all the way.
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