Here we see what Atticus can really do, and the difference between druid-newb Granuille and her arch-druid is staggering–there’s a long way for Granuille to go before she has Atticus’ skill with magic, knowledge of his surroundings, and even understanding his own limitations. But the stakes are higher than usual because Loki is on the loose. The ending is important and big and messy and awesome.Ītticus and Granuille are in trouble in HUNTED.

The hunt is exciting, the roadblocks interesting and grounded in events that happened in previous books. However, that doesn’t mean this book needlessly suffers from middle book syndrome. HUNTED is mostly a transitional story as clues to the big picture are discovered and loose ends are tied up before the Big Event coming in following books. Oberon, Atticus’ wolfhound pet, continues to play the role as the comic relief, even if it often feels repetitive. I find particularly fascinating the way he portrays the Morrigan and her relationship with Atticus, how her powers are limited to who and what she is.

Hearne portrays the gods with all their unique quirks and specific abilities, and how that would affect behavior. I like Atticus and Granuille. And I also found the various gods and mythological creatures as entertaining as the main characters.

Granuille’s prose style threw me off, it felt too old-fashioned for a 21st Century chick, but having her viewpoint was important to the story. Atticus’ narration continues as entertaining and insightful as in previous books and surprises even himself that after living 2100+ years he still has a few things to learn. The previous books are told from Atticus’ PoV, but in HUNTED ( Amazon) we get some of Granuille’s PoV–also in first person. His metaphors are clever and hilarious, and he tells the story with enough detail to help readers understand what’s going on, all without cluttering the narrative. At the same time our favorite Druids are being tracked by the goddesses of the hunt themselves–Artemis and Diana–in retaliation for giving Dionysus grief in TRAPPED ( Amazon). The only safe place for them is in the world of the Tuatha De Danann, but the only way they can get there is to find a gateway on English soil, and they must run fast across Europe if they want to live. The Norse god of mischief, Loki, is on the loose and needs to kill Atticus before he can start the Apocalypse.

Hunted by Kevin Hearne