The Hunt - Amy Meredith

The Hunt by Amy Meredith is the second novel in the Dark Touch series. It was released on 5th August 2010 by Red Fox (RHCB) and it is 272 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy for review.

Plot
Eve recently found out that she is a descendant of the Deepdene Witch and she actually has powers herself. The past couple of months have been a bit crazy and hectic for Eve with being forced to try to learn how to use her power and kill a few demons on the way.

Luckily, Eve has her two best friends to help out. Jess and Luke have stuck by Eve no matter what has been thrown their way and Luke hasn’t even known her for very long. It looks as though they are going to need to stick together again as people are being mysteriously murdered and being drained of all their blood. The trio know that there can only be one explanation for what is going on…demons are back! Eve is going to have to concentrate on the task in hand instead of concentrating on how hot Luke is, or something terrible could happen.

My Thoughts
If you read my review of the first book in this series, Shadows, you will know how much I disliked mostly everything about it. When the publisher sent me a copy for review, I was a little apprehensive about reading it, thinking that it would be the same as the first book. I am really glad that I took a chance and decided to read it anyway though because I was very surprised with what I found.

One of the biggest reasons I didn’t like the first book was because of how shallow Eve and Jess were. They were teenagers pretty much let loose with credit cards and had the most insane collection of designer shoes and handbags. Thankfully, these aspects of their characters was taken out this time around. Ok, I know that they’re still the same girls but their money wasn’t flashed at me every two pages. There were hints throughout but they were a lot more subtle and I actually liked the fact that Eve and Jess still managed to be extremely girly and take care of themselves while out hunting demons.

Eve really came into her own. I found myself liking her more and more as the story went on because some little hidden characteristics began to surface. I was finding out so much about what kind of a girl Eve was and what really bothered her apart from the obvious. I liked that she still acted like a true girl, worrying about what her crush thought about her and whether he actually liked her or not. This gave Eve more of a realistic personality and one that more people will be able to relate to, rather than be all about expensive shoes. Even though I’m sure I would have loved to have been in her position in that department.

Luke also becomes a lot more interesting because he doesn’t take as much of a back seat. Last time he was overshadowed a little bit by Mal (the old love interest) so it was nice to see that he got a much bigger part in this book. I was really hoping that he and Eve got it on because it seemed as though they would make a really cute couple. Neither he or Eve are really sure about each others feelings so the awkward chemistry was good and it was interesting to see how their feelings changed and developed over time. Luke is one of the best things about these books and I cant wait to find out what happens with him next time.

The plot was quite interesting and very action packed. I loved this about The Hunt and it always seemed as though anything could happen next. There are a few twists in the plot and I certainly didn’t see the main one coming. Some parts were extremely predictable but there was enough to keep me guessing throughout. Usually I don’t like books being as short as this one because I am always left wanting more but I think this one was the perfect length. Anything longer would have felt really drawn out and written for the sake of it and to just pad it out. The Hunt is kept to the point and moves along at quite a quick pace.

One thing that I did find to be missing was the history of the Deepdene Witch. This was expanded on but there was very little information and it is something that I would have loved to have seen more of. The addition of some new demon hunters was very welcome though and although they aren’t featured too much, I think they will be something that comes up again in future books in the series. I think they would be a massive help to Eve, Luke and Jess and maybe take a bit of the responsibility off of them.

If you was like me and didn’t really like the first book, give this one a chance because it is a lot better. There was so much that I liked about the plot and the difference in the characters that restored my faith in the series as a whole.