Loved It: Midnight Hunter by Kait Ballenger

Series: Execution Underground 3
Format: eGalley
Release Date: September 1, 2015
Publisher: HQN Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Paranormal Romance | Romantic Suspense

Hunters of the supernatural, THE EXECUTION UNDERGROUND are an elite group tasked with protecting humanity…but can dark temptation destroy good intentions?

Occult specialist and witch hunter Dr. Shane Grey is called upon to investigate a string of crimes that bear all the hallmarks of black magic. But he can't take on this daunting assignment for the Execution Underground alone. He'll need the help of Vera Sanders, a witch with a dark past—and a woman who disturbs him as much as she intrigues him.

Vera is determined to ignore the dangerous chemistry between herself and Shane so she can prove her loyalty to his cause; otherwise she risks the wrath of the Execution Underground once again. If she can't make Shane trust her, they won't stand a chance in hell of defeating the evil that's terrorizing their city. No easy task, considering old habits die hard…and Vera may be the very person responsible for luring Shane into a killer's trap.

3.5 to be exact

Trust on Kait Ballenger to deliver a fast paced adventure, a full length novel that reads like a novella. Whaa?! Yup, MIDNIGHT HUNTER is one of those books that just flows. I mean when a novel opens with digging up a grave a la Sam & Dean (Supernatural), you know you're in for a good ride, right?

So here's what:

• I love that MIDNIGHT HUNTER can stand alone so readers who are new to the series won't be intimidated catching up or would feel required to read 2.5 books before they dip their tippy toes into this novel. That said, I still encourage y'all to read all the Execution Underground novels so you'll have the pleasure of meeting te other Hunters and, of course, take pleasure in reading KBallenger's work.


• I love that our hero, Dr. Shane Grey, is nerd, a geek, an academic, an intellectual. The world needs more MEN like Shane, who is more brains than brawn. Oh, and he's good in bed as well, because that's important too, right ladies? 


• I liked that our villain here is a necromancer, a cold-hearted sociopath who's not too smart, but still managed to make my skin crawl. 


• I liked the cameos done my previous Execution Underground MC's. Jace and Frankie are having twin girls, and he's still not besties with Damon. I'm not sure which hunter is getting a book next, I'm hoping it's sexy Scot, Kellan MacKenzie. Although I find it odd that he's walking around town wearing nothing but a kilt. Aren't Hunters supposed to stay on the D/L?

Now here's why I didn't love MIDNIGHT HUNTER as much as the other books, and it has something to do with our heroine, Vera. 

First of all, Vera is a likable character. She has some baggage but she's no drama queen. She's resilient, steadfast, and independent. However, Vera felt very cliché to me. I mean why does she have to be a stripper, who's also a working student, who has an addiction (in this case it's black magic and not some random susbstance), who's also a witch? Why can't she be something else, someone who's equally interesting, but less expected. 

And the stereotype becomes glaring when you place Vera side by side with Dr. Shane Grey. I mean I can't and won't argue their romance, they're matched no doubt about it. I'm just not a fan of the juxtaposition here, the multi-layered forbidden/opposite-attract romance felt too much on some places for me (student:teacher; hunter:witch; something spoilery). I guess I prefer subtlety and heightened tension versus something that's obvious and expected.

But don't be deterred, let me remind you that my particular review is subjective to my personal preferences. I also want to highlight that MIDNIGHT HUNTER is more suspense-mystery than a paranormal romance so my little gripes about the romance is very minimal compared to the overall scheme of things. I enjoyed reading Execution Underground 3, I love the diversity of the characters and cases the Hunters are taking and naturally, I look forward to the next book. Fingers crossed it'll be Kellan's.

Learn more about the EXECUTION UNDERGROUND here

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Kait Ballenger is a full-time paranormal romance author, wife, bellydancer, graduate student, and soon-to-be-professor. She is the multi-published, award-winning author of the Execution Underground paranormal romance series. With a B.A in English from Stetson University, Kait is currently earning an M.F.A in Writing. Kait believes anything is possible with hard work and dedication. One day, she hopes to be a bestseller and to see her novels on the big screen. Look for the next two books in her page-turning Execution Underground series: Twilight Hunter, book one (August 2013) and Immortal Hunter, book two (January 2014).

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