Midnight Hunter
Execution Underground #3
Paranormal Romance - Urban Fantasy
HQN Books
September 1st 2015
Kindle/Paperback
Review Copy/NetGalley
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 Midnight Hunter Stars ~
Midnight Hunter is book three in the Execution Underground by Kait Ballenger. It was a fairly good read. We get black-magic, witches, warlocks, and necromancy.
I have read all the previous books & novella in this series. The books do need to be read in order. The characters build in each book and each book is about one of the guy’s in the Rochester, Execution Underground team.
This is Dr. Shane Grey’s story. He is a professor and resident geek of the Execution Underground team, which puts him mostly behind the scenes doing research for the guys. Dr. Grey gets a case which involves black-magic and raising the dead. He decides to involve Vera, even though he has a thing for her and is her professor. He knows he can’t act on his feelings, but he still ends up getting closer to Vera. Vera Sanders we first met in Immortal Hunter . She is a student of his, a bartender, and also a witch, who has spent time on the wrong side of the agency.
I liked Shane. He tries to do the right thing when all he wants is Vera in his bed. He loves his job and doesn’t want to lose his professor status. I’m not a fan of the professor/student romance/relationship stories, so this was not my favorite relationship set up. I did not have a big issue with this relationship, because Shane really does try to fight his feelings, but you just know, with all the sexual tension that they would give in.
Vera, I had a bit of a problem with. She’s an addict and I know this, but I really did not like her wavering so much with her addiction – drug of choose is practicing black-magic. She knows she’s addicted, but does not try very hard to stop or find help. She also felt immature at times for her age group and it felt like she did not know all that much about her magic. I did find her fun at times and I liked some of her snarky attitude. I just would have liked her to be stronger and more knowledgeable.
There is some action which was well written, but not as much as previous books. There was only one sensual scene which was hot, but I think the previous books had more. The plot was straight forward and progressed nicely, though I thought finding and vanquishing the bad guy was a little easy.
I enjoyed Midnight Hunter even with my issues with Vera, the professor/student aspect, and how the ending went. This is a good read for any Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy fans. If you are reading this series, don’t miss this installment. If you have not picked up the series, then start from the beginning.
*Disclaimer: Review copy provided by Harlequin & Kait Ballenger via NetGalley with the sole purpose of an honest review. All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
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Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons
September 8, 2015 at 4:48 am
This is yet another series I need to try. One day I will get to it. Great review.
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Angela
September 8, 2015 at 7:47 am
Thank you Melanie. I hope you enjoy the series when you get a chance to read it.
anna (herding cats & burning soup)
September 3, 2015 at 7:48 pm
I think she would have bothered me with that as well. Addiction is such a tricky one to write into a storyline I think. I have book one to read at some point. 🙂
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Angela
September 4, 2015 at 7:30 am
You should enjoy book 1 & 2. I did. The heroines are written better and stronger then Vera in Midnight Hunter. We also have much more action, surprises, and steaming up the bedroom romance. The plots are well done, fast-passed, non-stop on the go action/adventure that I found myself drawn in and could not put this one down. This one was not what I was expecting, hopeful the next book will be as great as the first two.
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Braine Talk Supe
September 3, 2015 at 7:26 am
Come to think of it, Vera’s character didn’t seem well developed. Maybe I missed it, but did she deal with her issues to the point of changing her ways?
Also I didn’t buy the romance, it felt more like sexual attraction than love. Like she played Shane well, who wears super short stripper skirts to class?
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Angela
September 3, 2015 at 7:42 am
No Vera did not deal with her issue. Their was a mention that Shane said he would help her, but that was it. As for the romance you are correct. It felt more sexual attraction then love. I never full bought into their relationship. It was still enjoy, just not my favorite of the series.