Elite: A Hunter novel (A Hunter Novel, 2) (original 2016; édition 2017)

One reason I am not a true fan of books in series is that they seem to become weaker as you go. Although I enjoyed this second book and purchased the third, I did feel that it was not quite as good.

In reading other reviews, I found that I was not alone, one reviewer pointed that fellow hunter Mark had a girl back home and called her Verity, but in this book she is Jess!

Recommended.

Hunting monsters was supposed to be the hard part. When Joy came to Apex City, all she cared about was protecting the Cits from the dangers lurking outside protective barriers. She understood the need for the secrecy surrounding her hunts - no need to cause a panic by announcing just how real of a threat the Othersiders pose.

But as she quickly discovered, the conspiracies of the city run much deeper. And a dangerous new covert mission leaves Joy with a target on her back once more. Under the orders of her uncle, the city's prefect, Joy begins patrolling the abandoned tunnels and storm sewers under Apex Center. With her large pack of magical hounds, she can fight the monsters breaking through the barriers with the strength of three hunters. Then she starts finding bodies. Psimons are turning up dead in the bowels of the city, with no apparent injury. Reporting the incidents makes Joy the uncomfortable object of PsiCorps' scrutiny, and the organization appears more interested in keeping her quiet than investigating. Joy's situation grows more precarious, and her relationship with her Psimon boyfriend, Josh, begins to fray. Long-held tensions between PsiCorps and the Hunters seem to be reaching a breaking point. While infighting threatens the stability of Apex City, Othersider forces are gaining strength and momentum outside the borders. Joy desperately seeks answers to figure out who her real enemies are before she and everyone she cares about are locked into an all-out war. ( )

“Learn the wisdom of the Hound. Always rest, eat, and play when you can, because the universe conspires to keep you from doing any of these things nearly as often as you would like.”

I was so excited to continue this series! At the start, the thorough descriptions of creatures and places seemed a little redundant. I had already become familiar with most of them after reading the first book. However, I do realize this extra information would have been nice had I waited a year or more to read the next one.

The attacks on Apex are becoming more and more frequent, and there are too few Hunter's to handle the overwhelming forces of the Othersiders. They also seem more organized and driven, so their attempts to break the barriers are more effective. The Folk play a larger role in the second book, and I really liked learning more about them. They are essentially faeries, but with their own twist. Speaking of The Folk, I knew it! My earlier prediction (mentioned in my review of the first book) was correct! He does play a larger role, and he seems to only have good intentions.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on Wednesday, December 20, 2017
http://www.doyoudog-ear.com/2017/12/elite-hunter-2-apex-hunter-3-by.html ( )

A great sequel leading up to a dramatic third book. :) One of the things I really like is the main characters focus on her work and her friendships. ( )

Now Joyeaux is a member of the Elite and she's dealing with the aftermath of the last fight. Now she's helping clear storm drains of lingering monsters so maintenance people can deal with them. She comes across bodies of psimon who appear to have died from old age. Then Ace escapes and things start to get more and more stressful.

There's a lot of complicated politics and undercurrents going on and she's trying to do her best. She's also learning more about the bond between hunter and hound.

Intresting read and I really want to know what's going to happen next. ( )

Love it! Possibly better than the first book - it's still focused on Joy, but a lot of other characters start filling out. White Knight is one, and a new pair, Hammer and Steel. New problems for Joy, old problems resurgent, and bigger problems than just hers. One thing I really like - although the entire book is from Joy's point of view, and she's definitely the main character, she is _not_ the only one who can come up with solutions. She comes up with a lot of the necessary solutions, but usually by integrating things she's been told - by her masters, by other Hunters, or even by enemies. And a few times, something she says triggers the answer in someone else. It makes the story feel a lot more realistic than the all-too-frequent form where the main character is the only one who can do anything - all the experienced experts just stand around staring in awe as the Hero (male or female) comes up with solutions they missed. Here Joy is part of a team, and is helped about as often as she helps. Some of the threads from Hunter are finally wrapped up, some aren't and get even more tangled, and new threads start up here. Joy's finding out more and more about Apex society, and just how dysfunctional it is - and how functional, on some levels. Usually not the top ones. Great story and I'm looking forward to the third.
Third reread - again, a rich story and worth rereading. It's even better when you can read the whole thing straight through - Elite follows directly from Hunter, and Apex is set only a few months later. ( )