Hunted by the Others by Jess Haines

Shiarra Waynest is a detective whose work was dangerous enough when she was only dealing with her strictly mortal client-base. But ailing finances have forced her to accept a dangerous case that could save her firm, if it doesn't kill her first. Now working for a high level mage to recover an ancient artefact with horrifying powers, the job is hard enough without it being in the hands of one of New York's most powerful vampires. But upon meeting Alec Royce, Shiarra realises that this assignment is even more complicated than she thought. With the added bonus of having an anti-Other group named 'The White Hats' trying to recruit her and mages turning up dead, Shiarra needs the help of a were-wolf from her past and a nerdy mage with surprising talents if she wants to survive. In a city where the undead roam and magic rules, Shiarra has just become the secret weapon in a battle between good and evil-whether she likes it or not. 

I really didn't like this book to begin with, it was too much like a lot of other books I have read, except this one didn't really leave a very good first impression. Shiarra was such an annoying protagonist who despised other-worlders even though she really didn't have a reason to. But the worst thing was the gay jokes that, even though I know they were supposed to be funny, came across to me as a little bit homophobic...I mean there were at least four of them in 50 pages. But apart from the 'hero', I didn't absolutely hate the world-building or the supporting characters, and even though the world was not too original or unique to the urban fantasy genre, Haines brings her own unique narration and story-weaving into play. The saving grace of this story was the ending, due to the character development in Shiarra. It was one of the most extreme evolutions I have ever come across in a single character in one 300 page book, and I was both wary and yet pleasantly hopeful for the next books in the series. If you can get passed the first hundred pages, the face-palms and eye-brow-raising become less and less frequent and 'Hunted by the Others' wont end up being the worst book that you have ever read. 

Rating: 2/5 Titans

Other Books in the 'H&W Investigation' Series

Hunted by the Others
Taken by the Others
Deceived by the Others
Stalking the Others
Forsaken by the Others
Enslaved by the Others