Elite: A Hunter novel

Once again:

I expected richly developed characters with who I could relate, love and hate;

I expected the continuation of the already well developed story from the first book, Hunter, to continue with new plot developments, new twists, new characters, and a new appreciation for Ms. Lackey's incredible mind;

I expected the story's rapid fire pacing and at the end, the satisfaction of a story well ended with anticipation towards the next book in the series without the overused and disgusting use of a cliffhanger ending;

I expected nothing less than perfection;

Well met.

This novel does not disappoint... yes it is a teen novel ..It is still very enjoyable by this particular adult....I like the main character and I am charmed by her hounds... especially Bya...there is a nice mix of characters that can lead to another long running series from one of my favorite authors... the pace of action is good, with battles with mythical monsters... there is suspense wondering who is tying to have her killed and just what does that fey lord want with her...it has a slightly different feel than a lot of her other series... not sure if it is because it was written for a teen audience... The further on in the story I got the more involved I was... there are twists and turns in the relationships of several characters.. I even cried a few times... Love it... do not regret purchasing at all...and waiting impatiently for the next one...

This series is one of Lackey's best yet. Lots of action & intrigue. A well written story, combing elements that Lackey does so well: magic, communication with animals, & mystery. I can't wait for the next book in the series to come out!!

Many of my questions from the first book were answered and I think Ms. Lackey's story telling ability was showcased nicely.
The ending was abrupt but satisfying in a "life goes on" sort of way. Now if she could just get the next installment out before another year is done, that would be great.

Continues the adventures of Hunter Joy in a world that survived attack from supernatural creatures. Typical of Lackey's work in recent years it is uneven. The beginning is slow and dull. It picks up as the hunters defend human cities from attack by the Others. Beyond Joy characters are shallow and without strong personalities. It is a high end young adult tale. The world Joy lives in seems very interesting, but we really see little of it. Pleasent book with good action at the end.

An excellent and exciting follow up for the first book in the series. The series is marketed as being for YA but I left my teen years behind many, many years ago and I enjoyed it immensely. Excellent worldbuilding and character delineation. Now I hope the third in this delightful series will come swiftly...I don't want to have to wait for another whole year!

Mercedes Lackey is officially awesome. I thought Hunter was a stellar book, but Elite blew it out of the water. Joy is back, and she is busy. Conspiracy abounds, and the action roars through this book like a Gog and Magog on crack. It is tempered by Joy's sensible, zen-like narrative voice, but, seriously, I'm not sure you could cram a single extra action sequence into this story. All of Joy's friends (and enemies) are back, and the addition of a few new allies makes for an engaging and compelling cast. I can't tell you how much my high school students have enjoyed Hunter, nor can I really describe the teenage face of doom and disappointment they give me when they find out how long they are going to have to wait for this book. I can now pat them gently on the heads and assure them that the wait is absolutely worth it. Elite is going to the top of my classroom library wishlist, and I'll probably have to order multiple copies to keep fights from breaking out on publication day - think fight club but with book nerds. Language and situations are appropriate for grades 7+, but I can testify that adult readers of fantasy will also adore both books in this series. I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reader thoughts:
This was amazing! Same as first book. The plots thicken, and the characters deepen, but not too much. There's still plenty of growth for the next book.

I still love this premise and setting and idea. Magical monsters from another dimension attacking barriered cities. Magical humans with hounds to protect the cities. Everyone fighting for survival, except that we don't know why the monsters are fighting.

I love what happened with the thunder birds and "Joy's folk guy." It shows that the "monsters" are more than mindless beings. Many of them have language and reasoning. They must have some motivation and strategy, and Joy doesn't know it yet.

The psi-humans are acting more suspiciously. I'm guessing they have some enhancing drug that totally drains them but lets them do more psi stuff. I'm worried about Joy and her boyfriend....

My favorite part is that the humans are mostly all working together (or, at least the hunters are). They aren't competing against each other or trying to tear each other down. They're just trying to do their best to fight and win and beat back the monsters to save the cits.

Writer thoughts:
At the second pinch point (I think that's what it was), I expected Joy to be injured to up the stakes. Instead, we find out her best friend may be moving away. I appreciated that the stakes were raised in a non-conventional way. Her friends weren't killed here, but it all got more serious in other ways (the other things are spoilers).

***I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review, which was first posted on book blog Will Read for Feels.

I gushed all over my review of Mercedes Lackey’s novel Hunter, the first volume in a series of the same name from Disney-Hyperion. I’m afraid I’m only going to gush through this attempt at reviewing the next novel in the series, Elite, which releases tomorrow, September 6, 2016. Book 2 in the Hunter series is chock-full of adventure and intrigue, settling some questions and building up a plot line that opened up yet more questions and that also promises a lot of action and adventure in the books to follow.

In Elite, Joyeaux “Joy” Charmand continues to kick major butt with her 11 hounds as a Hunter Elite, keeping the Apex City citizens, or Cits, safe by battling and defeating the magical Othersiders who threaten it. But the danger doesn’t just exist outside Apex City barriers, regardless of how well the Cits may be fooled into thinking it; Joy’s duties take her under the city, and in between sessions of butt-kicking, she uncovers a conspiracy that bodes ill in the conflict between humans and Othersiders. As battles begin to intensify and stakes rise higher than ever, human perseverance becomes a case of not just guile, willpower, and stamina but also of magic.

As far as the plot goes, I thoroughly enjoyed the buildup of intrigue in this story. Not only do we start with a few unsettled concerns carried over from the first book (one starts with an “A” and ends with a “ce”), but we uncover even more mysteries, and more than a hint of a greater conspiracy brewing within the higher ranks of Apex City, alongside another mystery fueling the onslaught of attacks on the city by Othersiders.

The character of Joy becomes a lot more intriguing, too. After rereading the first book two or three times, I worried a little that Joy was a little too perfect as a young hunter, but after seeing her being all too human in this book, and it enriched my appreciation of her character. I knew from book 1 that she was a warrior and we caught glimpses of the girl inside, but it’s in Elite that we get a hint of the woman she’ll become, and it leads to even greater admiration of her. If I were a young girl reading this book, I would see a lot of who I would like to become in her, and even as a grown woman, there’s a lot of who I would like to be and how I would like to have been when I was her age.

In the first book in this series, I noted an ineffable sense of youth and idealism in the story and characters featured, something typical of Mercedes Lackey’s work. These qualities are still present in Elite, but more than reinforcing them through repetition, these are challenged and put to a stress test, the better to strengthen them. The stakes are higher, the losses are dearer, and the feels are stronger, which works out as a more intense read. Of all Lackey’s series (and she has quite a few), I believe this is the closest in nature and content to that of the Valdemar series, and that’s bound to send a thrill of excitement through any Lackey fan. Despite that, I think that while the intensity of feels would be best served by starting with book 1, Hunter, I feel very strongly that Elite will hold up if you start the series at this point.

Altogether, this book is an excellent followup to a series debut that set the bar high. You definitely start in medias res, from the very first chapter, and you get action scene after action scene throughout the course of the novel. It’s a heck of a page-turner, and it’ll keep you on the edge of your seat from chapter 1 to finis.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I don’t know if I’ve been meta-analyzing books for too long, but I found myself willfully resisting the urge to do so with this book. What I mean is that when I started reading it (more or less directly after finishing the first book in the series, Hunter), I found myself spending a lot of time trying to decide if I liked the way Lackey was trying to give enough background information for people jumping in cold vs. hampering the plot developing. From there ,I found myself trying to decide if the pacing of the overarching story was well done. While I have answers to both of these things now (if you are curious, I think she kept it about as short as she could and I actually loved the pacing since it didn’t seemed rushed, respectively) I found I had a lot more fun reading this book when I just took it for the story it is without trying to over think it. And I have to say the result was one of the more immersive experiences I’ve had with a book in a while.

I get scared with sequels, particularly of YA, when I like the first book in a series. A lot of times, authors seem to use the first story to build a great world in the opener and then just hit the turbo button to too-fast-developing-not-super-thought-out plot in book two. This book absolutely did not do that. At one point I found myself thinking that this book can feel at times feel like it is just an extension of adventures from part one, which some may see as a negative but I really enjoyed. This is not to say that the larger plot does not advance. There are a lot of pretty important developments and the conflicts between the different government programs that are theoretically all supposed to be working together is particularly interesting, however, this information is spread out throughout the book with fun “hunts” and social activity thrown in so it feels like a much more natural progression of story than other books I have read.

The conceit that was hinted at in the previous book that all of the Othersiders are represented in some way in human folklore or mythology is expanded upon in this book in an incredibly interesting way which opens up for even more questions about the worlds relationship with the Otherside. I also found the consistency of magic in this universe to be very satisfying. There is something almost scientific about the way magic usage is explained in this world and it leads to new discoveries in magic to be satisfying as a reader rather than random and like a crutch of some type to advance the plot.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised that I liked this book even more than the first one. All the things I said in my previous review remain true, especially that the characters seem to act the way people really would which is something I love particularly in YA. Now I just hope that the series does not suffer from my other largest concern which is not knowing how to end which retroactively makes me not enjoy the previous books as much, but for now I can confidently say that I cannot recommend this series enough if you are at all interested in YA fantasy!

I absolutely loved Hunter, and actually did mot realizw how recently Elite was written. So, i came looking for the next in the series because i really wanted to see what comes next. I read a lot of books and Mercedes Lackey is one of the best writers in any genre, in my opinion. So many books are sloppily written and barely edited, with content and thematic errors, poor grammar and spelling. Even worse, each book often seems to be the length of a short story or novella (really dislike that term). It seems too many ebooks are published just to get the readersbto buy the next in the "series".

I come to Mercedes Lackey's books and it is like a breat of fresh air : Good writing, plot and character development, strong women, romance without constant sexual encounters, and lots of excitement. I truly believe she is one of the best writers of the world.

Elite was somewhat disappointing because I didn't get any sense of "tie-up" as in it didn't have a completion. At all. Still a good book, but not a complete book. In a trilogy, or series, I still want my books to have a beginning, middle and end. In all of the early Valdemar books, there is a sense of completion at the end of each book. Then more complete (for that time) at the end of the trilogy. I did not get that sense in the Herald Spy books-and have yet to finish them. And it is definitely lacking here. Nor do I see the complexities of multiple characters, only Joy. She is a great "heroine " but I miss the flow of development that was with Talia ond her "co-stars" or Elspeth and hers. And of course the development of the characters of the Companions, Gryphons, Bondbirds, is not there as strongly with the Hounds. In fact, the development of the enemy characters is not there at all-hinted at, but missing; and, of course, mysterious.

When I saw the advertisements from the store, I got a clear sense that Mercedes, like other popular authors, may be pushed by publishers (and agent?) to produce more books than is reasonable in too short a period, spanning too many different "worlds". This has happened to many of my favorite authors - so much so, that I no longer buy their books but wait until I can borrow them. Some, have fallen off my reading list entirely.

And, new paragraph for emphasis, I go back and re-read the old books. However I certainly do not buy the re-releases being published! I hope we are not seeing this aversive phenomenon with Mercedes. I think waiting for a new book is better than getting one more quickly that is less well-written.

I have to say, in regards to comments about the so-called knocking of the Christers, that I did not find them at all out of line with the usual tolerance shown by Mercedes for different religions and cultures. Rather it is in keeping with the groups' behaviors and attitudes. (That said, I believe in Jesus, but do not identify with the Christian groups like the Christers, who denigrate women and other religions). I actually think her writing reflects the real divisions seen in the religious groups today. Religious groups split or fracture for many reasons, theological, political, or driven by true beliefs. It was reflected in the Sundering in the Valdemar series, although along the lines of power and belief. Personally I find groups of any kind who treat women and others as lesser beings distasteful.

All of the above - simply as a reflection of my opinions - I will certainly look for the next book in this series and the books Mercedes is writing to be published later this year!

“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, (view spoiler)

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Mixed feelings.I love how being elevated to elite means less camera focus, and it's great how naturally the battle scenes flow. I adore Joy and how immersive the author makes you feel apart of the hunter routine. The last hour of the book is great, but every hour beforehand I kept asking myself "why?" Why am I supposed to care so much about Mark Knight? Why am I supposed to care about him and his love life? Why is Ace still a lingering focus? I'm over him. I want to hear more about Joy, watch her learn new spells, show off another brutal death scene like the previous bad-ass vamp-killing! More slow, drawn out fight scenes where Joy unlocks new abilities! I got none of that here. "Christer girls wait to be told what to do, and usually by a man" Really, did the author really have to add that because it surprises me Joy is so anti-Christer when otherwise she's open minded. Why Josh, what was the point of devoting so much writing to Josh if they were just going to break up? I would have much rather Josh left sooner, and moved on to a steamy fling between Retro and Joy. I am so impressed by this story and want to pull so much more from the Author for her next book because it has potential to be even better!

I am a 35 male who was given the opportunity to listen to this series on audiobook. Little did I know until it was too late that this series was marked as "Teen," but that doesn't excuse this series from it's constant info dumping, lack of rhythm, and complete lack of imagination.

I have read and listened to quite a few sci-fi and fantasy books throughout my life only to have just recently come to the conclusion I've been wildly lucky about the ones I've picked up. Because I am now writing this as someone whose luck has run out.

Read ALL the other 1 and 2 star comments, disregarding those ones that cry about the anti-Christian tones, and you should be compelled to skip this series. I say this will all intents and purposes that you will be missing nothing, which is a shame. The idea of giving anyone a negative review about something the seemingly must have spent a lot of time and energy on, beside the fact they were given money to do so, pains me to do so.

24 hours of listening to this audiobook series I will never get back.

Several months ago I came across a book cover in a library that had a dragon on it but couldn't remember the name of the author nor of the book when I came back another day to pick it up and that bugged me for quite some time. Finally out of the blue, I happened to come across that same cover in an article talking about books that involved dragons and found out that it was called Hunter by Mercedes Lackey. Then shortly afterwards, I found out about an ARC of Elite which is the second book in the series and nearly squealed with joy when I was given approval and sent an e-book version. While I haven't been able to read Hunter yet, I plan to in the future because there's a lot of questions that I have and I'm really curious about the area that Joy came from.

I had a lot of fun reading Elite and getting to know a variety of different people as well as creatures.Joy is a young talented woman who has spent most of her life being taught how to wield her magic and being prepared to help defend her home. She is the main gal who is part of a group known as the Elite Hunters that fight against what were once considered mythical creatures (such as Ogres, Drakken, Thunderbirds, Folk Mages and Minotaurs to name some), using magical powers and military training. These creatures seemed to come out of no where and once most of them were sent back to the Other Side, that time period became known as the Diseray and they came out of an area known as the Barrier. Once people started to develop magical powers, they were taught how best to put them to use, many bonded with mysterious creatures known as Hounds, and combat skills were taught. Some chose to form groups to protect areas and eventually were called Hunters because they hunted down creatures causing havoc and what few weren't killed, were sent back to the other side of the Barrier. The Hounds are intelligent shape shifters from the Other World (where the mythical creatures come from), who after bonding with a human can talk to them telepathically, usually are in packs and are a very welcome companion that choose to fight at the side of humans.

There were a lot of things going on in this book that made it hard to put down and a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. Joy may have been raised all her life how to deal with these strange creatures but even she becomes stumped over some of the entities that start showing up. She had her down moments and had a lot to deal with, particularly when the hunts went sour or people that she watched over were injured or killed. Just when I wondered if she'd be able to save the day after a particularly unexpected and nasty fight, Joy surprised me with her smarts and figuring out how to deal with the curve balls sent her way.

This book is one that I highly recommend and hope that you'll enjoy too!

It's been a while since I read the first book in this series, but I had no trouble jumping right into ELITE and the characters. Joy and crew were tested and tested again again in ELITE. The trials they faced were incredibly intense and I felt like we rarely were able to come up for air to take a breath before the next crisis would happen. It made for one heck of a roller coaster ride of a read. But even though the plot and danger continued at a frenetic pace, there still was plenty of time for character development and the various relationships between them all. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between Joy and the White Knight, especially once his fiancee came to town. While Joy, and this series seem to skew on the younger side of YA, there are times where the maturity jumps several paces ahead, which kept it interesting as I prefer the older side anyway. Joy herself progressed an impressive amount from who we originally met in the first book. I can't wait to see how she continues to grow.

Frenetic pacing and interesting characters aside, it's the world behind this series that really steals the show for me. The combination of Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic and Folklore/Fairytales with Hunters who protect the naieve citizens almost gladiator reality TV style. I particularly enjoyed the added twists and turns with the PSI secrecy, and the waters getting murky on good vs evil with the folk. The next book should be mighty interesting to say the least.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable installment in a very unique and fascinating series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book.

Picks righ up where Hunter leaves off. More action in this book. Monsters are gathering and causing more trouble. Ther is a new elite Hunter Mark "the White Knight" he wants his fiancee to move to Apex but he has to be elite first. Ace is again the problem and a big problem this time. Psimon's are dying and no reason why. Joy keeps finding them in her search of of the sewer sysystems and she finds out who is causing her Uncle all his troubles. Hated the breakup of her and her boyfriend. Love all the different hounds that each hunter has. Wished the book had pictures. Lots of action in this one.

NOW MY QUESTION IS where is Book 3 and how long do i have to wait

ACTUAL RATING: 2.5 STARS.

As many of you know, I *really* didn’t like Hunter. That book was a prime example of how you can have a great and exciting concept, but how poor writing and lack of character development (for both main and secondary characters) can make the entire thing a bore.

I read this book, Hunter‘s sequel, because I received an ARC for the second book. And, even though I really didn’t want to read it after finishing Hunter, I buckled down and forced my way through, because it’s an ARC, and I felt obligated to review it. (Believe it or not, I don’t receive many ARCs.) So here it goes.

Somebody on Goodreads said that this whole series would be much better placed as middle grade, and I couldn’t agree more. The writing read like something better suited for ten- to twelve-year-olds than for fourteen-year-olds, and Joy seems closer to that age range than to sixteen, anyway. (Is that how old she is? I can’t even remember.)

But being middle grade wouldn’t solve most of this book’s fatal flaws, such as severely underdeveloped characters, a bare-bones romance, and a negative character arc not given much build-up. (Which is interesting in theory, but ends up being just as boring as the book’s other aspects. Our villain has genuine motive, but it’s not developed enough, and I think one of the reasons why his descent into villainy is not compelling to read is because he’s not developed enough.) Everything in this book needs more: more meat, more substance, more depth. (And, honestly, middle grade readers deserve high-quality books, too. A younger target audience doesn’t allow for lower-quality work.)

Everything except more pages, that is. I will never understand how Lackey is able to write a plot where things happen, but everything feels and reads like filler. I read only the dialogue, and I still had a decent comprehension of what happened during the story. All those pages of description and internal musing were pretty much unnecessary.

There are so many characters in this novel, but none of them ever really come alive. They lack that breath of air, that spark that would make them dynamic and different and unique. These characters are nothing more than words and quotation marks on a page, including Joy. I couldn’t connect with any of them, they were so dull.

And, speaking of dull, the romance between Joy and Josh is snooze-worthy. They have no chemistry–and I’m not just talking about hormones. Yeah, they’re nice people, but there’s nothing special there. We’re not really told why they’re together, other than that Joy thinks he’s cute. But that just doesn’t cut it for me. Sorry.

The only thing that improved is, because this is the second book, there was less of that awkward info-dumping that inundated the first book. Also, the characters weren’t insufferable, even though they weren’t memorable, either. These things made Elite more tolerable than Hunter. But it’s not enough for me to want to continue to the third book. We still have no answers to any questions, guys, and I don’t have the patience to sit through one more book of this to find out things about characters/a story I don’t really care about. I wash my hands of this series with a sigh of relief. Perhaps, if you have a young (pre)teen ready to make the jump into young adult fiction, I’d recommend this to them, because it’s not that big a jump, really. I just hope it wouldn’t put them to sleep first.

“Elite,” the second book in the “Hunter” series, is about a teenage girl named Joyeaux who moved from her humble home in the mountains (where she’d learned to fight Otherworlders from a young age) to the city hub to become a Hunter. A Hunter’s job is to keep the land surrounding the city clear of invading Otherworlders. They are also filmed each step of the way for the civilians’ entertainment. “Elite” is an action-centric series that takes a few chapters to get going at the very beginning, but once it hits its stride, it doesn’t let up!

“Elite” was addicting. I read so continually that rarely do I feel the need to spend more time than I already do buried in a book. “Elite” kept compelling me back to see what happened next, which was a lot of fun because I hadn’t felt super drawn to a book in ages. I attribute that to a slew of positive attributes: great writing, excellent storytelling (which builds with each chapter), good pacing, a cool concept, and a memorable cast of characters. These are the reasons “Elite” is now one of my new favorites of the genre.

The “Hunter” series offers a plethora of interesting characters, none more so than Joyeaux, the heroine of the story. I love reading about her because 1) she’s a smart cookie, always thinking things through (which keeps me engaged as I try to figure out things along with her). 2) she’s resourceful, especially when dealing with the Otherworlders (which gives each action scene a little more variety). 3) she’s relatable. She has weak moments and makes mistakes like a real human (which makes her all the more realistic and endearing). 4) and finally, she’s independent, standing solidly on her own merit and convictions. I especially like that she’s interested in a romance but isn’t driven by it. It’s nice to see a YA heroine who realizes there’s more to life than cute boys. There’s still romance in the book, but it takes a comfortable backseat to all of the other conflicts. And because the love story is not what primarily drives the story, that leaves plenty of pages for Joy to build friendships, train hard, and get to the bottom of a few mysteries.

I’ve read a few of Mercedes Lackey’s high fantasy novels (with the “Dragon Jesters” series as my favorite) and I can see a slight simplification in her writing style for the YA market. She explained things a little more thoroughly than I think she needed to but I wouldn’t go as far as to say she dumbed it down, only that she made it a little more accessible. That said, the “Hunter” series is easily among the best of her works and I might even consider it my new favorite from her if the rest of the series goes as well as these first two books. Although “Elite” had a little less Hunter-to-Hunter competition, it still remained very action-centric, which went a long way towards making up for it. It also uped the complexity by focusing more on the dynamics between all of the different factions in this post-apocalyptic world and weaving them all into a compelling mystery. This book had a lot of layers to peel back and was a lot of fun because of it.

Overall and very impressed with “Elite” and the series so far and am super eager to read more. I’d recommend this series to anyone who loves the YA Fantasy genre, especially to those who are suffering from a Hunger Games hangover.

-Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller

I am a 35 male who was given the opportunity to listen to this series on audiobook. Little did I know until it was too late that this series was marked as "Teen," but that doesn't excuse this series from it's constant info dumping, lack of rhythm, and complete lack of imagination.

I have read and listened to quite a few sci-fi and fantasy books throughout my life only to have just recently come to the conclusion I've been wildly lucky about the ones I've picked up. Because I am now writing this as someone whose luck has run out.

Read ALL the other 1 and 2 star comments, disregarding those ones that cry about the anti-Christian tones, and you should be compelled to skip this series. I say this will all intents and purposes that you will be missing nothing, which is a shame. The idea of giving anyone a negative review about something the seemingly must have spent a lot of time and energy on, beside the fact they were given money to do so, pains me to do so.

24 hours of listening to this audiobook series I will never get back.

Several months ago I came across a book cover in a library that had a dragon on it but couldn't remember the name of the author nor of the book when I came back another day to pick it up and that bugged me for quite some time. Finally out of the blue, I happened to come across that same cover in an article talking about books that involved dragons and found out that it was called Hunter by Mercedes Lackey. Then shortly afterwards, I found out about an ARC of Elite which is the second book in the series and nearly squealed with joy when I was given approval and sent an e-book version. While I haven't been able to read Hunter yet, I plan to in the future because there's a lot of questions that I have and I'm really curious about the area that Joy came from.

I had a lot of fun reading Elite and getting to know a variety of different people as well as creatures.Joy is a young talented woman who has spent most of her life being taught how to wield her magic and being prepared to help defend her home. She is the main gal who is part of a group known as the Elite Hunters that fight against what were once considered mythical creatures (such as Ogres, Drakken, Thunderbirds, Folk Mages and Minotaurs to name some), using magical powers and military training. These creatures seemed to come out of no where and once most of them were sent back to the Other Side, that time period became known as the Diseray and they came out of an area known as the Barrier. Once people started to develop magical powers, they were taught how best to put them to use, many bonded with mysterious creatures known as Hounds, and combat skills were taught. Some chose to form groups to protect areas and eventually were called Hunters because they hunted down creatures causing havoc and what few weren't killed, were sent back to the other side of the Barrier. The Hounds are intelligent shape shifters from the Other World (where the mythical creatures come from), who after bonding with a human can talk to them telepathically, usually are in packs and are a very welcome companion that choose to fight at the side of humans.

There were a lot of things going on in this book that made it hard to put down and a lot of twists that I didn't see coming. Joy may have been raised all her life how to deal with these strange creatures but even she becomes stumped over some of the entities that start showing up. She had her down moments and had a lot to deal with, particularly when the hunts went sour or people that she watched over were injured or killed. Just when I wondered if she'd be able to save the day after a particularly unexpected and nasty fight, Joy surprised me with her smarts and figuring out how to deal with the curve balls sent her way.

This book is one that I highly recommend and hope that you'll enjoy too!

It's been a while since I read the first book in this series, but I had no trouble jumping right into ELITE and the characters. Joy and crew were tested and tested again again in ELITE. The trials they faced were incredibly intense and I felt like we rarely were able to come up for air to take a breath before the next crisis would happen. It made for one heck of a roller coaster ride of a read. But even though the plot and danger continued at a frenetic pace, there still was plenty of time for character development and the various relationships between them all. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between Joy and the White Knight, especially once his fiancee came to town. While Joy, and this series seem to skew on the younger side of YA, there are times where the maturity jumps several paces ahead, which kept it interesting as I prefer the older side anyway. Joy herself progressed an impressive amount from who we originally met in the first book. I can't wait to see how she continues to grow.

Frenetic pacing and interesting characters aside, it's the world behind this series that really steals the show for me. The combination of Dystopian/Post Apocalyptic and Folklore/Fairytales with Hunters who protect the naieve citizens almost gladiator reality TV style. I particularly enjoyed the added twists and turns with the PSI secrecy, and the waters getting murky on good vs evil with the folk. The next book should be mighty interesting to say the least.

All in all, this was a very enjoyable installment in a very unique and fascinating series. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for the next book.

Picks righ up where Hunter leaves off. More action in this book. Monsters are gathering and causing more trouble. Ther is a new elite Hunter Mark "the White Knight" he wants his fiancee to move to Apex but he has to be elite first. Ace is again the problem and a big problem this time. Psimon's are dying and no reason why. Joy keeps finding them in her search of of the sewer sysystems and she finds out who is causing her Uncle all his troubles. Hated the breakup of her and her boyfriend. Love all the different hounds that each hunter has. Wished the book had pictures. Lots of action in this one.

NOW MY QUESTION IS where is Book 3 and how long do i have to wait

ACTUAL RATING: 2.5 STARS.

As many of you know, I *really* didn’t like Hunter. That book was a prime example of how you can have a great and exciting concept, but how poor writing and lack of character development (for both main and secondary characters) can make the entire thing a bore.

I read this book, Hunter‘s sequel, because I received an ARC for the second book. And, even though I really didn’t want to read it after finishing Hunter, I buckled down and forced my way through, because it’s an ARC, and I felt obligated to review it. (Believe it or not, I don’t receive many ARCs.) So here it goes.

Somebody on Goodreads said that this whole series would be much better placed as middle grade, and I couldn’t agree more. The writing read like something better suited for ten- to twelve-year-olds than for fourteen-year-olds, and Joy seems closer to that age range than to sixteen, anyway. (Is that how old she is? I can’t even remember.)

But being middle grade wouldn’t solve most of this book’s fatal flaws, such as severely underdeveloped characters, a bare-bones romance, and a negative character arc not given much build-up. (Which is interesting in theory, but ends up being just as boring as the book’s other aspects. Our villain has genuine motive, but it’s not developed enough, and I think one of the reasons why his descent into villainy is not compelling to read is because he’s not developed enough.) Everything in this book needs more: more meat, more substance, more depth. (And, honestly, middle grade readers deserve high-quality books, too. A younger target audience doesn’t allow for lower-quality work.)

Everything except more pages, that is. I will never understand how Lackey is able to write a plot where things happen, but everything feels and reads like filler. I read only the dialogue, and I still had a decent comprehension of what happened during the story. All those pages of description and internal musing were pretty much unnecessary.

There are so many characters in this novel, but none of them ever really come alive. They lack that breath of air, that spark that would make them dynamic and different and unique. These characters are nothing more than words and quotation marks on a page, including Joy. I couldn’t connect with any of them, they were so dull.

And, speaking of dull, the romance between Joy and Josh is snooze-worthy. They have no chemistry–and I’m not just talking about hormones. Yeah, they’re nice people, but there’s nothing special there. We’re not really told why they’re together, other than that Joy thinks he’s cute. But that just doesn’t cut it for me. Sorry.

The only thing that improved is, because this is the second book, there was less of that awkward info-dumping that inundated the first book. Also, the characters weren’t insufferable, even though they weren’t memorable, either. These things made Elite more tolerable than Hunter. But it’s not enough for me to want to continue to the third book. We still have no answers to any questions, guys, and I don’t have the patience to sit through one more book of this to find out things about characters/a story I don’t really care about. I wash my hands of this series with a sigh of relief. Perhaps, if you have a young (pre)teen ready to make the jump into young adult fiction, I’d recommend this to them, because it’s not that big a jump, really. I just hope it wouldn’t put them to sleep first.

“Elite,” the second book in the “Hunter” series, is about a teenage girl named Joyeaux who moved from her humble home in the mountains (where she’d learned to fight Otherworlders from a young age) to the city hub to become a Hunter. A Hunter’s job is to keep the land surrounding the city clear of invading Otherworlders. They are also filmed each step of the way for the civilians’ entertainment. “Elite” is an action-centric series that takes a few chapters to get going at the very beginning, but once it hits its stride, it doesn’t let up!

“Elite” was addicting. I read so continually that rarely do I feel the need to spend more time than I already do buried in a book. “Elite” kept compelling me back to see what happened next, which was a lot of fun because I hadn’t felt super drawn to a book in ages. I attribute that to a slew of positive attributes: great writing, excellent storytelling (which builds with each chapter), good pacing, a cool concept, and a memorable cast of characters. These are the reasons “Elite” is now one of my new favorites of the genre.

The “Hunter” series offers a plethora of interesting characters, none more so than Joyeaux, the heroine of the story. I love reading about her because 1) she’s a smart cookie, always thinking things through (which keeps me engaged as I try to figure out things along with her). 2) she’s resourceful, especially when dealing with the Otherworlders (which gives each action scene a little more variety). 3) she’s relatable. She has weak moments and makes mistakes like a real human (which makes her all the more realistic and endearing). 4) and finally, she’s independent, standing solidly on her own merit and convictions. I especially like that she’s interested in a romance but isn’t driven by it. It’s nice to see a YA heroine who realizes there’s more to life than cute boys. There’s still romance in the book, but it takes a comfortable backseat to all of the other conflicts. And because the love story is not what primarily drives the story, that leaves plenty of pages for Joy to build friendships, train hard, and get to the bottom of a few mysteries.

I’ve read a few of Mercedes Lackey’s high fantasy novels (with the “Dragon Jesters” series as my favorite) and I can see a slight simplification in her writing style for the YA market. She explained things a little more thoroughly than I think she needed to but I wouldn’t go as far as to say she dumbed it down, only that she made it a little more accessible. That said, the “Hunter” series is easily among the best of her works and I might even consider it my new favorite from her if the rest of the series goes as well as these first two books. Although “Elite” had a little less Hunter-to-Hunter competition, it still remained very action-centric, which went a long way towards making up for it. It also uped the complexity by focusing more on the dynamics between all of the different factions in this post-apocalyptic world and weaving them all into a compelling mystery. This book had a lot of layers to peel back and was a lot of fun because of it.

Overall and very impressed with “Elite” and the series so far and am super eager to read more. I’d recommend this series to anyone who loves the YA Fantasy genre, especially to those who are suffering from a Hunger Games hangover.

-Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller

Second in the Hunter apocalyptic sci-fi fantasy series for Young Adults and revolving around Hunter Elite Joy Charmand.

My Take
There's plenty of action, a touch of romance, and tropes galore. I think Lackey pulled up a list of clichés and tropes and slipped 'em all in. Hence the low rating.

The most annoying trope was Joy moaning on and on about how she keeps screwing up. Ohhh, the guilt of it all… So stop, already! Naturally, Joy is the only one who gets the innovative ideas that help the Hunters, from the revelations about the Hounds to using Aki-Do moves in conjunction with her magic. Yep, that old hero-who-saves-the-day trope. Then there's that blend of jealousy over a man being merely a friend with a woman combined with the female equality-slash-pigeonholing trope. The persecution trope with the Psimons ticked off as Joy keeps finding those dead bodies. Well, duh…

Naturally, they're grooming Joy for a leadership role, which naturally, Joy hates for the attention it throws on her…oh, woe…again… Our poor modest Joy. Okay, I do actually like the concept of Joy's character, but puh-lease, ease up on the tropes already!!

I did like Kent's observation that reading about paintings doesn't make him an artist, lol. I also liked the message in Elite, that you're never stuck at one level, that you can always learn more. The sum-up that magic answers to belief can so easily be applied to other aspects of life.

Lackey also notes the difference between people raised at the Monastery and those in Apex City. How the Cits take safety for granted and wouldn't do well without all the protection that surrounds them. There's also the difference between the beliefs of one group that insist on pigeonholing half their people, to everyone's detriment.

There is an assortment of conflicts. The obvious one is the increasing intensity of Othersider attacks. They're bad enough, but Ace is free and has crossed over to the enemy…and is focused on taking out Joy. Her uncle has set her a secret mission that brings her into conflict with a powerful group. Mark is desperate for her help, although Jessie has issues with this that are much too easily solved. And Josh is suffering his own conflicts.

Why would Joy think the enemy would be courteous and let her pass in a battle?

There is a quick reference to all the fan service that drove Joy mad in Hunter , 1.

Joy makes a rather terrifying observation at the end about Senior Psimon Drift…!

The Story
Psimon dead are appearing in the sewers under Apex Central, and Uncle Charmand assigns Elite Hunter Joy Charmand to patrol. A decision that will open her to PsiCorps scrutiny and the bad blood that exists between the prefect of police and PsiCorps. Worse, PsiCorps appears more interested in keeping Joy silent while not investigating these mysterious deaths.

But this dangerous powerplay between Uncle and PsiCorps pales against the Othersider attacks surging in and around Apex City, strikes that, in hindsight, have been carefully targeted to destroy Hunters, and one in particular.

The Characters
The young Joyeaux Charmand is a Hunter whose pack has increased from her original seven Alberijes to eleven: Bya is the alpha, Dusana who is big enough for Joy to ride, Begtse, Chenresig, Shinje, Kalachakra, and Hevajra are the rest of the original pack. With Ace's betrayal, his Hounds, Myrrdhin (who has become second-in-command) and Gwalchmai, ask to join with Joy's as do Hold and Strike, the murdered Karly's Hounds.

The Hunters are…
…humans whose magic comes to them in the shape of a mandala on the back of their hands, a design burned into them when their Hounds arrive for the first time. After that, Hunters can summon the Hounds — magic beings living Other Side, Alberijes, able to change their shape — who answer to them alone. The Hounds form a pack with each pack having different abilities and shapes; one type of Hound ability is bamphing, a.k.a., teleportation. They feed on manna, magical energy, which is found in everything.

Hunters are divided into two levels: the Elite and the ranked. They answer to the prefect of police who is Joy's uncle. Grace is one of Uncle's secretaries. Josh Green, a Psimon, is her uncle's personal Psi-aide and Joy's boyfriend. Psimons are discouraged from forming friendly relationships with anyone. Rik Severn is in charge of Hunter personnel.

The Elite Hunters are…
…free of the media scrutiny paid to the ranked Hunters. Senior Elite Armorer Kent is the defacto leader. Hammer and Steel are brothers who form an effective partnership wielding their Walls; they have six Hounds. Archer is good with arrows. Retro is young, incredibly funny, and very interested in Joy. Scarlet is amazingly nice; her pack leader, Djinni, liked working with Joy's pack. Flashfire's skill is his pyromancy. Hawk, Bull, Siren, and Mei are more of the sixteen Elites.

The ranked Hunters are…
…revered as vid stars with their popularity rising or falling according to how the citizens view them. They include Dazzle with her fabulous light show, Trev, Regi, Sara, Cielle had been Ace's girlfriend, Tobor, Fox and Levy are the new guys, Shiloh, Tank, Trooper, Denali, Hudson, and, Souxie with her lightbending skill.

Mark "White Knight" is a Christer to whom the Hunters have warmed up and one of Joy's best friends here; he has four Hounds who look like lions and can fly. He calls them his angels. Bya and the rest like Mark and refer to his Hounds as the Saints. Verity Jessie is Knight's fiancée back home. Back in Anston's Well, she'd been helping Doc Bellow.

Apex City is…
…on the East Coast, one of the few cities that has managed to resurrect itself. It is protected by two electrical Barriers. Premier Rayne is its leader. Bensonville and Zion are two cities that look to Apex City for protection.

PsiCorps is…
…another elite organization with more than their share of arrogance. They are referred to as Psimon and have mind powers such as the ability to alter your memories, telekinesis, mind-control, telepathy, psychokinesis, etc. Everyone fears them. Senior Psimon Abigail Drift is the chief officer and head of PsiCorps. And she really hates both Charmands.

The Army's…
…Mages have the same arrogance as PsiCorps and look down on Hunters for relying upon their Hounds. Ace Sturgis was at the number one Hunter spot before his actions in Hunter . Now he's a prisoner used by the Army. Paules had been his brother. Army Mages include Prender and Kindsley.

The electrical crew in…
…the sewer includes Kelly as crew chief, Sanders, Blake, Feineman, Rodrigo, and Lee.

The Monastery is…
…in the Colorado mountains where Joy grew up and has its own dangerous secrets. The area the monks protect includes Safehaven and Anston's Well as well as the monastery itself. Master Kedo Patli had been Joy's mentor and is still a touchstone for her. Masters are some of the other monks with skills, including Lady Rhiannon, Ivor Thorson, Pepperberg worked with the birds, Begay, and Jeffries, the most senior Master and head of the monastery. Brother Vincent. Kei is Joy's best friend there and is currently seeing Dutch in Silverspring. Sheila Yazzy. Some of the Hunters there had included Shadi Newsom and Yanaba Yellowhorse. Master Hon Li had sent the Thunderbirds fleeing back in the day. It's where Mark Knight's people fled for sanctuary in Hunter .

Othersiders are…
…supernatural beings who invade from the Other Side to kill and eat humans. There are two types of Folk Mage: civilized and feral.

Drakken are huge dragon-like monsters who are at the top of the Othersider predator lists. Gog and Magog are near unstoppable. Gazers are giant eyeballs who can burn out your mind if you get caught in their gaze. Jackals are the Gazers' symbiotic helpers. Thunderbirds incorporate lightning and control storms. Wyverns, intelligent Minotaurs, Goblins, Trolls, Wendigos, Nightmares, Harpies, and Hags who are good with illusions, dour-armed Nagas with each arm wielding a sword, Recaps use bronze knives, Knockers use crude clubs and flint knives, Yeth-hounds are headless, the naked Kobold, and the newest ones who appear to be related to the Kobold — but wear clothes and use tools — are more monsters.

The Diseray is actually Dies Irae, a.k.a., the Wrath of God, a catastrophic event that turned the world upside down two-and-a-half some centuries ago when Portals opened all over the world, allowing Othersiders to invade, what people refer to as Breakthrough. Christers are Christians. Cits are ordinary citizens with no magic. Perscom are personal communicators; think of it as an Apple iWatch.

The Cover and Title
The cover is cheerfully demonish with its pastel blues and flaming oranges, sparks flying up while the top half of a demon-like head with a curved horn and red eyes glares out at us. The author's name (at the top), the huge title (in the middle), and the series information (at the bottom) is all in an embossed black blackletter font.

The title is Joy's status, Hunter Elite.

I have loved Ms. Lackeys books since the first one I reads many years ago. Her writing just keeps getting better!
I read "Hunter" first, had to wait for this one. Now on the wait list for "Apex".
Readers who like dystopian, magic, and science fiction will all find enjoyment in this series!

Another captivating page turner that leaves you satisfied at the end and yet eager for more. This sequel picks up where 'Hunter' left off, with Joy neck deep in Othersiders, Hounds, danger, friends, enemies, and conspiracy. And once again, Mercedes Lackey has given us a character that is almost as real as the person sitting next to you.

I really wanted to savor this book, but that is really never an actual thing I can do with any of Lacey's stories. I enjoyed it immensely, and while I can't wait for the next book, I feel satisfied with the ending in a way I rarely do with a mid-series book.

The only thing better than magical horses is magic guardian dogs. I love this series. There is a hint of romance, but this is not a mushy girl pines over guy story. This is a girl steps up and wields her strength and defends her people story.

The reason there isn't a "the store verified purchase" is because I ordered through a different account (oops)

BUT THIS BOOK IS NOW ONE OF MY FAVORITE SERIES AND WHEN CAN PREORDER THE NEXT BOOK!?

(I finished it two hours after it came in the mail. Wonderful book. I love Bya)