Book Review: "The Hunt" by Andrew Fukuda with BONUS Audio Book Clip and Giveaway info!

THE HUNT

by

ANDREW FUKUDA

Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can't run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn't hurt him and he doesn't have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It's the only way to stay alive in a world of night- a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he's chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene's carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He's thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible- into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever- but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

MY REVIEW:

Well, it sure has been a while since I posted a review, hasn't it??  As I have mentioned before, things here on the home front have been a bit less than perfect and sometimes that takes the excitement and joy out of posting a review. HOWEVER, recently I have been catching up on some reading and "The Hunt" has brought the fire back to me.  What a fantastic book!!!

What I absolutely LOVED was the style of writing. The book was written in such a simple form that it made the story flow and made it an easy read, one which was doable from cover to cover in one day. Sometimes a book written that way can bore you easily and quickly. Not this one.

Even the story line was easy to get. A vampire book that I enjoyed??? Yup. Gene, the main guy here is actually not a vampire. He's a Heper. That's a human. He lives in a world where vampires have become the norm, and Hepers are almost extinct. A world where he has to try to fit in to their way of living. If he doesn't, if he makes 1 simple mistake to give away his identity, he will be torn to shreds before he knows what happened to him. The vampires treat Hepers like a delicacy. Since they are so far and few between, they are the most sought after delicacy in their world. A delicacy they can not control themselves over. 

Which brings us to "The Hunt," and Gene's luck that he gets chosen to participate. First, let me tell you that Gene has lived his entire life hiding his identity. He has to shave his body hairs, wash himself frequently to remove his "Heper" smell, keep his fingernails trimmed, and many other daily rituals just keep his true identity hidden. Never mind his behavior. The slightest slip in behavior could give him away. His way of sleeping, his way of showing his true, hidden Heper emotions in front of the vampires, and so many more little things could have outed him in a second had he not been taught at a young age to control. Nailbiting for sure. 

Now, The Hunt. Every so often the government will have this Hunt. It is where, by lottery, some lucky winners get a chance to hunt down a small group of Hepers that are kept hidden from the public. They hunt them down and get to eat them. The Hunt is a big deal. It's televised and is a big competition. A few hunters are chosen and compete for the chance to eat the most Hepers. This is televised nationally. It's celebrated and obsessed by each and every citizen. It's a HUGE deal. Gene's luck, he is chosen what appears to be randomly as a Hunter. Against all odds, he is chosen. Even worse, he interacts with the Hepers that are his prey before the Hunt begins. This does NOT help the situation at all and takes the story in a totally different direction. 

Strangely, the girl he has lusted over his whole life, Ashley June is also chosen. This is odd because it is a national lottery and the two of them are chosen by what initially appears randomly. It is not by mistake they are chosen together. The problem Gene has always had with Ashley June is she is not like him. She would turn on him in a second and devour him if she found out what he really was. At least that is what we are led to believe throughout most of the book.

The story takes Gene on a nail biting adventure that made me worry on each and every page that the jig was up. He would be caught and eaten and that would be the end of the book. And believe me, he come pretty darn close on several occasions. Without giving too much away, you follow Gene on his journey through an introduction of this future world, his difficulties living in it, the preparation for The Hunt, and eventually a twist that got me SOOO wanting book two NOW, that I was actually angry at first the way the book ended. Not because it ended bad at all, but because, Mr. Fukuda- HOW COULD YOU LEAVE US HANGING LIKE THAT??? The characters in the book are well described to the point where I feel I have known them for a while. I actually got nervous and scared when some of them were around. The story line could not have been better. I wouldn't have asked for anything to be different. That's important because in many books there is always that 1 or 2 things you may have wanted to see go a different way. Not here. And most important, the story was left totally to the imagination because there are so many things that could possibly happen next. (2 more books I believe in the series)

Does Gene get discovered for what he is? Ashley June- OMG- thank you Mr. Fukuda for giving the story Ashley June. You made her Gene's lifelong love interest (fairy tale perfect) BUT you also left me wondering if Gene will see her again and if she "really isn't what she seems," as you eluded to. WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT?? Was it the obvious? And the biggest mystery, what in the world is the situation with Gene's dad??? AARRGGHH! Ok, back to the review... Super excited for book 2 which shouldn't be that long away from what I understand. The Hunt was a page turner. Total page turner. Fukuda does an excellent job at building a character, storyline, situation, etc. and the next minute, all things known have changed. Twists right at that exact point in the book where you least expect it. And tons of them. Loved it, Loved it, Loved it. Not really the kind of "vampire" book you would expect at all. For twilight fans, a 180 from what you'd expect, but also a book that deserves your time. 

I'm really curious if anyone has read this and enjoyed it like I have. Again, a twist on the vampire shtick that was genuinely refreshing. Let me know what you thought if you were luck enough to have read it already. If you haven't, get a readin!

DAVE


Please enjoy a sample of the audio book for "The Hunt" by Andrew Fukuda provided by Macmillan Audio. 


We will be holding a contest shortly for an audio book copy of "The Hunt" sponsored by Macmillan Audio, so stay close and keep your eyes open!