Cover Image: Hunterland

Hunterland

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This book is a great fit for anyone who likes the shows SUPERNATURAL and TEEN WOLF or TVD. There is some monster slaying and also some teen drama, some secret powers revelations along with dark family secrets. I enjoyed this book! However I would say that the second half of the book suffered from some strange pacing. I thought some plot details could’ve been saved for the next book, because this sounds like it’s going to be a monster hunting series.

There is some teen romance, emphasis on teen, but I actually thought everyone behaved like teens in a realistic way—at once wanting to ruffle their hair but maybe kick them in the shin. But if you like teen monster stories this is a fun read. I would give this book 3.75 stars.

Heat level: 1🌶️. heavy kissing and sleeping together for sleep.

I received this arc from Netgalley and this is my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

When a series of strange deaths pop up in high schools in one area, Liam and his monster hunting family go to investigate. At the center of the drama is Olivia and her family. I was expecting a lot more action/monsters here and less interpersonal drama. I’d equate this kind of like an episode of Vampire Diaries - there is some sort of action driving the book but there is a lot of other stuff going on.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This book was phenomenal. I devoured it in about 4 hours. It’s Paranormal, Fantasy, Mystery, with a little Romance thrown in, and I LOVED it. We’ve got a little forced proximity between the 2 main characters, and I couldn’t get enough.
Olivia is an 18-year old human doing her best to watch out for and take care of 14-year old Piper, but school staff are being murdered. In comes the Hunter Family, Agent Hunter, Liam, and Jac to turn Olivia’s world upside down.
The book flowed so well, it’s medium paced, it’s both plot and character driven. The characters are well written, and very lovable. There’s a Dual POV.
The way the book ended left room for more, so I am hoping that Hunterland is the first in a series, and not a standalone.
I did receive this as an ARC, and I am so glad that I was able to read it.

Was this review helpful?

This book SENT. ME. It really felt like I was reading an episode of the tv show Supernatural. There were so many twists and turns throughout the book, that I was left on the edge of my seat at every page! The subtle romance between the main characters was a beautiful element sprinkled into the plot too. This is my first book by the author, but I will be sure to read more of her works. Highly recommend!!

Was this review helpful?

3.5
Monster hunters and ghosts= a fun read.

This book reminded me so much of the Supernatural TV show. It was fun, entertaining to read and had plenty of monsters. There were some issues I had with the story though. It felt some of the plot was rushed, had more of a telling you things and not explaining them, and the timeline/ plot points were not easy to follow. It seemed like things happened off the page that are never explained.

It sounds like it could be a fun series and I'm excited to read the next one.

Was this review helpful?

While I'm grateful for the approval to read Hunterland, and though it has great writing style and interesting characters, the story just didn't grab me enough. But, for those who like fantasy, monster hunters mixed with a murder mystery, it might be for you.

Was this review helpful?

4.75/5 stars! Wow! Just wow! This book was amazing. My standards were not that high when I opened this because I haven't read anything else by this author, but I was blown away by the story. Fans of Supernatural tv series will find no fault in this YA fantasy novel. I loved Liam's character. Liv definitely carries herself with main character energy and seeing them work together was EVERYTHING! Cannot wait to read more entries in this series.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Was this review helpful?

I reviewed an ARC of this book. I debated between giving this two and three stars because although I did not feel this book was particularly well written, I at least enjoyed reading it. Let’s say 2.5 stars rounded up because I at least enjoyed reading it.

The goods:
-It was fast paced enough that it was easy to sit down and read a lot of the book without realizing it
-It was fun to read story that takes place in Wisconsin as a wisco girl myself

The not so goods:
-Although I found the book easy to read I did not like the writing style. It seemed to want to tell not show and went back and forth between over explaining everything and explaining nothing. The chapters would also end on cliffhangers that were then just quickly resolved between chapters in weird ways. Also I found a lot of the thoughts and dialogue seemed clunky and not at all how teenagers would talk at all. Liam’s POV especially had a lot of moments where the thoughts seemed kind of silly and over the top.
-Liam and Olivia’s relationship is all over the place with no consistent development at all. They make out, go back to hating each other, suddenly act like a lovey couple, hate each other more, sleep in the same bed, and then seem to end the book in some weird limbo. I had a hard time seeing what they saw in each other at all
-A huge inconsistency I found particularly glaring was the patches on the bag. When it is first introduced Liam makes a big deal about the patches being on Olivia’s bag but then a couple chapters later they’re suddenly on Pipers bag and Liam is saying he needs to talk to Piper since he first saw them on her bag. It’s a decent sized plot point and it seems this slipped through editing.
-The one LGBT character is randomly killed in a brutal way in a classic kill the gays move
-The ghost plotline seems rushed and anti-climatic, not sure why the book didnt just focus on the vampires and werewolves since it seems to be more interested in that anyway.

Was this review helpful?

The Hunter's, a family of monster hunters, have been following a string of "suspicious suicides" for years. An unknown creature has been killing nurses at high schools across Wisconsin. The trail leads them to Falkville Falls, where the Sherriff's daughters, Oliva and Pepper Davis, seem to be somehow tangled up in the murders. Liam has battled every kind of supernatural being but none of them have been as frustrating as supernatural non-believer Olivia. The two families will have to work together to uncover who or what is responsible and stop them from their seemingly endless killing spree.

Hunterland is the first novel in a new YA supernatural/romance series by author Dana Claire. This was a new to me author that I thought, based on the plot synopsis of this series, would be a good fit for me. As much as I wanted to love this book and I am the minority for my rating, but it just wasn't for me. The supernatural aspect of the novel was great and there were a couple of characters (Jac) that redeemed some of this novel for me. I don't want to go on too much of a rant but the main love interest in the story, Liam, is a narcissistic player who delivers some absolutely cringe worthy lines that left me throwing toxic relationship red flags all over the place. His lucky love interest, Olivia, who he describes as a "uptight, self-righteous, vanilla, Goody Two-Shoes" is so "twisted" over him that the only obvious solution to solve all her problems is for her to "get laid"...and he's just the bad boy to take care of that. I just think we can do a little better with more healthy relationships in YA romances while still keeping the plot exciting and entertaining.

Was this review helpful?

If you like the show Supernatural, then Hunterland by Dana Claire needs to be your next read! I really loved this book! It’s dual POV, told by Olivia and Liam. It’s fast-paced, has a lot of action and I really enjoyed the banter between Liam and Olivia. I liked the lore, and how Dana Claire added her own twist to the monsters they hunted. I really hope there will be a second book!

Was this review helpful?

Hunterland is an enjoyable YA supernatural fantasy set in Wisconsin that follows Olivia and her sister Pepper as their lives are upended when the Hunter family travels into town seeking to solve a string of mysterious deaths. The book is fast-paced and the chapters alternate between Olivia and Liam's POVs. It is deifnitely a YA novel - the main characters are all high-school-aged. There is a lot of supernaturalness throughout the book, and the mystery is well-written. There is also quite a bit of teenage angst and some romance. The entire book gave off Vampire Diaries vibes. Overall, I enjoyed reading Hunterland, and I think it achieves exactly what it sets out to achieve.

Was this review helpful?

Book description
Liam Hunter has warded off hungry vampires, slayed monstrous beasts, and put agonized spirits to rest since he was old enough to hold a stake. When trouble comes through the Hunterland message board, the Hunter family hits the road. Nurses are dying at high schools across Wisconsin in a string of fishy so-called suicides, and the trail leads to Falkville Falls High, where Liam clashes with Olivia Davis, whose maddening family seems inexplicably embroiled in this haunting mess.

I was first drawn to this book by the description. It sounded really interesting and the perfect mix of supernatural and murder mystery both things I love. This book was a fast paced read with plenty of action and intrigue. but for me it was Also a book of two half’s, I did like the plot overall and it has interesting characters but i was half way through this book before I started to really enjoy it. At one point I considered not finishing it but I am glad I did continue reading it. because I genuinely enjoy the second half. I think the reason I struggled with this read early on was because I did not like Liam as a character or the way he talked to and about the main characters Olivia and pepper . I no this book has the enemies-to-lovers trope. (which is one I normally really like) but I did not really feel the build up to the switch over it was just sort of now we are lovers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an
ARC of this book

Was this review helpful?

A pretty quick read; the beginning set up is not the books strength. The characterization ofiam was very eye rolling but once we settled a bit, and the "mystery" behind us, the story takes better shape bc you realize it's all just a backdrop for what must be a series. That helps to make sense of the books pace and constant info dropping. There's a lot of loose threads.

There's a lot of heaviness around the book (a lot of death and trauma) that is not actually explored, discussed or seem to properly inform the characters. There's one death that is just far too casually handled when the impact should've been much greater.

It's def for younger readers. Not a bad intro to a new series for the younger generation that will hopefully grow in complexity.

Was this review helpful?

"Supernatural meets Nancy Drew" is what drew me in and I'm so glad I got to read this, it has all the elements of a good story with Monster Hunters. The plot does what I was expecting and it worked well in the universe that was set. The characters were well written and I'm glad I got to know them. Dana Claire has what I was looking for and it was a really well written book. I can't wait to read more from Dana Claire.

"Dustin flashed an apologetic smile. “Yeah, about that . . . He totally apologized again when we, well, we kind of hung out. In fact, he and his dad almost shot me when I showed up at their motel room, but they apologized for that too. Guess they saw my shadow from the window and thought I was a bad guy.” He chuckled, dropping his arm from my shoulder. “I’ve been there almost every day since we met. Honestly, they’re really cool.”

Was this review helpful?