Book Title: Deadly Pursuit
Blood Hunter # 2
Author: Nina Croft
Breaking assassin Jonathon Decker out of a maximum security prison on Trakis One seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, pursued across space by the two most powerful factions in the universe, the crew of El Cazador are having second thoughts. They’d like to give him back. Unfortunately, that no longer seems an option.
Jon is used to working alone. Now, he’s stuck on the space cruiser El Cazador until he can work out just what he’s supposed to know that puts him on everybody’s most-wanted-dead list. He’s not happy that the crew includes a runaway priestess with designs on his virtue—such as it is. Jon likes women, but he gave up the role of protector a long time ago, and Alexia, High Priestess of the Church of Everlasting Life, is an accident waiting to happen.
After twenty-four excruciatingly boring years of doing her duty, Alex is finally having some fun. She never meant to run away—it was a rash impulse—and she means to go back—eventually. But first, she’s going to squeeze enough excitement out of the situation to last her a lifetime. And what could be more exciting than a stunningly gorgeous werewolf?
Meanwhile, the Church are chasing their missing priestess, and the Collective are pursuing their escaped assassin. Being hunted has never been more deadly…or more fun.
Format: eBook
ISBN: 9781937044886
Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication Date: December 06, 2011
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ALI’S THOUGHTS
I thoroughly enjoyed Nina Crofts first novella, Break Out, which was the introduction to this series. After reading Break Out I was looking forward to seeing how her writing talent developed, but wasn’t sure if a full length novel in this series was going to be in the cards, so I was delighted to have the chance to read the second in the series, over the moon to discover that Deadly Pursuit is a full length novel, and ecstatic to realized that Ms Coft REALLY can write.
Given a full novel to explore characters and plots Nina has used every page to its best advantage.
A mix between a paranormal and a sci-fi romance, with a healthy dose of good old fashioned adventure thrown in, Deadly Pursuit carries on from Break Out, in fact in starts a few hours after the ending, and although it could be read as a stand-alone, I think most readers would enjoy Deadly Pursuit so much more if they take the time to read the light novella first.
We’re on board the spaceship El Cazador, owned by the vampire Rico, a vampire originally from earth before earth was evacuated. Rico has recently become involved with Skylar, formally of the collective (think human Borg), immortals because of a highly expensive treatment the collective is one of the big players in intergalactic politics, and they’re heavily armed (the other big player being the church, who provide immortality and everlasting life in heaven).
We have Tannis. Kick arse captain who wants to earn enough cash to take the treatment herself, Janny; she puts the bomb in bombshell, security expert and gorgeous babe. Al, stowaway come cabin boy. Daisy, co-pilot genetic hybrid, part human, part plant. And Jon, the assassin they’ve just rescued from maximum security prison, where he was facing execution by radiation poisoning in the mines.
[spoiler alert]
So it turns out that Al is really Alexia, runaway high-priestess of the church of everlasting life. And she wants to experience a bit of life before she goes back to take up her priestess duties; and the hunky Jon is one of these experiences she’d quite like to try.
Alex is really the only downfall of this story, she just annoyed me. She was written well, but as a character she was whiny, sulky and annoying. She spent her life being protected and sheltered so it’s not too unsurprising she constantly finds herself in stupid and dangerous situations. In fact, I’m not the only one who found this annoying, the crew commented about if too.
This is a light easy to read story that is well paced with believable (if not always likable) characters. It has an ongoing story arc, but each book is, so far ok to read as a standalone, and the story arc is written in such a way as to give us one conclusion that then leads on to the next section, so there’s less fear if this turning into the series that never ends.
It’s fresh and original, but with enough familiar elements to make if a comfortable read.
Nina just made it to my must read list.
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