Longshot

by Ash Fitzsimmons

When danger follows you home, where can you be safe?

Annie Humphries thought she’d saved the day when she sneaked Fellora ti’Mal away from the Wild Hunt before they could chase her down as prey. Not bad for a young PI without a drop of magical ability, right?

But that was before she found Wylan’s apartment tossed and bloodied. Annie knows where he’s been taken, but unless she can find a Huntsman willing to bring her to the Hunter’s hidden lair, she has no way of reaching him. Worse, since Wylan’s brothers appear to be following his scent trails across the city in search of his accomplices, Annie has no choice but to flee.

Diriem ti’Dana, a gifted farseer, offers Annie and her friends a place to hide while the Hunt is on the prowl. While he sees glimpses of the future, Diriem can’t tell Annie how to rescue Wylan, or even whether it’s possible for her to save his life. But he can offer her hints, and he introduces her to a troll with an old secret who may just be the key to Wylan’s salvation—if Annie is strong enough.

To find Wylan, Annie will need to push herself to her limits and face his father. But beneath her antlers, she’s just an ordinary human. How can she hope to defeat the ancient, virtually unkillable Hunter?

298 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2023

About the author

Ash has always loved a good story. Her childhood bookshelves overflowed, and she refused to take notes in her copies of classroom novels because that felt like sacrilege. She wrote her first novel the summer after her freshman year of college and never looked back. (Granted, that novel was an unpublishable 270,000-word behemoth, but everyone has to start somewhere, right?)

After obtaining degrees in English and creative writing and taking a stab at magazine work, Ash decided to put her skillset to different use and went to law school. She then moved home to Alabama, where she works as an attorney. These days, Ash can be found outside of Montgomery with her inordinately fluffy Siberian husky, who loves long walks, car rides, and whatever Ash happens to be eating.

Reviews

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, another fun trip to the Pactlands!!!!
Annie is such a baddie!!! A powerful female lead, despite being human, with the willpower to do anything and everything that she sets her mind on. Maybe that's why I have so much respect for her. Elves and trolls might only view her as a child, a feeble ordinary person without magic, but I view her as one of my fave characters of all time!!!!

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am such a fan of The Wild Hunt series and all of author Ash Fitzsimmons’ Pactland books! These contemporary fantasy books have such a great family of characters that stick with you. I love getting to see Rose, Yven, Diriem, Annie and Maya, Pars, Gentle Breeze and all the others return in every book. In Longshot, Annie is desperate to find Wylan, the hunter who has disappeared after the rescue mission they went on to try to find Fell, an elf who had been captured by Wylan’s father, who leads the Wild hunt. Now Wylan is missing and presumed to be imprisoned by his father, and beyond the reach of law enforcement, and Annie is determined to go after him, no matter what. I absolutely loved seeing Annie’s grit in this one, loved some of the surprise characters we saw, and of course who wouldn’t love winged horse training? This book was just a thrilling race in anticipation from start to finish, and it was the interesting relationships between characters, from Diriem and the different elves he was hosting (Yven and his nerves, Fell’s parents), to Hakk the trainer to Moriel that made it a delight to read. And now onto book 3! 5/5 stars.

[Aaron D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of "Longshot"

This novel follows on from "Racked", and the kidnapping of Wylan. I've got to be careful not to give away the whole plot so I will just say I enjoyed this book a lot, and I know there will be consequences that no doubt will appear in later books.

The cast of magical creatures grows ever larger making the world more intriguing every moment - until you kind of forget that it isn't the real world surrounding us all, with a hint of regret.

I shall have to finish off the rest of the Wild Hunt series now to find out how the the tricky situation concerning Annie and Wylan can be resolved

[Joan Wendland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine middle book for the trilogy

Longshot begins right where book 1 left off and predictably centers on the search for the missing Wylan. However, the way the plot unfolded was far from predictable. The pacing could be better but keep going because the story is solid.

I liked that there is discussion of lingering trauma from the events of book 1. Too many authors gloss over the emotional fall out of action/adventure shenanigans.

I’m very much looking forward to the next book!

[W.A. Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good story.
I loved the first book and was eager to find out what Annie would get up to while trying to help Wylan.
Being human in the Pactlands is hard enough but having everyone call her a child and doubt her abilities had me getting frustrated on her behalf.
They should never underestimate a woman in love. She puts herself through so much in the hope that she will have a chance to find Wylan.
I look forward to finding out what will happen to them next.

[Renee Marski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Farsight and flying horses

Wylan is missing, taken by the hunt. Annie and crew are swept away to Diridiem's house for protection against the hunt, who is tracking her scent through the city. While in hiding, she does her best to train so she could rescue Wylan. With the help of Fell, Jimbo a flying horse, and a reluctant ex-huntsman, she might have a chance. Whatever the case, he is worth it.

A great 2nd book. Cant wait to read more!

[Brianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actual rating: 4.5*