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The Huntswomen Trilogy #1
The Feed
"The fate of an entire people rests on my shoulders. I am heir to a dying throne, daughter of a dead city. I have made hard choices to get this far … ”
Mermaids have never been scarier …
The Feed is upon me and my destiny is laid out before me like a map. There are no detours, no hidden whirlpools that descend into the unknown. Everything I do must be carefully planned or else my choices could come crashing down around me. To change the hearts of my people, I must find the courage to surpass their expectations, to defy tradition and forge my own destiny.
This is it, my last chance at redemption
The Huntswomen, sirens of the sea, have one real purpose in life: on their sixteenth birthdays, they must travel ashore and find a human male, mate with him, and consume his flesh. Only then can they return to the sea and become the last bastion against the violet ocean, warriors for their weaker brethren, the fishtailed merighean.
Natalie is the heir to the throne of the last merighean city still standing, but there's something about the Feed that doesn't sit right with her. When she meets Seth, the man with the strange tattoos, she knows that she must forge her own destiny, even if it means breaking the rules and risking her mother's wrath. Because sometimes, to choose your own path, you must make hard choices.
Mermaids have never been scarier …
The Feed is upon me and my destiny is laid out before me like a map. There are no detours, no hidden whirlpools that descend into the unknown. Everything I do must be carefully planned or else my choices could come crashing down around me. To change the hearts of my people, I must find the courage to surpass their expectations, to defy tradition and forge my own destiny.
This is it, my last chance at redemption
The Huntswomen, sirens of the sea, have one real purpose in life: on their sixteenth birthdays, they must travel ashore and find a human male, mate with him, and consume his flesh. Only then can they return to the sea and become the last bastion against the violet ocean, warriors for their weaker brethren, the fishtailed merighean.
Natalie is the heir to the throne of the last merighean city still standing, but there's something about the Feed that doesn't sit right with her. When she meets Seth, the man with the strange tattoos, she knows that she must forge her own destiny, even if it means breaking the rules and risking her mother's wrath. Because sometimes, to choose your own path, you must make hard choices.
326 pages, Paperback
First published September 7, 2012
35 people are currently reading
1099 people want to read
About the author
C.M. Stunich
154 books14.3k followersC.M. Stunich is a self-admitted bibliophile with a love for exotic teas and a whole host of characters who live full time inside the strange, swirling vortex of her thoughts. Some folks might call this crazy, but Caitlin Morgan doesn't mind - especially considering she has to write biographies in the third person. Oh, and half the host of characters in her head are searing hot bad boys with dirty mouths and skillful hands (among other things). If being crazy means hanging out with them everyday, C.M. has decided to have herself committed.
She hates tapioca pudding, loves to binge on cheesy horror movies, and is a slave to many cats. When she's not vacuuming fur off of her couch, C.M. can be found with her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a computer screen. She's the author of over thirty novels - romance, new adult, fantasy, and young adult included. Please, come and join her inside her crazy. There's a heck of a lot to do there.
Oh, and Caitlin loves to chat (incessantly), so feel free to e-mail her, send her a Facebook message, or put up smoke signals. She's already looking forward to it.
Stalk me, please!
www.cmstunich.com
www.facebook.com/cmstunichauthor
www.twitter.com/CMStunich
I'm also on Goodreads, Spotify, Google +, Instagram, and Pinterest.
She hates tapioca pudding, loves to binge on cheesy horror movies, and is a slave to many cats. When she's not vacuuming fur off of her couch, C.M. can be found with her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a computer screen. She's the author of over thirty novels - romance, new adult, fantasy, and young adult included. Please, come and join her inside her crazy. There's a heck of a lot to do there.
Oh, and Caitlin loves to chat (incessantly), so feel free to e-mail her, send her a Facebook message, or put up smoke signals. She's already looking forward to it.
Stalk me, please!
www.cmstunich.com
www.facebook.com/cmstunichauthor
www.twitter.com/CMStunich
I'm also on Goodreads, Spotify, Google +, Instagram, and Pinterest.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
April 14, 2020
One Upon a Time, when cons weren't forbidden and I was meeting Max Carver at a Teen Wolf convention in Paris, I was asked what supernatural creature I wanted to be. My answer: A siren, and not this fairytale mermaid kind, but the dangerous kind, the one that can manipulate emotions and feelings. I was willing to use those powers for good, but Max Carver didn't trust me.
He was right. Because secretly I enjoy those lethal, men-eating monsters the most. Especially when there are strange new feelings involved and hard choices. Within a few pages Stunich successfully described the harsh and cruel world of Natalie and a few pages later we learned about the cruel ritual she was to participate in and all her questions, doubts and issues with it. It was the perfect way to start the story of a girl who wants to change the world. The entire world.
Even though plot- and action-wise not that much is happening in this book, Stunich found a great balance between slowly revealing that there is something strange going on and building a relationship between two people who are not supposed to have real feelings for each other. There are loads of conversations, about hard and easy topics, so the characters get to know each other and we get to know them.
And because we see this blossoming relationship and the human world through the eyes of Natalie, who has only read and learned about the human world, but has never really been there before, it never becomes boring or dull. Her love for the human world and her fascination are contagious. Just like her growing doubt and her growing enthusiasm for a different future for her kind. Not by destroying humans, but by working with them.
To top it all off, Stunich has an amazing writing style that's both easy to read and yet also somehow enchanting. It was the writing crafting most of the atmosphere, giving this book a soul. It was the writing that caused shivers to roll down my spine. I know that it might be a while, but I'm looking forward to read the rest of the series when it will be published.
He was right. Because secretly I enjoy those lethal, men-eating monsters the most. Especially when there are strange new feelings involved and hard choices. Within a few pages Stunich successfully described the harsh and cruel world of Natalie and a few pages later we learned about the cruel ritual she was to participate in and all her questions, doubts and issues with it. It was the perfect way to start the story of a girl who wants to change the world. The entire world.
Even though plot- and action-wise not that much is happening in this book, Stunich found a great balance between slowly revealing that there is something strange going on and building a relationship between two people who are not supposed to have real feelings for each other. There are loads of conversations, about hard and easy topics, so the characters get to know each other and we get to know them.
And because we see this blossoming relationship and the human world through the eyes of Natalie, who has only read and learned about the human world, but has never really been there before, it never becomes boring or dull. Her love for the human world and her fascination are contagious. Just like her growing doubt and her growing enthusiasm for a different future for her kind. Not by destroying humans, but by working with them.
To top it all off, Stunich has an amazing writing style that's both easy to read and yet also somehow enchanting. It was the writing crafting most of the atmosphere, giving this book a soul. It was the writing that caused shivers to roll down my spine. I know that it might be a while, but I'm looking forward to read the rest of the series when it will be published.
September 17, 2012
This was the first Mer/Siren book I've read, and I very much loved it! I'm a big fan of Stunich's writing, it is so relaxed and not pushed. She has a way of making you love characters you normally wouldn't for example: a tattooed-hurst driving-social outcast and flesh-eating siren. I loved the plot and the character interactions. There were several 'lol' moments and definitely some very swoony moments as well!
Natalie is sent to shore with expectations of going ashore, luring a male, getting him to impregnate her, and then literally devouring him. The last thing she expected, was to meet Seth. He was covered with mystical tattoos and (almost) resistant to her lure. Seven days to fall for Seth. She had seven days to forge her destiny.
Natalie is sent to shore with expectations of going ashore, luring a male, getting him to impregnate her, and then literally devouring him. The last thing she expected, was to meet Seth. He was covered with mystical tattoos and (almost) resistant to her lure. Seven days to fall for Seth. She had seven days to forge her destiny.
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May 3, 2020I'm not sure why, but the edition I purchased was formatted with one sentence per page and by god I do not have the patience for that.
January 5, 2013
I just can't get enough of mermaids.The book in its entirety is certainly unique with its take on mermaids with no kid-friendliness. The darkness makes the allure of it hauntingly beautiful in a way. The modern world would definitly cause great harm to secret magical people. Despite the human flesh cravings I pitied them being slave to their genes. The ending leaves me wanting more.
February 4, 2013
my first mermaid book, and yet again c.m., i loved it! you have yet to disappoint me with the men you send me ;) ahhh, seth......
i'm ready for book 2 please,lol. you always leave me hangin', in a good way!!!!
i'm ready for book 2 please,lol. you always leave me hangin', in a good way!!!!
May 15, 2018
Spoilers, probably.
CM blows my mind. I could not get into this book. I didn’t want to like it. It was weird. And yet still, it was such a fantastical story, so unique, told with such...SOMETHING, that I had to keep reading. I don’t know how she always does it. I am forever saying “that won’t appeal to me” or “that’s not my scene” and then I start reading and just get sucked in.
As always, my running thoughts, as I had them:
This prologue is...what.
This book is so weird.
Hopefully Kiara doesn’t die.
I’m legit struggling to get into this book.
God, if she eat him then I might just be crushed.
Ugh crap.
*sobs* this better end with a happy ending. I bleeping love Seth.
NOOOOO.
Ugh, I want Seth back. Stupid Yuri.
UGH.
KIARA!!
Hmmm. Interesting.
CM blows my mind. I could not get into this book. I didn’t want to like it. It was weird. And yet still, it was such a fantastical story, so unique, told with such...SOMETHING, that I had to keep reading. I don’t know how she always does it. I am forever saying “that won’t appeal to me” or “that’s not my scene” and then I start reading and just get sucked in.
As always, my running thoughts, as I had them:
This prologue is...what.
This book is so weird.
Hopefully Kiara doesn’t die.
I’m legit struggling to get into this book.
God, if she eat him then I might just be crushed.
Ugh crap.
*sobs* this better end with a happy ending. I bleeping love Seth.
NOOOOO.
Ugh, I want Seth back. Stupid Yuri.
UGH.
KIARA!!
Hmmm. Interesting.
October 20, 2024
HUNT
This is a mysterious mermaid story. It enough that it different without being the same as pther mermaid stories. I like how this first book went and will definitely read more.
This is a mysterious mermaid story. It enough that it different without being the same as pther mermaid stories. I like how this first book went and will definitely read more.
May 18, 2021
I DNF this. I just couldn't really get into it.
July 16, 2013
They were paramours and cannibals both, consuming, taking, destroying. They broke spirits and souls; families crashed to the floor like glass and were never again whole.
They came to steal seed, life, came to bleed flesh.
They came to feed.
Gah!! Once again C.M. Stunich has knocked me on my arse!! She certainly knows her way around the supernatural -I'm beginning to wonder if shes even human- nothing is off limits or in any way a cookie cutter adventure. Her books are unlike anything I have ever encountered, such uniqueness is so very hard to come by these days. This book is no exception, I will never again be able to watch “the little mermaid”.
Natalie is a Huntswoman -half Merighean/half human, also a siren- she is approaching a turning point in her life called 'the feed'. At the age of sixteen she needs to venture onto dry land for one weeks time, pick a human male to impregnate her, then kill and eat him before she returns to the sea, thus bringing a part of the lands magic back into the sea with her. Failure is not an option, it will result in her death. This is her path in life, one she has not chosen, and one she does not wish to fulfill. She wants to forge her own destiny and change the way things are done. Seth, with his mysterious tattoos, is the human male she has chosen. That is all I will say about the plot, this is really something you just have to experience as it comes.
The authors attention to detail and her descriptions really bring this whole new world to life in such a way that you can almost see it right in front of you without being bogged down or bored with the details. The characters (even though they are mythological & clearly nothing like anyone you have ever know) are so easy to connect to and fall in love with. I just loved it. But damn, the ending left me screaming, gasping, pulling my hair out needing to know what the hell will happen next. I'm starting to learn the hard way that Ms. Stunich is very good at leaving me starving for more. You really need to check out this author, her imagination knows no bounds. It all seems so real, I'm curious what secrets shes really hiding ;)
I live in a world that doesn't understand me.
I've been raised with a life already planned and a destiny chosen. But what if I want to make my own destiny? What if I want something different than everyone else? What does that make me?
These questions have no answers as far as I know. But then, it's not as if I can ask them to anyone. If I even uttered a breath of dissent, my mother would come down on me like a hurricane, sweep me in the air and throw me against the rocks at the edge of the sea. I would never recover.
They came to steal seed, life, came to bleed flesh.
They came to feed.
Gah!! Once again C.M. Stunich has knocked me on my arse!! She certainly knows her way around the supernatural -I'm beginning to wonder if shes even human- nothing is off limits or in any way a cookie cutter adventure. Her books are unlike anything I have ever encountered, such uniqueness is so very hard to come by these days. This book is no exception, I will never again be able to watch “the little mermaid”.
Natalie is a Huntswoman -half Merighean/half human, also a siren- she is approaching a turning point in her life called 'the feed'. At the age of sixteen she needs to venture onto dry land for one weeks time, pick a human male to impregnate her, then kill and eat him before she returns to the sea, thus bringing a part of the lands magic back into the sea with her. Failure is not an option, it will result in her death. This is her path in life, one she has not chosen, and one she does not wish to fulfill. She wants to forge her own destiny and change the way things are done. Seth, with his mysterious tattoos, is the human male she has chosen. That is all I will say about the plot, this is really something you just have to experience as it comes.
The authors attention to detail and her descriptions really bring this whole new world to life in such a way that you can almost see it right in front of you without being bogged down or bored with the details. The characters (even though they are mythological & clearly nothing like anyone you have ever know) are so easy to connect to and fall in love with. I just loved it. But damn, the ending left me screaming, gasping, pulling my hair out needing to know what the hell will happen next. I'm starting to learn the hard way that Ms. Stunich is very good at leaving me starving for more. You really need to check out this author, her imagination knows no bounds. It all seems so real, I'm curious what secrets shes really hiding ;)
I live in a world that doesn't understand me.
I've been raised with a life already planned and a destiny chosen. But what if I want to make my own destiny? What if I want something different than everyone else? What does that make me?
These questions have no answers as far as I know. But then, it's not as if I can ask them to anyone. If I even uttered a breath of dissent, my mother would come down on me like a hurricane, sweep me in the air and throw me against the rocks at the edge of the sea. I would never recover.
August 29, 2013
Natalie is to become queen of the last merighean city left standing. All she has to do is on her sixteenth birthday is go with the others Huntswoman and Feed. There is several problems with that. One is she doesn't like the Feed and wants to change it when she becomes queen. Two is the queen her mother doesn't like her and does what she can to hurt her at every chance. The third is she grows to care for Seth, the one she has to mate with and feed on. She doesn't know what to do and she can't follow her heart.
This is an interesting and different take on mermaids. Some are the typical mermaids and some that come from the mating on the Hunt can become human and are like sirens. It is up to them to bring back flesh and mate to begin the cycle over again. You really get to see the amazing world through Natalie's eyes as the author does an amazing job creating this world. Natalie really tries her best to fight the urges she has and wants to be good. She finds Seth is different from what she has always been told and really doesn't want to leave him. Seth has a few secrets his self that even he hasn't figured out yet that add a great touch to the book. I look forward to seeing just what all he has to do with this fantastic world. If you think all mermaids are sweet like Disney portrays them then you definitely need to read this book. You get to see the darker side of the underwater world and a mother that will make you think she comes straight from hell. I really loved this book and look forward to reading more of the story. The ending has a twist I didn't see coming and I have to know what happens next. Recommended for anyone wanting a different book to read that steps outside the box.
This is an interesting and different take on mermaids. Some are the typical mermaids and some that come from the mating on the Hunt can become human and are like sirens. It is up to them to bring back flesh and mate to begin the cycle over again. You really get to see the amazing world through Natalie's eyes as the author does an amazing job creating this world. Natalie really tries her best to fight the urges she has and wants to be good. She finds Seth is different from what she has always been told and really doesn't want to leave him. Seth has a few secrets his self that even he hasn't figured out yet that add a great touch to the book. I look forward to seeing just what all he has to do with this fantastic world. If you think all mermaids are sweet like Disney portrays them then you definitely need to read this book. You get to see the darker side of the underwater world and a mother that will make you think she comes straight from hell. I really loved this book and look forward to reading more of the story. The ending has a twist I didn't see coming and I have to know what happens next. Recommended for anyone wanting a different book to read that steps outside the box.
September 12, 2013
This is about a mermaid who is half human. She is an heir to a dying race of mer-people who have a long history of violence by killing human men after they mate this is called the feed.
In this story we are on the Journey with Natalie as she tries to find herself plus save her people in the process. She also meets Seth who is the human she is supposed to have mated with. As her Journey continues we see that this race is not cold-hearted just misdirected by a ruthless Queen.
I enjoyed the story however I was a little disappointed by the description of the sex part and I am definitely not talking about intercourse just the build up and so forth. The author glanced over it like it was nothing then just dismissed it. I would totally be ok with that in a story however this is what the story is about especially since she named the book after it.
I wanted to know all about her people and Seth but that wasn't quite detailed either. I really enjoyed the characters and understood where she was coming from with her mother. The queen totally acted like a bitch and I hope in the coming stories she puts her in her place.
Overall it was enjoyable and this story is going somewhere however I probably won't go there.
In this story we are on the Journey with Natalie as she tries to find herself plus save her people in the process. She also meets Seth who is the human she is supposed to have mated with. As her Journey continues we see that this race is not cold-hearted just misdirected by a ruthless Queen.
I enjoyed the story however I was a little disappointed by the description of the sex part and I am definitely not talking about intercourse just the build up and so forth. The author glanced over it like it was nothing then just dismissed it. I would totally be ok with that in a story however this is what the story is about especially since she named the book after it.
I wanted to know all about her people and Seth but that wasn't quite detailed either. I really enjoyed the characters and understood where she was coming from with her mother. The queen totally acted like a bitch and I hope in the coming stories she puts her in her place.
Overall it was enjoyable and this story is going somewhere however I probably won't go there.
May 13, 2013
Definitely not The Little Mermaid! The Feed is a dark love story that rocks.
"When the Huntswomen go to Feed, they are taking the earth's power within them and delivering it to the sea. " This single sentence piqued my curiosity. As I read more and more of the story, I fell in love with it.
Natalie is half merighean meaning she is only half mermaid. That's right...no tail. Her mom is Queen of their city and came to dry land to find a male human to empregnate her. This is how Natalie came into existence. Now it is Natalie's turn to travel to dry land to find a male of her own. But she doesn't want this...not the way her people do it. She wants love, choice and freedom. But will she find all of these things or will her mother find out shes attempting change and imprison her in the watery hell of Neptune's Daughter, Imenea, Goddess of the Failed Huntswomen?
I find that I am becoming a huge fan of C.M's books. Her stories seem slightly dark and twisted which is a style I absolutely love! She always leaves you hanging and cursing because you can't wait to read the next installment. Now I have to start The Hunt, book 2 of The Huntswomen Trilogy!
"When the Huntswomen go to Feed, they are taking the earth's power within them and delivering it to the sea. " This single sentence piqued my curiosity. As I read more and more of the story, I fell in love with it.
Natalie is half merighean meaning she is only half mermaid. That's right...no tail. Her mom is Queen of their city and came to dry land to find a male human to empregnate her. This is how Natalie came into existence. Now it is Natalie's turn to travel to dry land to find a male of her own. But she doesn't want this...not the way her people do it. She wants love, choice and freedom. But will she find all of these things or will her mother find out shes attempting change and imprison her in the watery hell of Neptune's Daughter, Imenea, Goddess of the Failed Huntswomen?
I find that I am becoming a huge fan of C.M's books. Her stories seem slightly dark and twisted which is a style I absolutely love! She always leaves you hanging and cursing because you can't wait to read the next installment. Now I have to start The Hunt, book 2 of The Huntswomen Trilogy!
December 29, 2012
I gave the book 5 stars because it is a great story and a unique take on the mermaid concept. The feed is a carnivorous, sex filled week of lust and baby making. But Seth is a different kind of human than Natalie has been taught to guard herself against. He is not susceptible to her charms or powers and yet he falls for her anyway, offering himself freely. Even though she has developed feelings for Seth, she must go back to the ocean. As the future queen, it is her duty to raise her people up and restore her kingdom to glory. I can't wait for the rest of this trilogy!
December 1, 2013
I did not think I would like this book as much as I did, mermaids are not what I usually go to. But this story was different, then again I should have known that coming from CM Stunich. I was a little disappointed with how some scenes felt short, maybe rushed, but other than that I thought it was solid storytelling. Great description of things, great characters, the mother/daughter relationship there is very interesting. And the ending? Wow. Didn't see it coming. I knew Seth would be taken, but how it all went down was surprising. Book 2 please, NOW!
June 26, 2013
A great beginning to a great trilogy, I can't wait for the next book to come out. I just adore mermaids and Stunich gave us the not pretty little mermaid we all know as Ariel but a much darker, more intriguing mermaid story. I loved this book, I knew I should have stopped reading it at page two, but by page three I was hooked! I cannot wait to read the next book!!
December 31, 2016
Amazinggggg
Omfg I need the next book now. I am as enthralled as a human man would be in the Preston a Huntswoman.
Omfg I need the next book now. I am as enthralled as a human man would be in the Preston a Huntswoman.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews