As Cole Alexander prepares to make his way in the world, luck would have it, he meets the love of his life, Leila McLerran. Cole is diagnosed with a horrible disease that forces him to rethink the way that he wants his life to go. With death staring Cole in the face, he makes the decision that he doesn’t want to live the rest of his days without Leila. As Cole and Leila plan for their future together, a vampire forever changes the course of their lives. Left a wreck of his former self, Cole meets Professor Job Fergusson, who steps in to tell him a Cole’s disease gives him a slight edge over the undead and together they can dispose of the world’s plight. Will Cole join the secret society of the Venatori and seek revenge, or is it all too much?
C.W. Nash lives with his wife, kids and pets in the Washington, D.C. area amongst the worst villains imaginable: Politicians. He went to the University of Delaware, Anne Arundel Community College, the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Maryland University College (College of redundancy University, but a great school none-the-less and the largest in the world). He majored in Geology, Anthropology, Sociology and Japanese before ending up with a Business degree, which he uses quite often while writing books. He has worked as a waiter (liked the tips), stock-boy (good exercise as long as you didn’t break anything), crowd control (bouncer), personal trainer (too many people who want to get ‘in shape’ instead of being happy with the way they are), retail manager (need I say more), dog walker/pet sitter (figuratively of course never sat on a pet in my life except by accident), and a husband and father, which are the hardest but most rewarding jobs ever. “My road was winding, but I got there. I hope this inspires you to keep plugging away until you make it. Do what you love!”
This ebook was provided to me by the author as a part of The YA Book Club's 1000 members giveaway event.
I'm pretty torn up about this book. I liked it well enough but not that well. I liked the idea of the book and it had its moments but something didn't quite work out with me. Not enough to make me want to bang my head on the wall and curse this book seven ways to hell but enough to make my mind wander away to mundane things in the middle of the book. Yet, I really really liked the way the plot moved forward.
I didn't really like the opening of the book - the prologue kind of put me off. But when I did continue it took me a while to gain interest in the plot. The romance was too quick and the whole thing felt overtly cheesy to me. Once the meet cute and "getting to know each other" phase of the relationship was over and Leila and Cole's relationship got a bit stabilized I really liked the chemistry between them, though the dialogues sometimes felt a bit too much scripted. I really liked the supporting characters and the way they were handled in the story though.
The plot - I absolutely LOVED it. What can I say, I am a sucker for action and once the romance bit was done and action bit started I got into the story. The vampires, though a well exhausted creature in YA books, were not too brain-numbing in this book. I liked Cole in action much more than Cole in love to be honest.
There were a few minor typos in the book but other than that Nash had a fairly consistent and pretty smooth writing. It took me a while to finish this book though, much due to the moments of wandering mind. But I am really glad I finished it and I am looking forward to a sequel - if the author writes one.
I was given this book in return for an honest review. Ok, this book starts out as a normal romance, boy meets girl ( Cole and Leila), they fall in love. Then the worst thing happens, Cole is diagnosed with a deadly disease. She stays by his side, but inevitably they are separated, not because she left him, at least not the way you think. Now the supernatural aspect kicks in. Cole finds out that vampires are real and is approached by Job, a member of Secret Society Venatori/ He has to make a choice because it turns out, his disease can be used for good, it can actually help to end the vampires. But does he have enough left in him to care? Will he become a hunter? A killer? Enjoyable book, loved some characters and others, not so much. It wasn't the writing, it was the personality quirks. LOL All in all, not a bad read. I'd love to see what comes next from this author.
What i love about this book is the fact that the characters are realistic. Though it is a fantasy story, don't be fooled. It is great no matter what age you are. So many of the YA fiction out there has great plot but weak charcters. Being an English teacher, I can appreciate the craft that he has taken in his work.
Nash's humor never fails. He sees things about the people around you that makes you laugh. Who would think they could relate to an 18 year boy but it happens. You root for Cole, cry and lose your mind with him. I can't wait for the next in the series!
Update: i went and reread this book. It is a quick read but has depth. Though it is considered YA fiction i found myself laughing all over again.
This contains spoilers! The author came to my teen book club to give us an idea of what the book was about and it sounded amazing! When i started reading it i couldn't put it down! it was so addicting! I loved how Lelia was sassy, not a "damsel in distress" and most of all she was a size 12! Her romance with Cole was so cute! As soon as i accepted she was going to marry Cole she died! I literally cried! Cole's battle with cancer was so intense, His family(and Dylan) were so supportive. Professor Job was one of my favourites. I can't wait for the next books! He said there would be 6 in all! Defiantly read it!
I was initially unsure where the story was heading. I loved the connection Cole and Leila had and the depth of their commitment to each other. It was only when I was about halfway through that I started getting the title tied into the story. It was unique to read a story from the male character's perspective but was well written and I could not stop reading. I enjoyed Cole and Job getting to know one another and sharing their stories. I hope there will be more about Cole's journey.
I was given a free copy of this by the author and I thought it sounded pretty good. The cover was a little cartoony, in my opinion, but I overlooked it.
When I started the story, I didn't really like Cole. As the oldest of 4 with 3 brothers, I'm pretty tired of this "Bring it on, Bro," attitude that boys have. And that's pretty much Cole's initial attitude. I did begin to warm up to him as I saw how much of a gentleman he could be and his love of country music.
The first half of the story is pretty much supernatural free. It's a love story, as Cole and Leila begin to fall for each other. I thought they were definitely cute together, but they moved way too fast. Very few real life couples move that fast, and they hardly ever last.
I think Leila made the story for me. She was the main female voice of the story and I needed that to connect to Cole. When she died, I didn't really have a reason to keep reading. Cole became very dark and world-weary. He totally had enough reasons to be, but how can I relate to that? I just can't.
On the upside, the science behind vampires was quite amazing and thought through. I was impressed by the thought put into it.
Oh yes, one more thing. The Yiddish in the story threw me for a look a couple of times. Professor Fergusson calls Cole "Gesele" quite often and I had no idea why. Once, Cole even references a note with his name on it that begins with "Gesele", the first time we ever encounter that word. The glossary I found at the end of the book (when I finished it) said it means "apprentice." It might have been nice if that explanation had been placed in the story through Cole, maybe.
I liked it, but I think maybe it just wasn't quite the kind of thing I read.
I'm a little conflicted with this. It had a lot of things I liked and it had some things I didn't like. I can honestly say after reading the first few chapters I didn't think I was going to like this very much. There was a little to much insta love. I'm glad I gave it a shot because I ended up enjoying it.
I loved Cole. He's super cute. He has a great personality. His feelings were very strong. He knew what he wanted as soon as he found it. He takes things very seriously. I felt like there was almost two Cole's. The one in the first half and the one in the second. I liked the Cole in the first half better. The Cole in the second half was a very intense character. At that point he had been through a lot. He changed a lot. I can understand why but I just ended up not enjoying his character as much as I was. I loved Lelia and was so sad when she wasn't in the story anymore. I thought their relationship was the cutest thing even though it started off very fast. I think both characters were very well done.
The storyline for this was almost two in one. There was Cole with his happily married life. Then there was Cole the Hunter. The two fit pretty well together. I did end up liking the first half of the book better than the second, just cause it was more up my alley. The second half was still pretty good. There was a lot of action. Overall I ended up really enjoying this. I loved the main character and the storyline was great. I think a lot of people will enjoy this story so I highly recommend.
OK, so I’m going to be very honest here and if I offend in anyway, well, as much as I’m sorry, I do give honest reviews. When I first opened this book I was rather excited. The blurb sounded good and lets face it, that cover really begs “read me now!” However, from the very first page I developed an instant dislike for Cole. His whole attitude really pissed me off and I just didn’t care for him. Subsequently this affected the read for me and it took me a long time to find one single thing I liked about him. (I’m still trying to figure out if there is anything. So I’ll add on to this review at a later date.) Anyway, because of this, I found myself skimming through quite a bit of the book, hence my star rating has been really affected. How can I rate the book as amazing when I can’t stand the main character?
Other than that this book is quite good. The storyline is different. Cole can use his terminal illness to help rid the world of Vampires. He must decide whether to join the secret society of the Venatori (Anyone else think ‘Twilight’ here?) He also wants to live out what’s left of his life with the woman he loves, Leila.
So, to sum it up. The storyline is interesting and there are a good few twists and turns. The main character isn’t my cup of tea, however, the writer has made him 3 dimensional (as with all the other characters). The book is visual, which is always good and even though I hate Cole. I would like to see what happens next.
I was giving an ARC of this book for my honest review. The 1st half is the romance of Cole and how he meets the love of his life Leila, his Dreamgirl. This sweet love story has it all - world wind romance of innocent love, the development of their relationship, his sudden illness and how it brings them closer together, even some action. The pain of losing his love how he survives brought me to tears. Up until this point I was wondering how the title of the book came into play until tragedy strikes. Half way through when the story changes I now know why this book is called Hunter. Meet Job. He introduces Cole to the world of the Sched. This is what killed Cole's Dreamgirl. Cole is now determined to help rid the world of Scheds so no one else will suffer his pain. How Cole’s life and training of how to become a hunter is exciting. Normally I read books from a woman's point a view. To have a story with romance and adventure told from a male perspective is very refreshing. And of course there is a cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the next book.
At first I really liked the cover. Because of the cover and the interesant storyline I wanted to read it. The prolog and the beginning was a bit slow but during the book there was some but not a lot action. Although it's a fantasy book it was very realistic. I kind of liked the relationship between Cole and Leila but not that much. I don't know why but it didn't work out with me. However, I liked Cole very much. He was a smart brave guy who did everything possible what he could do. I also liked the way how vampires were imagined. The ending was okay but I missed some more action. However the middle of the book was great.
I would recommend this book although it wasn't one of my favourite books I liked it very much.
I really enjoyed this read. I will admit that Cole is a bit full of himself but found his personality is what helped him to become the fighter he needed to be in the end. Many of the jokes and snide remarks made laugh out loud reminding me of my own sons comments. I look forward to the next chapter.
Well, it began as a good romance type story. Took me a while to get into this, about half way through I was on the fence of continuing....so glad I did. The book took on another whole story line and the end keeps you wondering what is coming next.