Returning to Eden’s prehistoric sci-fi saga that touched the hearts of readers everywhere. Jenny’s from Earth. Fly’s from Itor.
They met in extraordinary circumstances after being abandoned on stone-age Eden. With clans of wolf-like people, Neanderthals and a savage tribe of Owains roaming the planet, they retreat to a protected corner of the world and live intimately, relying only on themselves.
But the wolf-people join forces with the Neanderthals. Are they forming an alliance or an army? It forces Fly and Jenny to re-evaluate their idyllic life.
But it gets serious… they aren’t the enemy and before they can act, Fly disappears leaving Jenny alone once more.
And when Jenny thinks it can’t get any worse… She becomes HUNTED.
Louise Wise is a British author from the Midlands in England. Her debut novel is the acclaimed sci-fi romance EDEN, followed by its sequel HUNTED in 2013.
The forthcoming JELVIA: NOT HUMAN series is themed on the above Eden and Hunted books and is written under the pen name T E KESSLER.
HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO book 1 SURVIVING HER DOMINANT book 2 SPIDER book 3 MOON AND BACK book 4 NEMESIS book 5 TILL FOREVER FALLS APART book 6 (coming 2024/5)
Wise decided to write under the name of T. E Kessler for her JELVIA: NOT HUMAN series because of their more mature themes. Her other works include:
Eden (sci-fi romance) Hunted (sci-fi romance) A Proper Charlie (romantic comedy) Oh No, I’ve Fallen in Love! (dark, comedy romance) Wide Awake Asleep (time travel, romance)
Wise enjoys writing comedy and finds a place for it in ALL her books. She has written numerous short stories for women’s magazines, such as Take a Break and Woman’s Own.
This is a second and final in a series and it was WONDERFUL! Read "Eden" first or you'll be lost. Beginning of this review has spoilers in regards to the first novel as I am writing a longer synopsis than usual so I'll notate that section but not hide it.
Synopsis/Rundown (minor spoilers of book preceding this one but no spoilers of this book): Okay, so we find the chick and the dude alone once again in domestic bliss but that doesn't mean their problems are over. Chick (human- Jennifer) and Dude (alien- Fly) are slowly discovering that there's a threat out there and they don't really know how significant it is until the author reveals it bit by bit. Cleverly done so as to leave the reader in suspense. This suspense continues with fast paced action from the 40% mark on till the end. Dude and Chick end up challenging this threat head on but not together. As the book description tells us, the Chick really shows her stuff in the battle against the threat. She acts smartly despite having realistic setbacks and some "oh shit, that didn't work the way I meant it to" moments along with extreme emotional hurtles to overcome. Once the action starts, it doesn't stop. Dude and Chick traverse this new land with the intention of just getting back to each other but find they have to do battle to get there as their once small existence of two with handful of natives becomes unexpectedly quite large. To say more would spoil so I'll end it there but will say that you won't be disappointed in this sequel at all. It's one of the better done sequels I've ever read. In fact, I'm following the author in case she decides to grace us with another one.
World Building: Just as great as the first book though I still had my "mapping issues" as I tend to map the different areas of the lands in my head only to find out that this map in my head is wrong as I read along and that frustrates me but that's my fault, not the authors.
Characters: Dude and Chick are done very well here and we still find a growth in both of these characters throughout the book and a lot of authors don't have that ability. Dude realizes how his past has come back to bite him in the ass. He also discovers how much he has changed from the love of this woman. Chick finds her strength and determination along with her ability to act and succeed without her Dude next to her. The natives become much more complex and the ability to communicate with them progresses in a completely realistic manner. And I loved the way the Chick imagines what the natives are saying to her in basically one-sided communications. It was a fresh and amusing addition to the character. And how the natives perceive the Chick seemingly as ridiculous turns out to be true on many levels. Without giving any spoilers, the other characters we discover are also richly portrayed and shows us how naive Dude and Chick were about their little world. Along with the natives, we are shown more characters that have degrees of evilness and some that are completely endearing.
Relationships: The relationships between singular characters as well as groups of beings is also rich and diverse. Truly unexpected and completely believable.
Predictability: Overall, I wasn't able to predict a lot in this book. I tend to dislike predictability in my books and while the author dropped hints, my assumptions and predictions based off those hints were not actualized which is a plus with me. It kept the suspense going till the end. Very well thought out plot.
Ending: It was fairly fulfilling though I would have liked a little more info about how this now larger world impacted the Chick and Dude in the future. There was no cliffhanger and I understand that this book is an end to the series but man, the author could probably write 2 more books from this complex world she has written as we have so many more characters to care about now.
Overall, a fantastic conclusion to the series and I'm following this author so I can be notified if she decides to continue this world.
-Spuffed, "Half stars are for pansies and one gif is plenty."
I was excited to see there was a sequel to Eden, especially when I discovered they were going to have a baby. Fly was so changed in the first book, going from a deadly assassin to a man wanting nothing more to live in peace with Jenny. A baby would be something new for him, something more to love. And he already felt so deeply. Now everything he loves would be threatened, and I couldn’t wait to see Fly in action to protect Jenny and his child. I couldn’t wait to delve into this book.
I was thoroughly enjoying this book, smiling at the lightheartedness between them, the jokes and teasing Fly endures from Jenny. I was also interested in the honnards and the occurrences that were happening. Plenty of action and edge of your seat moments.
However, I didn’t love Hunted as much as the first. Possible Spoilers ahead.
Fly and Jenny spend most of this book separated. I’d say roughly about 65% of this book they are on their own. Several events keep them separated, and when you think they are going to finally find the other, someone else makes another move to put distance between them. I was looking forward to Fly going into protection mode as he and Jenny are on the run from the Jelvia. To seeing them just…together. So I found myself at times skipping some parts (not many) of more running, more thoughts on finding each other so they could just…find each other! (More Spoilers ahead)
When they were finally together at the end, I felt…cheated. It was over so fast by that point. I loved the emotion Fly had with his daughter upon seeing her for the first time, and I wanted to see him actually experience the birth on his next child.
Overall, this was still a good read. We meet more Jelvias, and discover more about Fly's past, as well as what the honnards think of Jenny. I liked the book, but I guess I just missed the romance.
I absolutely loved Eden and Hunted did not disappoint. This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Ms. Wise writes with the kind of plot suspense and atmospheric danger that you are never sure if she is going to kill off a major character, including the hero or the heroine. There is so much fast-paced action in the second half of the book that I felt a little worn out when I finished it.
The natives take a major role in this sequel, and it takes a talented writer to imbue semi-verbal creatures with so much characterization that they feel like friends and enemies. Plus, we finally learn a lot more about Fly's fascinating backstory. As in Eden, Ms. Wise has very rich descriptions of the landscape, making it a character in this book, too. Fly and Jenny are basically explorers and settlers, and their new world plays an appropriately sinister and threatening role.
This book was great from beginning to end, and a perfect conclusion to the Eden story. I liked Fly and Jenny so much that I will miss them. They were great characters who solidified their roles as a couple in the first half and then were tested and challenged on so many fronts as individuals in the second half that Ms. Wise left you prepared for their possible demise. It was a breathtaking adventure!
This book was full of life and even better than Eden. At the end of Eden, I was left wondering about possible survivors of Fly's ship. Now we know what happened. I loved all the characterizations,except for the evil ones, but I did love to hate them. I am so curious about these emerging civilizations living so close together. I wonder what Eden be like with the natives and alien species living so close together. In a thousand years will it just be one population with genetic traits of all the races or will we have two species or subsets? I am so fascinated. I hope Jenny and Fly or someone is documenting everything.
This story was a thrill ride even if I wish there was more of Fly and Jenny together in the second half of the book.
P.s. By far, my least favorite part of this book was the cover.
Well,I assume you looked this book up after finishing "Eden" and want to know if it is worth to continue reading. It is not what I expected.If the first book was book of falling in love and begging new life while surviving,then this is a book of war.Not that there is an actual war...but it is how I feel after finishing it.The world expansion is like blast of Nova.Suddenly the world expanded to include so mutch more,that at the times it felt unrealistic.Too mutch can be a bad thing too,especially if you ruin the setting of the first book.
Other reviewers have mentioned how most of the book Jenny and Fly is apart and trying to get back together.It is true.But I didn't had a problem with it,it was logical and nicely explained.However the rejoining and HEA was too abrupt for my liking.It was like the moment they got back together,the world shrunk back at the snap of fingers. A few more pages would have been a better way to end it and wrap up loose ends.
Is it as good as the first book? It is not worse,that's for sure...it is just different.And gives you different feelings than the first book. Still very easy to read. And it is a good thing that no more books are to follow.
Another excellent book by this author. There was sooooo much going on in this book - at times I had to put it down because I just could not stand all the tragedy. I wanted Fly and Jen to be safe and sound in their little piece of paradise. Fly has come such a long way in his love of Jen and their mutual need of each other. Jen has grown by leaps and bounds from a TRULY pathetic, scary, whiny, clueless girly girl, to a kick ass survivor determined to save not only herself but her man as well. Between explosions, cave-ins, marauding Jelvias, HUGE attacking birds and the elements trying to kill both Jen and Fly at every turn this book was a real roller coaster ride - lots of action, adventure and past histories revealed. I highly recommend this one.
Fantastic read an excellent continuation an conclusion of Eden. Totally original and the character growth from the first book is amazing. Another 10 star book!!!
Human Jenny and alien Fly have both been stranded on a planet but are making the best out of the situation. However they come to realise they are not the only intelligent lifeforms around. An entertaining and sometimes moving adventure. Very good worldbuilding.
The last book had a really great story line, but I did struggle a bit with getting through it. This booked was a complete 180 in a good way. I loved this book, the characters, the adventure and the emotions were all there.
Well this was an unexpected treat. It's low on spice. Heavy on the adventure. Chi-Chi really came into her own through her story. I really enjoyed watching her growth. Ji-Ji too. Def going off to read the Earth bound story 💜
This second book was full of action and the heroin was more bad-assed than the first book. I also enjoyed more since it was free on my Scribd subscription.
I read Eden quite a few years ago and it's one of those stories that always stuck with me. I wondered how Jenny and Fly were doing? Now I know. I read some of the reviews for this story and frankly it surprised me how many low reviews and negative comments it got. Some were complaining that not enough happened, but I have to completely disagree. Though there might have been a couple of areas where I questioned whether or not it sounded reasonable to happen, for the most part the story only made me feel closer to these two characters. The romance is top notch, Fly and Jenny excellent as a couple, their love for each other what most of us can only dream about. Fly has a past that would make many people shy away from him, and that past comes up to bite him in the butt in this story. It's quite the ride, wondering if he'll survive it. It brings up the question of forgiveness and whether any of us actually deserve it.
The tension was high enough that I had to fight with myself not to turn to the back of the book to make sure everyone would be okay. This should tell you enough about how I felt as I read. The pregnancy and baby only add tension to the story, not take away from it. Read for yourself, though I'd suggest picking up a copy of Eden first if you haven't read it. This cover is different from the copy I have. I like mine better, though this one fits with the story.
Sometimes, a sequel needn't be bothered with. Eden, the first installment of this duology, was, if nothing else, a pretty interesting first contact character study. As the two cultures clashed, the reader learned a lot about both cultures and Eden even had a positive message about being open-minded. Hunted, however, was just a contrieved, endless drama. The characters had settled into a boringly harmonic every-day lofe that is interrupted by Jenny's suspected pregnancy. As usual with space pregnancies, Jenny is threatened with death if the baby should be a boy. Dwama! Of course it isn't a boy, so we get to read about the pragnancy and Jenny's rolling around and giving birth and bla bla bla. Because reading about pregnancies has been out of date since way before Twilight ever got it's series of unfortunate sequels, the author decided to bring in a bunch of tirelessly brital and evil aliens to antagonize our harmonic couple. These bad guy aliens hunted for Jenny because she's a woman, letting the imagined threat of potential rape loom prettily above the unsuspecting heroine's head. It was all show, though. No worries, nothing bad ever happened in this book. And neither did anything interesting. Too bad.
Well, basically all my complaints about the previous books were satisfied in this one. No more annoying Matt and Bodie. Instead, we get this exciting and completely fantastical race through the jungles of the planet as the H and the h get separated and reunited over and over again. It was a bit tiring, honestly, at some point I thought "again???", but I just had to keep going to find out what had happened to the main characters.
Most of the stuff that Jenny does in this book is completely impossible. But it was entertaining. Also because she's the definition of a heroine in this one! I bonded with the characters, which really helped take away the monotony of the separation-reunion x 5000 thing.
Once again with the horrible cover. Luckily, the book itself was better than the cover would have me believe. As a sequel to Wise's Eden, this was a pretty solid sci-fi adventure story with some human/alien romance tossed in. I would probably have rated it four stars, as it was a quick read and certainly kept me turning pages, except there was way too much domesticity and childbirth stuff bogging it down. (I don't think that's a spoiler since it is revealed that Jenny is pregnant in the first chapter.)
Since I purchase both this and “Eden” together I read them one right after another. This book was a bit like “Clan of the Cave Bear” mixed with a little of a Western with aliens. I liked the first book better which really isn’t saying much. It was an original read, the writing style was fairly good but I found the h annoying. Overall the series is a 2 ½ to 3 stars.
3.5*. Amazing that a sequel is better than the first book but this one is. I enjoyed the story and loved seeing Jenny come into her own. Fly was amazing.