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Hunters Hollow #3
Curses and Casualties
Fame is a curse.
At least, that’s the way Elliot Church feels. A powerful mage with a gift for necromancy, he’s made a name for himself as a successful private investigator. And he fails to see how smiling in front of a camera or answering the same banal questions has any bearing on his performance.
It’s nothing more than a distraction, and one he doesn’t need, especially when strange things start happening in New Orleans.
There are dead Otherlings in the Quarter, their bodies mummified and their souls fragmented. A Reaper stands on every corner, and more are pouring into the city daily, which can only mean one thing. Mass casualties.
When his search for answers leads him to Hunters Hollow, the last thing he expects to find in the backwater town is his mate. Incubus and retired bounty hunter for the Ministry, Lysander Tennison—Tenn to the locals—is everything he never knew he wanted, but the timing couldn’t be more wrong. Yet, he can no more turn his back on the demon than he can ignore what’s going on in the city.
Even when every road in front of him leads straight to hell.
At least, that’s the way Elliot Church feels. A powerful mage with a gift for necromancy, he’s made a name for himself as a successful private investigator. And he fails to see how smiling in front of a camera or answering the same banal questions has any bearing on his performance.
It’s nothing more than a distraction, and one he doesn’t need, especially when strange things start happening in New Orleans.
There are dead Otherlings in the Quarter, their bodies mummified and their souls fragmented. A Reaper stands on every corner, and more are pouring into the city daily, which can only mean one thing. Mass casualties.
When his search for answers leads him to Hunters Hollow, the last thing he expects to find in the backwater town is his mate. Incubus and retired bounty hunter for the Ministry, Lysander Tennison—Tenn to the locals—is everything he never knew he wanted, but the timing couldn’t be more wrong. Yet, he can no more turn his back on the demon than he can ignore what’s going on in the city.
Even when every road in front of him leads straight to hell.
349 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 26, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 14, 2025
My favorite so far. I loved both characters individually and together. Looking forward to the next one.
Did Not Finish
January 27, 2025DNF @ 50% - There’s an awful lot going on here, but none of it is particularly interesting.
June 11, 2025
More of a note to self than anything - should not have read book 2 and book 3 back-to-back. Doing so emphasized how formulaic the plots are in this series - same plot, same characters just with different names and species (ie, vampire instead of a mage). Also noted how every character seems to have long hair that they are always pulling back or putting up in a messy bun.
February 3, 2025
well written, great characters
Rating: 4.5🌈
Hunters Hollow, a sequel series to Arden Steele’s ongoing terrific Blackhaven Manor paranormal novels, is a successful crossover world. I’m really enjoying this series. I love the way Steele created new engaging characters, while maintaining the many established characters/couples it’s brought over from its original series.
These characters, all well defined in terms of personality and history, as well as the shared universe beings that have continued impactful roles to play , like Hades, in the storylines, keep the books intriguing and exciting.
Curses and Casualties, the third book in this series, demonstrates all the best qualities of the two worlds, with the established mythology and a great murder mystery to investigate.
Necromancer Elliot Church has a secret parentage and a familiar, Dax. It’s his father whose request for an investigation brings him first to New Orleans, then to Hunters Hollow.
It’s where he meets his fated mate, Tenn, an incubus and retired bounty hunter for the Ministry. Tenn, now a tattoo artist in Hunters Hollow, and Elliott have a great fated mate moment and start to a developing relationship. I enjoyed that Steele has layers to them. There’s issues that need to be addressed. Dax’ bond and Dax’s feelings as part of the dynamic for one. That’s just the beginning.
The mystery is good although the villain is easily guessed at. Why they are so bad is a better story.
And there’s other scenes and aspects of Curses and Casualties that will just tug at your heart. Especially the ending that added just more things to think about and explore in this expanding universe.
I look forward to the next chapter in this series and couple to get their fated mate HEA.
Highly recommended!
Hunters Hollow:
Angels and Anarchy #1
Beauty and Bad Blood #2
Curses and Casualties #3
Rating: 4.5🌈
Hunters Hollow, a sequel series to Arden Steele’s ongoing terrific Blackhaven Manor paranormal novels, is a successful crossover world. I’m really enjoying this series. I love the way Steele created new engaging characters, while maintaining the many established characters/couples it’s brought over from its original series.
These characters, all well defined in terms of personality and history, as well as the shared universe beings that have continued impactful roles to play , like Hades, in the storylines, keep the books intriguing and exciting.
Curses and Casualties, the third book in this series, demonstrates all the best qualities of the two worlds, with the established mythology and a great murder mystery to investigate.
Necromancer Elliot Church has a secret parentage and a familiar, Dax. It’s his father whose request for an investigation brings him first to New Orleans, then to Hunters Hollow.
It’s where he meets his fated mate, Tenn, an incubus and retired bounty hunter for the Ministry. Tenn, now a tattoo artist in Hunters Hollow, and Elliott have a great fated mate moment and start to a developing relationship. I enjoyed that Steele has layers to them. There’s issues that need to be addressed. Dax’ bond and Dax’s feelings as part of the dynamic for one. That’s just the beginning.
The mystery is good although the villain is easily guessed at. Why they are so bad is a better story.
And there’s other scenes and aspects of Curses and Casualties that will just tug at your heart. Especially the ending that added just more things to think about and explore in this expanding universe.
I look forward to the next chapter in this series and couple to get their fated mate HEA.
Highly recommended!
Hunters Hollow:
Angels and Anarchy #1
Beauty and Bad Blood #2
Curses and Casualties #3
June 16, 2026
even better than the first two
How do these books keep getting better? Elliot, a necromancer and the son of death, lives a hard life. One without the touch of others due to the pain it causes him. He’s forced into a role he did not want and wasn’t prepared for, but it brought him to his mate, Tenn. Tenn, an incubus and a phenomenal artist, brought joy and fun to Elliot’s life. He stuck by him through the weird and creepy things that Elliot had to deal with. This book was so so good. I was genuinely flabbergasted at the big reveal of who done it? I never would’ve guessed the culprit. I am absolutely going to reread this.
How do these books keep getting better? Elliot, a necromancer and the son of death, lives a hard life. One without the touch of others due to the pain it causes him. He’s forced into a role he did not want and wasn’t prepared for, but it brought him to his mate, Tenn. Tenn, an incubus and a phenomenal artist, brought joy and fun to Elliot’s life. He stuck by him through the weird and creepy things that Elliot had to deal with. This book was so so good. I was genuinely flabbergasted at the big reveal of who done it? I never would’ve guessed the culprit. I am absolutely going to reread this.
June 22, 2026
They meet, notice they are on the fated mates relationship escalator, shrug their shoulders and do the bare minimun to comply with that plot.
No discussions about futures and plans. They fuck and since they are on the escalator anyways one MC does the bite thing.
Did they even bite each other? Or did just the bigger toppier one bite the smaller one who's bottoming?
Nobody is talking about anything, not about who wants to top or bottom, not if they actually want to do the mate thing or if they are ready to escalate it to an unchangable marriage forever without knowing each other at all.
No discussions about futures and plans. They fuck and since they are on the escalator anyways one MC does the bite thing.
Did they even bite each other? Or did just the bigger toppier one bite the smaller one who's bottoming?
Nobody is talking about anything, not about who wants to top or bottom, not if they actually want to do the mate thing or if they are ready to escalate it to an unchangable marriage forever without knowing each other at all.
March 2, 2025
Hunters Hollow #3
Good book with an excellent story line. It wasn’t what I expected and liked it anyway. Some old friends and new ones were there. There need to more books in series. Otherwise, Sammy will be left hanging. Gideon and Dax need to meet their mates. At least, they need a social life.
Good book with an excellent story line. It wasn’t what I expected and liked it anyway. Some old friends and new ones were there. There need to more books in series. Otherwise, Sammy will be left hanging. Gideon and Dax need to meet their mates. At least, they need a social life.
March 26, 2025
Wonderfully original!
Such twists and turns that kept me guessing all along. A love story with an interesting mix of understanding the magic of life and honesty of death. Fantastic ending!
Such twists and turns that kept me guessing all along. A love story with an interesting mix of understanding the magic of life and honesty of death. Fantastic ending!
June 19, 2025
I thought this was a terrific story. The story was unique and kept my attention throughout the book. Loved the characters. I hope like another of the reviewers that there are more books coming. I strongly recommend this book and the series.
February 18, 2026
OMG!!!
I grabbed the first in this series for free and I was HOOKED!!! This book had it all.. Mystery, Love, Family, Sadness and Happiness!!! I absolutely loved every chapter... Tenn and Elliot are such amazing strong characters you just fall for!!! 5 Star Read!!
I grabbed the first in this series for free and I was HOOKED!!! This book had it all.. Mystery, Love, Family, Sadness and Happiness!!! I absolutely loved every chapter... Tenn and Elliot are such amazing strong characters you just fall for!!! 5 Star Read!!
February 3, 2025
Full of intrigue and a shocking reveal.
February 4, 2025
Hunters Hollow
I love this world that Arden Steele has created! Such a vibrant and exciting story. I’m glad to have read this book. Highly Recommended
I love this world that Arden Steele has created! Such a vibrant and exciting story. I’m glad to have read this book. Highly Recommended
April 5, 2025
ANOTHER GREAT BOOK
May 11, 2025
Confused
Book was amazing as always. Epilog got me. 118 years needed explaining for a sick female to just die. Otherwise it was sweet. Great mystery twist.
Book was amazing as always. Epilog got me. 118 years needed explaining for a sick female to just die. Otherwise it was sweet. Great mystery twist.
December 30, 2025
DNF @ 51. Least interesting of the 3 books in the series. The connection between the 2 MCs seems tenuous at best, lacking the excitement of other “fated” pairs finding their “mates”
April 13, 2025
I feel like I've been waiting for this book forever, but now it's finally here and I wasn't disappointed. Elliot Church is a complicated figure and to be honest, he didn't come off as a really nice guy in previous books. His standoffishness (is that a word?) is more than explained here and all of a sudden, I felt so sorry for him. Tenn is perfect as his mate. Calm, controlled, yet passionate and tenacious. The plot is fairly simple, beings are dying before their time in the most horrific of ways and Elliot and Tenn have no idea on the who or the why. The story was interesting, the characters colourful. I loved the reapers and hope we get to see more of them in future stories, plus is was nice to catch up with Orrin in the Underwold
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews