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The Hunting Ground
Six months ago, Lilah escaped the pink room. Now Bunny hunts the hunters.
After surviving Gabriel Mire's twisted "training" at the Institute, the woman once known as Lilah has remade herself into something deadlier than her captor ever intended. Armed with the very skills meant to break her, Bunny stalks through the underground networks that trade in human misery, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.
Each kill brings her closer to finding Gabriel—the man who shaped her into the perfect victim, then vanished, leaving her to discover she could be so much more. But hunting monsters means becoming one, and Bunny's not sure there's enough humanity left in her to survive what she's becoming.
Enter Nathan Cross, a dangerous man with his own dark agenda who sees past Bunny's blood-stained hands to the fractured girl beneath. Together, they navigate a world of trafficking rings and shadowy facilities, each violent encounter pushing Bunny further from the victim she was and closer to something she can't quite name.
But as the hunt intensifies and long-buried memories surface, Bunny must confront the most terrifying question of What if the real monster isn't the one she's hunting—but the one she's become?
And what if she likes it?
A dark psychological thriller about trauma, transformation, and the terrible price of survival. The second book in the Institute series pushes boundaries and challenges everything you thought you knew about victims, villains, and the spaces in between.
After surviving Gabriel Mire's twisted "training" at the Institute, the woman once known as Lilah has remade herself into something deadlier than her captor ever intended. Armed with the very skills meant to break her, Bunny stalks through the underground networks that trade in human misery, leaving a trail of bodies in her wake.
Each kill brings her closer to finding Gabriel—the man who shaped her into the perfect victim, then vanished, leaving her to discover she could be so much more. But hunting monsters means becoming one, and Bunny's not sure there's enough humanity left in her to survive what she's becoming.
Enter Nathan Cross, a dangerous man with his own dark agenda who sees past Bunny's blood-stained hands to the fractured girl beneath. Together, they navigate a world of trafficking rings and shadowy facilities, each violent encounter pushing Bunny further from the victim she was and closer to something she can't quite name.
But as the hunt intensifies and long-buried memories surface, Bunny must confront the most terrifying question of What if the real monster isn't the one she's hunting—but the one she's become?
And what if she likes it?
A dark psychological thriller about trauma, transformation, and the terrible price of survival. The second book in the Institute series pushes boundaries and challenges everything you thought you knew about victims, villains, and the spaces in between.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 11, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 19, 2026
i liked this one a lot, i really wasn’t sure what to expect the second book to be because going into the first i hadn’t realized it was a trilogy lmao but i liked this!!
Lilah is a great FMC, and seeing her outside of the conditioning room and out of gabriel’s grasp, you can really see how rough and how bad gabriel truly conditioned her. there were things that she was speaking about that weren’t in the first book, that you know were blocked out and she was remembering and the extent of it all was truly deep and sick. she was so warped and so unsure of who to be and who she was without gabriel. all she knew was to fight back, wanting to help the girls like her. realizing that this wasn’t some contract for money, but a dark sex trafficking ring conditioning these girls for buyers and learning that myself was wild. her trying to figure out how to take control and take back the behavioural conditioning with nathan was such an interesting read because you want her to break free but the entire time you’re thinking is nathan really the good guy here??
nathan was someone who had me confused the entire time but that was the point of this book, it wants you to be confused by him, is he really helping her, where did he come from? is he telling the truth? and seeing him help her, show her she’s human and letting her be in control you want to root for him over gabriel, you want him to be the man she lets save her but there was just something, off about him. to me at least, the entire time i couldn’t pin point it. almost like he didn’t have the right emotions or not enough, emotion with her but he’s taking care of her so you want to root for him
when they got to gabriel and hunted him down, i felt that miss for him too, it was sick that was glad he was there almost and when he said him and nathan were brothers i was like fuck i knew something was off with nathan but at the same time, you aren’t sure to believe him because liliah was struggling to believe him, is this a lie he’s making up to get her back to him? and when nathan comes in and she stab gabriel and chooses nathan, when she believes nathan when he says he’s not the brother you’re like okay yeah gabriel’s a liar we should have been on nathan’s side.
UNTIL THAT FUCKING ENDING NATHAN IS HIS BROTHER AND WENT TO LILAH TO CONDITION HER HIMSELF fuck that was wild hearing gabriel actually say he loves her and was actually planning on protecting lilah and taking her away. nathan being the bad guy and ripping her from gabriel legit. i knew something was off but seeing the twist and turn from nathan was INSANE and now im rooting for gabriel which is just sick truly.
Lilah is a great FMC, and seeing her outside of the conditioning room and out of gabriel’s grasp, you can really see how rough and how bad gabriel truly conditioned her. there were things that she was speaking about that weren’t in the first book, that you know were blocked out and she was remembering and the extent of it all was truly deep and sick. she was so warped and so unsure of who to be and who she was without gabriel. all she knew was to fight back, wanting to help the girls like her. realizing that this wasn’t some contract for money, but a dark sex trafficking ring conditioning these girls for buyers and learning that myself was wild. her trying to figure out how to take control and take back the behavioural conditioning with nathan was such an interesting read because you want her to break free but the entire time you’re thinking is nathan really the good guy here??
nathan was someone who had me confused the entire time but that was the point of this book, it wants you to be confused by him, is he really helping her, where did he come from? is he telling the truth? and seeing him help her, show her she’s human and letting her be in control you want to root for him over gabriel, you want him to be the man she lets save her but there was just something, off about him. to me at least, the entire time i couldn’t pin point it. almost like he didn’t have the right emotions or not enough, emotion with her but he’s taking care of her so you want to root for him
when they got to gabriel and hunted him down, i felt that miss for him too, it was sick that was glad he was there almost and when he said him and nathan were brothers i was like fuck i knew something was off with nathan but at the same time, you aren’t sure to believe him because liliah was struggling to believe him, is this a lie he’s making up to get her back to him? and when nathan comes in and she stab gabriel and chooses nathan, when she believes nathan when he says he’s not the brother you’re like okay yeah gabriel’s a liar we should have been on nathan’s side.
UNTIL THAT FUCKING ENDING NATHAN IS HIS BROTHER AND WENT TO LILAH TO CONDITION HER HIMSELF fuck that was wild hearing gabriel actually say he loves her and was actually planning on protecting lilah and taking her away. nathan being the bad guy and ripping her from gabriel legit. i knew something was off but seeing the twist and turn from nathan was INSANE and now im rooting for gabriel which is just sick truly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2026
Possible Spoilers
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The Hunting Ground by Jeanette Clarke, the second book in the Mire Institute series, takes everything from book one and pushes it even further. This book focuses on Bunny and her journey of finding herself after everything she endured. The conditioning, the control, and the aftermath of it all. Watching her struggle and slowly come out on the other side was both intense and compelling.
There were so many moments that had me pausing, especially the reveal about Nathan being Gabriel’s brother. That twist added a whole new layer to the story and made everything feel even more tangled. The reconditioning elements were unsettling, but in a way that kept me completely hooked.
And that ending… What a twist, ugh... I’m still sitting here like *what the hell just happened?!* It absolutely leaves you hanging and desperate for answers, which means I’ll definitely be picking up book three to see where this goes next.
Overall, this was a dark, gripping continuation that keeps you invested in the characters and the mystery surrounding the Mire Institute. If you enjoy psychological twists and character-driven tension, this series is worth diving into. Check the trigger list. Xo 💋
*
**
***
****
*****
******
*******
********
*********
**********
The Hunting Ground by Jeanette Clarke, the second book in the Mire Institute series, takes everything from book one and pushes it even further. This book focuses on Bunny and her journey of finding herself after everything she endured. The conditioning, the control, and the aftermath of it all. Watching her struggle and slowly come out on the other side was both intense and compelling.
There were so many moments that had me pausing, especially the reveal about Nathan being Gabriel’s brother. That twist added a whole new layer to the story and made everything feel even more tangled. The reconditioning elements were unsettling, but in a way that kept me completely hooked.
And that ending… What a twist, ugh... I’m still sitting here like *what the hell just happened?!* It absolutely leaves you hanging and desperate for answers, which means I’ll definitely be picking up book three to see where this goes next.
Overall, this was a dark, gripping continuation that keeps you invested in the characters and the mystery surrounding the Mire Institute. If you enjoy psychological twists and character-driven tension, this series is worth diving into. Check the trigger list. Xo 💋
February 8, 2026
This Series…Is A Mindf**k
I am now annoyed I have to wait for the next book to be released months from now. Feeling like I have whiplash! Also a little traumatized honestly. This book also gives me a little bit of that awful feeling realizing something like this could actually happen…like the Handmaids tale made me feel. Some things confuse me with the first book and then comments in this book. Like the mention that Gabriel has never truly been with Lilah. He had been though. They do warn you in the beginning and I read a lot of dark romance. This is the first in a long while that has me unsettled. Phew!
I am now annoyed I have to wait for the next book to be released months from now. Feeling like I have whiplash! Also a little traumatized honestly. This book also gives me a little bit of that awful feeling realizing something like this could actually happen…like the Handmaids tale made me feel. Some things confuse me with the first book and then comments in this book. Like the mention that Gabriel has never truly been with Lilah. He had been though. They do warn you in the beginning and I read a lot of dark romance. This is the first in a long while that has me unsettled. Phew!
June 8, 2026
I devoured book one in a few hours but book two just didn't hit the 5 star mark for me. It felt rushed and confusing at times with the details not matching up. I also have a hard time with spelling errors.
Overall, I did love this crazy ride and love Bunny! I didn't see that twist coming and it really got me good.
Overall, I did love this crazy ride and love Bunny! I didn't see that twist coming and it really got me good.
January 26, 2026
This one was twistier than the first from what I remember. Wasn't sure who to believe until the 'twist.' Not sure how I feel about that, really. Guess, we'll see in the next book.
P.S. Vague on purpose to avoid spoilers.
P.S. Vague on purpose to avoid spoilers.
July 3, 2026
the Tables Turned
Yep. I usually predict outcomes but didn’t on this one. That being said, poor Bunny is getting the shaft on both ends and I can’t wait for her to figure it out. At least I hope that’s what happens in the end…
Yep. I usually predict outcomes but didn’t on this one. That being said, poor Bunny is getting the shaft on both ends and I can’t wait for her to figure it out. At least I hope that’s what happens in the end…
January 28, 2026
I don't know what's real anymore. What an absolute mindfuck.
February 24, 2026
my mind is so blown right now. June needs to hurry and get here. I need to know what happens next.
July 16, 2026
NOT THAT ENDING WHY?! 😭😭😭😭
February 27, 2026
OMG😭 the emotions this series is taking me through!! I hated Gabriel so much and now I’m so confused. It’s February and I have to wait till JUNE for book three 😭
5/5 stars
Not very spicy.
5/5 stars
Not very spicy.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews