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The Wild Hunt #1
The Silver Stag
Life isn’t easy when you bear the mark of the Silver Stag.
Caught between the worlds of Light and Dark Fae, Ember Kearney was born with the mark of the Silver Stag. Rejected by both her bloodlines, she’s turned her back on her people to become a freelance investigator, hiring herself to take care of common problems like hen-stealing goblins.
When Ember’s best friend asks for her help, it leads them both into a glittering world of conspiracy and danger. Angel’s little brother has vanished, and Ember must race against time to save his life. But when Ember discovers what’s happened to DJ, both she and Angel find themselves recruited into Herne’s elite squad of bounty hunters. Now, Ember must not only face her heritage, but she’s bound to preserve the balance between the Fae Courts, for if order isn’t maintained, war and chaos will spill out into the mortal realm.
Caught between the worlds of Light and Dark Fae, Ember Kearney was born with the mark of the Silver Stag. Rejected by both her bloodlines, she’s turned her back on her people to become a freelance investigator, hiring herself to take care of common problems like hen-stealing goblins.
When Ember’s best friend asks for her help, it leads them both into a glittering world of conspiracy and danger. Angel’s little brother has vanished, and Ember must race against time to save his life. But when Ember discovers what’s happened to DJ, both she and Angel find themselves recruited into Herne’s elite squad of bounty hunters. Now, Ember must not only face her heritage, but she’s bound to preserve the balance between the Fae Courts, for if order isn’t maintained, war and chaos will spill out into the mortal realm.
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First published March 5, 2018
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About the author
Yasmine Galenorn
247 books3,472 followersNOTE: I SELDOM visit Goodreads and do very little here. Please see my website for more information on my work: https://galenorn.com
New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and is the author of over 80 books & numerous series, including the Wild Hunt Series, the Moonshadow Bay Series, the Fury Unbound Series, the Otherworld Series, the Bewitching Bedlam Series, and more. She wrote for trad publishers for 20 years until she went indie in 2016.
She’s also written nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine. Yasmine has been in the Craft since 1980, is a shamanic witch and High Priestess. She describes her life as a blend of teacups and tattoos. She lives in Kirkland, WA, with her husband Samwise and their cats. Yasmine can be reached via her web site at Galenorn.com. Sign up for her newsletter at: http://galenorn.com/newsletter/
NOTE: ALWAYS check the website and blog, and please sign up for her newsletter there to keep current with new and upcoming releases. Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter are NOT viable places to find out all this information.
New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and is the author of over 80 books & numerous series, including the Wild Hunt Series, the Moonshadow Bay Series, the Fury Unbound Series, the Otherworld Series, the Bewitching Bedlam Series, and more. She wrote for trad publishers for 20 years until she went indie in 2016.
She’s also written nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine. Yasmine has been in the Craft since 1980, is a shamanic witch and High Priestess. She describes her life as a blend of teacups and tattoos. She lives in Kirkland, WA, with her husband Samwise and their cats. Yasmine can be reached via her web site at Galenorn.com. Sign up for her newsletter at: http://galenorn.com/newsletter/
NOTE: ALWAYS check the website and blog, and please sign up for her newsletter there to keep current with new and upcoming releases. Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter are NOT viable places to find out all this information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
December 4, 2019
Great start to a new must pre-order series. 4.5 stars
February 20, 2019
Review shortly
**EDIT**
'Review shortly' my arse. Oops. I really need to be more on top of reviews! #NYResolutions #Trying
Moving on...
Normally a book with this bad of editing would get a low rating. Like a really low rating. But I'm actually giving it 2.5 stars because if I could overlook everything that was grammatically/logically wrong with it, I still found the plot interesting enough that I wanted to know what happened.
So that editing, or lack there of technically, made the reading of this a real trial at times. There were moments when it was just minor enough issues that it didn't fully detract from my enjoyment, though it still jumped out at me. But there were other times where it was just so glaringly bad that it was literally stabbing me in the eyes like a knitting needle >_<
The minor issues were like the same word used repetitiously in the same sentence, or in back to back sentences for an entire paragraph. I can't tell you how monotonous it is to read the word "window" or "door" like 7-8 in the span of around 3 sentences max. There were also some tensing issues, missing words, duplicated words, run-on sentences, etc. But here are some examples of what the really annoying parts are like:
"I fell into line, wandering what he had in mind"
Or this one:
"and one door at the end on the left, near the end" So where is the door?! It can't be both! Lol. Or this other instance where Ember & Angel show up at the office for the first time and see the elevator is out of order, right? So Ember complains about having to take the stairs, and yet in the very next sentence it mentions them getting off the elevator -_-
There's just lots of stuff like this. The book is riddled with bad editing skills. Which is sad, because this book actually has a lot of potential story-wise. I really think if the author had taken this to a more professional publisher it would've been polished up to a nice shine ^_^ Because really, I did like the plot, and even liked all the characters, with the exception of one.
The story arc for this first book is pretty strong for a setup to sequels, and yet it's also decently wrapped up at the end with no cliffhangers *whew* At least we dodged one bullet, amirite?? xD For the first 30+ pages I was really engaged in the story, then a derpy character was introduced who killed all the momentum, but then once it veered away from said character it instantly picked up again. It's this constant roller-coaster of intriguing plot and then interest-killing character shows up, just up and down constantly. So that was annoying. But the over all plot is quite interesting, and we get the introduction of more supernatural characters/species than we normal see in urban fantasy, which just made it so much more fun and interesting. We of course had our typical vamps & shifters & fae, but we also get deities, elementals, liches, harpies, ogres, and more. Pretty cool :P
It also kinda reminded me of my favorite badass vamps series Chicagoland Vampires, so that helps, too. Though that series actually has a sizzling hawt male lead, unlike this book. Which leads me to one of my issues with this. The introduction of Herne totally killed the tension and suspense of this book for me right off the bat. He shows up on Ember's doorstep and tells her that she & Ember are in serious danger and he's come to offer his aid. So that doesn't sound so bad right? Well, when they ask for details/explanations whatever, he pretty much just keeps spouting the exact same stuff like a broken record. So I got bored fast until he finally left. Then I got interested again, until he again showed up.
Every. Single. Time. He kills the tension and flow of the story. Every single time he shows up he just repeats the same 5 sentences over and over again. When Ember & Angel show up for their first day of work, he tells them the rules of the job. They ask questions. He restates the rules. They want to know what they'll be doing. He restates the rules. Get the picture? When he introduces them to the team, he introduces each and every single one of them as "investigators". Like dude. Seriously? We get it. They investigate things. It's their job. Like omg, I wanted to pound my head on the wall every time he showed up cause he had absolutely nothing to contribute to this book! I'm serious. He introduced Talia as the "researcher" and then restated it about five different ways (though that is really more of a writing issue, cause the author apparently can't figure out more office tasks to flesh out the scene so goes on repeating stuff).
In addition to being a broken record he's just soooooo bloody dumb! Like I don't know how he got to be in charge of an investigation agency, because he seriously couldn't even lead a panty raid. For instance, when he introduces their new case, he's so surprised by Angel's reaction, he says: "I'm so sorry. I forgot you might not be used to this." Like what?! MOST PEOPLE AREN'T USED TO SEEING PICS OF MUTILATED BODIES!!! Yes, he works for an investigation agency, but that doesn't mean they only deal with graphic murders or deal entirely with people who are used to that kind of thing. He just has terrible people skills, etc.
Another instance similar to that is when Angel (cause she's got some psychic abilities) tries to get a reading off a necklace from one of the victims. It's so horrific and terrifying that she starts crying and hyperventilating. Again, Herne to the derp, "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have asked you if I would have known it was going to be so traumatic." Dude. For real? It's the reading off a murder victim's possession! OF COURSE IT'S TRAUMATIC!! He just keeps on in this kind of thing through out the ENTIRE book. And then he can't figure something out 3/4ths in that's really bloody obvious. It was almost biting him in the ass and he still couldn't figure it out.
Also, he's supposed to be the "love interest" in this series. And I'm just like NO!!! Ember don't do it! If zombies would pass him by, so should you girl. Just keep on walking! Luckily, things don't get very far in that development stage in this book. I'm expecting that to change in the sequels though. Sigh. I want to continue on with the series, but that alone might make me consider not. Well, that and the poor/distracting editing flaws.
There's also some almost racism in this. Herne especially keeps throwing "your people" at Ember cause she's Fae. But they disowned her and she has nothing to do with them at all. Yet he keeps lumping her in with them, and always with an annoying comment about "her kind." Even Victor jumps in on the bandwagon, referencing Ember's "kind" rather regularly. Then even Ember herself gets a wee bit racist, "For an ogre, he was extremely articulate."
Something that doesn't make sense in the story, is that Ember says on more than one occasion that she was "picked on by other Fae children." That's not possible. Since her parents were in hiding in the human population Ember would've never had a chance to be around other Fae children. So that's a bit of plot hole. It bothered me since it kept popping up throughout. I would've let it go if it'd just been once. That issue, as well as some various other plot holes, and then the issue where the author just wrote a lot of repetitious stuff as filler just really dragged this story down. When the characters were at the office seemed to be the main time filler was thrown in. I guess the author didn't know how to write a good office scene, with information being given, research happening, briefings, etc? Cause those were honestly the worst scenes. The field work and actually tracking stuff was decently done, just the office stuff failed miserably =/
I know this seems like just an endless list of problems and issues with the book, and I guess that really is what this review amounts to, but there were just soooooooooo many things wrong with this book that could've potentially been a really good read. Cause I honestly was enjoying it over all, and I would like to continue with the series. Possibly. Except I know these issues will persist throughout the series since they were all published last year, with the exception of one coming out this year. When they're sandwiched that close together you know it's given the same treatment.
One final thing I could've totally done without Was the really necessary?? It lends nothing to the story. Guess she was just trying to throw a little idea of sexiness in but it totally missed the mark. There's absolutely nothing sexy or romantically interesting in this book.
But again, the story-line was intriguing. Just a ton of issues. But I may pick up the next book, since I actually already had it checked out from the library. We'll see. Anyway, I'll shut up now. I really did enjoy the over all story, believe it or not. =/
**EDIT**
'Review shortly' my arse. Oops. I really need to be more on top of reviews! #NYResolutions #Trying
Moving on...
Normally a book with this bad of editing would get a low rating. Like a really low rating. But I'm actually giving it 2.5 stars because if I could overlook everything that was grammatically/logically wrong with it, I still found the plot interesting enough that I wanted to know what happened.
So that editing, or lack there of technically, made the reading of this a real trial at times. There were moments when it was just minor enough issues that it didn't fully detract from my enjoyment, though it still jumped out at me. But there were other times where it was just so glaringly bad that it was literally stabbing me in the eyes like a knitting needle >_<
The minor issues were like the same word used repetitiously in the same sentence, or in back to back sentences for an entire paragraph. I can't tell you how monotonous it is to read the word "window" or "door" like 7-8 in the span of around 3 sentences max. There were also some tensing issues, missing words, duplicated words, run-on sentences, etc. But here are some examples of what the really annoying parts are like:
"I fell into line, wandering what he had in mind"
Or this one:
"and one door at the end on the left, near the end" So where is the door?! It can't be both! Lol. Or this other instance where Ember & Angel show up at the office for the first time and see the elevator is out of order, right? So Ember complains about having to take the stairs, and yet in the very next sentence it mentions them getting off the elevator -_-
There's just lots of stuff like this. The book is riddled with bad editing skills. Which is sad, because this book actually has a lot of potential story-wise. I really think if the author had taken this to a more professional publisher it would've been polished up to a nice shine ^_^ Because really, I did like the plot, and even liked all the characters, with the exception of one.
The story arc for this first book is pretty strong for a setup to sequels, and yet it's also decently wrapped up at the end with no cliffhangers *whew* At least we dodged one bullet, amirite?? xD For the first 30+ pages I was really engaged in the story, then a derpy character was introduced who killed all the momentum, but then once it veered away from said character it instantly picked up again. It's this constant roller-coaster of intriguing plot and then interest-killing character shows up, just up and down constantly. So that was annoying. But the over all plot is quite interesting, and we get the introduction of more supernatural characters/species than we normal see in urban fantasy, which just made it so much more fun and interesting. We of course had our typical vamps & shifters & fae, but we also get deities, elementals, liches, harpies, ogres, and more. Pretty cool :P
It also kinda reminded me of my favorite badass vamps series Chicagoland Vampires, so that helps, too. Though that series actually has a sizzling hawt male lead, unlike this book. Which leads me to one of my issues with this. The introduction of Herne totally killed the tension and suspense of this book for me right off the bat. He shows up on Ember's doorstep and tells her that she & Ember are in serious danger and he's come to offer his aid. So that doesn't sound so bad right? Well, when they ask for details/explanations whatever, he pretty much just keeps spouting the exact same stuff like a broken record. So I got bored fast until he finally left. Then I got interested again, until he again showed up.
Every. Single. Time. He kills the tension and flow of the story. Every single time he shows up he just repeats the same 5 sentences over and over again. When Ember & Angel show up for their first day of work, he tells them the rules of the job. They ask questions. He restates the rules. They want to know what they'll be doing. He restates the rules. Get the picture? When he introduces them to the team, he introduces each and every single one of them as "investigators". Like dude. Seriously? We get it. They investigate things. It's their job. Like omg, I wanted to pound my head on the wall every time he showed up cause he had absolutely nothing to contribute to this book! I'm serious. He introduced Talia as the "researcher" and then restated it about five different ways (though that is really more of a writing issue, cause the author apparently can't figure out more office tasks to flesh out the scene so goes on repeating stuff).
In addition to being a broken record he's just soooooo bloody dumb! Like I don't know how he got to be in charge of an investigation agency, because he seriously couldn't even lead a panty raid. For instance, when he introduces their new case, he's so surprised by Angel's reaction, he says: "I'm so sorry. I forgot you might not be used to this." Like what?! MOST PEOPLE AREN'T USED TO SEEING PICS OF MUTILATED BODIES!!! Yes, he works for an investigation agency, but that doesn't mean they only deal with graphic murders or deal entirely with people who are used to that kind of thing. He just has terrible people skills, etc.
Another instance similar to that is when Angel (cause she's got some psychic abilities) tries to get a reading off a necklace from one of the victims. It's so horrific and terrifying that she starts crying and hyperventilating. Again, Herne to the derp, "I'm so sorry. I wouldn't have asked you if I would have known it was going to be so traumatic." Dude. For real? It's the reading off a murder victim's possession! OF COURSE IT'S TRAUMATIC!! He just keeps on in this kind of thing through out the ENTIRE book. And then he can't figure something out 3/4ths in that's really bloody obvious. It was almost biting him in the ass and he still couldn't figure it out.
Also, he's supposed to be the "love interest" in this series. And I'm just like NO!!! Ember don't do it! If zombies would pass him by, so should you girl. Just keep on walking! Luckily, things don't get very far in that development stage in this book. I'm expecting that to change in the sequels though. Sigh. I want to continue on with the series, but that alone might make me consider not. Well, that and the poor/distracting editing flaws.
There's also some almost racism in this. Herne especially keeps throwing "your people" at Ember cause she's Fae. But they disowned her and she has nothing to do with them at all. Yet he keeps lumping her in with them, and always with an annoying comment about "her kind." Even Victor jumps in on the bandwagon, referencing Ember's "kind" rather regularly. Then even Ember herself gets a wee bit racist, "For an ogre, he was extremely articulate."
Something that doesn't make sense in the story, is that Ember says on more than one occasion that she was "picked on by other Fae children." That's not possible. Since her parents were in hiding in the human population Ember would've never had a chance to be around other Fae children. So that's a bit of plot hole. It bothered me since it kept popping up throughout. I would've let it go if it'd just been once. That issue, as well as some various other plot holes, and then the issue where the author just wrote a lot of repetitious stuff as filler just really dragged this story down. When the characters were at the office seemed to be the main time filler was thrown in. I guess the author didn't know how to write a good office scene, with information being given, research happening, briefings, etc? Cause those were honestly the worst scenes. The field work and actually tracking stuff was decently done, just the office stuff failed miserably =/
I know this seems like just an endless list of problems and issues with the book, and I guess that really is what this review amounts to, but there were just soooooooooo many things wrong with this book that could've potentially been a really good read. Cause I honestly was enjoying it over all, and I would like to continue with the series. Possibly. Except I know these issues will persist throughout the series since they were all published last year, with the exception of one coming out this year. When they're sandwiched that close together you know it's given the same treatment.
One final thing I could've totally done without Was the really necessary?? It lends nothing to the story. Guess she was just trying to throw a little idea of sexiness in but it totally missed the mark. There's absolutely nothing sexy or romantically interesting in this book.
But again, the story-line was intriguing. Just a ton of issues. But I may pick up the next book, since I actually already had it checked out from the library. We'll see. Anyway, I'll shut up now. I really did enjoy the over all story, believe it or not. =/
May 24, 2022
Meh.
This one was kinda worse than I expected. The blurb sounded like so much fun yet it was such a big disappointment.
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Ah well, maybe next time.
This one was kinda worse than I expected. The blurb sounded like so much fun yet it was such a big disappointment.
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Ah well, maybe next time.
January 24, 2021
The Silver Stag
is book one in The Wild Hunt series by Yasmine Galenorn. This was a delightful start to the series. I had a blast and was sucked in. It’s a fast-paced action-packed mystery full of magic.
Ember is an interesting character being half light and dark Fae. She doesn’t know what gifts she has nor do we, but I’m sure as we read on in the series we will learn more. I liked that she is so dedicated to her BFF Angel. She is an amazing friend and it shows in this novel when her friends brother is missing.
We meet many characters along the way. One is Herne, Ember’s love interest, Angel, Ember’s BFF, and the Wild Hunt crew. All the characters we meet are unique and add to the story. I had a fun time with them all.
Things move fast and Ember is forced out of the shadows and into the Wild Hunt. They are a group of supernaturals keeping balance in the world of humans. Its an interesting set up. The world building is great with loads of mythology woven in. It is a lot to take in in one book. As first books go it was an info dump, but still I was pulled into the mystery and the Wild Hunt.
The romance is subtle in this first novel. We focus on the mystery and helping Angel.
I had a blast with The Silver Stag and I acutely went out and bought books 2 & 3 after finishing this one. I really enjoyed the mist-fit cast of characters and the world. I can’t wait to see where things go and what mystery we will solve next with the Wild Hunt. Urban Fantasy fans will enjoy this brisk and dynamic read!
Rated: 4 Stars
Ember is an interesting character being half light and dark Fae. She doesn’t know what gifts she has nor do we, but I’m sure as we read on in the series we will learn more. I liked that she is so dedicated to her BFF Angel. She is an amazing friend and it shows in this novel when her friends brother is missing.
We meet many characters along the way. One is Herne, Ember’s love interest, Angel, Ember’s BFF, and the Wild Hunt crew. All the characters we meet are unique and add to the story. I had a fun time with them all.
Things move fast and Ember is forced out of the shadows and into the Wild Hunt. They are a group of supernaturals keeping balance in the world of humans. Its an interesting set up. The world building is great with loads of mythology woven in. It is a lot to take in in one book. As first books go it was an info dump, but still I was pulled into the mystery and the Wild Hunt.
The romance is subtle in this first novel. We focus on the mystery and helping Angel.
I had a blast with The Silver Stag and I acutely went out and bought books 2 & 3 after finishing this one. I really enjoyed the mist-fit cast of characters and the world. I can’t wait to see where things go and what mystery we will solve next with the Wild Hunt. Urban Fantasy fans will enjoy this brisk and dynamic read!
Rated: 4 Stars
November 2, 2018
This book was mediocre & as such completely unremarkable. 1 Star
I found myself losing interest, so much so that I DNF’d it at 90%, that’s somewhere in chapter 15 & I am secure in my decision. No FUMO here & that’s a shame. I was unimpressed & I will not be following this series.
I wanted this book to grip me & it just didn’t. To be fair the book has potential & the author is talented at her craft.
If you’re interested in this author’s work I’d recommend her Fury Unbound series. That series is a quick & entertaining read.
I found myself losing interest, so much so that I DNF’d it at 90%, that’s somewhere in chapter 15 & I am secure in my decision. No FUMO here & that’s a shame. I was unimpressed & I will not be following this series.
I wanted this book to grip me & it just didn’t. To be fair the book has potential & the author is talented at her craft.
If you’re interested in this author’s work I’d recommend her Fury Unbound series. That series is a quick & entertaining read.
March 25, 2019
Fae, Fighting, and Friendships
Rating: 3 1\2 stars
As a longtime fan of Yasmine Galenorn, this book has all the elements I've come to expect in her books. A strong heroine (Ember) with mad skills, a big heart and keen intellect, fascinating supporting characters, and amazing world-building. The only issue I stumbled on was a few editing problems which is not what I'm used to in her work. There was a series of repeated descriptions, missing words and awkward sentences.
As the first book in the series, everything is just taking off. You are getting to know Ember--her love interest, Herne, her bestie, Angel, and the Wild Hunt crew, and the seriousness of what they do to keep the balance. I haven't decided if I will continue this series although I did enjoy this book.
Rating: 3 1\2 stars
As a longtime fan of Yasmine Galenorn, this book has all the elements I've come to expect in her books. A strong heroine (Ember) with mad skills, a big heart and keen intellect, fascinating supporting characters, and amazing world-building. The only issue I stumbled on was a few editing problems which is not what I'm used to in her work. There was a series of repeated descriptions, missing words and awkward sentences.
As the first book in the series, everything is just taking off. You are getting to know Ember--her love interest, Herne, her bestie, Angel, and the Wild Hunt crew, and the seriousness of what they do to keep the balance. I haven't decided if I will continue this series although I did enjoy this book.
March 5, 2018
A great start to a new series. The romance is pretty subtle, but I imagine that will change as the series progresses. The world is fascinating, and I’m eager to spend more time there. Ms. Galenorn is truly gifted. I’m so honored she shares her creations with the world.
July 24, 2018
Editing is awful, it's incredibly repetitious, the jumps for the sake of story advancement make immersion even more difficult. Just really badly written.
April 15, 2020
I'm out just a tad boring and dull with stilted conversations. Stopped at chapter 6.
January 6, 2019
The blurb isn't exactly misleading... but it doesn't really give the right impression either. I refuse to spoil anything, so I can't even explain what I mean. *sigh* But I had a great time reading this, obviously as I read it straight through. The Wild Hunt in this book is familiar, but also original - it's kinda like the author flipped the tropes on us with this one and that's all I can say. The MC was great - she's got a casual voice that works well with her situation. And the rest of the cast is good, too. They balance each other and all bring something unique to the table. The MC's relationship with her BFF being so heavily featured is also enjoyable. I really liked the romantic sparks and the vast array of magical beings in this world. The worldbuilding is interesting here, but I'm gonna have to brush up on my mythology if the author doesn't explain certain things in the next books.
Definitely recommending this one.
Definitely recommending this one.
August 2, 2020
4.5 stars!
February 16, 2019
Repetitive, Dull, Detailed, Scatter-shot
This is my first book by this author. I don’t believe I’ll read another.
Repetitive- there were three topics that were repeated throughout the book- her heritage, parents and Mama J- but we never learned anything new with each repetition, several other examples, such as, explanation about how Wild Hunt works- why repeat that three times in the first meeting
Dull- major events happen in the book but there’s no build up of anticipation or anxiety, bad things happen and there’s a paragraph or two of emotion and the next thing it’s who wants pancakes
Detailed- why are there detailed directions to every location- how does it help the story or my connection to the characters to read that they went two blocks on this street then turned left on that street and then another left on whatever street
Scatter-shot- there’s this crazy jump in topics that is just too strange to make any sense- they are in the break room discussing murders and Herne turns to Angel and asks if her chair is ergonomically ok for her. It’s not a lead in to something humorous or witty and if it’s to show he’s a nice guy there are other places in the that are better.
Overall it needs editing and somebody needs to have a sense of humor or just some witty dialog. It’s a good concept for a series but the more I read the more I was disappointed.
This is my first book by this author. I don’t believe I’ll read another.
Repetitive- there were three topics that were repeated throughout the book- her heritage, parents and Mama J- but we never learned anything new with each repetition, several other examples, such as, explanation about how Wild Hunt works- why repeat that three times in the first meeting
Dull- major events happen in the book but there’s no build up of anticipation or anxiety, bad things happen and there’s a paragraph or two of emotion and the next thing it’s who wants pancakes
Detailed- why are there detailed directions to every location- how does it help the story or my connection to the characters to read that they went two blocks on this street then turned left on that street and then another left on whatever street
Scatter-shot- there’s this crazy jump in topics that is just too strange to make any sense- they are in the break room discussing murders and Herne turns to Angel and asks if her chair is ergonomically ok for her. It’s not a lead in to something humorous or witty and if it’s to show he’s a nice guy there are other places in the that are better.
Overall it needs editing and somebody needs to have a sense of humor or just some witty dialog. It’s a good concept for a series but the more I read the more I was disappointed.
July 30, 2018
I have enjoyed so many of Yasmine's book. This one is a little different for me but I like it too. I like that this author has new ideas. She has a variety of books she can write. I love the other world series but I would probably try anything this author write because I like her style of writing and I enjoy reading what she has come up with for new characters and new worlds. This book is a little bit of both for me. Try it and see what you think!
July 17, 2019
Solid start
A solid series start and quick read. Intrigued to see where the series takes me next. The characters are fresh which can be a struggle for some authors of multiple series.
A solid series start and quick read. Intrigued to see where the series takes me next. The characters are fresh which can be a struggle for some authors of multiple series.
March 27, 2020
Round up to 4.5 stars.
April 26, 2020
The writing is a little bit - how to put this nicely - simplified, but still solid. I didn't hate it. I wasn't bored either. I find the world kind of intriguing so I might read more books in this series. We'll see...
December 26, 2018
Overall the story was intriguing but the writing had some issues that consistently irked me and removed me from the novel. The big issue for me was redundancy of narration. For example, how many times does the reader need to be told in virtually the exact same language that DJ’s father took off once he realized Mama J was pregnant. He’s not even in the story apart from this mention, but this description is repeated about five times. Another issue i had was that the backstory was not provided up front. How many times were Ember’s previous and now dead boyfriends mentioned before the reader finds out what happened to them? It’s a serious piece of character illustration that should have been revealed the first time they’re mentioned. I was also annoyed by how Ember does all this research on day 1 of the novel that she conveniently forgets on day 2, when it clearly applies. I’m always bothered by characters when I’m smarter than they are. She just went through this traumatic experience and yet it doesn’t inform who she is, despite how many times the narration tells us that she is thinking about all that has happened over the last couple days. Then there was how many times something didn’t “set well” with Ember. The phrase is “sit well”. Lastly, the end completely leaves the ex-boyfriend storyline unresolved. If it’s going to be the topic in the next novel, then the last sentence of this novel needs to be “i’ll call him back later” or something to that effect. As it is, that sentence is far enough from the end that it just seems incomplete. I’m tempted to read the next novel in the series but i am doubtful that these writing issues will improve. So who knows? It might happen but in a few months.
March 8, 2018
I really like this author's Otherworld series, however her other ones are hit and miss for me. So when I saw that this book started a new series I went into the book a bit leery, wondered how it would fall for me. I have to say that for a first book in a new series it's pretty good. There weren't a lot of info dumps going on, the story was a bit slow, but that is ok, we needed to get to know the characters and the world they inhabit.
The friendship between Ember and Angel was great! Sure they razzed each other, but you could tell there was lots of love there too. I hated what happened to Angel's brother, but in a way it was good too. That changed all of their lives and I think for the better.
The Wild Hunt group great. They all seemed to welcome Ember and Angel and liked what they brought to the team. The case they were working on was a bit crazy, especially when you realized the people against each other and what was brought into the fight.
I like the sparks that fly between Ember and a new guy in her life. That alone should prove interesting. With so much else happening the next book should be fun to read.
The friendship between Ember and Angel was great! Sure they razzed each other, but you could tell there was lots of love there too. I hated what happened to Angel's brother, but in a way it was good too. That changed all of their lives and I think for the better.
The Wild Hunt group great. They all seemed to welcome Ember and Angel and liked what they brought to the team. The case they were working on was a bit crazy, especially when you realized the people against each other and what was brought into the fight.
I like the sparks that fly between Ember and a new guy in her life. That alone should prove interesting. With so much else happening the next book should be fun to read.
March 11, 2019
1.5*
Interesting concept, awful execution.
The plot is intriguing in a certain way while storytelling and characters are flat, edging to boring.
The book is full of mispells and grammatical errors, but what bothers me the most are the constant repetions of words and whole periods. And to make things worse, you gather nothing new at each reiteration.
I remembered too late that I didn't like a previously published short novel by this author (Ice Shards in the Hexed anthology: I found essentially the same problems with her writing) otherwise I wouldn't have started this book.
I find myself in agreement with 1* and 2* reviews here on goodreads, some are way more detailed than mine, so I suggest you to read them to have a better idea of what I'm talking about!
Interesting concept, awful execution.
The plot is intriguing in a certain way while storytelling and characters are flat, edging to boring.
The book is full of mispells and grammatical errors, but what bothers me the most are the constant repetions of words and whole periods. And to make things worse, you gather nothing new at each reiteration.
I remembered too late that I didn't like a previously published short novel by this author (Ice Shards in the Hexed anthology: I found essentially the same problems with her writing) otherwise I wouldn't have started this book.
I find myself in agreement with 1* and 2* reviews here on goodreads, some are way more detailed than mine, so I suggest you to read them to have a better idea of what I'm talking about!
April 7, 2019
The Silver Stag reads like a mash up of a YA romance with standard human characters with human problems all retro fit to appeal to the paranormal crowd, done self-publisher style. The characters who are supposed to be quite old all act like they haven’t lived or learned much, and are closer to a 20-something crowd. The book has numerous grammar problems and needs a good editor to deal with redundant descriptions and weak plot structure.
Coming from an apparent prolific author, these things surprise me.
Can’t recommend it.
Coming from an apparent prolific author, these things surprise me.
Can’t recommend it.
May 18, 2020
Sometimes when you start a new Paranormal novel the ‘world’ just feels right, this world didn’t. It seemed like the different ‘races’ were just ‘plonked’ into a setting and were only connected to each other when the author needed it for the story.
I quite liked Ember but instead of growing on me I actually became more blasé about her as the book progressed and when it became clear the author wanted to write some sort of romance with Herne I had had enough.
I quite liked Ember but instead of growing on me I actually became more blasé about her as the book progressed and when it became clear the author wanted to write some sort of romance with Herne I had had enough.
Want to read
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May 16, 2021
Wasn't for me, I couldn't stand the dialogue, it didn't feel like a bunch of adults were talking with each other, felt like children, and certain parts just felt unnecessary at times.
April 14, 2020
I loved this book! I'm so glad there are more in the series to read as well! Ember is a badass half-blood of the Fae; both light and dark. Never having really fit with either side or in school, her best friend Angel has always stuck by her side. Their world gets flipped upside down when Angel's little brother, D.J, goes missing. Ember following a water elemental, is lead to him. What she finds is something out of a movie. He's gagged and bound and two Fae's are talking about killing him; Ember knows she has to do something. Suddenly, she hears a noise and she see's a Silver Stag with the most beautiful eyes she has ever seen on a human or animal. One of the Fae's starts to lunge forward for D.J when Ember jumps out. With the help of the stag, they are able to save D.J and get him back to his sister at home. Neither D.J or Angel feeling safe, decide to spend the next couple of days with Ember in her apartment. There's a knock on the door and the gentleman asks for Ember by name. Startled, she thinks they are going to be attacked. Enter Herne. Herne tells Angel and Ember he's apart of peace keeping / hunter group to keep the balance between the Dark and Light Fae; to avoid disastrous destruction of war. He tells Angel that he can send D.J to a safe home with a shifter family. Oh, D.J is a shifter and can shift into a werewolf. Anyways, Angel and Ember decide they can trust Herne and that they should send D.J to this family. Such planners that the group is, they had the family ready to pick D.J up that night. Angel of course, worries sick about her brother. Not being able to see or talk to him every day is hard for her. She can only imagine what / how D.J is feeling. Are they teaching him to shift easier? Is he scared of what he can do? Is the family treating him well and feeding him okay? Eventually, Herne sets up a video conference with D.J to put Angel at ease. Ember and Angel get jobs with the group at the agency and meet some different people. As they are out one night, investigating some suspicious deaths, that of course the police are keeping hidden, they discover more to the city they lived in than they image. Ember's elemental side is taking hold when she hears a roar from the ocean that someone is in pain. She see's an image of what I envision as a Pokemon on drugs. A beast 7 feet tall with a fox like face and nine tails and sharp teeth, has been summoned. Herne, Yutani, a coyote shape shifter, Viktor - an outcasted orge, and Ember seek out the beast. Ember has a marking belonging to the gods, Morganna and Cernunnos, who also happen to be Herne's parents. This book had a lot of paranormal stuff that I loved! Elemental's, shape shifters, vampires (briefly), romance, action, creepy demons. I can't wait to read the next books!!
September 2, 2019
In this fictional world all the creatures that go bump in the night are real. For the safety of everyone, all the factions are part of the United Coalition, which is comprised of vamps, shifters, fae, and humans. However, like with any group of power, they're all corrupt to some degree, which is not in the least bit surprising. I mean do you trust the government? Heck no!
While the vamps are a secretive and powerful bunch, the fae on the other hand are amazingly petty. Since time has been recorded, both the dark and light fae courts have been warring with one another. Why is that? I have no idea! You’d think after thousands of years they’d call a truce and leave it be, but not them! That would be too sensible.
So the MC of the story is a PI named Ember Kearney, and she is the product of a Romeo and Juliette pairing. That’s right, her mother was a light fae, her father was a dark fae, and they had a forbidden love. One that ended up getting them killed because the fae courts are spiteful and just can’t let things go. In their eyes the castes should never mix! It’s wrong, for some reason.
Trying to stay low on the fae courts radar, Ember scraps by making an okay living doing odd investigative jobs. One day she gets a call from her best friend Angel, who is in distress. Her little brother DJ is missing so she asks Ember to find the boy. Being exhausted from the previous nights antics, Ember girds her loins and sallies forth to go find the kid.
Thankfully she does find him, but not in a good place. He is surrounded by danger! The danger being fae. Apparently DJ heard something he was not supposed to, so the fae goons are going to kill him. Acting on instinct, Ember leaps into the fray and kills the fae, only succeeding because of some unexpected aid. Barely making it out alive, the two of them escape. Meeting back up with Angel, they all decide to go into hiding for safety sake.
For the situation has escalated now because of the blood on Embers hands. There are ways the fae courts can find out who killed their men and they will exact revenge. Doesn’t matter that the fight was in self defense. The fae court, or dark fae court, will be coming for Ember, DJ and Angel.
Naturally the trio are afraid and don’t know what to do. While trying to stay calm and figure something out, there’s a knock at the door. Cautiously opening it, Ember finds a rather handsome fella there, whose name is Herne. Turns out he was the one that helped Ember and DJ during the fight, and he has come to offer them protection. If they join his company, the Wild Hunt, then they will no longer be targeted by the fae courts.
The Wild Hunt is a peace keeping business that is sanctified by the forest god Cernunnos and the witch goddess Morgana. Since the squabbling fae worship Morgana, they will not touch anyone under her protection. Being stuck between a rock and a hard place, both Ember and Angel sign a contract, binding them to the company.
After this bit, the story starts to take off and the ladies get roped in to a rather grotesque case. People are getting murdered left and right, in a rather grizzly fashion, and it’s up to Ember, Angel and their new business buddies to figure out what’s going on so they can stop it.
But the most infuriating thing about this book is that the Wild Hunt can only take out the threat. They cannot harm the person responsible for what's going on because it would be seen as taking sides and the Wild Hunt doesn’t do that. They have to remain neutral. So basically what that means is that the enablers get away scot-free to keep causing chaos. What the heck?
You’d think eliminating or arresting the responsible party would be part of the job, but it’s not. Kicking butt and enforcing peace in such a manner isn’t allowed. Even though it makes sense, Ember and everyone else can’t do it. BOO! I hate that they can’t dole out real justice and that the criminals get to walk free. It’s not right!
Anyways, the perp gets taken out in the end and everything is all hunky dory, complete with a kiss tossed in just for funsies. Overall I’d have to say this book is mediocre at best. The grammatical structure is super choppy and very discombobulated. A lot of the time it made the story hard to follow. Add in a bunch of typos and it’s a bit of a disaster.
The other killer of this novel was all the redundancy. Seriously, this author keeps saying the same thing over and over and over again. It’s a total plot stall and buzzkill. Ember’s near constant ‘woe is me!’ internal monologue and her continuous conversations with Angel about all the changes that have happened was a real drag.
And if that isn’t bad enough, about ⅓ of the book is dedicated to simply describing directions. I wish I was exaggerating but I’m not. I don’t care about all the street names! Just give me a good story with plot progress! Sadly, I don’t ever get one. There was some potential for a fun tale at the beginning, but it quickly petered out.
It’s like this author wanted to mix together the October Daye, Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels books, but didn’t have the writing ability to execute it properly. This story weaving definitely leaves something to be desired. On another note, the character interactions weren’t awful, but they weren’t great either.
There is no fun witticism or snarky banter, so the dialogue is a bit bland. Herne and Ember give each other the googly eye because there always has to be romance in a story. I’m pretty sure that’s a rule in the Urban Fantasy genre somewhere. Even though I’m not really seeing the romantic connection and it feels a bit hamfisted. There’s no sexual build up or sweet tension. It’s just that automatic lust/love connection garbage. Bleh!
The only character that I genuinely liked was Viktor, who is a half ogre with a Snidely Whiplash mustache. It’s beautiful! Yutani wasn’t too bad either. However my liking of them isn’t enough incentive to keep me reading this series. This first book was a slog, and it dragged in many places. And even though it's not awful, it's still not that good. I think this will just have to stay as a standalone for me. Let sleeping fae lie.
While the vamps are a secretive and powerful bunch, the fae on the other hand are amazingly petty. Since time has been recorded, both the dark and light fae courts have been warring with one another. Why is that? I have no idea! You’d think after thousands of years they’d call a truce and leave it be, but not them! That would be too sensible.
So the MC of the story is a PI named Ember Kearney, and she is the product of a Romeo and Juliette pairing. That’s right, her mother was a light fae, her father was a dark fae, and they had a forbidden love. One that ended up getting them killed because the fae courts are spiteful and just can’t let things go. In their eyes the castes should never mix! It’s wrong, for some reason.
Trying to stay low on the fae courts radar, Ember scraps by making an okay living doing odd investigative jobs. One day she gets a call from her best friend Angel, who is in distress. Her little brother DJ is missing so she asks Ember to find the boy. Being exhausted from the previous nights antics, Ember girds her loins and sallies forth to go find the kid.
Thankfully she does find him, but not in a good place. He is surrounded by danger! The danger being fae. Apparently DJ heard something he was not supposed to, so the fae goons are going to kill him. Acting on instinct, Ember leaps into the fray and kills the fae, only succeeding because of some unexpected aid. Barely making it out alive, the two of them escape. Meeting back up with Angel, they all decide to go into hiding for safety sake.
For the situation has escalated now because of the blood on Embers hands. There are ways the fae courts can find out who killed their men and they will exact revenge. Doesn’t matter that the fight was in self defense. The fae court, or dark fae court, will be coming for Ember, DJ and Angel.
Naturally the trio are afraid and don’t know what to do. While trying to stay calm and figure something out, there’s a knock at the door. Cautiously opening it, Ember finds a rather handsome fella there, whose name is Herne. Turns out he was the one that helped Ember and DJ during the fight, and he has come to offer them protection. If they join his company, the Wild Hunt, then they will no longer be targeted by the fae courts.
The Wild Hunt is a peace keeping business that is sanctified by the forest god Cernunnos and the witch goddess Morgana. Since the squabbling fae worship Morgana, they will not touch anyone under her protection. Being stuck between a rock and a hard place, both Ember and Angel sign a contract, binding them to the company.
After this bit, the story starts to take off and the ladies get roped in to a rather grotesque case. People are getting murdered left and right, in a rather grizzly fashion, and it’s up to Ember, Angel and their new business buddies to figure out what’s going on so they can stop it.
But the most infuriating thing about this book is that the Wild Hunt can only take out the threat. They cannot harm the person responsible for what's going on because it would be seen as taking sides and the Wild Hunt doesn’t do that. They have to remain neutral. So basically what that means is that the enablers get away scot-free to keep causing chaos. What the heck?
You’d think eliminating or arresting the responsible party would be part of the job, but it’s not. Kicking butt and enforcing peace in such a manner isn’t allowed. Even though it makes sense, Ember and everyone else can’t do it. BOO! I hate that they can’t dole out real justice and that the criminals get to walk free. It’s not right!
Anyways, the perp gets taken out in the end and everything is all hunky dory, complete with a kiss tossed in just for funsies. Overall I’d have to say this book is mediocre at best. The grammatical structure is super choppy and very discombobulated. A lot of the time it made the story hard to follow. Add in a bunch of typos and it’s a bit of a disaster.
The other killer of this novel was all the redundancy. Seriously, this author keeps saying the same thing over and over and over again. It’s a total plot stall and buzzkill. Ember’s near constant ‘woe is me!’ internal monologue and her continuous conversations with Angel about all the changes that have happened was a real drag.
And if that isn’t bad enough, about ⅓ of the book is dedicated to simply describing directions. I wish I was exaggerating but I’m not. I don’t care about all the street names! Just give me a good story with plot progress! Sadly, I don’t ever get one. There was some potential for a fun tale at the beginning, but it quickly petered out.
It’s like this author wanted to mix together the October Daye, Mercy Thompson and Kate Daniels books, but didn’t have the writing ability to execute it properly. This story weaving definitely leaves something to be desired. On another note, the character interactions weren’t awful, but they weren’t great either.
There is no fun witticism or snarky banter, so the dialogue is a bit bland. Herne and Ember give each other the googly eye because there always has to be romance in a story. I’m pretty sure that’s a rule in the Urban Fantasy genre somewhere. Even though I’m not really seeing the romantic connection and it feels a bit hamfisted. There’s no sexual build up or sweet tension. It’s just that automatic lust/love connection garbage. Bleh!
The only character that I genuinely liked was Viktor, who is a half ogre with a Snidely Whiplash mustache. It’s beautiful! Yutani wasn’t too bad either. However my liking of them isn’t enough incentive to keep me reading this series. This first book was a slog, and it dragged in many places. And even though it's not awful, it's still not that good. I think this will just have to stay as a standalone for me. Let sleeping fae lie.
November 23, 2020
This is my first read in Yasmine Galenorn's extensive backlist, and it won't be my last. I'm a big urban fantasy fan, but have been disappointed in the few new authors I've tried lately. Galenorn's first in The Wild Hunt series gives me hope that I've found a new series. Ember Kearney was born the half-breed daughter of a mixed fae marriage - 1 light and 1 dark fae. This is forbidden, and her parents were killed for it. Events happen that push her out of the shadows and into The Wild Hunt - a group of supernaturals who try to keep the balance of the world between humans, dark and light, and good and bad. It's a bit too complicated to sum up quickly, but I liked the complex world and felt the worldbuilding was well done. Unfortunately, this one suffers from a frequent ailment of first books in urban fantasy series - too much information in too short a time. The info dumping interfered with the plot and vice versa. I enjoyed this enough that I'll definitely read the next book of the series and probably beyond. I'm excited to see where this goes.
May 2, 2020
First thoughts: I have read books 1-3 of this series and I really like it. The characters are well done. The mythology is interestingly used. The world-building is well done. The team is a group of misfits and they each have their own weird backgrounds and weaknesses/strengths. In this first book, where Ember meets Herne in his Silver Stag form and Angel and DJ are saved as well, the whole team is introduced and we get the basic set up of how things work. As each of the next books goes on, we get to know more and more about the members of the team and see them in action and interacting. Later on, we even meet Herne's parents, the god and goddess who are in charge of their team and the work they do. The romance is definitely a part of the story, so be prepared for some sex. I highly recommend this series to fantasy readers.
July 21, 2021
A pretty generic romantic urban fantasy mystery that could have used a much better editor. Or, any editor? Mediocre, and even though I was mildly interested in the fantasy world, I don't think I'll be picking up any others in the series.
April 24, 2023
Dialogue needs work.
February 22, 2024
2024 Reads #112/250
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