Hunted (Unabridged‪)‬

Overall Stars 5 Narration 5 Story 5

AudioBook Review: Overall Stars 5 Narration 5 Story 5

With Dage and Talen finding their mates in Emma and Cara, the one brother who has been mated (but separated) for a century from his lady love is Connlan. A one-night stand that went horribly pear shaped has separated Conn from Moira, and the witch is not interested in a mating of ‘obligation’. She doesn’t realize how Conn actually admires and wants her beyond the mating bond. So, after all this time, they face off in a bar. It sounds like a bad joke, but these two face off with sparks, words and a surprising rescue attempt.

Part of Conn’s determination to reunite with Moira is his over-the-top protectiveness, but he really does enjoy her, and wants to shore up the alliance. Moira has the gold medal AND the world cup championship in the ‘dig your heels in” medley. With the alliance fracturing and every sect taking sides, the Kurjans are more of a threat than ever, to the Realm and to the mates.

The action and battles in this story are non-stop, with little bits of information and intention being revealed, new threats emerging and very telling scenes with Kalin and his anger, bitterness and sociopathic tendencies. Zanetti brings several elements to the table: the witches utilize the laws of physics to perform their magic, the rush to cure the virus that is so damaging to shifters and others, the backstories on the shifter’s defection, the fear for Katie, Cara’s pregnancy and Janey’s continued relationship with her dream friend and her efforts to ‘make nice’ with Kalin…it never ends!

Moira and Conn are wonderful together: he’s so very patient with her acting out, and she’s very used to being able to handle herself, and fight FOR what she believes in: will she be able to deal? In the meantime, she’s worried about Conn’s true feelings, unwilling to allow herself to feel for him. Newsflash darlin’! You already are head over heels for him, you just don’t want to admit it until he does. They are wonderful together, even if she is a bit harder to get to know and enjoy than the other mates. She’s that new friend you don’t quite know yet.

Karen White has gone above and beyond in this story: Moira’s Irish lilt and Conn’s decidedly alpha-warrior male, struggling to not appear smug in his “I Told You So”s are both spot on and never miss. This series and her performance are what each listener should demand of their audio: clear, concise, decidedly unique to the characters AND their personalities, with subtle inflection changes, pauses and insets, including one that I can only describe as a ‘verbal eyeroll” (parents of teens will know this one) that enhance and present the emotional elements, add to tension and provide readers with an “I’m there” feeling.

Hands down, one of the best combinations of action-packed engaging story and narrative performance that I have encountered, this is a series that is solidly setting itself into my favorites list.

I received an AudioBook copy of the title via Audible Communications for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.