There are a handful of characters that have the ability to completely undo me, the Hunter is one of those. The emotions that he evokes in me are unbelievable! Perhaps there might be something wrong with me....he IS a ruthless assassin afterall. But I see beyond his exterior, I see his humanity, I see beyond his deeds, beyond the fact that people drop like flies when he confronts them and see a gentle soul, so tortured, so desperate to eliminate demons, so desperate to find a daughter he never knew existed, so desperate to FEEL, to have a family. Well I've officially adopted him into my book family! And no one messes with my family....
Soulhunger has quieted, no longer are the voices shouting constantly for the Hunter to kill, it's purpose is to purely to collect souls, and to help the Hunter fullfil a promise. But his sword, the sword of Nasnaz is a new threat, worse than Soulhunger, the bloodlust is immense. In this book a softer side of the Hunter is exposed, don't get me wrong, he's still incredibly dangerous and deadly, so I'll whisper this softly lest he hears me, he's learning to trust! Unbelievable, right? He's hidden behind masks, both literal and figurative for so long, his fear is real. Kiara sums it up perfectly "we're afraid that when the masks come off and others see the real us beneath, they'll be disappointed". Yet it cannot be denied, he has opened himself to a select few and the warm feelings he gets, take him by surprise. His relationship with Kiara is complicated to say the least, but it's real, it's so beautiful to see Kiara have such a positive effect on the Hunter, but mostly I love how far Kiara is from the Cecilia we first met her as. A dream character, I simply adore her.
I was thrilled that Ilanna and Ria were prominent in this book, their dynamic is so cool! And that they get to actually meet the Hunter, well, what can I say, I was just propelled to book heaven! And they work together to uncover who and why people are showing up dead, children included and we all know how much the Hunter loathes child murderers... What they discover is way more nefarious than they though, a cult with the most bizarre reasoning. Capturing a demon, they have the unenviable task of transporting said demon halfway across the continent, all while facing down battles, physical battles as well as the battle to keep the demon contained.
Really exciting, really tense, really emotional. And such vivid colourful prose, how's this for vivid, " it's as if a rainbow vomited over a flock of parrots". This series is one of those that refuses to let go, that shows how easily the author can draw one in with the immensely impressive worldbuiding, the steady pace, characters to fully engage with and a plot to die for, whoa, not literally, but you get what I mean. What is crystal clear is that you need to get this book and series!