| Title | : | Wild Hunt (Shadow Guild: Wolf Queen #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 276 |
| Publication | : | First published March 22, 2021 |
Despite ten years of secrecy, Lachlan has figured out that I’m his mate. And he’s not pleased that I’ve been hiding from him. It’s hardly my worst problem, though.
There’s a killer after me. Multiple killers, if our source is to be believed. And they’re determined to find me. As much as I want to run a hundred miles from Lachlan to avoid the mate bond, it’s too dangerous. I need his help to find the people who are after me, and there’s no way he’d let me go, anyway.
As much as I hate it, we’re going to have to team up to stop a madman. The hunt forces us into close proximity, and despite our best efforts to resist each other, it becomes harder every day. Fate seems determined to have its way, and what it wants is for me and Lachlan to be together.
Wild Hunt (Shadow Guild: Wolf Queen #2) Reviews
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This is second in a UF series, so you at least want to read the other one first.
You know what to expect from reading the first. This one has more Lachlan and that's not an improvement. His whole "emotions bad" schtick frays a bit with extended proximity. Like, is "emotionless" really a good leadership quality for an alpha? Like, his people like this about him?
Anyway, the plot holds together and I still like Eve. Though, to be completely honest, her motivations need some shoring up, too. I mean, "avoid your mate or you'll die" is a bit vague, if only because it doesn't including anything like a reason or, say, time limit and it has been ten years. Also, that's ultimately a negative motivation* that stands in addition to Lachlan's own, self-imposed, idiocy.
So this is a strong three stars but the drag is starting to show a bit. I really hope the next story has some forward progress on some of these irrational limitations they've placed on themselves.
A note about Steamy: There's an explicit kinda sex scene putting this on the lightest of my steam rating. It was short and not terribly, erm, sexy? But, sadly, that made it fit the story and characters where they are at this point, so there's that...
* Negative Motivations: I kind of hate that the term "negative motivation" isn't widespread, yet. Since it isn't, I'm going to save off this little jag to append to my reviews that feature the term.
Jennifer Crusie blogged about it a bit back (or, if that link doesn't work,
here's a cache of the original) and it changed how I understand story. The problem with the term is that if you've never heard it before, you'd assume it meant motivations that are harmful or immoral. Not so. What it refers to is motivations not to do something. The thing is that many of us are motivated to not do things for a lot of different, perfectly valid and reasonable, reasons. The problem is that in a story motivations to not do things are a huge drag on the plot—particularly considering the fact that most negative motivations are overcome by the character simply deciding they don't care any more (or, rather, that they do care and are now motivated to do the thing). So not only do you have a counter to action but you also have a situation where to overcome it, all a character has to do is change their mind. Which means eventually, the reader is rooting for the character to get over him/herself already and do the thing we want them to do. Conflict drives story. Conflict between a reader and a main character drives readers away from story. -
OK this one also ends on a cliffhanger her. And I’ve got more questions than answers. And some things that happened in the story don’t quite make sense. I think I’m done with the series. I had some promising aspects but not enough to keep me continuing. I am more confused and befuddled.
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Hall continues writing an interesting, action-packed series!The heat level aka sexy time is not high in this read. Hall makes up for it in her storytelling and her impeccable secondary characters.
Lachlan was a bit weak for me in this book. There is a secret he is keeping from Eve (and vise versa) I feel should have been revealed in this book. This secrete is taking to long to come to fruition. The inability for him to take charge of the mating tends to make me view him as a weak Alpha. More dominate and at times cave manish MCs I find more appealing. This may turn around in book 3 and I may see myself back in lust with Lachlan.
As I said earlier, Eve has a secret she is keeping from Lachlan that IMO should have been made known this book. Their fight to keep the mating bond from solidifying is another sore spot for me. By book two its time for some steamy scenes and some lust making at the least.
Storyline is wonderful! Secondary characters rock! Looking forward to book 3!
Happy reading,
DD 💕 -
Get it here:
Amazon US *
Amazon UK -
It was a bit better than the previous book, but I'm still not impressed.
It's a skimming sort of read, I wanna know what happens next, but I don't really have the patience to read each word.
I'm sorry, I still think there's an issue with the writing style, not the plot. The idea is good, the characters have potential, but nothing more than that. The cliffhanger is a good thing though, it makes me wanna see what happens next.
I had all the books in the series, or I don't think I would have bothered to get the other ones.
Still, it's decent and better than my first read from this author. Will see what's next. -
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2.75 stars
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1 Star - DNF at 20%
Spoilers ahead -
This book starts with Eve being trapped in Lachlan's tower. Lachlan locked her away because someone is hunting her and he wanted to make sure she stayed safe and close to him, especially after he found out they are mates. Eve's familiar, Ralph, helps her escape and she quickly uses her potion to disguise herself as fae again. She goes back to the Shadow Guild and after being attacked (and Lachlan saving her) they realize the two of them will need to work together to solve this mystery. Especially since Lachlan's supposedly dead brother is involved.
I did not remotely enjoy this book and couldn't finish it, which is disappointing because I have enjoyed some of the other books in the Shadow Guild series. The plot is incredibly weak and I'm not sure why I should care that a random person is trying to capture Eve. Barely anything is revealed about this person trying to take Eve, so again - it's hard to even care. There is way too much left unexplained - there are so many plot lines but NONE of them are adequately explained to the reader.
For example:
- Eve has no wolf
- Lachlan is fighting against the dark moon curse (or at least he's concerned that it MIGHT happen to him someday)
- A seer said Eve will die if her and Lachlan accept their mate bond
- Someone is hunting Eve
- Garret (Lachlan's dead brother) is also alive and hunting Eve. Likely working with the other dude trying to hunt her.
- Eve is a bit of a mess - Lachlan was mean to her/she ran away and has no family/she is trying to disguise herself as fae/she seems super unhappy and confused
All these these plot lines are going and while they don't have to be totally connected this all feels especially disjointed and half baked.
I don't particularly care for Eve and Lachlan's relationship. Eve almost acts indifferent to him. While Lachlan is trying to push her away because he wants to keep his emotions locked down - he still seems to care for her and does want her as his mate. There is a scene where Eve and Lachlan are finally alone and she immediately says she would rather be fae and denies he is her mate. Lachlan goes ahead and says fine and then Eve gets mad because she apparently wants him to fight for her. It's absurd and so childish. Eve and just the plot of this story seem so juvenile. There is basically 0 romance so far. I thought this during the last book too but I wish we were shown the scene when a seer apparently tells Eve that she will die because of her bond with Lachlan. This reason for Eve's hesitation means nothing to me because we barely received any information about it. I actually keep forgetting that it's a thing. It's a problem when I'm 20% through this book (along with completing book 1) and there is 0 connection between the 2 main love interest characters. And the plot simply isn't interesting enough to make me what to read this with the absence of a love story.
And can we just talk about her raccoon familiar, Ralph. This whole character is ridiculous. Are all familiars raccoons?? Because Carrow already has Cordelia and this really feels like a weird rip off of that (I didn't even like Cordelia, but ok fine if you must. Adding another raccoon - unacceptable lol). Also, does a person's species not matter when getting a familiar? To me this is a very unnecessary addition. I think any situation where Ralph is helping Eve would be greatly improved if it was one Eve's actual friends supporting her or helping her. -
Four and a half
Oh my this book just ran away like a juggernaut on speed ! It literally starts with Eve held captive by Lachlan but you know she's not going to stand for that and luckily with the friends she's made she doesn't have to. Pursued by Lachlan Eve seems to go out of the frying pan and into the fire as a tall, dark , mysterious stranger also tries to kidnap her ! I mean come on give the poor girl a break ! Ok breathe everyone because he may be her reluctant Mate but Lachlan will quite literally fight tooth and claw for Eve. Just why is Eve a target and does it have anything to do with her lack of shifting ability ?
A fabulous instalment to what is certainly turning out to be a really good, fast paced series. These characters certainly hit the ground running and whilst there isn't perhaps the degree of mythology here that readers have come to expect its still a book that shows the author has certainly done her homework. I loved the supporting characters and I'm intrigued by Lachlans brother although old favourites add much to the fun. I'm just a little confused why it seems nearly every heroine written by this author has to have a familiar because I associate them with Witches. It's a minor bug bear though as this couple whilst not exactly setting the pages on fire completely actually do have chemistry and as this book progresses the couple are left with an absolutely ginormous problem but my lips are sealed.
This voluntary take is of an advanced copy and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair -
I liked it
3.5
Woooow just when things start to go up and down the ending makes me smile really wide and wanna skip right to the next book lol
I like the writing. Sometimes I get impatient but I’m grateful that the story is so to the point with some background noise and fauna to make it pretty. I’m officially a fan of the world that’s been created and I like the thing between Eden and Lachlan (yikes had to think about his name for a hot second). It’s always cool to see people question the mating bond because it makes their getting together that much yummier. Her thing and his thing are both reasonably terrible situations and I’m excited to see what happens next. -
Bloody good.....
Loved the book can’t wait to read the next one.
I loved every character in this book, had me sucked in.
I was at the edge of my seat when they were all fighting, chemistry,
The storyline just went on in such a way that kept me on the edge of my seat. So, so, much happens. I didnt want it to end.
That ending tho 😱😱 -
A nice follow up, develops the plot well, can't wait for book 3! (I know this is probably the most boring review I've written but that's all you're getting sorry)
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It was good enough that I succeeded in reading it.
But not enough to drag me from the reading slump to write another proper review. -
I love it. Really need to start in book 3. 😇 now further with my ARC of heartshock by Estalyn.
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wild hunt: 1/5
i wanted to give this series the benefit of the doubt. i shouldn’t have. -
Ugh, the first one was better.
I was stupid excited to read this after really loving the first one. But it just felt like it was missing something. It didn't have the same energy. Also no one really had to work at anything; if they needed something it magically appeared or suddenly someone knew someone who knew what to do. There were also grammatical errors and sentences that looked like they were part of a previous version that got cut. They distracted me and suddenly I was looking for them instead of enjoying the story. I don't know if I'll get the third book when it comes out and that makes me really bummed because I was so looking forward to this series. -
LOVE IT! NEED BOOK 3 ASAP! 😍
Eve and Lachlan are off the charts! 🔥 Their story gets better and better. All the twist, turns and mysteries. My head is spinning! They figure out one thing and a bunch more things pop up. I was not expecting that twisting shocker with Garreth! Mind blown! 😱🤯 The clock is ticking while they are racing to find out who is after Eve and trying to find them before they find her. Why are they after her and what does that dark creepy guy have planned? What exactly are Eve's powers? That was the mother of all cliffhangers! I can't wait to read what happens next! I also love the bits of history that Linsey incorporates into her books. She weaves it so flawlessly into her stories! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 😍💙 -
Bring your parachute for the cliff hanger ending!
This is the second book of the Shadow Guild Series (see Once Bitten if you want to read Carrow's story and the series from the very beginning).
This book focuses on Eve. She's a shifter without the animal inside her to shift into, and after hearing that she was fated as a mate to Lachlan, leader of the Shifter Guild, and that this would end in her death, she ran away and learnt a potion to become, for all intense and purposes, Fae. Only now her secret is out and she and Lachlan have to work together to find who wants her, whilst fighting fate and their feelings for one another.
As the quote below shows, they might eventually win the fight, but not all the battles:
'He drew in a shuddery breath, then untangled my legs from around his waist and stepped back. ...
“That was a bad idea.”
Embarrassment flooded me, and I felt my cheeks burn.
“It was good,” he said. “Too good. Too dangerous.”
“Yeah.” I closed my legs and jumped down off the counter, still not feeling any better about the situation.'
There are several moments when they almost give in to their desires and the tension is palpable. But, as the title suggests, they are on the hunt for Eve's would-be abductors and they cannot give in to these desires lest Lachlan fall prey to the dark moon curse and should Eve lose her life too.
However, despite the seriousness throughout the book, there are moments of comedy that give the reader a smile. My favourite one being when Seraphia (see Infernal for Seraphia's story) is looking through books in the library and her partner, Hades, is there.
Hades
I hadn’t seen him in a while. ...
“He came to help look,” Seraphia said.
“I came for lunch,” he said, ...
“Well, this was what you got.” Seraphia shot him a smile ...'
Linsey is a master with her imagination, thoughts and words and this is another fascinating, fast pact story to read. Her characters are all well written and believable with their own struggles to deal with. Despite most of their issues being magical, we the reader can still relate and emphasise with them.
Let's also not forget the comic relief from their trusted familiars - Eve's being the chocaholic chubby raccoon, Ralph. He may demand payment in chocolate for helping Eve out, but he'd never let her down or leave her to face dangers alone.
I love that Linsey always adds interesting factual history to her stories and I am enjoying that she's adding the tunnels under London in these books. As a reader of mostly American authors, it makes such a refreshing change to have first hand experiences of the places she writes about - I may not have been in the tunnels, but it's still great that I know London and can easily relate.
I always end up reading her notes at the end of the book and find myself looking into the places she talks about to learn more for myself. Who'd have thought you'd get some real education from reading a fictional book! Nice one Linsey, keep it up ;)
My only complaint, if I had to have one, would be that I wish the stories were longer - although you still get a great read and don't feel anything is missing - but I would love to see the partners of the other women getting involved more and maybe also having a say, as these guys are all alpha and despite being with strong independent women, from reading their stories you get the distinct impression that they would love to be with their women whilst they go to battle. Their protectiveness wouldn't allow them to sit back and do nothing - although, having said this, Grey was there with Carrow in this book!
This is another great, well written story from Linsey Hall. Her stories are imaginative and fresh, no rehashing the same story over again with just slight changes from Linsey.
Wild Hunt does not disappoint, although it does end with a slight cliff hanger and I cannot wait until April for the next release.
Finally, I would like to thank Linsey Hall for the hard work she put into this, and every one of her books. I would be lost without these amazing stories to read. -
An interesting adventure.
Interesting twists and turns, with more of Eve’s history playing into the narrative in this book. Love the friendship between the Shadow Guild, Ralph is annoying but growing on me, and we finally get to know more about the nebulous villain, and get a taste of his plans. Still finding the Lachlan-Eve situation tedious, but thankfully those moments are brief and spaced out.
3.5 stars ⭐️ -
Middle book syndrome
I did enjoy reading this book but I felt like this book was just full of fetch quests. I have a sinking suspicion that you could get rid of this book and not miss anything. It feels like a lot of the info is just given and then not needed later or that some returns are just fan service for previous readers which is hard to appreciate if you have started with this series. I’m still pretty invested but was a little stunned that this series is going to be 5 books. I hope the other middle books don’t fill like fillers. -
Linsey Hall strikes gold again
Like all of Linsey’s books, this one did not disappoint. Can not wait to find out what happens next for Eve and Lachlan! -
I love this series!!! The way this one ended, I need the next book right away!! I need more of Eve and Lachlan!!
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I am enjoying this series so far.
I love how the plot evolves and how the characters grow.
And I absolutely love the cameos of the other characters in the SG universe. -
I loved the first book, this one was just ok for me. It was written very well, great plot, laugh out loud moments...BUT the interaction between the two main Female and male characters was lacking for me. As was the chemistry between them. I was SHOWN some heat and chemistry but I didn't really FEEL it. Also, for an alpha, THE alpha, I didn't think Lachlan was much of one at all. The magic potion he drinks to make him unfeeling... Makes me also feel "unfeeling" towards him. He's pretty bland and one dimensional. After book 2, besides 2 times they kissed and one quick and fast O session for her rubbing on him, their relationship didn't progress and his character development didn't happen either.
Eve, I liked! Loved Ralph and her friends too! Plot is interesting but I don't know if I'll read book 3. I don't care for or about Lachlan or the romance part of the story line. -
2.5 Stars
In my recent review of book one I said I was a mood reader and that that book hit the spot for me at the time I read it but I knew at another time I would have been irritated by or disliked certain aspects of the book and that is exactly what happened once I started book two. Now that I have finished two books it is glaringly obvious the pattern is either: a) a clue is found, someone (cameo appearance by a character who has their own series) knows someone who can tell us about it so let's use a teleport charm to go see them and the oh-so-interesting location that you can read more about in their series or b) Eve has a potion for this exact scenario we find ourselves in (even though said potion was never mentioned or used in previousl situations where it would have been applicable too).
Oh, and let's not forget Eve and Lachlan are fated mates and Lachlan said one mildly negative sentence about her when she was fifteen that keeps getting brought up for why he sucks so bad. Despite being told how much they feel their bond to each other, and an extremely brief and very tepid kissing+ scene, I don't feel their connection or passion for each other at all. His protectiveness toward her is the strongest part of the romance so far, and it gets lost in all the side trips, cameos, cheesy raccoon antics and endless potions.
To be fair, I have been in a real crap mad so the negatives are glaringly obvious in my review but there ARE positives, of course. I finished the book, first of all, and quickly because it is fast-paced and hardly any errors (though more than in book 1). I DO like the idea of Guild City and the different charms and potions and all the different paranormal species and their power structures but I really wish that whole world was built stronger and deeper, as they are just ideas the way it is written. Admittedly, that would completely change the tone and pace of this book to do so, and I get that is not the intent for these fast-paced, breezy reads. This is a very light, very young-skewing urban fantasy, and I definitely have to be in a different mood than I was when I read this second book. I kind of want to see what happens, and what the full extent of Eve's new powers will be, but definitely not enough to slog through three more books of the negatives I mentioned above. I might skim through them at some point, we shall see. -
I will never read a book that ends with a cliffhanger unless the sequel is out or the series is complete.
But, also me, 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑯𝒖𝒏𝒕 by @linseyhallauthor is out and I can’t wait for the third book so yeah sure, I’ll torture myself.
The plot thickens, and we’re left with even more questions than when we started. Lachlan and Eve, along with the rest of the Shadow Guild (those ladies are BADASS!) are trying to solve the mystery of who sent and was controlling Lachlan’s brother and who is after Eve.
We know now that both characters are hiding their own secret, the reason true reason behind denying their bond. The double POV in this case, I think, took away from the potential of extra angst. We, as readers, we know exactly why they’re going against fate but they don’t know why the other is fighting it and that is driving me crazy!
I believe Eve’s storyline progression was the highlight of this book. Again, although we are left with SO many new questions, we are steps closer to discovering what she truly is and the source and extent of her powers that were put to the test here.
Despite what Lachlan is going through, the consequences of being so close to Eve, and what is at risk for him, he is extra protective of her. It started out as controlling but he soon learned to work with her to protect her. Being a team. I loved how slow their relationship is developing. It feels realistic, cautious but at the same time the chemistry they both are trying to fight is intensifying with every minute they’re together.
I really liked how well the Shadow Guild and the pack are working together. Talk about one hell of a dream team! And I ABSOLUTELY adored the trip Eve and Lachlan took back to their pack’s homeland in Scotland, the land, the castle and the seer… it all added an extra layer of magic.
If I pray to the stars real hard tonight, can we get the third book sooner than later?
PS. I met Hades in this book and I AM GONE! -
RATING:3 STARS
Linsey Hall’s second installment in the Shadow Guild Wolf Queen series, Wild Hunt, ends on another cliffhanger like the first book. Eve and Lachlan are reluctantly working together (while still fighting their mate bond) to learn more about Eve’s past and why she’s being hunted.
Eve and her familiar Ralph are awesome, but I’m still not sold on Lachlan. I get that he’s very loyal to his pack and that’s admirable, but I don’t get how being emotionless is a good trait for an Alpha. Good leaders listen to their heads and their hearts. Lachlan has effectively cut off any input from his heart. I’m also still not really sure how the whole mating bond and curse works. Why has their clock started ticking down now after 10 years apart? There is definitely some tension between them (there is one teeny tiny scene with mild steaminess levels) but for the most part, both of them do their best to limit any romantic interactions.
The secondary characters have always been one of my favorite parts of the Shadow Guild books. First of all, I love how amusing each of the familiars is. They each have very different personalities and help inject some humor and levity into the story. I also love seeing how supportive the other members of the Shadow Guild are to Eve. They always have each other’s backs, as evidenced by the fact that they help her break out of the Shifter Guild’s tower in the first pages of the book. I think the Shadow Guild would be evidence that quantity is not always better than quality.
I hope the pace of the other books in the series picks up, as I want more action and to not be left with a bunch of questions at the end of the book. I also want more romance between Eve and Lachlan, as I’m positive they will end up together at the end of the series (given that’s how all the other Shadow Guild books turned out).
