THE HUNT

Author: Anne Marsh ISBN: 9780505528247 10/2009 PARANORMAL Publisher: DORCHESTER

No matter how they try to flee, the virgins who enter the twisting tunnels of the Guardians are destined to be caught. Actually, most don’t try too hard. The stories of warriors who can take on Cat form, of lovers who can make a woman scream with pleasure, are just too enticing. But Miu is no virgin, and she’s joined the Hunt with her own agenda. After she steals the moonstone necklace she’s been sent for, she has no intention of becoming some Cat’s tasty morsel. Too late she discovers these kitties have some deliciously kinky habits, and the dark hunter on her trail isn’t about to let impudent thievery go without punishment of the most exquisite kind.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Anne Marsh sets her paranormal romance THE HUNT on the three-mooned planet Egip (which is eerily similar to Earth’s ancient Egypt), in a temple with massive, shapeshifting cat guardians. It is the annual ritual called “the hunt,” where a group of virgins from the nearby valley community of poor farmers will try to run through the temple without getting caught by one of the warrior guardians. If they make it through, they get a dowry; if they get caught, they become the mate for one of the fierce cats, and their family gets the dowry. Miu has sneaked into the crowd of virgins in order to make a trip to the temple’s dungeon, where she is prepared to steal a moonstone necklace for her thief master to gain release of her younger sister. Unfortunately, she didn’t plan to be examined to see if she is indeed a virgin. She pleads her case getting out of the exam, but is tailed by one of Amun Ra’s best trackers. He knows she’s up to something, just not sure what. Little does she know that this tracking cat, Jafar, has decided that she must be his mate. Will she be able to beat him to the necklace and get back to her master in Shympolsk to redeem her sister? Another thing she doesn’t know is that Jafar has had a mate before, one that betrayed him and killed his friend’s mate. She‘s buried in the depths of the temple wearing her moonstone necklace; a necklace that allowed her to tear doors through space and time going from her world to this one. He was shamed and will not allow another mate to betray him.

Marsh creates a fantastical world, with characters and places that sound so close to the familiar but with her own twist on them. In this world, cats are not belled, but instead bell their mates, inserting a string of bells in a most erotic spot where their femis will always feel the mark of ownership. Miu has been trained by her mysterious master from the time he seduced her while she was still a young orphan. She has no idea that he has no honor; that this, her 100th job, which should release her from his mastery, will do no such thing. He has good reason for training and using her—she is part moon daemon, and her mazhykal abilities will help her steal the necklace and maybe even help him get back to his home world of Qaf. The worlds are revealed bit by bit and intrigued me to the end.

I love how fierce Miu is. She is strong, smart, and not afraid to use her cunning to get out of a fix. I also enjoyed seeing her vulnerabilities lead her to trust, however warily, Jafar. He is magnificent and has a lot to prove. He is an absolute love machine, and those bells add a whole new dimension to putting a ring on your love. He is so loyal to her that she can’t help but rely on him. And on top of all that, she doesn’t even flinch when he shifts into his massive cat form and whips out his claws. Meow! But as her mate, he demands obedience, and the punishment he metes out only turns her on more and more.

THE HUNT is non-stop action, whether it’s Miu and Jafar racing through the temple catacombs, fleeing his fellow cat guardians, or running to meet the thief master’s deadline in order to rescue Miu’s sister. Nothing the big cat does is subtle, leastwise claiming Miu as his mate and putting his mark on her. I think I’m going to have to hunt for more of Marsh’s books. Here kitty, kitty, kitty...

Susan Barton