2012-05-11

Review: The Hunt

The Hunt (The Hunt #1) by Andrew Fukuda
Release Date ~ May 8, 2012
St. Martin's Griffin ~ Macmillan
ISBN13: 9781250005144
E-galley received from publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:
Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?


With a title like "The Hunt" and a description involving the near extinction of all human life as vampires take over the earth, you'd expect an action-packed, wild ride of an adventure when you picked up this book.

But that isn't what you get. I had such high hopes for this book, but it just didn't quite get there. It is, however, a book with a very intriguing background.

  1. A story shrouded in mystery:
    The Hunt kept me guessing the entire time I was reading it, and I literally had no idea in what direction it would head. It was such a creative world, one that hasn't been overdone in YA yet, that I found most of it to be very unexpected in terms of development and plot. I really like books with good twists and The Hunt has one at the end that I found to be VERY surprising! All of my guesses regarding that character turned out to be wrong, so that was refreshing to read about :) nearly all the characters ended up different than how I expected them to be, and the story didn't involve the events I thought it would...
But that ended up being a great disappointment of mine. The Hunt largely features the build up and background of The Hunt rather than the event itself. I found that disappointing, because it lacked the action I was anticipating. The story was just frustratingly slow and uneventful. And I'm pretty much convinced that all the vampires who meet Gene in real life must be oblivious to not have picked up that he's human (which is even joked about. But seriously).
I wasn't impressed with much of the writing either; it wasn't bad at all, but I found that the writing style combined with Gene's character didn't nail the desperation and emotion that the situation warranted. I mean, Gene's a human constantly surrounded by vampires and he has to hide who he is just to save his life- that's KIND OF a big deal, but he just seemed so casual with it. I know he's used to doing this on a daily basis, but not to the same extent. It just didn't feel real to me.

Lastly, for a book that did do an excellent job of setting the stage for latter books I still felt that most of the world development was lacking. Things are thrown in (like hooking up with their elbows somehow) but they aren't explained. It's just accepted. But I kept wondering if I had misunderstood or misread something because I just didn't get it.

I have to admit though that I think the next books could EASILY redeem this series. I was so disappointed in The Hunt, but I think it's only going to get better from here on out! Fingers crossed.




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9 comments:

Angkarina said...

This one has been in my wishlist for ages and I was eager to purchase a hardcover of it after reading the summary.
But after reading your review I think I'll just buy the kindle edition, in the hope that it won't be too disappointing...
Thanks for the review!

angkarina_angkasuwan at hotmail dot com

franchie15 said...

Aww, Brenna! I'm anticipating this book too! It sounds really great. I mean, vampires are there. But they're taking over the world? Sounds scary and with lots of adventure. But with what you said, I'm having second thoughts. BUT. I'm quite intrigued. Don't vampires immediately smell a human who's around them? So I'm wondering how Gene had his way out! And I guess this is somehow good with your guesses wrong. It had you really into it. But I guess the writing and the world development didn't quite made justice for the characters since you didn't feel them. I think it's not good when a book just throw everything into the reader without explaining things! I'll have to see it for myself, I think!

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...

Bummer that you didn't experience the same rush i did. I loved this book and I am hoping book two does it for you. Nice review :)

Brenna said...

I've read SO many positive reviews of this one, so I really thought it would be great :( I think it's still worth reading, but I think the expectations I personally had for it were very different from how the book turned out. Probably the main reason I disliked it.

Anonymous said...

The "Don't Sweat. Don't Laugh." part of the synopsis made me crack up. I think I'll wait for you to read the next book in the series before I decide if I'm going to pick this one up. Thanks for doing the hard work :)

Lexie said...

Okay, it is SO good to hear that I'm not the only who wasn't crazy about this. The idea was so unique, but it just wasn't plausible at all, the action took 90% of the book to really take off, and it was super hard to relate to the characters. Very disappointing. :( But great review! I agree with pretty much everything said here.

ChristasBooks said...

Wow I'm surprised you didn't like this one. Everyone seems to have such great things to say about it. I still have to read it but your review has given me a lot to think about.

Kristin said...

I have seen a couple of reviews of this book just like yours, too much build up I have so many books to read I don't know if I want to add this one to my pile or not. Decisions, Decisions lol

Kristin @youngadultbookhaven.blogspot.com

Sverige said...

I was completely blown away by this book. The world that Fukuda has created is just so intricate and involved that I had no choice but to keep reading. It was beautifully crafted. Gene is perfect. He's strong yet flawed, and is constantly conflicted because he isn't a vampire and yet he can't see himself as one of the harmless hepers that have been raised in captivity. Also, he's a little bit in love with a girl that could tear him to pieces.

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