Review: Hunter's Prey by Moira Rogers

Hunter's Prey 
(Bloodhounds #2)
by Moira Rogers
ebook, 174 pages
Published March 6th 2012 by Samhain Publishing
ISBN 1609285751
Courtesy of Author

Ophelia retired from life as a prostitute, but her new position is even more complicated. Managing the bloodhound manor in Iron Creek is difficult and time-consuming, a job she enjoys less with each passing day. Then there's her inconvenient attraction to Hunter. The newly turned hound seems eager to enjoy her company, but wary of anything more intimate.Having survived the violence of his first full moon out of a cage, Hunter isn't looking forward to his first new moon. Ophelia offers to be the woman who sates his needs during the three long days of sexual fury, but he can't abide the thought of hurting her in a state of mindless lust. Especially since she longs to settle into a respectable life, and his needs are anything but respectable.Their mutual goal is simple: avoid entanglements. It's a solid plan, at least until a vampire drug lord and a couple of nosy Guild representatives force them to work together to defend their friends and everything they hold dear-including each other.Warning: Contains a mostly feral, vampire-hunting hero and a tough survivor of a heroine whose retired-hooker heart is more steel than gold. Also included: dangerous frontier intrigue, fancy brothels, mad-scientist weapons and a good dose of wicked loving in an alternate Wild West.

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Crystal’s Thoughts:
Hunter’s Prey is the follow-up to Moira Roger’s fantastical Wilder’s Mate and the second novel in their western paranormal series with a steampunk twist, the Bloodhounds. 


Hunter has survived being caged and forcibly turned into a bloodhound by vampires but can he make it through his first new moon as a free man? For a bloodhound the new moon means three days of an insatiable sexual appetite and if those carnal needs aren’t being fulfilled Hunter will go mad.  Ophelia, Satira’s friend (Wilder’s Mate) who was once a working girl, is now managing the bloodhound’s house and she is the only woman Hunter wants but he refuses to satisfy his needs with her for fear of hurting her. But when she ends up being the only one the beast inside him accepts will he succumb and if he does will either of them be able to walk away afterwards? 
Ophelia’s new position is a little more demanding than she expected and her attraction to the bloodhound, Hunter, who doesn’t seem to want anything to do with her, does not make it any easier. 
When vampires start enlisting humans and running drugs through Iron Creek though, Hunter and Ophelia must work together and confront more than just their enemies. 


I love this fantastical world that Moira Rogers has created with the Bloodhounds where the old west and the paranormal collide. Throw in mechanical horses, un-reliable elevators and space-aged weaponry and you get a unique ride that you won’t want to get off of! 
There is a lot of tension between Hunter and Ophelia. Hunter feels that Ophelia deserves so much better than him, a monster, and ignores his attraction to her for as long as he can. I’m not quite sure why Ophelia originally tried to deny her feelings for Hunter but by the time the new moon came around I was starting to get a feel for her and believe in her actions. Ophelia is exactly what Hunter needs, someone who can teach him how to get through these new experiences and help him like this new self he was forced to be. They balanced each other well and their time together during the full moon was beyond hot – wowza! 
Some action surrounds the romance with vampires, drugs and corrupt humans as well suspense in the form of two bloodhounds sent by the Guild to check out Hunter’s stability and the death of their best inventor (Wilder’s Mate) who was secretly turned into a vampire and hides in the basement. 
Though Hunter’s Prey took me a little bit longer to get into then Wilder’s Mate I still enjoyed the read. All of the characters and the series arc are intensely captivating and I look forward to more installments! 

Rating: 4 Wine Glasses