#Review: Hunter Reborn by Katie Reus - 5 Wine Glasses

Title: Hunter Reborn
Series: Moon Shifter Book 5
Author: Katie Reus
Format: eBook, 368 pages
Published: February 3rd 2015 by Signet
ISBN: 0451417968
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N
Reviewer: Linda
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 5 out of 5 Wine Glasses

Losing her was the hardest thing he’d ever endured... 

Warrior shifter Aiden’s investigation of the trafficking of vampire blood leads to a startling discovery: the beautiful vampire bondmate he thought was dead. Decades ago, they’d defied their powerful families to be together, but then Larissa disappeared without a trace. When their mating link broke, it nearly destroyed Aiden. Now she’s back with no memory of where she’s been. Even more shattering—Larissa claims she has no idea who Aiden is.

Now she’s back... 

It’s a race against time to bring down an operation more evil than his pack ever suspected, and Aiden finds himself working side by side with a mate who no longer trusts him—and she wants out. But he lost her once, and he won’t let her go again. Unfortunately, Larissa’s blood is the key to a powerful monster’s dangerous plan—and he’ll stop at nothing to destroy her, sparking off a war between the supernaturals and humans that no one will win.

Linda's Thoughts:
"Larissa's father was Vlad Dracul? Vlad Tepes? Vlad the fucking Impaler?"
Tepes translated meant "the Impaler," something Connor clearly knew.
"Yeah."
Surprising him, Connor let out a loud laugh. "Man I bet her family just loved that she mated with a shifter."
A weight on Aiden's chest lifted at his Alpha's reaction. "You have no idea."

HUNTER REBORN by Katie Reus is the fifth book in her Moon Shifter series. I've been a fan of Katie's romantic suspense tales for a while, but this was my first foray into her paranormal romances. I 'm happy to report that I loved both the characters and the story. There's oodles of chilling intrigue and thrilling action spiced with steamy sex and just the right addition of humor. I absolutely have to read the rest of the series now as I've fallen in love with her Moon Shifters!

HUNTER REBORN works very well as a standalone. At no time did I feel lost while reading it. Even though I haven't read the prior books, I was drawn in to the story right away and didn't want to put it down once I started it!

This was primarily the story of wolf-shifter Aiden Nicholl and vampire Larissa. They were both genuinely awesome, well-developed characters who I could easily relate to and like. When they initially met, matings between shifters and vampires were unheard of. Aiden was a wolf shifter from the Armstrong-Cordanna pack. He was the epitome of a tortured hero having found and then quickly lost his bonded mate one month after they'd bonded, over 60 years ago. In actuality, she hadn't died. Her parents had objected so much to their mating that they had put her in stasis breaking the bondmate link to Aiden. Now... 60 years later, while he was on a case at a vampire nightclub, Aiden felt his bondmate link snap back into place just as he spotted Larissa. 

Larissa was a bloodborn royal from the Danesti line, one of the strongest, most powerful lines of vamps. She was even more impressive as she had inherited some special gifts from her mother. She was truly a fiery spitfire but I would expect no less from the daughter of Vlad the Impaler. I loved the flashbacks Katie treated us to of Aiden's and Larissa's time together way back when. Those lookbacks included one pivotal interaction with her parents where she showed her spunk and commitment to Aiden: “We love each other and we’ve made our choice. Either live with it or don’t, but we’ve done nothing wrong. If anyone is being foolish, it’s you. 

Not only had Larissa been "asleep" for 60 years, but her prior memories had been stolen. Can you imagine re-awakening after so long? Cell phones, computers, TVs, cars... all our modern day technologies were foreign to her.

Supporting characters were engaging. Teresa's and cowboy hacker Ryan's romantic-side-story was really good. I loved both of them too. Katie filled in just enough of the other characters' histories so that I could appreciate their appearances in this book. I'm sure that IF I had read the previous books, I would have been happy dancing at all of their re-appearances and interactions. 

The villains were despicable and formidable. I actually had to put the book down and walk around a few times as I found myself gasping for breath with the extent of their heinousness.

Following please find a few of my favorite quotes:

He shook his head, those dark eyes searching hers. "I can't help it. We're bonded, Larissa. I've loved you since the moment we met and that feeling never died, even when I thought you had. The fact that you can't remember me, remember us, kills me."
---

The ten-year-old shifter wore long flannel pajama pants and a T-shirt, his blond hair sticking up everywhere in the most adorable way. "No, I'm thirsty. I didn't mean to both you --"
"You're not bothering us," Teresa interjected. Ryan didn't seem to want to let her go, but she didn't care. She needed distance from this male if she wanted to think straight. "I just stopped by to ..." Her brain chose that moment to malfunction. She couldn't even think of a decent lie.
"To kiss Ryan?" the boy asked, all innocence. 
---

She licked her lips once, drawing his gaze to their fullness. "Will you kiss me? I want to see if it helps me remember."
His cock pressed against his jeans at the question. Hell yeah, he'd kiss her.
"Where do you want me to kiss you?" he murmured.

One of my favorite scenes centered around a conversation between Larissa and Aiden. Their witty bantering gave me a case of the warm fuzzies: 

"I had no idea you could dance so well." Larissa linked her arm through Aiden's as they left the local pub.
A few drunk men stumbled out behind them, singing offkey as they headed in the opposite direction.
"You shouldn't be so surprised considering how well I dance between the sheets," he murmured, his seductive voice wrapping around her like a warm caress.

Katie's writing is first rate, as always with strong, compelling characters and well-orchestrated suspense that builds up to an overflowing plateful of danger. I was astounded by the surprising twists and turns I never ever saw coming. Needless to say, I found this book to be extremely addicting. I highly recommend HUNTER REBORN to anyone who enjoys a fast-paced, action-packed paranormal romance. I can't wait to check out the rest of the series!