Rating: 4.5🌈
Arden Steele’s Hunter Hollow series continues with Beauty and Bad Blood. With some characters transplanted from the original series, Blackhaven Manor, we now have more paranormal stories about romance, mystery, and murder to get invested in.
This time, our new location is Hunters Hollow, owned by one of the Dragon siblings, and its township of mostly Otherlings. They tend to work for Ministry of Otherling Affairs in various fields. Now a new case has emerged and investigation team has been formed.
Among that team, newly arrived vampire, Agent Rogue. He’s among a team of MOA Otherlings agents assigned the task of finding what or who are killing young people , leaving them drained of blood.
Human Dylan Murray, true crime podcaster, is having a personal crisis. His best friend, Braeden, mate of nephillim Inspector Zarrik Cox, has been constantly telling him to come stay with them until he knows what he’s going to do next.
Two totally different personalities, one coffee shop, and one unassailable attraction. And several horrific murders to solve.
Steele’s narrative once again brings dramatic storylines to the fated mate trope. Dylan made an impression in Braeden’s book and he becomes an even more engaging, vulnerable character here. The author gives Dylan that layer of armor formed by parental negligence and emotional abuse that feels realistic along with a very real sense that he could still somehow get the love he wants.
Rogue’s backstory is not as fully explored but he’s a powerful character in the present. Especially as it pertains to his quickly evolving feelings towards Dylan.
Dylan’s reaction to Rogue and his actions, and how each handled their dynamics in developing their relationship was a good touch. Each side was open to communicating with each other and with other people. Absolutely beats the no communication approach in other situations.
I thought the mysteries and the murders were interesting but could have used further context or explanation. But that dramatic scene? Heart breaking, emotionally. No way around it.
Nothing that came later could take away from the power of that moment. And frankly, from there, everything was anticlimactic. I enjoyed the rest, but it was already over.
I can’t wait to see what and for who the next book is for. I’m sort of rooting for the new head elf Bastille. You never know. Steele keeps surprising me.
In the meantime, if you’re not already familiar with this universe, you can catch up by reading these in order . See below. Or go all in and go way back to the original series, read all nine books and join in the migration to Hunters Hollow!
I’m highly recommending them all.
Hunter’s Hollow:
✓ Angels and Anarchy #1
✓ Beauty and Bad Blood #2
Connected To:
Blackhaven Manor series-9 books
Blackhaven Manor9 booksArden Steele
Buy Link:
Beauty and Bad Blood (Hunters Hollow Book 2)
Blurb:
When a young woman turns up dead on the banks of the river with half her blood missing, vampires are the obvious suspects. Rogue Masters, however, doesn’t think the case is all that open and shut. As a special agent for the MOA Intelligence Division, it’s his job to find the truth. To do that, the last thing he needs is distractions.
So, of course, the most tempting distraction he’s ever seen strolls through the door of the local bakery, not just flipping the script, but rewriting it completely.
Stuck in a rut and drowning in his own insignificance, Dylan Murray needs a change. For starters, he needs to make a clean break from his selfish and demanding mother. It’s also probably a good time to swear off men, at least until he can get his life back on track. Spending some time in Hunters Hollow with his best friend is exactly what he needs to turn things around. The small town is quiet, a little boring, and completely free of the drama that plagued him in the city.
Now, if he can just stop thinking about a certain sexy vampire with penetrating eyes and a devilish smile, everything would be perfect.
Navigating the ups and downs of any new relationship is challenging. Doing so while searching for a killer will test more than just their commitment. When the worst happens, and Dylan joins the list of humans to mysteriously vanish from the French Quarter, Rogue will do whatever it takes to get his new mate back safely.
Even if that means becoming the very monster he’s meant to be hunting.
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 