Review: Hunger's Mate Part 1 by A.C. Arthur

Book Blurb: Half man, half animal, a Shadow Shifter must walk the line between predator and prey. Love and lust. And pure, blind hunger… A natural-born hunter proud of his birthright, Ezra Preston agrees to hide his true identity and pretend to be human to learn what his enemies know of his kind. But even undercover, it’s not in his nature to play games with a woman. Especially when he discovers a creature as mysterious—and utterly delectable—as Jewel Jenner. Can she be trusted? The only thing Ezra knows for sure is that she cannot be resisted…in Hunger's Mate: Part 1 by A.C. Arthur. My Review: 3 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Supernatural, Romance-- Ezra suffered sexual abuse for years causing him to swear off relationships regardless of his insatiable appetite for women. Jewel has been living a lie for the last three years, working as someone else to protect herself and her sick father. Ezra feels a pull to Jewel despite his reservations and her lack of interest returned. When Jewel’s past finally catches up to her, Ezra will tear down anyone in his path to help her. So this is the first part of a 4 part serial, making it about 80 pages total in length. I feel like there was enough character development and back story for each of the characters to get me interested and invested in their wellbeing. There was not a whole lot of action in this episode (for lack of a better word) more like it set the pace for what was to come and introduced us to the characters. Reading this went so quickly and the ending was a complete and utter cliff hanger. If you are looking for a short complete story, this is not for you. I had never read a serial before so I was not completely sure what I was getting myself into. The way the story ended was as if the reader needs to turn the page for the next chapter for the plot to continue, but there was nothing. I do feel like I have to pick up the rest of the installments to get the complete book. That being said, I am not sure I am a huge fan of books in a serial format. I personally would rather pick up an entire book for more money than lots of short less expensive books to make up the same thing. Also, I am not a fan of cliff hangers. It is a useful tool in a series I guess to keep the reader wanting for more and guarantee that they pick up the next book, but I just don’t like them. I have an issue with patience (in other words I completely lack it) and I don’t like to wait for more. I usually end up forgetting what was so all consuming at the time anyway so I don’t feel the anticipation like I originally did. I think for the moment I am over series, especially trilogies. Sorry for the tangent. Overall, this was a quick snippet into the world of the cat shifters that the author has done an amazing job of building. I have read one other book in the series and I have the same one complaint with this one as I did with that: there are too many characters to keep track of. I feel at times overwhelmed by all the side characters mentioned or involved in things and I have no idea how to keep them straight. To be fair, I did not start this shifter journey at the beginning of the series with the first book, but just a random newer title, so maybe that is why I am bamboozled by the character overload. Maybe sometime I will start at the beginning and things will flow better. Who knows? Oh and the books are HOT, with some kink and a lot of steamy thrown in, just an fyi. I received this title from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.