Customer Reviews

His Darkest Hunger

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jaguar Shifter Jaxon Castille has one objective. Find and kill his former lover, Libby Jamieson. He has been hunting her for three years, ever since she betrayed the anti-terrorist unit they both belonged to resulting in the death of his cousin, and then disappeared without a trace. Vengeance is all he's thought about for three years and now the moment of truth has arrived.

Deciding to face Libby before he kills her he soon realizes she has no idea who he is, she is poor health and something is very wrong. When a sniper takes a shot at him in the diner while he confronts Libby, Jaxon realizes he has been set up and he is the target. He also realizes that his feelings for Libby are far more complicated than the anger and hatred he's harbored the past three years. Instead of killing Libby, he takes her to his compound where he assembles his former teammates to track down and discover who has put out a hit on him and what it has to do with Libby.

Juliana Stone has written a story that truly encompasses the saying, "There's a thin line between love and hate." Jaxon is angry to the point of hatred toward Libby but at the same time is fighting his physical attraction to her. Disgusted when his body responds her to, he becomes angry and at times takes his frustrations of his own weaknesses out on her. He seems torn between his dedication to vengeance and romantic feelings he thought died with Libby's betrayal.

Libby also feels some attraction to Jaxon, but has no idea if they had a relationship in the past. She is confused by Jaxon's hot and cold behavior as he rides a range of emotions from lust and occasional tenderness to anger and animosity. She seems to think he is the key to helping her regain her memory and is basically at his mercy. She feels herself being drawn to him, but then put off by his conflicting behavior.

Once Libby begins to regain her memory and the true circumstances of her betrayal and disappearance come to light, not only must Jaxon face his enemies but also the deeper feelings for Libby he has masked with his anger for so long. However with the return of Libby's memories comes the strength and determination of her former self. Jaxon is not the only one with enemies and she must find a way to face her enemies and to reclaim something taken from her far more precious than her own life.

Although the sexy Jaxon is pure alpha male, and quite a hero, Libby steps up as an amazing heroine in His Darkest Hunger. Based on her behavior early on in the story, I thought I'd be reading a story with a helpless heroine needing to be saved by the big aggressive alpha. However Libby is revealed as a strong, capable and very likeable heroine that does a little saving of her own. She and Jaxon become a very nice compliment to each other as they battle their enemies, realize things are not always as they seem, and discover a love that runs deeper than either of them ever knew.

The action is fast paced and the fight scenes are exciting with a nice mix of hand to hand combat and magic. What I really liked is although there is plenty of alpha male goodness, it's the women who really step up and kick ass when it counts. Go girls!

His Darkest Hunger is an exciting, sexy, fast paced tale of love and betrayal. Juliana Stone has created a dangerous and interesting paranormal world with characters that are flawed, but redeemable that will leave you looking forward to the next book in the series.

I was supposed to be working at home today. But then this book - the book I read the first few chapters of online and then immediately ordered - was delivered to my door. And I didn't do any work.

There are so many - too many - shifter romances out there these days, and most have little to distinguish them from each other. This one is wholly original, and is not bogged down in too much world building, or too much focus on the magic of it all rather than the story.

I could pick the book to pieces and complain about word usage, a few too many adjectives, or other minor things. But when it comes down to it, I read this in one sitting, and I simply couldn't put it down.

Juliana Stone has created a supernatural world that exists very closely with ours. Shifters and other supernatural people work for government security agencies. Jaxon is a jaguar shifter, and Libby is a human who worked with his unit. She disappeared for three years, after an apparent betrayal of Jaxon and the rest of the team, and now that she's finally been found, not only does she have no memories of the past, but she has clearly been tortured for a long time.
There's not much that can top a story where the hero wants the heroine dead! I might be sick and twisted, but with that as the opening hook, I knew I was going to love this story.

I loved both lead characters in this book. Libby can be damaged and frightened and yet still find her strength. Jaxon is wonderful, but conflicted and angry enough to make him interesting.

Stone does an excellent job of something so many other authors - including popular series writers such as Kresley Cole - have not managed to do. She has created a complex world and yet manages to explain it without a single information dump. The story never once lets up to give us pages of detailed explanation of how the world works. Instead we learn things as the story goes on, as we need to know them. This was incredibly well done. My hesitation with starting new paranormal series is that they usually come with too much unnecessary world building. That isn't the case here.

There is another book coming out in this series later this year, and I have already ordered it.

He had impatiently waited three long years for the right moment to kill his former lover for betraying their antiterrorist team; her seditious actions led to the death of a team member. Now in Winterhaven, jaguar-shifter Jaxon Castille begins his assassination of his former human lover, Libby Jamieson.

Jaxon easily enters her abode and knows he could kill the human traitor before she would even know he is there. However, something does not feel right with what he observes of her; so he hesitates on pulling the trigger. Instead of the Libby he knew, he realizes she is a tortured shell who remembers nothing. Taken aback by her amnesia and his damn feelings Jaxon brings his former teammates together seeking the truth, but remains unaware that the deadly predatory DaCostas clan stalks each of them.

This is an enjoyable urban fantasy starring two lead characters whose acrimony and animosity towards one another seem greater than the love each tries to conceal from the other. The world of Stone is a foreboding grim realm that enables the audience to believe in shapeshifting clans. Although the exciting story line has some shaky moments, readers will appreciate this dark fast-paced tale of betrayal.

Harriet Klausner

For the seriously addicted, you will more than understand.

'His Darkest Hunger' has the PERFECT amounts of Angst, followed through with exact needed amount of HOPE! Some books have too much and not enough follow through with the other.

Ms. Stone has created a story that from the 1st sentence lays the Angst out. Internally you are 'awwwwwww-ing' and 'ohhh-ing'. SHE perfectly throws in that much needed ray of HOPE, thus forcing you to turn that page.

You HAVE to know!!!! You are so taken by her characters, Jaxon and Libby, and the heartache that has plagued one of them, that you are left drooling for, what happened? Why did it happen...OMG!!!

SO be warned, once you start, nothing else will be going on until its done.

I've already visited her website to MAKE sure that who I hope is up next...is!!!

5-Stars without a doubt.

Pefect amounts of love, angst heat, lust and sorrow create the perfect tale of a heart wrenching love story with paranormal twists.

His Darkest Hunger

Juliana Stone's debut novel His Darkest Hunger is an absolute jem. Paranormal fans will love this adventurous, spellbinding, dangerous tale with plenty of passion!

Our heroine Libby Jamieson is a waitress. Well, at least she has been for the last two months. Before that? She finds that she can't really remember anything from her past. Yet, her former lover Jaxon Castille knows. Libby once worked with him on a team known as PATU (Paranormal Anti-Terrorist Unit). Their affair had been something that affected them both deeply, but then Jaxon discovered Libby betrayed their unit on a mission and played a significant part in the death of his cousin Diego. It has been three years since Libby and Jaxon have seen each other and he has only one thing on his mind: Libby's death. He has been order by PATU to assassinate Libby and after their rocky past, he is happy to enact his revenge. Little does he know, Libby has absolutely no idea who Jaxon is.

Jaxon realizes something isn't right and delays ending Libby's life until he can figure out what it is...or until Libby receives her memory back. It doesn't help matters that now someone if after them, wanting to kill them. Is there a higher power at work against them? Jaxon reunites the PATU team to find out, and together they realize nothing is what it seems. The more time Jaxon spends with Libby, the more his feelings for her emerge. He also realizes there is more to Libby's betrayal and the reason she has no memory, something no one ever expected.

The twists and turns throughout this story are why it's a fantastic read. His Darkest Hunger is the kind of book you pick up and don't put down until you finish. If you love paranormal and shape shifters, chances are you will enjoy this irresistible novel. It's an original story that grabs you in the beginning and pulls you along for a perilous, emotional adventure. The silent, heartfelt connection between the main characters will give you chills and bewitch you with its sincerity.

Libby was such an interesting character. The first half of the book she has no memory of her past, which is why Jaxon initially frightens and terrifies her. She doesn't understand how Jaxon could be so angry with her, why it feels like they have a past, and the reason she feels such a magnetic attraction to him. The point where she reclaims her memories is a true moment to behold. She transforms into a brazen, confident force of strength. Nothing and no one will stand in her way.

Jaxon is the alpha hero you have no choice but to swoon over. You can't help but find his macho, kick-butt attitude as the ultimate turn on. He mentality is to shoot first and asks questions later. All of this is why his attraction to Libby is so disconcerting. Libby shakes up his entire world, and while Jaxon wants nothing more than to hate her, he can't ignore his reaction to her. Jaxon is the loner who thinks he can never give his heart to any woman because it would be too dangerous. Which is ironic because Jaxon never appears to be intimidated by anything or anyone. He can take out any obstacle in his way except the woman who holds his heart.

The story is mysterious at first and action packed until the end. Libby and Jaxon share a past and a passion that both of them have to work to overcome. At times, it's a painful story filled with plenty of heartache because of the obstacles theses two individuals go through. Jaxon shuts himself off from his feelings for Libby because of her betrayal. When Libby has no memory of her past, she feels vulnerable, alone and scared. This is a novel about both people changing for the better, but first they have to face the truth and their feelings for each other.

Overall Rating: 4/5
Heat Level: 4/5

Lisa @ Once Upon A Chapter

Very good read IF one is looking for a paranormal love story with LOTS of action and suspense. The paranormal elements blend in in a believable way (they work for a CIA type government agency that expressly uses paranormals) rather than making up other-world scenarios to create the suspense. The relationship between Jaxon and Libby is heart-rending. He is bent on revenge for what he thinks is a bitter betrayal, she has amnesia and remembers nothing. That may sound a little far fetched but as the story develops their reasons and what they do with them are really well done. They are also what makes the story so riveting.

For those who like their sex scenes steamy, this is a doozy, multiple three to four pagers. For those "skippers" like me, it's a lot to jump but if one is willing the story is worth it.

Jaguar shifter Jaxon Castille has waited 3 years for the chance to get this revenge against the person who betrayed him and caused the death of his team mate. He has finally found his former lover, Libby Jamieson, and he plans to make her pay. But the Libby he finds is only a shell of a woman that Jaxon remembers her to be and she has no memory of who she is or what she has done. Before Jaxon has the chance to question Libby, someone attempts to take them both out. As the search for who is trying to kill them both continues, Jaxon's hostility towards Libby begins to waver the thought of anyone hurting what is his is not acceptable and he will do anything to keep her.

Jaxon and Libby first meet when she is assigned to his paranormal antiterrorism unit or PATU. Their relationship isn't all roses and puppies but is wild and full of passion. Though Jaxon deeply cares for Libby, he will not give her a commitment and leaves to go on a mission. While on his mission Jaxon's team is attacked and his cousin is killed. He quickly learns Libby is no where to be found and knows that it was her that betrayed him. It takes him 3 years to find her and when he does he notices something is different. Where there was once a beautiful, confident, fierce woman now stands a scared and scared girl. When he confronts her Jaxon learns she has no memory of anything beyond 2 months ago.

Libby has no memory of anything. Not even the tall, dark, handsome and very pissed off Jaxon who keeps saying she has done terrible things. When someone shoots up the diner she is working at, Jaxon takes her back to his head quarters where she meets a practitioner of magick and a vampire who are just as angry as Jaxon to see her again. Even as Jaxon gives her menacing looks, she can't help but feel some recognition towards him and as her memories start to come back she reveals something not even Jaxon knew.

I really liked the relationship between Libby and Jaxon because they aren't the 'everything is wonderful' type. Even before Libby's memory loss they fought often but it always ended in bed. Libby is the type of woman that when she walks into the room everyone turns to look at her and she knows it. She's smart, won't back down from a challenge just because she's human and can kick ass with the best of them. She loves Jaxon but when he would not give her any type of commitment, she is prepared to move on. Jaxon is alpha all the way. He is carries special warrior tattoos that makes him deadly even among the rest of the jaguar kind. When it comes to Libby there are emotions there he doesn't want to name and after his teammate is killed he feels absolute hate for her. Yet when he sees her again he can't bring himself to kill her and when he learns about what happen to her, he wants to tear all that hurt her apart.

I really liked His Darkest Hunger and wish I hadn't taken so long to get to it. It moves at a really good pace and runs high on emotions. Even before Libby gets her memories back you can feel the heat and chemistry between her and Jaxon. Know matter how angry they get with one another these two were meant to be together and have to travel a very difficult road to get to that point. Their relationship isn't rushed but instead time is spent healing old wounds and getting reacquainted with one another.

This book has a bit of everything. Shifters, vampires, dark magic, action, a love story, suspense, special ops and the list goes on. Jaxon's teammates Declan and Ana aren't the main focus but still manage to stand out in a book rich with memorable characters. The journey to find those responsible for what happen to Libby and who also after Jaxon leads them deep into Mexico and into a battle not every one may walk away from. Jaxon isn't the only hot shifter in this book. His older brother Julian and younger brother Jagger are very much alpha too and each have their own demons to battle. I look forward to both of their books.

Jaguar shifter Jaxon Castille has spent three years waiting to extract his revenge on his former lover Libby, but when Jaxon finally catches up to her he finds not the vibrant sassy human who was a member of his paranormal special ops team, instead Libby is a frail broken woman with no memory of her past. As much as Jaxon wants to hate Libby for her betrayal, his instincts demand that he protect her. And as Jaxon's team comes under attack once again, it becomes imperative that Jaxon help Libby recover her memories and to find out if Libby truly is the enemy or something much more dangerous - his mate.

I like shape shifters, so the Jaguar shifting Jaxon was right up my alley. At the start of the story the shattered Libby inspires a great deal of sympathy for what she suffered and Libby becomes even more interesting as she goes through a dramatic transition/recovery, but Libby is so focused on her goals that she definitely has TSL moments.

The rest of the supporting cast offers a great deal of potential for future books - more shifters (jaguars and eagles), a mage and a vampire. With all the good stuff going on I expected to like His Darkest Hunger more but I thought the writing style was a bit on the dramatic adjective heavy side and the ending felt kind of abrupt (like "here's the HEA get those leads out of here so that we can get on to the next book"), so the book ended up more on the OK side.

Libby Jamieson can't remember anything except pain and fear and that is only from the last two months. Everything else has disappeared from her memory just leaving scars and questions that Libby can't answer. She exists day by day until the evening a sexy, dark man sits in her section of the restaurant and all heck breaks loose - literally.

Jaxon Castille is a jaguar warrior - that is a shifter who was born with markings to make him a warrior and an assassin in order to protect his clan and those he is charged to protect. After a personal hunt that has lasted three years, Jaxon has finally found the woman he has been searching for - his only desire is to kill her like the assassin he can be. At the last minute something makes him stop his kill shot and to investigate instead. That decision will change both their lives forever.

Unsure what is going on, Jaxon decides to take Libby with him and starts to put people and things back together the way they were before the day three years ago Libby disappeared and a team member was killed. The team begins to discover things right away but it only leads to even more questions on what happened so long ago. A couple of things are for sure, someone(s) wants to take out Jaxon and Libby, and their passion never faded when anger showed up. On the run again Jaxon and Libby search for answers for the last three years, and hopefully Libby's missing memory before their enemies catch up with them again. But when the pieces begin to fall into place and answers are found, will it help matters or just raise more and harder questions? And what of the love that was stolen away three years ago?

Death leads to anger and hatred where passion once ruled. His Darkest Hunger brings two lost lovers back together again with explosive results. Libby's memory is exactly two months long. Jaxon's memory is long and as strong as is his determination to destroy Libby for the destruction of his team and betrayal of him. I was swamped by the emotional waves that surrounded Jaxon and Libby from the minute they met until the last page. Their roller coaster involved life threatening danger, smoldering passion, anger and mistrust - and that was just the beginning. Jaxon and Libby's story had a strong hold on me and I finished it in one day. The inventiveness of a fresh world that used parts of mythology, paranormal and the contemporary was a combination I couldn't resist. His Darkest Hunger has red hot passion, deadly danger and a instinctive hunt for the unknown that makes it an absolute must read. It is also Joyfully Recommended by me with the hope that the next book isn't too far away so none of us go crazy with the wait

Jo
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

If you are a fan of the `Jason Bourne' movies, then imagine him with the preternatural ability to shape-shift into a black jaguar with extraordinary strength, cunning and hunting instinct, and you have the hero of "His Darkest Hunger" Jaxon Castille. Not only that, sensuality literally oozes from his pores and he possesses an aura that is dark, extremely powerful. Jaxon is a jaguar warrior, a predator who is the descendant of an ancient race created by the Aztecs through dark majick. Jaxon has a magnificent physique, and clan tattoos that color his left shoulder and curve down around his abs. There is something frightening about Jaxon that as a reader I found literally palpable, I think that it is how Ms. Stone has characterized his nature, his jaguar claws at him just below the surface, he is a hunter, cold, calculating and lethal, and, he is an elite assassin.

Jaxon is the leader of an covert government `paranormal antiterrorism unit' (PATU) and works with team members, Declan, a powerful practitioner of magick; Ana, a three hundred year old vampire; and Cracker, a lethal ex-military man whose heritage is a mystery. Three years before the opening of the story in a secret operation gone wrong, Jaxon's shifter cousin, fellow team member and Ana's lover, Diego, was murdered. Jaxon's lover Libby Jamieson, a human, and a member of PATU was felt to have betrayed the operation. When the team returned from the mission, Libby had vanished off the face of the earth. Jaxon has hunted for her for 3 years with one objective, revenge.

An emotionally and physically frail Libby and has no memory of her life before she arrived in a small town in Michigan 2 months earlier. Prone to anxiety and panic attacks she is functioning minute by minute working in a diner, owned by kind elderly, Pete who took her in and cared for her. Little does Libby know but Jaxon has her in his sniper site, and is ready to end her life.

As Jaxon watches Libby through his scope waiting for the right moment to `take her out' he senses something isn't right. She is thin, favors her side and appears emotionally and physically exhausted, frightened, not the strong, kick ass, operative he knew intimately. It is because of this sense of unease that Jaxon abandons his sniper post and heads to the restaurant, to evaluate her face to face. Where has she been for the past 3 years? What happened to her?

Following a hair raising action scene Jaxon takes an agitated and terrified Libby to PATU headquarters where what is learned from a medical examination very nearly brings him to his knees. Libby has been tortured and abused physically and emotionally over an extended period. In addition she is under the influence of a mind block from powerful black majick that has caused her amnesia. My heart broke for Libby, Ms. Stone portrays, her fear, panic, confusion, and embarrassment graphically. I could feel Libby's disorientation and terror and wondered how Ms. Stone was going to effectively mould her character given the horrors she had endured. However, as the mind block lifts and Libby's memories come rushing back, a strong, determined, capable and extremely angry woman emerges. Libby wants vengeance against her captors and she blames Jaxon for what happened to her.

The relationship between these reacquainted lovers is complicated and evolves slowly over the course of the story. I will say the love scenes penned between Jaxon and Libby are spontaneous and nuclear grade hot before and after her memory returns. In spite of bitter conflicts between them there is a primal draw that neither can resist. Jaxon particularly has commitment issues because of his heritage which you will have to learn about by reading the story if you choose to.

Libby gives Jaxon directions to her captor's lair and the team embarks on a perilous mission to stop the spread of a malevolent, treacherous evil. This story is littered with exciting action scenes from start to finish, which are skillfully integrated into a plot that has a number of suspenseful, surprizing twists and turns, for me this read was a page turning rush.

Strong well developed supporting characters are introduced including Jaxon's two brothers Jagger and Julian who are also powerful jaguar shifters but each unique in their own way. Ms. Stone crafted some excellent world building into the narrative and the riveting climax and conclusion of "His Darkest Hunger" sets the stage for the next book in the series, "His Darkest Embrace" which is Jagger's story.

If you enjoy a fast paced, dark paranormal romance with elements of black ops military suspense, you may like to give "His Darkest Hunger" a try. I am so looking forward to "His Darkest Embrace".