Customer Reviews

Hunting Diana

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Diana, a 25 year old woman with spunk, desire and innocence, saved her virginity and her love for her soul mate. A vision from her grandmother Nina Lina foretells of her destined mate but when he turns out to be less than human, Diana must untangle the prophecy. Diana's father, the local vampire slayer, kills the beloved vampire Marek and the elders of Mina Cove hand down their judgment. The hunter will pay through his daughter. Lucian is ordered to carry out the sentence, but first, as a Guardian and protector of the innocents, he must first determine whether Diana is the lure that Frank Nostrum uses to entice the vampires into his deadly pen where the dawn rays of sunlight can burn their flesh. The discovery that Diana is Lucian's destined soul mate sets him on a complicated path to protect his mate, the community and also to discover the hidden dark forces behind the elders' judgment.

Orsini dares to tackle the issues of vampire paranormal romance in places where few authors tread. Whereas most sanitize or gloss over the blood issue, Hunting for Diana, is a hot romance both from the human and vampire viewpoint. Orsini's true skill shines just when the vampire element gets to the brink-of-no-return dark intensity for humans. At that exact moment, she brings the reader back into the modern human world with an almost Buffy the Vampire Slayer mode (but more risqué, eclectic and fun) with the perfect light humorous touch. Bravo!

The author alternates between the vampire legends complete with some shattering of traditional lore and shifts to the human modern world with amazing dexterity. The plot captivates and inspires late night reading sessions. The characters, both primary and secondary, linger in the imagination long after the last page. Hunting Diana is an intense family drama playing out like a Greek tragedy where the ramifications of a family drama reverberate beyond the nuclear family....but of course this is a romance, not a tragedy, which is all the better with a novel this intense and this memorable. Just the right timbre!

This romance contains graphic imagery not suitable for young readers or anyone searching for a light, frivolous vampire read. This book has been given a 5 star rating based on its literary merit, not the breadth of its audience suitability. This bold cutting edge paranormal vampire romance is destined to be a classic in the vampire canon. A must read for both adult vampire enthusiasts. Orsini has just raised the bar on the genre!

This is by far the best romance/horror/vampire book I have read. I could not put it down, an exciting page turner! A must read! Buy it now.

I'm not sure where the comma complaints come from, but I have to say that the writing style never tossed me out of the story. Hunting Diana kept me entranced from the beginning to end. Ms. Orsini's writing style drew me in and held me until the very end. I lived, I breathed, I loved, and I suffered with these characters. The world she built was believable and seductive. I wanted to book my vacation there.

Small typos are to be expected these days and are less common in Doreen's books than many NYT's best sellers I've read over the years. Even then, those didn't jump out enough to interrupt the flow for me. Grammar and comma cops will argue the finer points until the day print disappears altogether, so unless it is a blatantly gauche faux pas, I don't let the little things bother me. And as I found no such errors, I found the writing to be exceptionally fine.

Another winner, Doreen! Now I anxiously await the print release of No One But Madison and the future installments from Mina's Cove.

Shea McMaster

Right away I was pulled into Mina's Cove. Ms. Orsini's characters come alive with her words. Lucian is my fantasy vampire. Torn between his duty to the community and his growing love for Diana he must decide where his heart lies. Diana is a wonderful character. A young woman, an innocent, yet a strong sexual being, Diana must deal with her own desires and family conflict. When Lucian and Diana come together the heat just flows off the page. Hunting Diana is rich with scenes that will lead the reader from one emotion to the next. From anger to fear, lust to love. It's all there. This is one of the best vampire books I have read in a long time. Originaly I was going to wait for this to come out in paperback, but I couldn't. It was too good to wait for. This was the very first e-book I purchased. When this is released in paperback, it will find a home on my bookshelf. I am looking forward to the next installment in the saga of The Vampires of Mina's Cove.

I received Vampires of Mina's Cove: Hunting Diana (Book 1) as a freebie and generally enjoyed the story. The basic background premise on how Mina's Cove was settled is intriguing and certainly a diversion from other vampire tales. I won't go into the plot and summary as others have already done so.

The author's writing style is engaging and fairly straightfoward, and the plot is simple and easy to follow. There were some things that detracted from Hunting Diana, however.

- There were several mechanics and wrong word-choice issues, all of which threw me out of the story. Although not terribly numerous, there were enough instances of commas appearing for no reason or in the wrong spot to be distracting. The use of "accept" instead of "except," "their" instead of "there," etc, also showed up.

** MILD SPOILERS BELOW **

- The change of heart of Diana's father toward his mother and Damian was overly simplistic and not believable. It was also never explained how and where he recruited his crew to capture and kill vampires (eg, how did he convince them vampires exist?)

- One of Diana's defining life moments was when her mother apparently abandoned her. The truth behind that situation was dealt with essentially in a few sentences and no other information regarding the outcome of Diana's mother's life is given.

- It's never quite clear why the Elders forced Damian to mate with Olympia, or why they chose to ignore her obvious predilection to lie and create problems.

- How did Olympia find so many virgins to supply Lucian? And what happened to Olympia's minions, the twins?

- The settling of the town/village outside the city where the Slashers (partially turned humans) are dumped seemed convenient. Given the entire island's location is not too far from NYC, it's hard to understand why the place hasn't been discovered, especially if helicopters come by every now and then to drop off more Slashers.

** MILD SPOILERS ABOVE **

My verdict: 3.5 stars

I have read many Vamp stories over the years. I found this particular book intoxicating, sensually fresh with a delightful connection to Dracula myths and legends. This book is an enticing page turner from the first few pages. I was totally hooked, often turned-on and truly enjoyed the whole dark, erotic, vampire ride. Since I am also into the bdsm Lifestyle, I was intensely pleased with the touches of the lifestyle that I read.

Overall, this is a fantastic book worth more than the price that I paid for it. Doreen Orsini, I am looking forward to more... more ... more.

*Smiles* from a now bitten fan and smitten groupie. lol.

xoxoxo

What can I say, I loved this book. I love all Doreen's books for that matter. This is not your usual vampire story and the dilemma Lucien finds himself in sets up an emotional rollercoaster that had my heart pounding in parts and my tears flowing in other. Not to mention the raw sensuality of the sexual relationship that Diana and Lucien share. Again I say, I loved this book and I would recommend it to all who love a sexy vampire with a twist..

Based on reviews, I expected to enjoy this book. Didn't happen. My favorite part is the high quality paper it's printed on. Didn't like the characters, author made unsuccessful attempts to use "hip" language, & awkward wording.

SPOILERS *** The heroine is a 25 year old, horny, cock tease, virgin waiting for Mr. Soulmate to save her from masturbating every night (really). The vampire hero is a recovering addict of virgin's blood...his mother is described as holding down victims for him to rape and drink from (squick). But it's OK, because now he is some kind of good guy guardian...or something. Seriously couldn't force myself to read past page 50 & had to quit after the virgin heroine is described as clubbing and teasing the local male population for three straight nights, then I'm supposed to feel (sympathetic?) because she is forced to to resort to kickboxing to save herself from a man who attempts to take her up on what she's been so actively advertising...by this time I was ready to slap her myself.

The vampires of Mina's Cove are in an uproar and want answers. One of

their own citizens, Marek, was trapped in a pen by vampire hunter

Frank Nostrum and perished by burning caused by the sun. Now, the

whole town wants Nostrum to pay and their need for vengeance is at

hand. Their solution: make the hunter's daughter one of them. Who

do they want to do the deed? Lucian, the vampire Champion.

Lucian is still reeling from the death of his stepbrother Marek and

can't believe what he is hearing. The whole town is convinced that

Diana, the vampire hunter's daughter, was the one that trapped Marek

in the pen and allowed her father to kill him. Lucian knows deep down

that Diana is innocent and so asks the council to give him a few days

to find her and make her a vampire. That very night, armed with a

strip of cloth holding her scent, Lucian begins hunting Diana. He

finds her skinny-dipping at the lake and hides behind a hemlock bush

to watch her. Lucian thinks that he has his addiction for virgins

under control; he is mistaken and screams out his agony at wanting

Diana but unable to take her.

Diana Nostrum is at the lake that night with friends. She feels a

sudden charge of something akin to electricity but when she questions

her friends, they have no idea what she is talking about. Diana

figures it is just her imagination because she is so worried about her

grandmother's prediction that she would meet her soul mate tonight.

Diana feels someone watching her but continues to the edge of the

water. Giving in to the urge to sing and dance, Diana begins but the

horrific roar of a wild animal interrupts her song. Diana runs toward

the sound much to her friends' dismay and searches for the hurt

animal. She doesn't find anything but a shadow. A highly erotic

shadow that makes her insides melt, and arouses her beyond her wildest

imaginings.

After watching Diana for almost a week, Lucian is unable to restrain

himself any longer. He goes to Diana in the dead of night and what

starts out as sex, turns into something more with just one drop of

blood. Now the innocent daughter of a vampire hunter becomes the

hunted and Lucian has to do everything in his power to keep his

beloved safe; even if it means going against his family.

Hunting Diana by Doreen Orsini was phenomenal. Just when I thought

the story was going one way, it went another. I was on the edge of my

seat the entire time I was reading; so much that I couldn't put

Hunting Diana down. Lucian was lip smacking delicious and I cherished

his love for Diana. Diana was a strong heroine, especially when using

her kick boxing skills. I like how Ms. Orsini incorporated Diana's

talent into the storyline and made Diana self sufficient and able to

fight for herself.

Ever since I read No One But Madison I have been waiting on Hunting

Diana. I was not disappointed. Ms. Orsini has woven a unique vampire

tale that caught my attention and wouldn't let go. Books with

vampires usually aren't my genre of choice, however, with Hunting

Diana I completely forgot that one tidbit and just enjoyed a story

well told. This one goes on my keeper shelf for sure!

Talia

reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

The vampires of Mina's Cove are in an uproar and want answers. One of

their own citizens, Marek, was trapped in a pen by vampire hunter

Frank Nostrum and perished by burning caused by the sun. Now, the

whole town wants Nostrum to pay and their need for vengeance is at

hand. Their solution: make the hunter's daughter one of them. Who

do they want to do the deed? Lucian, the vampire Champion.

Lucian is still reeling from the death of his stepbrother Marek and

can't believe what he is hearing. The whole town is convinced that

Diana, the vampire hunter's daughter, was the one that trapped Marek

in the pen and allowed her father to kill him. Lucian knows deep down

that Diana is innocent and so asks the council to give him a few days

to find her and make her a vampire. That very night, armed with a

strip of cloth holding her scent, Lucian begins hunting Diana. He

finds her skinny-dipping at the lake and hides behind a hemlock bush

to watch her. Lucian thinks that he has his addiction for virgins

under control; he is mistaken and screams out his agony at wanting

Diana but unable to take her.

Diana Nostrum is at the lake that night with friends. She feels a

sudden charge of something akin to electricity but when she questions

her friends, they have no idea what she is talking about. Diana

figures it is just her imagination because she is so worried about her

grandmother's prediction that she would meet her soul mate tonight.

Diana feels someone watching her but continues to the edge of the

water. Giving in to the urge to sing and dance, Diana begins but the

horrific roar of a wild animal interrupts her song. Diana runs toward

the sound much to her friends' dismay and searches for the hurt

animal. She doesn't find anything but a shadow. A highly erotic

shadow that makes her insides melt, and arouses her beyond her wildest

imaginings.

After watching Diana for almost a week, Lucian is unable to restrain

himself any longer. He goes to Diana in the dead of night and what

starts out as sex, turns into something more with just one drop of

blood. Now the innocent daughter of a vampire hunter becomes the

hunted and Lucian has to do everything in his power to keep his

beloved safe; even if it means going against his family.

Hunting Diana by Doreen Orsini was phenomenal. Just when I thought

the story was going one way, it went another. I was on the edge of my

seat the entire time I was reading; so much that I couldn't put

Hunting Diana down. Lucian was lip smacking delicious and I cherished

his love for Diana. Diana was a strong heroine, especially when using

her kick boxing skills. I like how Ms. Orsini incorporated Diana's

talent into the storyline and made Diana self sufficient and able to

fight for herself.

Ever since I read No One But Madison I have been waiting on Hunting

Diana. I was not disappointed. Ms. Orsini has woven a unique vampire

tale that caught my attention and wouldn't let go. Books with

vampires usually aren't my genre of choice, however, with Hunting

Diana I completely forgot that one tidbit and just enjoyed a story

well told. This one goes on my keeper shelf for sure!

Natalie S.