Night of the Huntress (The Brotherhood of Blood, Book 2) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathryn Smith (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 30, 2007

Bishop has been a vampire for 700 years and though he wishes nothing more than to live his life in peace, getting humans to believe that vampires are not monsters is a difficult task, and vampire hunters like The Reaper make it even more difficult.

Believing that a vampire killed her mother, Irina leads a band of vigilantes, determined to rid the world of these monsters. What no one knows is that Irina herself is half–vampire. Determined to deny that side of her, Irina captures Bishop, believing he can lead her to the vampire responsible for her mother's death. But over the course of Bishop's captivity, secrets about Irina's past are revealed and she soon learns that what she has always believed to be true is anything but. Now Irina and Bishop are in a race against time as they fight for their lives––and their love.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Kathryn Smith never disappoints!" -- NYT Bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon

A wonderfully original author." -- NYT Bestselling author Lisa Kleypas

About the Author

My husband says I have the best job in the world. The only thing that could top being paid to do what I love is if Avon Books decided that all their authors had to be hand-fed chocolate by Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, or John Cusack. But my husband probably wouldn't think so much of my job then, so instead I'll let him feed me chocolate and go on being forever thankful that I have the best job—and husband—in the world.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060849916
• ISBN-13: 978-0060849917
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #715,716 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in rural Nova Scotia -- a beautiful piece of the earth, but there wasn't much going on. My mother used to tell me stories and encouraged me to write my own when I was very young.

My first book was 372 hand-written pages about a rock band that sounded (and looked) suspiciously like Duran Duran. I know, I'm dating myself! At that point I was already stealing my sister's romance novels and had fallen in love with the historical genre. Anyway, it was many years later, during a return to university, that I would attempt to write a romance novel. My boyfriend (who I later had the good sense to marry) urged me to return to school and 'write that book', so I did. That book, Elusive Passion, sold to Avon Romance in the summer of 1999. It was published in 2001, and I'm proud to say that since then I've written more than 20 books, many of which have made national best seller lists (including the USA Today list) and have been translated into more than half a dozen languages. My goal is to write until I'm dead. Preferably leaving this world draped over a keyboard. :-)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Vampire Tale - Sensual March 1, 2007

By M. Rondeau VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

In the second installment of Kathryn Smith's foray into the paranormal with her "Brotherhood of the Blood" series, she continues to delight this fan with distinctive prose along with a dazzling sensual action romp.

In NIGHT OF THE HUNTRESS, Bishop comes face to face with the Halfling vampire Marika whose sole passion is to slay all vampires in her quest to find the one whom she's been told killed her mother. Initially, Marika thought of Bishop as just another monster to be rid of. While Bishop who thought to have buried his heart 300 years before, was moved by the beauty and courage of the little dhampyr, so much so, that when Marika was threatened, it would be he who would save the vampire slayer. Later they would both discover that the bigger monsters would prove to be human with very evil intent.

Kathryn Smith has been an auto buy for me for some time now, to a certain extent because she knows how to really write some very HOT and sensual scenes. That is only part of the reason though, as she exemplifies these scenes with terrific action, fully developed characters whose emotional struggles give credence to their purpose in the story. Marika was torn wanting to have the love of her father and though she was half-vampire herself, deep down thought to gain his love by slaying the monsters that she was told had deprived him of his beloved wife. Discovering the care Bishop had given to the grave of his long dead wife, Marika began to rethink her assessment of the soullessness of the monster she had intended to slay and realized there was more to him than she realized.

Having read several vampire stories before, I am always amazed at the creativity of the spin Smith put out of how these six soldiers were originally turned into vampires.... Additionally, setting the story in the period of 1899 with references to Bram Stoker's Dracula certainly made for entertaining reading. While this second book has been my introduction to her paranormal series, I definitely see myself going back to pick up the first volume BE MINE TONIGHT, and look forward to enjoying the entire series as it is released. Always entertaining Smith has hooked me again with this new series. Very much recommended.

Marilyn Rondeau, for CK2S Kwips and Kritiques Read more ›

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another keeper from Kathryn Smith! January 30, 2007

By AndreaW

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This second book in Kathryn Smith's highly acclaimed Brotherhood of Blood series does not disappoint! Night of the Huntress is absolutely fabulous!

** He is Bishop, a vampire. She is Marika, a vampire huntress. Bishop is looking for a friend while the Huntress is looking for him. When Marika captures him, she learns that he is not only a vampire, but also a man. They soon realize that they must work together to defeat a common enemy: the Order of the Silver Palm.**

This story is full of sizzling passion, heart-stopping emotion, and edge-of-your-seat action. Bishop and Marika are strong, admirable, memorable characters who are absolutely perfect for each other. Kathryn Smith's writing is flawless and is well on her way to becoming one of the greatest romance authors of our time!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars More like 4 1/2 stars March 31, 2008

By Deborah Wiley VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Marika Korzha has dedicated her life to eliminating any vampire she can find. She seeks one in particular- the vampire known as Saint. She is unable to resist a deal to capture a vampire named Bishop, as she is told he will lead her to Saint. Little does she know that her meeting with Bishop will change her life....

Bishop is not like the other vampires Marika has met. Instead of seeking to attack and kill the innocent, he seems to want to protect. Is he playing a game with Marika or is he truly different? Bishop will have to do everything within his power to demonstrate to Marika that he isn't the monster she envisions all vampires to be.

NIGHT OF THE HUNTRESS is the second book in a series. It is easily read as a stand alone as the circumstances of Bishop's conversion are explained through the eyes of Marika, who is unaware of his history with the Blood Grail.

Kathryn Smith really hits her stride with NIGHT OF THE HUNTRESS as she begins to fully flesh out the hints of a conspiracy first seen in the first book. The background behind the individual who hires Marika is fascinating as it unfolds and kept me riveted to the pages of the book. The conclusion is powerful in its intensity and leaves me wanting to read more of this series just to see where Ms. Smith intends to go with it.

Kathryn Smith takes the vampire legends and puts her own clever spin to them. Unlike the first book which focused more on the romance aspects, NIGHT OF THE HUNTRESS features more about the vampires, particularly focusing on the vampire slaying and the secretive association opposing Bishop and his friends. NIGHT OF THE HUNTRESS is easily recommended for fans of the vampire paranormal genre.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars WOW!! It was really 4.5!! February 4, 2007

By S. Woods VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is the second story in Kathryn Smith's vampire series. Bishop is one of the five original vampires to drink from the Blood Grail, and is a direct descendent of Lilith. Because he drank directly from the grail, he is considered a pure-blood and is very powerful. This makes him very valuable to a sinister organization known as the Order of the Palm.

Enter Marika, a half-vampire/ half-human(dhampyr)huntress, who's hatred of her vampire half fuels her desire to destroy the undead. She's been hired by the Palm to capture Bishop. The Order of the Palm ultimately wants Bishop to lead them to the other pure-blood vampires. In fact, they already have one of the vampires (Temple) in custody.

Marika's encounters with Bishop ultimately leads her down a path of love and self-acceptance.

This book was amazing! It was a huge change from Chapel's story (Be Mine Tonight,) which in my opinion, was a bit dry. I get this impression that Kathryn Smith completely re-worked her blueprint for this series. The change from Chapel to Bishop was amazing.

In Chapel's story, you are under the impression that the idea of vampires are largely folklore by scholars and people with huge imaginations. You somewhat suspected that the only vampires are the five or six knights who drank from the original Blood Grail, and whoever they chose to turn. In this story however, there are LOTS of vampires. Not only do people not know they exist, but several times in this story, vampires attacked whole villages. And, there are vampire hunters, attempting to destroy them.

You also discover that vampires are NOT the only "otherworldly" creatures in this world. In Bishop's book, we discover, that there are werewolves, faries and heaven knows what else.... Who knows whatelse may pop up in Kathryn Smith's next story!

While I considered Chapel's story dry and predictable, Bishop's story was anything but! I read it in a day and a half. I couldn't put it down!

There were some minor inconsistincies.

1)How could Bishop's blood cure Marika of Nosferatu, when Nosferatu was able to change Dreux?

2)It was mentioned several times in this book that Bishop is one of the strongest vampires due to his pure blood. Yet he was afraid of a Nosferatu who was only just created? I would have thought experience (Bishop is 600 years old) would have come into play here. It seemed a little preposterous.

Still, this was a great story. While there are lots of paranormal stories, there aren't a lot of good authors to pen them. Lately, I've been avoiding them, but I'm so glad I didn't pass on this story.

Kathryn Smith is now one of these authors that I'll be on the lookout for. Read more ›