Vampires have always fascinated Kazan Korvic, so much so that she’s made it her life’s work to craft weapons designed solely to kill them. But when she is attacked and captured by an entire clan, Kazan’s fascination turns ferocious.
In their Citadel, Kazan is forced to attend the Vampire Court where she must act as their Queen. She is told that she will be waited-and-doted upon, until the end of her reign in three days’ time. Then, an extravagant and lavish feast will be held… where the vampires will consume their newly crowned Queen.
Desperate and afraid, Kazan finds no allies in the castle except for a pair of distractingly alluring vampires who seem sympathetic to her plight. But as she devises her escape plan, she comes to realise that she is not the only one who is trapped, and no one is prepared for how far she’s willing to go to survive…
I’d like to thank both Net Galley and Angry Robot Books, from whom I received an ARC of The Hunter’s Gambit. These opinions are my own.
I love the concept of The Hunter’s Gambit. The vampires are exactly as I imagine vampires would be. They live a life of opulence and they are truly vicious. Their annual mock coronation highlights their cruelty and disregard for human life and that aspect of the story is well-done and very effectively conveys the vampires’ callous nature.
I liked Kazan and was invested in her character, but I wish we had a better understanding of why she lies. I wanted to understand her better and I think the book could have benefited from a deeper exploration of her relationship with lying. At one point, she agrees to something, then changes her mind and apologizes for lying. But that wasn’t a deliberate attempt to deceive and I’d like to understand why she saw it as a lie. Otherwise, I loved how tenacious Kazan was and her defiance of the vampires and will to live in the face of incredible danger was admirable.
Adrius has a compelling backstory and his status among the vampires adds depth to his character, but I feel Reya could have been a little more developed, though I loved that she was a bit morally gray.
There was a spice scene that was several pages long but wasn’t as explicit as I thought it would be (because vampires are known for their debauchery) and personally, I liked that. It really worked for the story though and one of my favorite parts was that there was a question of consent/preferences before things got too hot and heavy.
Despite a couple personal issues I had the book, there are still aspects that resonated with me and made the story enjoyable, and I think complex world-building really makes The Hunter’s Gambit stand out.
The Hunter’s Gambit releases next Tuesday, June 25th!
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