Hunterland is the first book by Dana Claire that I have read but I do plan on checking out more of her work. Hunterland is also the first book in what I hope to be a new series. Hunterland has a lot of different paranormal creatures just waiting to make their appearances.

Hunterland kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end wanting to know what was going to happen next. The mystery and suspense kept the pages turning. The descriptions were so vividly written that I had no trouble picturing them in my head. I love the world that has been created for Hunterland. I can’t wait to read more from this family of hunters.

Liam Hunter and his family are hunters. They hunt paranormal creatures of all kinds whether it be vampires, zombies, ghosts, or whatever. Wherever they are spotted that is where they go. Liam and his family have been called to another high school where one of the teachers was found hanging in the hall of the school.

Liam meets Olivia Davis, a student at the high school and one of the first people to witness the awful crime scene. Upon their meeting, Liam and Olivia appear not to like each other at all. But that soon changes when they hook up. Then they are back to hating each other once again. What is up with these two with their on-again, off-again relationship?

Hunterland was a very enjoyable and fast-paced read. Once I picked it up, I couldn't stop reading it until the last page was read. It drew me in from the beginning and held me captive.

I would recommend Hunterland to all paranormal creature fans! Grab your copy of Hunterland today!

When I first seen the cover and read the summary...I knew I had to read this! Plus I am always up for monster hunters!

Liam Hunter has hunted pretty much every monster you can imagine. From vamps to agonized spirits. Through the Hunterland message board, Liam and his family go on another mission. Nurses are dying at high schools across Wisconsin. They look like suicides but super fishy indeed. The trail leads to Falkville Falls High where Liam will clash with Olivia Davis whose family seems to be embroiled in this mess of a mission. Olivia's mother died years ago and she is left to mother her little sister while her father works. When the Hunter family rolls into town....her eyes will be opened to whole different and scary world.

This is for sure a book you won't be able to put down! I finished this in just a couple of sittings. I had to know all the mysteries. And yes, there are a lot running around in this.

This did have some Supernatural-feels but in a YA world which was fun. Some parts are super, duper YA so keep that in mind.

I did have some issues with Liam. There are some times I really liked him, but there are some times when he rubbed me the wrong way. I'm sure I would've reacted like how Olivia would! He def deserved her ire! I think that boy needs a quick kick in the romp! Maybe he'll grow up more in the next book? He is oh so mature in so many ways....but in others? Nope.Immature and annoying. He was just a bit too much sometimes.

Honestly, it was nice getting a duo narrative so we could learn more about Liam and Olivia and see things from their point of views.

It was also nice seeing the character development and relationship building between these two. From Olivia and Liam at each other's throats...to being partners....to being friends...and then something more. They still have a way to go since they are both guarded (esp Liam) but it is sweet seeing their love grow slowly.

OH.MY.GOODNESS....the ending!!!!! HOW CAN YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS??????? I am so invested now! I need to see what happens next!!!! GAH!

In the end, I did really enjoy this. I had a hard time with Liam, but I enjoyed the story even when I wanted to kick his butt. ;) So many mysteries, so much action, lots of chemistry, and so many monsters! I'll give this 4 stars.

I loved this book so much! I’m a huge fan of supernatural/fantasy novels, and this one did not disappoint!

The Hunter family reminds me a bit of the Winchesters without feeling like the same thing I’ve seen before. They’re a family of hunters of supernatural beings and when they meet the Davis family, magic happens.

The characters are brave and dynamic and the small town setting is a perfect place for everyone to come together.

For me, 4 stars means an incredible book. It means a book I am thrilled to have read and one I will recommend far and wide. I give out less than 5 5-star reviews per year, so understand that when I give 4 stars it is a high distinction.

This was fantastic!! I was hooked from the very first page and it didn’t let go until the very end. The characters had me gripped because they were so lifelike and relatable, and I genuinely cared what happened to them. I loved the supernatural aspect, but also how enough of normal life was thrown into the mix so that it felt rooted in reality. I can’t wait to read the next book! Thank you to netgalley, the author and publisher, for a chance to read and review this book.

I can count the number of YA fantasy fiction novels I’ve read on one hand. Because my New Year’s resolution for 2023 was to try new things, and realizing my must-read list consisted of mystery thrillers and literary fiction, I took a dive off the deep end and buried my nose in HUNTERLAND.

Brimming with adolescent angst and a taste of sibling rivalry, the novel will most appeal to a teen audience. Chockful of creepy vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and all things that go bump in the night, as well as a budding romance between two very diverse main characters (Liam, monster hunter, and Olivia, very capable damsel in distress), those who enjoy YA fantasy and teen romance novels are certain to get their fill.

Something sinister is going on in Falkville Falls. The hanging death of a teacher starts off the story, and the situation only gets more intense with each page. This murder, or execution, takes place in Olivia’s school. Someone or something is killing teachers. Is there a serial killer on the loose?


The sheriff of this town has two daughters, Olivia and Pepper. Olivia, the older one, is a bit worried about her little sister, Pepper, who has been getting involved in stuff that in questionable stuff lately. The sheriff is called to the school over this death.

These deaths have gotten the attention of the Hunters. Liam, Jac, and their father are professional monster hunters. They hunt monsters: vampires, werewolves, ghosts, ghouls, wraiths, etc. Every time they used salt to keep the unwanted out, it reminded me of Supernatural. This book is very different from that show, but it may remind you of it at times.

What they thought would be a simple case of taking care of the one monster responsible for the teachers’ deaths turns into something much more complicated and involves more supernatural creatures than they thought. Friendships are forged, secret talents are discovered, and what really happened to certain people is discovered.

Hunterland is a fast-paced book, never slowing down. It always keeps your attention because there is always, always something happening. The book isn’t full of tedious descriptions and fillers, but it is full of young love, action, and monsters.

Young love? It’s obvious from the first time that Liam and Olivia lay eyes on each other that they are going to be involved with each other. Their on again/off again relationship does get a little annoying at times, but then again, when the characters won’t do what I tell them to do, I always get annoyed. But what fun would reading be if the characters always did what I told them to do?

Liam and Olivia both have a lot of growing up to do and they each have secrets as do many other people. If only everyone had willingly told their secrets to begin with, but then, who does that? Secrets abound in great books.

If you like books full of supernatural monster action, then you will love this book. I received an advance review copy of this book and wrote this review voluntarily.

🐺🐺🐺🐺/5

Whatever I expected from this book was not at all what I got. And in the best possible way!

If you liked watching Supernatural, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Teen Wolf then Hunterland is probably a book you’ll very much enjoy!

There is a great balance between normal life and the paranormal hunter/slayer side of life. I loved the dynamic between each family and I loved watching those two families come together and become one, in a very unique way.

I was engaged right off the bat into the story due to the mystery surrounding the school deaths at Falkville Falls High School, and how they did or did not connect to one another. And if they possibly connected to an ever growing problem in the supernatural world. The ongoing story there was engaging and jam packed with lots of fun and interesting twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.

I loved the various action scenes, the mystery slowly making sense piece by piece, and the slow burn romance between Liam and Olivia. I am now dying for the second installment in this series and I can’t wait to jump back into this world full of vampires, ghosts, werewolves, witches and crazy spirits.

In Hunterland you’ll find:
🦇Found family
🦇Paranormal/fantasy aspects
🦇Sibling bonding
🦇Loss of a loved one
🦇Cliffhangers
🦇Action scenes
🦇Unraveling mysteries
🦇Slow burn romance

okay woow I literally gave this book a big hug when I finished I loved it so much. I was here for every thing the supernatural and well i fell in love with Liam .Definitely a 5 star !.
Much appreciation to Net galley and the author

The building of this world was great! Really enjoyed the story, loved Olivia’s character and the strong will though every page

Dana and her team sent me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review, and I'm so glad they did!

Completely different to War of the Sea, which is the last book I read by Dana Claire.
This was the fast paced revelation that our world is full of monsters! 👻🧛🧟🧙The story opens with the supposed suicide of a school teacher (trigger warnings abound - suicide, death of parents, violence), which turns out to be a supernatural murder instead. It follows the Davis sisters as they meet the Hunter family, who are trained monster hunters!
I can't wait to see how the girls acclimatize to the Hunterland world. And helloooooo to Liam Hunter🔥 - you can come join my library of angsty fighting men happily. Lol.

The ending obviously sets up a sequel, and I wouldn't be sorry to see an extended series - really the possibilities are endless with this world. All in all, a fun, easy YA read with plenty of action.

The author's next release is a contemporary romance, Sideliners, so I'm looking forward to seeing how she tackles romance rather than fantasy!

Dana Claire has a talent for creating some of the most fun, imaginative and adventurous books I've ever had the pleasure of reading. There's just something about her characters that effortlessly grab you and pull you into their world. From the first page, I immediately fell in love with Olivia and especially her little sister Pepper. I also loved Jac and the rest of the hunters as well. There's action on every page and just when you think you know what's going on, something else happens that takes you down a different path. With one twist after another, you'll have no problem flipping the pages as fast as possible.

I read a lot of young adult fiction, but there's just something about this author's writing that draws you in and makes you feel at home with the characters. And on top of a great book, there's also the magnificent and stunning cover art. This is a beautiful book, both inside and out.

Hunterland is an incredibly interesting, fast paced supernatural mystery following the different POV's of Liam, Olivia and Penny. I loved reading from the different characters view points from people who know of the monsters in the world, someone accepting of it and someone who would rather live in happy ignorance. The characters are all diverse and unique - so are the monsters with different lore connected to them that I've never read before. I was intrigued with this mystery was page one and continued to be absorbed following their journey and self-discovery. I was so sad when it ended I just wanted more, I can't wait to see what happens next and I'd love to learn more about Hunterland and Penny and Olivia's powers.

Thoughts

I wanted to like this one. In fact, I wanted to love this one. But the characters were flat, the witty banter wasn't there, and the character emotions were all over the place. The worldbuilding was wacky, which is fine when you have the characters to back it up. But the characters just weren't there for this one.


Pros
Casual Tone: This book is light reading, fun and fast-paced. It's the kind of book that sucks you in based on the clip of the writing alone. There's no need to dig in and dissect in this book. It's a rollercoaster, ready to sweep you off your feet in a good way. It's the perfect escapist read.

So Many Monsters: What I really loved about the early seasons of CW's Supernatural proves true here: the world is just full of monsters. Beasts galore creep through these shadows, right under the noses of unsuspecting civilians. Werewolves and vampires, ghosts and witches: everything exists beneath the surface of the mundane real world. All you need to do is watch for these beasts to come creeping from the back alleys and hidden places.

Witchy Healer: You know who don't get enough representation on the page? Witchy girls. Girls who are into herbs and crystal, chakras and astrological signs. But Olivia is just such a girl. She might not know (at the beginning) why she's drawn to witchier hobbies than her friends, but she embraces it. And nobody makes fun of her for it. When it turns out she has some real power in this dabbling, well... All the better, right?


Cons
Liam: Was he supposed to be confident and rakish? Probably. But really, he was just a giant sexual assault red flag on every page. What was meant to be (witty?) banter was just grossly misogynistic and not just at the start of the novel (where we could assume--or at least hope--that he would reform and change). Liam doesn't change. Anything and everything he does revolves around sexual comments, even when the conversation really doesn't warrant such a remark. A character like Liam needs balance--and perhaps some redemption--but there was no balance here. There was just ew, ew, ew.

No Groundwork: I'm not opposed to some rough-and-tumble introduction to a world of monsters, but being thrown into this world was really just the start of the problem. Because the characters need to be strong enough to hold up as the wacky worldbuilding sets in, and when the characters aren't there, it can be hard to get invested at all. The plot here doesn't settle down--ghosts, vampires, witches, something more? There's no set arc, nothing to look forward to and anticipate. There needed to be some groundwork for this plotless sort of trajectory, and there wasn't.

Unbelievable: This small town sheriff believes in ghosts as soon as he's told. That makes sense, right? Because all we need to believe in ghosts is somebody in a suit to tell us they're real. That totally makes sense. And that same sheriff, knowing now that a ghost is involved, won't mind at all that his teenage daughter's bedroom has been shot up, right? For hunters-hiding-as-agents who have been doing this for a long time, you'd think they'd be more subtle, right? Because as implausible as it is, maybe they have found the one small town sheriff who will happily believe them the first time. But that isn't likely to happen all the time, so would experienced agents really come in here, guns blazing? They're undercover, right? How have they not been found out after all this time? Add to that the fact that their British counterparts seem to have accents inspired by Austin Powers, and I just couldn't do it. Sorry.


Rating
⭐⭐
2/10

If you enjoyed the small-town-turned-supernatural elements of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight, this new town on the verge of being overrun will be a good fit. Fans of Christine Lynn Herman's The Drowning Summer will appreciate the supernatural spooks of these unsuspecting characters.

Actual rating: 1.5/5*

Let’s start with the characters because they were my biggest problem in the book. Our first introduction to Olivia happens with the first hanging when she is frantic to find her sister in the crowd, which I thought set her up to be an overprotective older sister rather than one who constantly looks down on Pepper and criticises her, instead of trying to approach a 14yo who grew up without a mom and appears to be acting out. Multiple times in this book Olivia has to be told to comfort Pepper by Liam or by Jac (two people both sisters met scant weeks ago) instead of disciplining her, and that made her so frustrating. Claire tries to set up the sisters repairing their relationship as part of their character arcs but it falls flat. Otherwise I found her character inoffensive though not entirely interesting.

As frustrating as she was, Liam was even more so. At 19, Liam’s lost his mother and seen a lot of death so he hides these feelings behind a bad boy bravado that he will not let go. His idea of lightening the mood is to make sexual jokes and/or overtures to Olivia despite her objections even in front of their parents. Where she was frustrating, he just made me roll my eyes a lot because of the way he views things in his pov chapters, especially himself, here are two quotes to demonstrate:

- “Black-and-blue marks had already started to form, covering the rippling muscles of my stomach”

- “Her fingers danced along the the ripples of my torso”

It felt like this book was hitting me over the head with his various muscle groups because they were described so often. The parts where Olivia describes his physique didn’t bother me as much as his pov chapters because who talks about themselves that way without it coming off as extreme narcissism? I did find him marginally more tolerable than Olivia though because he treated both his baby sister and Pepper with more respect and compassion, and let Olivia have it about her treatment of her own sister.

My feelings for those two pale in comparison to how I felt about Dustin whom I just wanted gone less than 20% into the book. Olivia’s best friend, he idolises her father, the sheriff, and is unapologetically pro-cop to the point where he a) reports situations like one, b) starts to excuse Liam’s behaviour to his *best friend* after he eats up the lie that Liam’s family is FBI (friend loyalty where??) and c) despite wanting to be a cop, is 100% ok with asking another character to commit a felony in order to further the investigation with no remorse. Overall an extremely annoying character and I still don’t know what he was meant to represent.

As far as the other characters go, I thought Hunter senior was fine if a little overbearing, Pepper was a believable ‘act first, ask questions later’ teenager, sheriff Davis was inconsequential at times and Jacqueline was the best of the bunch, the shining light of that whole cast.

In terms of worldbuilding, Claire did an interesting job spinning familiar folklore to fit her story. I was intrigued by her version of werewolves where they have to consume a human heart to stay human, I’ve never come across that before, while her use of vampires was more familiar I was still pleasantly surprised at some of the details including appearance and feeding patterns. I also appreciated the vampire hierarchy that’s revealed later in the book, it was also an interesting concept for the world she’s created. Her portrayal of angry spirits is a little more common, though I still liked what she did with those as a monster.

Plot-wise, this book was somewhat all over the place. The main plot and the wider series arc are both central to Hunterland despite being separate so we end up with a situation where the creature responsible for the hangings is neutralised and there’s still a third of the book left, which is used to expand the lore, set up the series’ villain and add another side quest (for lack of a better term). On top of that of the two spirits we do become aware of, we only get to actually interact with one of them as the other was taken care of off page. For the build-up it got, I found that just added to the disappointment.

As far as the writing goes, I didn’t have much of a problem with the general style. It read very much like an early 2010s YA supernatural-mystery-in-a-school novel that I read a lot of, so it did have that twinge of nostalgia for me. It flowed well, the story was fast-paced and I got through the book in a bout a day despite my complaints. A little depth would go a long way in this case, as much of everything is superficial.

I’ll be touching on the final reveal in the next paragraph without spoiling exactly what happens but if you don’t want any details about it, skip it.

The set-up for the next book became fairly obvious when a certain description kept being repeated. Where other books are subtle about lond-dead characters not actually being dead, Hunterland took the idea of “chekov’s gun” to heart, turned it into a bazooka and shot rockets through the walls of my house. There was very little subtlety and entirely too much pulling the reader’s attention to this one even to highlight it.

Ok mild spoilers over!

If you’ve made it this far, you know that I didn’t enjoy Hunterland by Dana Claire. Between tropey characters, a discordant plot, entirely too many subplots and how underwhelming the final product is, I can’t recommend it. I gave the whole 1.5/5* and the half was mostly for the lore and the younger sisters.
I will not be picking up the next book in the series though I’m sure there’s a crowd out there that would very much enjoy this quick read (I probably would have hand I read it a decade ago).

dnf on page 25

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of loss of parent, gun violence, mention of suicide </spoiler>

Falkville Falls High looks like a normal american highschool, but today, there is a body hanging from a rope. And it's not the first one.

We have three POV which are not set apart by writing, which leads to the main problem why I dnf-ed this early on. The writing was familiar to me, in the way that everybody writes like this when they set out in this new hobby, and that is totally fine. I am just wondering if this was the right point in the author's journey to publish, and I am very sure that I don't want to read this and that my opinion probably won't change over the course of this novel.
We have mostly tell, don't show. We have reactions that don't add up. The following scene had me putting the book down and chosing another one:
<spoiler> Olivia, her little sister and two friends are at home, doing homework, hanging out. Liam from POV 2 sees something through the window, grabs a shotgun, kicks in the door, races up the stairs and shoots Olivia's mirror. One of the friends tackles Liam down but looses the ensuing tussle, and somehow they're all fine after that, sitting down in the living room and flirting? Only when Olivia's father comes home the question <i>why</i> Liam did that is raised. Sure. Totally natural. </spoiler>

I also had the feeling that the author misplaced characters, being too caught up in the action. Whic hsi fine if it happens to a character, but not to the person who crafts the story.

So, the thing is: It matters what you expect when going into a book. If I had started this as a parody, I maybe would have been fine. I told a friend about the scene in the spoiler tag and she thought it sounds pretty fun - so by all means, if you share the opinion, go ahead and read it.
Or maybe read other reviews.

At this point, I am out of here.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

Oh this had me hooked from the first page!! It’s an amazing monster hunting story filled with action, the supernatural, and mystery- with a bit of a slow burn romance thrown in. Such a captivating read - I really want book 2 right now! If you liked The Luminaries you will LOVE this!

A paranormal ,mystery with monters and the hunters who catch them.
Liam,Oliva,Poppy and the rest of the characters are intriguing.
They are trying to solve some murders at their school,
Drama,action,twists,agnst and a sight romance.
Very good story .Enjoyed reading.
Voluntarily reviewed

NO NO NO WHY DID IT END, I NEED MORE.

My original opinion of ‘this book isn’t for me’ switched to ‘ooh what’s going to happen next’ around the 20-30% mark. At first, I found the premise interesting but the characters SO irritating. It’s hard to read a book when you dislike all the characters.

I did start to warm up to them (even Liam, who makes some seriously creepy/cringe remarks at points) and overall it was an enjoyable, gripping read by the end. So much so that I ended up in the acknowledgments without realising I’d demolished the entire book!

So, what can you expect from Hunterland? There are ghosts, vampires, werewolves and other ghoulish monsters, plus a monster-hunting and weapon-touting family of three. There’s mystery (ooh a supernatural serial killer? Indeed.) and there’s drama (will they kiss? Won’t they? I mean, they probably will because they’re teenagers…).

This is definitely targeted at the upper YA category (the sexual tension is prominent) and is ideal for anyone who’s a fan of Supernatural or The Vampire Diaries.

A solid four stars 🌟 and I’m looking forward to the next instalment in the Hunterland realm!

Genre: YA, paranormal and supernatural
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, dual POV
For fans of: Nancy Drew, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight

I absolutely loved the concept of this book, and as a huge fan of the above I really enjoyed the high school kids turned hunters of the paranormal storyline! Dana Claire’s vision of vampires and werewolves really fascinated me and the action packed hunting scenes had me hooked. The whole time reading I could totally picture this as a TV show! It ends on a total cliffhanger that will leave you dying for the next book in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Camcat Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

i found hunterland to be an enjoyable quick read.. if you're a fan of vampire diaries, teen wolf or any other supernatural show, this will definitely be up your alley!