This is another book that just didn't hit the mark I thought it would. The description is amazing and I wanted to love this so much. I ended up feeling ambivalent toward everything. I wanted to finish and yet I felt as if I would be walking over hot coals to do so. This could have done with more world building and a little less sensationalism.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was one of those books where it could have been amazing but it just felt flat. The book needed to go through more editing as far as I'm concerned.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This might be a really great book, but I'll never know because I couldn't force myself past chapter 4, despite several attempts over several weeks. There just wasn't any draw to keep me slogging through the on-the-nose dialogue, abrupt changes in pacing, stilted and overwritten style, and the flat, predictable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a captivating read that held my attention from start to finish. The story was well-paced, and the characters felt real and engaging. I’m grateful to the publisher for providing an early copy—it was a pleasure to read!

It was hard for me to get into the story. I found the start somewhat piecy, and it was difficult to care for the characters. Unfortunately, I DNFed at about 30%.

The Hunter's Gambit is a thrilling ride from start to finish. the story masterfully blends heart-pounding action with rich world-building, creating a vivid backdrop for the protagonist's journey. Characters are well-developed, each with their own motives and complexities that keep readers engaged. The tension builds with every page, leading to a satisfying climax that leaves you eager for more.

The Hunter’s Gambit by Ciel Pierlot is a dark fantasy novel that plunges you into a world of aristocratic vampires and a gripping locked-room escape adventure.
The story centers around Kazan Korvic, a skilled blacksmith with a vendetta against vampires.
Kazan must navigate a treacherous environment to reclaim her stolen weapon and escape before a lavish feast!

Kazan's interactions with other characters, particularly the vampires, are tense and charged with emotion. Kazan’s ability to adapt and think on her feet makes her a formidable protagonist. She is not a traditional hero, but her flaws and fierce will to survive make her relatable and compelling.

The plot serves as a cat and mouse game, with a fraught and suspenseful atmosphere, the constant threat of violence and betrayal lurking around every corner.

Overall, The Hunter’s Gambit offers a thrilling and darkly captivating experience, perfect for fans of vampire lore and intense fantasy adventures.
Thank you to @cielpierlot and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this amazing Arc

The Hunter’s Gambit had a lot of potential, and I was excited to get an arc of this book. I love vampire stories, and this plot sounded really interesting to me.

While it was an entertaining read, I think the book overall felt pretty rushed. I think a lot happened in just three days, and because of that, I never felt like I truly got to know any of the main characters or see their connections to each other. The ending was also a little anti-climactic to me. I would’ve loved to end on a cliff hanger and then pushed some of this into a sequel so we could’ve taken our time with the story more!

I’m sorry for the delay In posting my review for this one. I read it back in August but didn’t realise i hadn’t posted the review!

I enjoyed reading this book and as someone who loves reading about Vampires this one was a great take. I loved the different take on the Vampires and loved the dangerous vibe the author was able to portray.

The plot for this one is a little slow to get going but once it picks up the book gets you hooked. There’s plenty of twists to keep you guessing what’s going to happen next.
The world building was great but I felt like I could do with more. I would love a little more background to the different Vampire houses in the future books as I was left with some questions and wanting more details.
The characters were great and I loved how the mc came across. I love it when they are strong and determined and yet vulnerable at the same time.
I’m hoping the next book will be a little longer so that we can learn more from this new world.

Thank you to the Publisher, Author and Netgalley for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really wanted to love this. Or even like it. But I just couldn't get into it. It was a chore to finish it, if I'm being honest. I had high expectations from Ciel Pierlot after reading Bluebird, but this book really disappointed. Sad, really.

This was an incredible and captivating read! It had everything I wanted in a vampire novel—an amazing, strong female lead, a perfect mix of romance, and a thrilling plot that kept me hooked throughout.

I've been a sucker for vampires since Twilight and was extremely excited to get an ARC of Pierlot's The Hunter's Gambit. The story starts off slow and then accelerates quite quickly, almost too quickly for how much world building needed to be done to tell Kazan's story properly. I think the book could have done without some of the side plots and fleshed out the main story instead. I loved the potential of Kazan and wished that I could have connected more with this book. Regardless of my experience with The Hunter's Gambit, I encourage you to read it for yourself. Thank you NetGalley and Angry Robot for the ARC!

I loved the concept when reading the blurb, but I don't think it met my expectations. The world-building really pulled me in, but the dialogue didn't quite meet my expectations for a great fantasy novel. I would still be interested in reading more from this author in the future, but some of what fell flat in this book would need to be worked on. The concept was great and I think if we could build upon that concept with great dialogue and follow through I'd be a happy reader!

Dark romantasy. This was a fast read for me. I quite enjoyed it though I probably didn't care for the characters as much as I would have liked. Filled with vampires and Kazan who needs to escape them before she's their meal.

The Hunters Gambit is a story about the allure of vampires. I will admit that I struggled with this one. It felt like the main character was throwing a tantrum all novel. It wasn’t for me but maybe it’ll be for someone else.

If you are looking for romance book, this might not be it. I enjoyed the plot and the action on this book, but also would have wanted a bit of a romance plot in it :) Spice was fine!

It’s been awhile, since I last read a book that only took me four days to read. I hadn’t expected to fly through the hunter’s gambit the way I did, and it was such a lovely surprise. If I’m to be honest, when I requested this book, I didn’t completely read the synopsis. I only saw that it was a vampire novel and it was pretty steamy but mostly plot centred and so I had to request it and I’m glad I did. Whilst it wasn’t the five star, I had hoped it was still a very enjoyable novel. I didn’t realise this would have a vampire thruple and I’m so glad that it happened because I absolutely love the three of them, Kazan and Reya in particular. It was a lot grittier and gruesome than other vampire novels that I’ve read which I really liked. I feel like we don’t get that as much when it comes to vampire novels and I hope I find more like this. Honestly if there ended up being a sequel I would definitely read it, especially with the way it ended. I could see it happening but it also was tied up very well. The main character had initially come across as pretty smart. However, there were some occasions where I wanted to shake her because she wouldn’t think things through. Luckily it didn’t happen often enough to make me dislike her. I do wish we’d gotten to know more about the world itself and the human part of it, as well as the rest of the vampire world. Then again, the book takes place almost entirely within a castle over the span of three days, so there would’ve been no time to really explore that, but if we ever got a sequel, I feel like that would be the perfect opportunity, especially with how the book ended.

I think I need to take a break from Romantasy as a genre completely. There are just too many story elements in the genre that feel beat-by-beat the exact same. The premise sounded so different! I was so excited going into this book - and I do think it will be a hit with heavy romantasy readers - but the deeper into the story I got, the less I cared. The writing prose was good but the characters ended up being lackluster. By the time I finished, I was ready to just move on to something else. Overall, it was just "okay" for me.

I really liked the story at the start. The setting was good and the plot seems to be heading in an interesting direction. However, as the story progresses, especially towards the end, the plot seems rushed and it became weird. There was so much potential for it to become a good story, disappointed it didn't.

Kazan started as a likable enough character although still with her flaws. But as the story progresses, her character doesn't seem to grow much. Which makes her a frustrating character to read.

Thank you for giving me the chance to review. Hope the next book will be much better. Good luck!