Title: Archie’s Accidental Kidnapping (Hounds of the Hunt: Book One)
Author: Toni Griffin
Publisher: Mischief Corner Books
Length: 267 Pages
Category: Paranormal
At a Glance: Overall, this book took everything I loved about soulmate books and paired it with what I love about romance stories. Can’t wait for the next in the series.
Reviewed By: Jenn
Blurb: Long nights hunting supernatural beings means little time for love in Adze’s life. He and his pack mates are what protects Melbourne, and Australia, from the things that go bump in the night—very real spirits and demons who prey on humans.
Every day Archie’s life is consumed by work as he desperately tries to pay back his student debt and a loan a boyfriend took out in his name. Tired and alone, he dreams of a future with someone to love and hold him through the night.
One fateful encounter with a nephilim gone bad changes both their worlds forever. Now Adze just has to convince his heart mate he didn’t actually kidnap him.
Please note: Archie’s Accidental Kidnapping has undergone extensive edits and rewrites since Toni is gearing up to continue the series. In addition, the series has been renamed so as not to confuse it with another.
The plot has changed, the world is different, 41,000 words were added, BUT the one thing that hasn’t changed is Archie and Adze.
Review: This was such a refreshing take on the paranormal genre, and I loved the idea of Hellhounds being assigned on earth to protect humanity and send the truly evil paranormals into Hell where they belong, as well as exploring other kinds of paranormals than the usual witches, vampires and werewolves. The author gradually built up our knowledge and understanding of her world from the first chapter where the hellhounds are on a hunt. I also loved that they didn’t immediately meet leader of the pack Adze’s mate immediately. This allowed us time to get used to the world and a feel for the characters.
So, when hard-working and seemingly boring Archie does meet Adze, he turns the whole thing on its head. Particularly, as in most soulmate books where a kidnapping (accidental or otherwise) occurs, it can annoy me that often the paranormal reveals his nature, soulmate accepts it or faints, after which their attraction is too strong, so they have sex and then everything is okay—let’s just brush past the whole kidnapping to begin with. The author, this time, had Archie show his true spit-fire nature and acted in the way I have always wanted these confused mates only being introduced to the supernatural now to act—which was not to put up with this shit.
He forces Adze to woo him properly and ask forgiveness for his ‘accidental’ kidnapping, and it was fantastic to see that relationship building and not jump straight to insta-love. Instead, the pair grow to know each other and develop a strong bond outside of their soulmate bond. I also loved that Adze didn’t allow his new knowledge of who his soulmate, or Cor Coeunt as it’s called here, to distract too much from his job hunting evil. While he makes sure his Cor Coeunt is safe and looked out for when walking to and from work, he still makes sure to patrol and hunt for the Nephilim serial killer they were looking for when Adze and Archie met.
The hounds seemed to really feel more human and relatable, especially since Adze was just as lust clumsy as any other guy would be instead of the supernatural grace seen so often. His packmates care but persistent teasing was just what I would imagine a big family to behave. Overall, this book took everything I loved about soulmate books and paired it with what I love about romance stories. Can’t wait for the next in the series.
You can buy Archie’s Accidental Kidnapping here:
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