ARC Review: The Hunt (Project Paper Doll #2) by Stacey Kade

The sound effects you'll hear if you were sitting beside me while I was writing this review was the sound of me bashing up the keys on my laptop.

I haven't been this affected of a cliffhanger in a long while, and then The Hunt came.

Title: The Hunt (Project Paper Doll #2) by Stacey Kade
Release Date: April 22nd 2014
Published by: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Publisher (Thanks Hyperion peeps!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

Ariane Tucker has finally escaped GTX, the research facility that created her. While on the run, Zane Bradshaw is the only person she can trust. He knows who-and what-she is and still wants to be part of her life.

But accepting Zane's help means putting him in danger.

Dr. Jacobs, head of GTX, is not the only one hunting for Ariane. Two rival corporations have their sights set on taking down their competition. Permanently. To protect Zane and herself, Ariane needs allies. She needs the other hybrids. The hybrids who are way more alien and a lot less human. Can Ariane win them over before they turn on her? Or will she be forced to choose sides, to decide who lives and who dies?

The events in The Hunt immediately follows what happened after Ariane and Zane escaped GTX. Now they're on the run, trying to get as far away as they could from the company that made Ariane who she is: half-human and half-extra terrestrial. With the rival corporations hot on her heels to eliminate a "superior specimen", was running enough for Ariane to gain the freedom she wants to have and be normal? Or can she stand up and fight for herself once and for all?

There were so many things going on at once that I felt like I was in over my head even at the start of the book.The dynamics in Zane and Ariane's relationship were shifting wildly while they were on the run. While Ariane is torn between leaving Zane behind for his safety, Zane was mulling over the potential repercussions of him being there. Ariane was, in all ways superior than he will ever be. That struggle in Zane's part was what made his interactions with Ariane so enjoyable for me. Oftentimes you'll see the guy always taking charge, always the one with the solution, but Zane finds himself powerless more times than he can count, and he knows it. The gap that the fact that he's human and Ariane was partially not was bigger than what I expected, what with the way Ariane was treated and seen in the eyes of outsiders. At one point I felt as frustrated as Zane with everyone, seeing Ariane treated the way she was: an experiment, an abomination, inhuman. Why can't she be treated better?

The story was pushed forward in a good pace with the actions Ariane took in solving her current dilemma. Her persistence to end the sick kind of competition the tech corporations were having was admirable, though a bit irritating at times, but it just goes to show that she too was human. She makes mistakes, is rash and sometimes ruled over by her emotions. She was "more" in this novel, more responsive, more emotional, stronger, more in conflict with herself. You get the sense that something was happening, that she was trying to do something. The addition of Ford, Carter and Nixon to the story is an interesting twist that moved the story further. Ford is an interesting character. Her motives were questionable, but she was someone worth taking a closer look at, so much like Ariane and not like her at the same time. Just a piece of advice: never get attached to any new character you come across.

The Hunt has a wonderful combination of being a thriller with romance and all the sci-fi elements that had all the action packed, catch your breath type of scenes that was lacking in the first book. I loved how I get more out of this novel than the first one! Peppered with scenes alternating from cute to hot, giving us more answers, and more amazing developments in the story that made this such an occupying read that will make you realize you're near the end and you still wish there are twenty more pages just so it doesn't end at once. But it did, and the cliffhanger was the killer moment of this book. Just when you thought there was more to it, that you have more seconds to enjoy it and soak in the adrenaline rush, there was none. It ends there, and the rush of feelings catches up with you and you sit there stunned, trying to process what happened and wonder why it ended there.

Stacey Kade masterfully captures a reader's attention with this amazing follow up to The Rule, and you wouldn't want to let go even when you reach the last page. What an intense, roller coaster ride! And what a clever, evil way to end it! But then the realization comes that there at least is a third book to look forward to. If you're looking for a fast paced read which you can breeze through in a flourish, pick up a copy of this book, will you? With the way The Hunt ended, I am desperate more than ever to find out how this deadly game of hide and seek ends, and what's left to look forward to in Ariane's story.

Content (plot, story flow, character):

Zane! The one star removal was my frustration for the rest of the characters in the story. I often find myself saying "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" and "Are you seriously human!?". With Zane's mom, the doctors, Zane's dad and sometimes even Ford, Nixon and Carter. Can't Ariane catch a break? Can't Zane catch a break?

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
It's creepy and eerie, but that best describes what the book is really about.