Hunter’s Season by Thea Harrison
Elder Races, Book 4.7
Samhain Publishing
Paranormal
ISBN: 978-1-61921-311-1
Reviewed by Jo




Xanthe is a palace guard and an assassin for the Dark Fae and until recently she has been on a long-term assignment to get justice for her Queen.  That assignment is finally done and all Xanthe wants is some quiet and time alone.  That doesn’t last long when she is called to the palace to speak to her boss, and the mate of her Queen and is quickly asked to become one of the Queen’s personal guards.  Of course Xanthe agrees to work for the new Queen.

Aubrey is one of the most trusted advisors of the Queen even after the treason of his late wife, Naida, and her attempt to murder the Queen before she was even crowned.  Now Aubrey works as an advisor and also at getting his life back in order.  One of the things that Aubrey has realized is that his life with Naida had been lacking in many ways.  When an attack seriously injures Aubrey, it’s up to the quick thinking of the royal couple and Xanthe to protect him.

Xanthe readily agrees to protect and care for Aubrey in secret.  These last few weeks have shown her that Aubrey is nothing like his late wife and others of the elite who tried to destroy the royal family.  He is nice and funny and shows that he cares for the people who work around him.  Xanthe knows she can never express the feelings she has for Aubrey but being able to help him will be enough she hopes.  Aubrey doesn’t understand why he is with Xanthe at first, but quickly finds out she is his nurse and guard until he heals.  Having Xanthe doing everything for him goes against everything that Aubrey believes in but at first there is nothing he can do about it.  As Aubrey heals, feelings for Xanthe grow until the air is all but pulsing around them and then it explodes.  Passion is fast and furious between them but will their places in society keep them apart once they are back in their normal places in life or does fate have something special in mind for these two special Fae?

An assassin and a trusted advisor learn that even those who believe that love has past them by can find their forever.  Xanthe and Aubrey discover just what love means in Hunter’s Season.  I was so happy to see these two get their forever love after seeing how badly Aubrey had been hurt finding out his wife was a murderous traitor.  I also knew that Xanthe deserved her chance at love after seeing how honorable she was even while carrying out her job.  If you haven’t seen these two special Fae, you can find Xanthe in Devil’s Gate and Aubrey in Storm’s Heart.  Seeing how fast both fell in love, told me that this was a match not even Fae social structure could break apart.  I have to also admit that I loved the match making that put Xanthe and Aubrey together long enough for them to give in to their feelings and just who was behind it.  Seeing how sneaky Aubrey was at getting beneath Xanthe’s guard to the inner woman had me smiling each and every time he did it.  Hunter’s Season is a perfect love story that might never have happened without a small push, and it has a spicy touch of suspense to keep it lively.