The Crimson Hunt (Eldaen Light Chronicles, #1)

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The Crimson Hunt (Eldaen Light Chronicles #1)

by Victoria H. Smith (Goodreads Author)

3.36 of 5 stars 3.36 · rating details · 99 ratings · 37 reviews

College junior Ariel Richmond is working on year three of Project Normalcy.

Her house reeks of keggers past and her bestie is just a slight bit vulgar. But the thing is—they both aid in making life refreshingly uneventful.

So much for hard-earned mediocrity when Luca Grinaldi appears on the scene.

Luca’s sudden presence on campus is hard to ignore. Those bright eyes act like...more

Paperback, 340 pages

Published November 8th 2012 by Createspace (first published November 7th 2012)

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Feb 18, 2013 Victoria Smith added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: new-adult, romance, science-fiction, college-romance, college

Well, I did write this, so I think I may be a bit bias. Tehe. I hope you all love the book as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

**Updated cover design uploaded 2/18/13. Cover for the sequel soon!**

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Apr 06, 2013 Neyra rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: new-adult, kindle-reads, outdo-yourself-challenge, ya-pnr

I've noticed lately that I rarely give too many low ratings. I believe the lowest I ever give is always three stars, unless I really can't stand the characters or no matter how much I tried I couldn't get lost in the story. I was intrigued by the title, cover and the synopsis for this book, I have no idea what possessed me to believe this was a vampire book, but I wanted to give it a shot. Well, it's not a vampish book at all. And to honest I am disappointed, I wanted to tango with the fanged cr...more I've noticed lately that I rarely give too many low ratings. I believe the lowest I ever give is always three stars, unless I really can't stand the characters or no matter how much I tried I couldn't get lost in the story. I was intrigued by the title, cover and the synopsis for this book, I have no idea what possessed me to believe this was a vampire book, but I wanted to give it a shot. Well, it's not a vampish book at all. And to honest I am disappointed, I wanted to tango with the fanged creatures of the night.

Ariel Richmond is in her third year of college and she's determined to keep her life as uneventful and normal as possible. But her sudden run in with Luca Grinaldi sends her life into chaos, and when a tragic event unfolds sends her running, she must decide whom to trust. With Luca being the only one willing to help her, she places her life in his hands, even if Luca is hiding something.

It's sad that, right from the beginning I knew that if this character didn't get her shit together and grow, I wasn't going to be too happy about having picked this book up. First, and this might seem petty, but when she wakes up late for her first day of exams, everything seems be going utterly wrong. Her alarm never went off, her car brakes down, and she unfortunately lands her butt in a mud puddle, perfect right? Obviously not, and we'd be totally pissed and wishing the earth would just swallow us whole right then and there, but we'd at least try to maintain composure, some… maturity. All Ariel did was throw a tantrum until someone came to her rescue. Then there was the issue with her best friend. As much as she said she loved her, she was such a catty bitch to her. Enter Luca Grinaldi and he's all she can see. The guy is a total douche to her from the start, yet it's ok to pine over him because he's so hot!

Luca didn't turn out to be a vamp, instead he's an alien from a world called Elda. The Eldaens have a program known as The Hunter Program which places Eldaen children with placement families that will raise them on Earth until they are ready to begin training. What the Hunter Program does is send out its hunters to find "ripples", which happen to be the humans in this case, and eliminate them because Eldaens believe humans will eventually destroy their home planet. Even though this may not seem as interesting as it could be, there's more to the Hunter Program than just a bunch of aliens destroying humans for the sake of saving their planet.

As far as the romance I was unimpressed. It seemed rather insta-lovish and because of the fact that Ariel couldn't think of anything other than how utterly HOT Luca is, I didn't believe that she was interested in him other than physically. So how did they get from Point A to Point Z in matter of days?

The secondary characters did very little to impress me either, except maybe Gemini because he kicks her ass but good, lol. However, they all seemed to be cardboard cut outs just for the sake of having someone else in the book. The writing is light and the story told from first person perspective through Ariel, and maybe things get better during the second installment but I won't be continuing this series.(less)

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Feb 05, 2013 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-blog-review

This was such a neat twist on the paranormal/sci fi storyline! Victoria Smith packs in captivating characters, action-packed thrills, suspense, and a genuinely unique plot into an otherworldly love story that I really enjoyed reading!

Most of the first half of this book lulls the reader into a sense of false normalcy, with Ariel carrying out her days as a college student with her best friend Piper. They deal with the usual college drama-boys, challenging classes, worries about their future career...more This was such a neat twist on the paranormal/sci fi storyline! Victoria Smith packs in captivating characters, action-packed thrills, suspense, and a genuinely unique plot into an otherworldly love story that I really enjoyed reading!

Most of the first half of this book lulls the reader into a sense of false normalcy, with Ariel carrying out her days as a college student with her best friend Piper. They deal with the usual college drama-boys, challenging classes, worries about their future careers, and finding time to squeeze in the occasional party. But the mysterious Luca has planted a seed in Ariel's mind that has him front and center of her thoughts, whether she wants him there or not. Sure he's gorgeous with a perfect body, but he's also rude one minute and flirtatious the next, leaving her confused and wondering why she bothers. There were many times where I wanted her to just grab Luca by the collar and plant one on him, but there's a reason for his hot and cold behavior. It all started to make sense once it became clear Luca was not just the hottie with a split personality disorder. He's in her life for a reason, and it puts her in grave danger from a threat not of this world, but it turns out she has a role to play, too...and it's a big one!

I loved that this story wasn't like anything I'd seen in the sci-fi genre, as original concepts are hard to come by these days. I don't want to give too much away, but Smith wove an intriguing web to create her Eldaen beings and to design their purpose on earth. Human-hunting assassins with supernatural powers, a determined young woman with something worth fighting for, and a prophecy of great change all came together while the future of two worlds hung in the balance. I do wish that it hadn't taken quite so long for the mystery to be revealed, as there was a section of the story that lagged for me. Once Luca shared his secrets with Ariel and he could admit his feelings for her, though, I was drawn into their romance and the suspense and danger that followed them. It was a sexy, exciting, thrilling adventure!

I really loved Ariel as a heroine, she was strong and had just the right amount of spunk in her attitude to keep me entertained. She and Piper together had me laughing over their banter, and she definitely brings out a side of Luca that made him easy to fall for. She's going to play a key role in the future of the human race when all is said and done, and I'm anxious to see how she handles her new fate. There are clearly some major battles ahead for her in this series, but I'm hoping she and Luca get the happy ending they deserve once the dust settles!!

A copy of this review can also be found at: http://www.autumnreview.com/2013/01/e...(less)

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Feb 27, 2013 Denice rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, new-adult, indie-authors

Thank you to Ms. Smith for providing an ecopy of this book...

Cover: So violet… So cute… I actually prefer the first one, BUT the latest cover is awesome also…

Ariel:

I actually pity her because she lost her family in such a young age… And to be scarred emotionally and physically is a really sad story… (view spoiler) I really feel sad for her because of all the things she have been through…

Luca...more

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Nov 24, 2012 Summer Lane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ariel is your average college student: she's got homework woes, a best friend with a killer sense of humor and an aversion to jumping headfirst into romantic relationships. Until she meets Luca, however. Who just happens to be gorgeous, sexy and wonderfully equipped with an oh-so-swoonworthy Italian accent. He's also interested in Ariel. But things get tense when it becomes apparent that Luca might not be, ahem, "normal" in the sense that he's just another hot human boy. He might be much more, b...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Hannah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-in-a-series, hot-boys-alert, indie-author-love, new-adult, need-in-paperback, what-i-ve-read-in-2013

Is it just me, or does New Adult seem to be all about the contemporary? Don't get me wrong, I love a good contemporary, whether it's Young Adult or New Adult, but sometimes, you get a bit overwhelmed, especially with NA, and the rate that the genre is increasing each week is a testiment to this.

However, I cannot lie. Give me something sci-fi-esque or dystopian and I'll lap it right up (if it's done right, of course. While I'm not that big of a scifi girl, I can appreciate it, and let me tell yo...more Is it just me, or does New Adult seem to be all about the contemporary? Don't get me wrong, I love a good contemporary, whether it's Young Adult or New Adult, but sometimes, you get a bit overwhelmed, especially with NA, and the rate that the genre is increasing each week is a testiment to this.

However, I cannot lie. Give me something sci-fi-esque or dystopian and I'll lap it right up (if it's done right, of course. While I'm not that big of a scifi girl, I can appreciate it, and let me tell you, if there are more NA books out there like Victoria's, the please I am begging you take me to them so I can devour them.

The Crimson Hunt was a fresh and exciting New Adult read that I've been looking forward to for some time, and it did what it set out to do - impress me. Right from the get go, Smith managed to create two worlds and collide them together with such a big bang that I was whirling my way through a whole set of emotions by the time the ending came along.

So what worked, aside from the fact that it's scifi New Adult, something that isn't seen as much as it's hotter contemporary cousin?

One thing I loved was that our MCs were generally older in terms of the age bracket set out for NA. Ariel was a sassy female lead who wasn't a freshman, which meant she was more of a woman of the world type. None of this moaning, whinging and bitching that you generally find with freshman MCs in New Adult books.

Everything happened fairly quickly in the book. We aren't left bored with what's going on, and best of all, there's no repetitiveness. One thing that really grates me is when the plot revolves around the characters going yes, no, maybe, yes, no, maybe over and over again until your head wants to explode.

Luca and his car. Okay, so maybe I have more of an infatuation with Luca's car more than him, but he was still swoon worthy. And this book isn't all about the sex, baby. It's about human emotions and falling in love with the right person at the wrong time and sexy aliens. Oh, did I mention the car? A Tesla Model S. I think I was swooning all over the place.

Overall, this is a beginning of a series that I cannot wait to continue. There were so many unanswered questions that I'm left feeling a little bit bereft, if anything. But in a good way. If you are looking for something different, something a little sassier with a dash of sauciness, and an out of this world plot that will have you on the edge of your chair (bed, train seat, whereever you read), then pick this baby up. It'll definitely keep you enthralled!(less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Diayll rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tour

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Blog Tour
Reviewer: Me

The Crimson Hunt began as a slow read for me, however as soon as the plot thickened and we began discovering the hidden depths of Ariel’s world, I slowly began to fall in love with this novel and its story. With many secrets and people constantly dying, The Crimson Hunt is an interesting take on…well; I can’t give away what they are without spoiling the big reveal!

Ariel is a girl whose...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, futuristic, mystery, new-adult, romance, scifi, suspense

GENRE: New Adult Science Fiction
THEME: Romance, Supernatural, Worlds
RECEIVED: Blog Tour
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
The Crimson Hunt follows Ariel Richmond a third year college student who is trying to get through college and pass her Zoology class. But college is never so simple and when she bumps into the mysterious Luca, she can’t seem to get him out of her head. When more strange deaths happen on campus and Ariel discovers that Lucas is not what he seems, she is sucked into a...more GENRE: New Adult Science Fiction
THEME: Romance, Supernatural, Worlds
RECEIVED: Blog Tour
BLOG: http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/

REVIEW:
The Crimson Hunt follows Ariel Richmond a third year college student who is trying to get through college and pass her Zoology class. But college is never so simple and when she bumps into the mysterious Luca, she can’t seem to get him out of her head. When more strange deaths happen on campus and Ariel discovers that Lucas is not what he seems, she is sucked into a world of mystery and supernatural powers.

Ariel is an interesting character; the readers are introduced to her as a young girl after a horrible incident happens to her and her family. The book jumps forward to her college years. She is now living with her roommate Piper and struggling to pass her hardest class and beat the annoying popular girl in getting chosen for the Art Showcase. There is a lot to her that is a mystery and slowly unfolds throughout the book and how she is connected to all the occurrences that happen. I enjoyed her relationship with Piper; they were opposite and could be blunt to the point where they can understand one another and just trying to help each other. It was a great dynamic that I felt should have continued. Piper was definitely my favorite character and I was sad that she wasn’t a more prominent one. I also wanted to know more about Ariel’s talent in painting and why she liked painting and how she became so good.

Luca is a whole bunch of mystery. At first the readers meet a moody and very unapproachable young guy. Ariel is attracted to him and also annoyed with him at the same time, which frustrates her. But he soon starts making his way into her life and to the annoyance to her friend Piper; who thinks there is something off about him. Luca was a character I sadly could not connect too or really understand why Ariel would like this guy, until about half way through the book. Then she forgives him for something I would totally run away from a guy for. So, in the end it took me a while to like Luca until he proved it way later in the book.

The plot was really heart pumping and seriously had me worried for Ariel and how she was going to get out of this dangerous situation. I was however confused about what was going on for a while and I started to loose interest until the readers were finally introduced to some science fiction goodness. Once I found about Luca’s task and the other world I was hooked. The readers discover some secrets about this world and a group of people assigned missions to help prevent something happening to their world. I loved the idea of duel worlds and how these Hunters have supernatural powers.

In the end I really was sucked into the mystery side, trying to figure out why Ariel was chosen, what really happened to her when she was little and why this other world is doing what they are doing. It was an interesting twist that kept me guessing. The romance was sweet, steamy and the readers will get to see the sexy and romantic side of Luca. The ending will leave you with some questions but its just getting started with what’s next for Ariel and Luca in their next journey. Ariel has a lot to prepare for and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for her as she now has a very interesting role to play.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a New Adult novel with minor adult content and lot of science fiction awesomeness that will keep you glued in to the end. Fans of the Crescent Chronicles by Alyssa Rose Ivy and The Forever Girls by Rebecca Hamilton will enjoy The Crescent Hunt by Victoria Smith.
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Nov 21, 2012 Julie Barrett rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Crimson Hunt by Victoria Smith
Ariel Richmond was studying zoology among other courses at college and she's a really good painter. She is part of a showing and she doesn't know why her art was selected. She has run into Luca Grimaldi several times and he's helped her out with an extra credit project.
She and her friend Piper will be leaving soon to the family cabin in the woods.
With 2 deaths the girls have stated they need to stick together at night time and not be by themselves.
The guys throw...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Zed Whisper rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 05, 2013 Savannah (Books With Bite) rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have got to stop associating moon titles with wolves. Every time I read something with hunt, moon, or blood I think werewolves. Anyways, this book is quite different and so not what I thought.

The plot of the book is good. I like that once your in the story, you can't help but follow along. The reader is intrigued right away by the mysterious Luca and his appearing/disappearing act. After a few chapters in, all I was thinking was, what is up with this dude! I knew he was hiding something. The k...more

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Feb 21, 2013 Nadia - Total Book Nerds rated it 4 of 5 stars

I can honestly tell you, when I started reading this book, for the longest time I didn't know what was going to happen. I seriously did not have a clue on what was going on plot wise in the book and which direction it was heading.

The book starts easy enough it introduces Ariel and her best friend Piper, on the surface the book portrays the girls' life as normal. The girls go to their classes, they have boy-drama, typical college life with college problems. *cue for Luca to enter*

The moment Luca...more I can honestly tell you, when I started reading this book, for the longest time I didn't know what was going to happen. I seriously did not have a clue on what was going on plot wise in the book and which direction it was heading.

The book starts easy enough it introduces Ariel and her best friend Piper, on the surface the book portrays the girls' life as normal. The girls go to their classes, they have boy-drama, typical college life with college problems. *cue for Luca to enter*

The moment Luca enters Ariels life, everything spirals out of control. The world as Ariel knows gets clouded in absolute darkness, death and chaos everywhere, dark secrets that she has to unlock with Luca's help, not to mention the danger that lurks at every corner.

I loved this book, the only reason I didn't give it a five stra is because I wanted to fell more in depth with Luca's and Ariel's feelings, not to misunderstand, we get to know them as characters well enough., it's just because I'm bit of control freak, and I need like detailed explaination for everything the characters do and their background.

Other than though, this is one of the best sci-fi I've read, when I was reading this book, I never thought about the similarities it shared with another book, or thougths like "that sounds familiar".
The books concepts and plot is a complete original which is hard to find these days, when practically every plot and story ever imagined has been either used so many time or altere just a bit around the details. Not this book though, The Crimson Hunt, is like one in a million, I have encountered a book that even reminds me of this book.

The book is very well written, I loved how Victoria created such strong characters, honestly though I expected to be a bit twilight-ish in concerning how the characters were portrayed, but I'll take my words back. I love how strong Ariel is, and even though she loves Luca's she would not let him off easy, whenever he made a mistake, no siree she called him upon every dang thing he did. I loved that she was stubborn, yet could also compromise, that even though it took a her long time she could forgive everything that happened.

As for Luca, he is dark and mysterious, and the secret that he keeps, in dangers everyone around Ariel. I swear, when I was first introduced to Luca in the book, I thought that boy was bipolar or something. The ups and downs, and the confusion and emotional conflict he inflicts on Ariel. I wanted to smack absolutely silly and twenty-way-to-sunday. I was frustrated with him so many times, but in the end you could understand the reasons behind his actions and why he is the ways he is, when he shares his secret with Ariel, you can actually sympathize wiht Luca with what he had to go through.

All in all I absolutely love this book, I can't wait to read the sequel, I'm looking forward to finding more about Luca and Ariel.
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Nov 24, 2012 Katelyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review can be seen on my blog Escape2b.blogspot.com

The Crimson Hunt was such an emotional experience! It's been a week of trying to get my thoughts together and form a coherent sentence. There were times when I was thinking "NOO! Don't do it! AHHH! I can't take it!" -runs from room- Other times I was chanting, " Do it! Do it! Do it!"

As you can imagine The Crimson Hunt had many ups and downs as you learn more about the Luca and Ariel's role to play in these "mysterious" events. I have to say...more

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Mar 10, 2013 Jennifer added it

Shelves: blog-tour, science-fiction

The Crimson Hunt starts off in a shroud of mystery with the prologue. We know that there might be something otherworldly involved, but what. We experience Ariel’s somewhat normal life in the first part of the book. She is a college student trying to make it into the big Art show but thwarted by her mean girl arch nemesis. Then enters Luca the mystery boy crush who is a jerk one minute and then charming the next. The next thing you know the book takes a turn for the dark and sinister as people st...more The Crimson Hunt starts off in a shroud of mystery with the prologue. We know that there might be something otherworldly involved, but what. We experience Ariel’s somewhat normal life in the first part of the book. She is a college student trying to make it into the big Art show but thwarted by her mean girl arch nemesis. Then enters Luca the mystery boy crush who is a jerk one minute and then charming the next. The next thing you know the book takes a turn for the dark and sinister as people start showing up dead, including ones close to Ariel.

As far as the book tempo it did start off slightly slow, but it was appropriate for setting the scene and keeping you in suspense. I found myself anxious to find out what was going to happen so it kept my attention. Once it picked up, it hit the ground running and there was action around every corner. What a great concept for the book, I loved the sci-fi mix with a dash of paranormal. I also loved the idea of why there are these beings here and that as humans we are almost just unfortunate causalities in the bigger picture.

Ariel was a strong self-reliant character. I liked the way she interacts with her friends and other characters. I also like that she has a history of relationship failure, I’m not even sure why but it made it seem more real. She is a little more reserved when she meets Luca, even though she is attracted to him she tries to keep her head on straight and not fall to hard. Even though she ends up doing just that of course who wouldn’t.

I’m not all together sure how I felt about Luca; I didn’t feel like Ariel needed him which was kind of nice change. He liked to run hot and cold but once he warmed up it was hard not to be at least fond of him. He had trained himself to not feel so when he really starts opening up to Ariel we see a different side of him. He is sweet, kind and of course gorgeous. He might be the next great love my life but I thought he was a good character and also a good match for Ariel.

At first I did not like Piper, Ariel’s best friend; I was like why is she friends with this girl. I don’t understand this relationship. As we get to know Piper we find out how she truly is loyal to Ariel and actually a really good friend. There were other side characters involved all that I found some kind of fondness for. Even the villains were interesting and very evil at times.

I really enjoyed this book and I loved the fact that it’s New Adult. The College Campus setting is perfect for this type of story and it really gave the characters more leeway with things. I really don’t want to give away too much of the mystery because that’s the best part about it. It mixes in a little mystery as we learn about the characters roles, which makes it intriguing to the last page. I will definitely pick up book two because I’m curious about how everything will end up resolved.
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Apr 02, 2013 Ali (GingerRead) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: na, arc-ng-giveaways, space-invaders

The Crimson Hunt has all the potential to be a great science fiction romantic thriller. It has aliens, action, beauty and the beginnings of a very interesting world filled with some awesome super powers. I am such a fan of science fiction when it incorporates a sweet love story or a heroine coming into her own powers. The Crimson Hunt has both. But it is not without flaws.

Ariel lost both her parents, and nearly her own life, at the age of five in a fire. She has spent most of her life alone. Now...more The Crimson Hunt has all the potential to be a great science fiction romantic thriller. It has aliens, action, beauty and the beginnings of a very interesting world filled with some awesome super powers. I am such a fan of science fiction when it incorporates a sweet love story or a heroine coming into her own powers. The Crimson Hunt has both. But it is not without flaws.

Ariel lost both her parents, and nearly her own life, at the age of five in a fire. She has spent most of her life alone. Now, a junior in college, she is finding a life for herself. She is burgeoning artist doing well in school, she has a small close knit group of friends and Piper her bestie that doubles as a roommate. She's content until the day she, literally, bumps into Luca.

Luca is a conundrum. He's hot and cold within seconds. Ariel can not get a handle on him and is becoming more and more drawn to him. It's the relationship between Ariel and Luca that gave me the first pause. I am in no way a fan of instant love but the drag out of this relationship was so long and torturous it was almost as painful as if they had fallen in love at first sight. The attraction is there from the start but there is no action of any kind until somewhere after the books halfway mark. In fact the romance is quite tame and could be handled by many young adult readers.

As Ariel's relationship with Luca develops, her relationship with Piper strains and strange events begin to happen around them. Eventually the events become tragic for Ariel and she must go on the lamb with Luca in order to preserve her own life. This run begins the unraveling of the science fiction aspect of the story, which was my favorite part. The last ten percent of the book is where the action really picks up and I wish there had been more of it spread throughout.

I understand the need for details and buildup with this sort of a storyline but The Crimson Hunt felt overly long and wordy at times. I think there was too much time spent on the relationship at the beginning of the book and the story lagged there because of it.

Don't mistake me, I think there are many fans of romance that will enjoy the love story here. Luca is quirky, sweet and old fashioned and makes for an interesting hero. I just found the other aspects of the story more my suit and wanted more of it. I get a little rush from alien action, be it from books like the Lux series or shows like Roswell. I love to see how the creators come up with these alternate beings and the powers they wield. Smith is on to something with it in The Crimson Hunt, she's created an interesting take and I want to see how it all hashes out.

I look forward to the second book due to so many of the details being let out in book one. I am hoping it makes for more action and aliens as that is really the gem of this story.(less)

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Dec 16, 2012 Theresa Jones rated it 4 of 5 stars

So, I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I started reading this book. I mean, you never know just what you will get when you pick up a debut of a self-published author, but I was really pleasantly surprised.

The story is about a college girl, who meets this rude guy, and then basically her life turns to shit. She has a best friend, who has some issues, and a few other friends, but no one else. She has no family because her parents were killed in a fire when she was really young. She has issu...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Annmarie (World of Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I first heard about this book, I was instantly intrigued. I love New Adult but I haven't really read any with Science Fiction mixed into it. I thought I knew how the book would unfold but to my surprise and delight, this book wasn't at all how I first thought it would be.

At first, I had a bit of hard time liking Ariel. She was just so ditsy and was all over the place. I get that she was trying to make her relate able and all but after the fifth time she fell or knock something over I just f...more When I first heard about this book, I was instantly intrigued. I love New Adult but I haven't really read any with Science Fiction mixed into it. I thought I knew how the book would unfold but to my surprise and delight, this book wasn't at all how I first thought it would be.

At first, I had a bit of hard time liking Ariel. She was just so ditsy and was all over the place. I get that she was trying to make her relate able and all but after the fifth time she fell or knock something over I just found it irritating. Another thing I didn't really like about her was the way she acted like a complete idiot whenever around Luca. I swear like most of the chapters in the beginning where just her going on and one about his looks and I'm like "I got it the first five times can we move on!" Luckily, eventually she moves past her moment of crazy fan girl and starts acting like a normal person around him; and that's when I really started liking her. Ariel is strong, has a really sad past and I loved how she never seemed to give up.

Luca wasn't exactly nice when Ariel first meets him so I was wondering how they would end up being friends. I didn't really like him much in the beginning but he grew on me very quickly and I knew there was a reason behind why he would act so hot and cold at times. I really like the paranormal aspect of this book. I really didn't know what to expect and half the book I kept thinking I knew what he was and what would happen only for something else to happen and I'd be back to square one again.

There is romance but it's not very detailed and doesn't seem to be the main focus of the story. They do get together but it always seems to just fade into the background. A lot of unfortunate events happen in this book and I was honestly shocked how some things went down. I wish some things could have been different but I know that some things were necessary.

I really enjoyed The Crimson Hunt and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more. And I especially enjoyed the bonus scene at the end of the book; it was great to see things from Luca's eyes. If you enjoy New Adult and like paranormal reads with a great mix of mystery and romance then I'd definitely recommend you pick up this book!

*Received from Author in exchange for an honest review.
**This review also appears on my blog World of Books(less)

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Mar 31, 2013 ~Kate~ rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ebooks, new-adult, own, reading-soon, 3-stars, author-a-z, funny-in-parts, heartbreaking, mythical-creatures, na, new-to-you, new-to-you-author, recommend, romance

It may have took me a lot longer than usual to read this book but that had nothing to do with liking or not liking the book it had more to do with life getting in the way.

This was a hard book to get into as I just wasn't really following the story and it wasn't until halfway through when things was starting to get explained when I actually got what was going on. Once I did get the story I was hooked and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. The romance side of the story I was...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Tavin rated it 4 of 5 stars

When we first meet our heroine, Ariel, she’s the lone survivor of a tragic accident that left her an orphan at a very young age and we get an idea that she’s no ordinary girl. Flash forward and we meet Ariel for real this time, as a college junior, moving into a campus house with her best friend, Piper. She comes across as a normal girl – she has a best friend that she loves and at times would cheerfully strangle, the usual problems with her classes and some fellow students along with a serious...more When we first meet our heroine, Ariel, she’s the lone survivor of a tragic accident that left her an orphan at a very young age and we get an idea that she’s no ordinary girl. Flash forward and we meet Ariel for real this time, as a college junior, moving into a campus house with her best friend, Piper. She comes across as a normal girl – she has a best friend that she loves and at times would cheerfully strangle, the usual problems with her classes and some fellow students along with a serious peanut butter brownie addiction (a girl after my own heart!).

Things start to change however, when she meets Luca Grinaldi. He is, of course, gorgeous and someone Ariel is instantly fascinated with to the point of distraction. The author also has one of the funniest descriptions possible as well, when Ariel first encounters Luca:

"I gulped and blinked, scanning down. He wore a collared, hunter green button-up shirt rolled at the sleeves. The material did very little to cover up the lean, muscular body beneath. And those jeans...good Lord those jeans. the dark wash, vintage style hugged every bit of him until they stopped at the brown leather shoes encasing his sexy feet. Sexy feet? Did I just think that?"

I seriously *loved* the sexy feet comment!!!!

Luca is quite rude and awkward the first few times they meet which confuses Ariel to no end as one minute she thinks he might be into her and then he seems to contradict that by treating her poorly. All this is enough to cause any college student problems but then the proverbial crap hits the fan and the meat of the story really begins.

Ariel was perhaps the best developed character in the book which isn’t terribly shocking as you read the story from her perspective. She was a main character that I could respect and didn’t feel the need to continually pound my head on my desk in frustration over her being ditzy or helpless all the time. She responded to her ever-changing and challenging circumstances in ways that made sense to me. She wasn’t always amazing – she was afraid, she cried and questioned but in the end, she also pulled up her big girl panties and got down to work. The rest of Ms. Smith’s cast of characters were all fairly well developed with my favorite being Ariel’s best friend Piper – who was loud and outspoken, along with being fiercely loyal and sweet.

I’m not sure when I began to see parallels to Twilight while reading this book but it completely hit me over the head once I’d had a chance to digest the story as whole. Ariel is a more believable (and much less frustrating) version of Bella – klutzy but capable. She has flaws and insecurities and really likes the hot guy who she cannot believe could really like her in return. Luca is a similar hero to Edward; he’s introspective and wants to protect Ariel at all costs, even to the detriment of their relationship or himself. This book is its own story though and while there are parallels to Twilight, don’t read it expecting Stephenie Meyer’s world to suddenly jump off the pages.

I don’t want to say too much more about the story as I would hate to spoil any of the authors’ well thought out twists and turns. I haven’t seen a lot of New Adult Sci-Fi on the shelves at Amazon and it was nice to dip into a story that had romance & drama but also a touch of the fantastic as well. I recommend this book to those looking for a story that is more than just your normal YA/NA fix (not that there’s anything wrong with that). It’s possible that you might just end up like me, eagerly waiting for book #2 to come out so you can read more of Ariel and Luca’s story. (less)

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Dec 24, 2012 Brianna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: new-adult

First off, let me just thank the author, Victoria H. Smith, for letting me have a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Second, I really liked this book. It had a totally interesting and original premise, and a great heroine. Ariel is definitely one of my favorite parts of this book. She starts off as a very believable, normal college student, and you can really relate to her. Then, things start to happen, and this girl you could be great friends with in real life is going through...more First off, let me just thank the author, Victoria H. Smith, for letting me have a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Second, I really liked this book. It had a totally interesting and original premise, and a great heroine. Ariel is definitely one of my favorite parts of this book. She starts off as a very believable, normal college student, and you can really relate to her. Then, things start to happen, and this girl you could be great friends with in real life is going through all of these things, and you just get sucked into the story.

Then, there's Luca. There's so much to talk about here. At first, when he was introduced, there was a lot of narration about how great he looked, but I appreciated that Ariel was not immediately won over by his looks. I love that there is more to Luca than just his appearance. We come to understand so much more about him over the course of the story, and it becomes understandable why Ariel loves him. I always appreciate when the main romance in a story is reasonable, and not just physical attraction made to look like love.

I also loved a lot of the side characters, like Luca's family, Gemini, and Bailey. What a totally awesome little girl Bailey was, and what a wonderful family Luca had. I loved them.

The world-building was original, as I have already stated. It's always amazing to me when an author creates a whole world or mythology of his or her own. I love it, and it always makes a book more interesting. This certainly holds true for this book. I kept wondering what was going on, who people really were, and how the book would end. It got to be very unputdownable.

Therefore, with all that said, I'm so happy that I read this book. I was going to buy it, but I sincerely thank the author again, for giving me a copy to review. Hopefully I have given you all an incentive to read this book. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series, and it's a great introduction into the New Adult Sci-Fi category. Now, I must find more. (less)

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Mar 15, 2013 Megan Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review first appeared on Books i View.

The Crimson Hunt starts off slow but soon turns into a sexy and exciting sci-fi new-adult book. The prologue in this book is one of the most mysterious ones I’ve read. It left me with a ton of questions right from the get go yet it seemed like a lifetime until the mysterious started to be revealed.

Ariel is a college student who was unfortunate to lose her family at a young age. In the beginning of the book she’s living with her best friend Piper and is...more

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Mar 18, 2013 Anatea Oroz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: aliens, new-adult, paranormal, romance

This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.

I am always intrigued by reading books that feature aliens, and so far, I haven't read a book I did not like. There is so much to aliens and every author has their own vision of "the little green ones" that makes those books so interesting. The Crimson Hunt itself has a very unique storyline with a lot of twists that will keep you wanting more.

In the beginning of this book we meet Ariel and her best friend Piper. They live a normal life,...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Shannon (aka Readergirl) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own-arc

Author Victoria H. Smith has created an inventive and unique story that blends new adult romance, science fiction, and urban fantasy in a very compelling way. I have read only one other book of this type, and it's refreshing to find something new and different in a world of werewolves, vampires, witches, and angels. The college setting gives it a more adult feel and allows for more freedom for the story to take the reader in directions that wouldn't have been possible for a younger setting.

The...more Author Victoria H. Smith has created an inventive and unique story that blends new adult romance, science fiction, and urban fantasy in a very compelling way. I have read only one other book of this type, and it's refreshing to find something new and different in a world of werewolves, vampires, witches, and angels. The college setting gives it a more adult feel and allows for more freedom for the story to take the reader in directions that wouldn't have been possible for a younger setting.

The characters were memorable, especially Ariel, who manages to bring something new to the young adult heroine. She's not your typical sweetsy girl, but also isn't the badass girl that are in a lot of YA books today. She's gentle and kind in such a way that made her very sympathetic to the reader. She's been through loss but still has such a big heart. It was so sad to see some of the things that happen to her, but she does have a layer of strength to her as well that makes you root for her. There are a couple of times in the story that she makes some bad choices and you just wanted to yell at her say, "you were warned not to do that! What are you thinking?" But this made her even more real, so it worked.

Luca was dark, mysterious, but not in a smoldering bad boy way. He was more of a gentle soul who can be bad at times and whom we know next to nothing about until later in the story when secrets begin to emerge. I loved the choices that he makes, and how devoted he is to Ariel. I definitely became a fan of this guy, despite the fact that I knew he couldn't be entirely trusted and was keeping secrets.

The romance was sweet, but also steamy with sexual tension. There were a couple really amazing scenes between these two which really locks the reader into the romance and has you rooting for them to be together.

When the secrets began to emerge and the mystery was slowly revealed, I was amazed and pleasantly surprised, because it wasn't at all what I was expecting. I enjoyed that aspect... the fact that the author knew just when and when not to reveal more layers. There was a gradually build up to the dark moment that was very compelling and made the pacing perfect. I really enjoyed the book, the writing, the characters, and the romance. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series and to see what happens to these amazing characters.
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Mar 17, 2013 Cheri Watkins washington rated it 5 of 5 stars

Victoria!!! Wow Girlie!! I'm in love with this series already! It is at the top of my Favorite Books now! I automatically was hooked from the beginning. You have such a great talent for bringing the characters to life.
I'm no critic just a lover of books and I have no idea why anyone wouldn't love this book!!
I do believe I owe my hubby an apology since I basically ignored him through this entire book! Ha!!
I can't wait to have more Arial and Luca and this ride they are going on. And yes, Luca w...more

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Mar 20, 2013 J.A. Huss rated it 4 of 5 stars

First reviewed at New Adult Addiction

This was a 3.5 for me, but I round up.

I admit the cover was the reason I decided to take this book for a spin, but also, it has a SF side to it and I’m crazy about new adult SF. The Crimson Hunt has Ariel, a college junior, struggling to come to terms with some very violent changes that happen at school – namely there is someone (or something) killing kids on campus. I mean, kids are dropping dead like nobody’s business.

In the midst of all this turmoil, she’s...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, ya, tour, ebooks, mar-2013-read, own, read-in-2013

The Crimson Hunt was so entirely different from what I expected. It took me on a journey to another world and back, and I was pleasantly surprised!

Ariel is a college student, who lives with her best friend, Piper. One day Ariel meets the cold and mysterious Luca who she quickly falls for. Piper warns her away from Luca, says he is bad news. Suddenly Ariel’s world comes crashing down around her and the only one to turn to is Luca, but can she trust him?

First off, let me just say I did not connect...more The Crimson Hunt was so entirely different from what I expected. It took me on a journey to another world and back, and I was pleasantly surprised!

Ariel is a college student, who lives with her best friend, Piper. One day Ariel meets the cold and mysterious Luca who she quickly falls for. Piper warns her away from Luca, says he is bad news. Suddenly Ariel’s world comes crashing down around her and the only one to turn to is Luca, but can she trust him?

First off, let me just say I did not connect with Ariel. At all, the entire story. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her but for some reason her personality fell flat for me. With that being said, and this is one of a few times this has happened, I still ended up really liking The Crimson Hunt. Victoria H. Smith has created such a wonderful world and story that I didn’t even care that the main character was boring! Also Luca was off for me as well. He was sexy, mysterious, strong, loving, all of those things you want but I couldn’t connect with him on any level. I did think he was a perfect love interest for Ariel though. My two favorite characters hands down, had to be Piper and Bailey. Ironically those two are compared quite a bit later in the story I’m sad that I didn’t get to experience more of Piper, I really enjoyed her spunk and Bailey was such a sweet little girl, I can’t wait to see more of her in the upcoming books.

The first 35% of the book was slow. I found it really hard to keep my attention to it, but once the events at the college started happening I could not put it down.

The world building is off to a good start. Due to the fact, it’s not really mentioned until close to the end of the book we didn’t get to learn a lot but I’m interested to see how the world building will play out in the upcoming books.

Other than the initial pacing of the book, The Crimson Hunt is a great read. The story is totally unexpected and carried a lot of uniqueness with the new type of paranormal beings(The Hunters) and the world building has major potential to continue.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes paranormal romance and I will certainly be continuing this series!(less)

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Jan 20, 2013 Max rated it 3 of 5 stars

THIS REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT MY BLOG: http://biasbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01...

Thank you to the author for sending me an ebook for review.
Cover: Well, the cover has nothing to do with the book. But, I do love the color purple and the flower at the bottom. Also even though the title was said in the book, it doesn't seem to fit correctly. And Eldaen seems like a mouthful to say. :)
3 Stars...? Give or take.
My Review:
Well, even though it seems like the author put a lot of thought into the characters,...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Unabridged Bookshelf rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Crimson Hunt is really unlike anything I have read, and the storyline took me completely by surprise. It is not every day that you come across a book that has a plot unlike anything I have currently read out on the market. The differences in The Crimson Hunt make it a refreshing read, something that as an avid reader I do not come across often anymore. I believe the story will really take all readers by surprise, and that is what I enjoy the most about The Crimson Hunt.

The main character, Ar...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Tishia (Paranormal Opinion) rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Crimson Hunt is the first book in the Eldaen Light Chronicles by Victoria H. Smith. It's a New Adult Paranormal Romance that revolves around a college girl named Ariel. She is just an ordinary young woman leading a boring, empty life until she meets Luca Grinaldi. Luca is the opposite of Ariel in almost every way. He is captivating and has this otherworldly aura about him.

Luca behaves oddly in the beginning. During the first couple of run-ins with Ariel, he acts like a jerk. Despite that, Ar...more The Crimson Hunt is the first book in the Eldaen Light Chronicles by Victoria H. Smith. It's a New Adult Paranormal Romance that revolves around a college girl named Ariel. She is just an ordinary young woman leading a boring, empty life until she meets Luca Grinaldi. Luca is the opposite of Ariel in almost every way. He is captivating and has this otherworldly aura about him.

Luca behaves oddly in the beginning. During the first couple of run-ins with Ariel, he acts like a jerk. Despite that, Ariel can't stop thinking about him. He is handsome and mysterious, and all the girls seem to swoon over him. He suddenly changes though, and shows an interest in Ariel.

There is a lot of mystery involved, and deaths start happening around the school. After a particularly tragic incident, Ariel's world falls apart. Luca is the only person there to help her, but she's not sure she can trust him. After this point is where the story starts lacking for me. Luca puts Ariel in hiding, and it is kind of boring and uneventful. The story picks up toward the end with some action and suspense.

I felt the romance lacked a little as well. Luca denied his feelings for much of the book. Just when you think something was going to happen...it didn't. Again and again. Ariel kept feeling rejected by Luca, which was sad considering how crappy her life had become and she had absolutely nobody. When Luca finally gave in to his feelings and they would start kissing, the scene would just fade out. It leads the reader to believe that more happened than just kissing, but yet makes you feel like you don't know the depth of their relationship. So, I don't feel like there was a whole lot of romance.

The plot was interesting and the writing was good. I just felt a little disconnected from the story. There are some sci-fi elements added in, and some of the revelations at the end took me by surprise. If you're a fan of young adult/new adult books with paranormal/sci-fi aspects, you might really enjoy this story. (less)

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Mar 19, 2013 Haley ~ YA-Aholic rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: blog-tour

Going into Crimson Hunt I didn't really know what to expect, so I am glad to report Crimson Hunt ended up being a pretty good read, I read it in one sitting, and will definitely be picking up book 2!

Crimson Hunt was a very slow paced read in the beginning, but it still keeps the readers attention. I found myself determined to find out what Luca was up to, then once I found out I was determined to find out what him and Ariel were going to do. So although Crimson Hunt was often a slow paced read,...more Going into Crimson Hunt I didn't really know what to expect, so I am glad to report Crimson Hunt ended up being a pretty good read, I read it in one sitting, and will definitely be picking up book 2!

Crimson Hunt was a very slow paced read in the beginning, but it still keeps the readers attention. I found myself determined to find out what Luca was up to, then once I found out I was determined to find out what him and Ariel were going to do. So although Crimson Hunt was often a slow paced read, I never felt it got boring. It did a great job at keeping my attention and keeping me curious throughout the whole story.

I liked the characters in The Crimson Hunt, I especially liked our main character Ariel. I felt so sorry her for everything she had been through, and while she broke down quite often (which is understandable and realistic after everything she went through) I felt she was a very strong character. I can't say if I was going through the same things she was if I could have kept my head.

Sadly I did not like our main leading man Luca as much as I did Ariel. I don't know why, but I just could not connect with him as much as a character, I know he was suppose to be this really dreamy guy, but I just never felt that personally. I'm not a huge fan of characters that are hot and cold, and while Luca was only hot and cold in the beginning it still bothered me, I felt like Ariel was investing way too much into him considering how he was acting towards her. Luca was just the 'meh' part for me, sometimes I really liked him considering how much he was putting on the line for Ariel, but other times I just found him boring.

I really enjoyed the sci-fi aspect of The Crimson Hunt, a new adult sci-fi story? Awesome idea! I loved the idea of the 'hunters', and learning about them and where they came from. They also had bad ass powers, and glowing eyes which is always a plus. It was nice reading something that was different compared to my lately vampire/werewolf stories.

Overall I enjoyed The Crimson Hunt. I felt it was a good opening book for a series and I look forward to reading the rest of the Eldaen Light chronicles. If you are someone that likes New Adult books and want to try something different than the usual contemporary romance then I would suggest The Crimson Hunt, or if you're someone who enjoys reading something that's different than the everyday paranormal books, then Crimson Hunt is a book I highly recommend.

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New Adult Book Club: The Crimson Hunt by Victoria H. Smith - NA Sci-Fi Romance	14	64	Jan 27, 2013 03:26pm
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About Victoria H. Smith

Victoria H. Smith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. She puts it to good use writing romance all day. She resides in the Midwest with her Macbook on her lap and a cornfield to her right. She often draws inspiration for her stories from her own life experiences, and the twenty-something characters she writes give her an earful about it.

In her free time, she enjoys extreme couponing, blog...more

More about Victoria H. Smith...

Books by Victoria H. Smith

Incandescence (Eldaen Light Chronicles, #2.5)

The Bringer's Quest (Eldaen Light Chronicles, #2)

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Quotes from The Crimson Hunt

“I couldn’t help but notice how hot he looked tonight with his strong build lining his t-shirt. He should never cover his beauty with clothes and such things. - Ariel” — 3 people liked it

“When he flashed that rockin’ smile of his again, I couldn’t help but think that me being cute was what might be crossing his mind. Then again, maybe he thought I was a dumbass. Either way, he smiled, which was good enough for me. - Ariel” — 3 people liked it

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The Crimson Hunt (Eldaen Light Chronicles #1)

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