Thank you to Netgalley and Angry Robot for the eARC! The Hunter’s Gambit was a pretty fun and wild read overall. I finished the majority of it in one day because there were so many twists and turns and I needed to know what happened!

That said, the reason I’m not rating this book higher is because I felt that the overall plot was underdeveloped. There was also a lot of convenience with the main character Kazan eavesdropping and two of the vampires taking such an interest in her so quickly. Plus, I feel like the beginning of the book to the bulk of it were two completely different stories rather than exposition setting us up for rising action. The ending also felt very convoluted and that the book should have finished up much sooner than it did.

This did have some badass and frightening vampires. Some of them felt like caricatures, but I was also okay with that. It gave charm to a really dreary premise haha. I also appreciated Kazan and her two love interests being openly bisexual and exploring that with one another, though the romance did happen quite quickly.

Overall, I’d definitely read another book by this author, and this book is a refreshing one in the world of vampire literature.

Sexy, primal, and visceral. Perfect for readers who hate sanitized vampires and want a little more gore and decadence.
The first half of the book felt a little slow, while the second half felt a little rushed.
The relationships between characters could have been developed more strongly.

I loved the description of the book and had had high hopes. The FMC was difficult to connect with. She was self aware of the fact that she wasn’t a good person, that she had no true qualms putting herself first including letting people die and only cared when it served her.
The writing was good and for the right reader, it might be enjoyable. However, the entire time I read it I just kind of hoped it would start to pull me in. I think I’d have been just as okay not finishing the book.
I think it was also misleading that this is tagged as a romance fantasy because it is not. There was a single threesome that felt awkward because one of the three felt so disconnected from it and the actual ‘romance’ was not involving the FMC. She just seemed like a random throw in to the actual couple’s moment to spice things up but the romance was not in the room with them.
The end of the book was so underwhelming for me.

❗️Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.❗️

4.25 stars for this vampire adventure where the plot was PLOTTING (Leah this ones 4 u)

I absolutely ate this story UP! Kazan is a human blacksmith who adventures away from her small town to sell her finest sword to the High Warden in a town to the south...but is unfortunately captured by sadistic vampires on the road and made into the "Vampire Queen." This mockery of a title essentially means that the vampires are playing with their food for three days while she completes the rituals that will end with her blood spilled at midnight on the third day. But Kazan is too headstrong to allow herself to just lay down and die, or get drunk and ignore what's to come- instead she forms strategic alliances around the vampire citadel and works to change her fate.

From the first meeting we see of Kazan with a vampire, the enigmatic and infamous Adrius de Vere, we can see she is fascinated by their kind and doesn't want to fear them the way the rest of the humans do. She catches his eye, and the eyes of his close ally and lover in the citadel, and the fascination seems to go both ways (if you know what I mean). Seeing the differences in the ways she is treated by vampires that see her strength and personality vs the vampires that see her as prey helps us get a true picture of Kazan and what she values. Her independence, her freedom of choice, her willfulness, her strategic thinking all make her such a fascinating main character!

I love a romantasy book, don't get me wrong, but when a book has the plot that holds up without the romance aspect added in, I feel like that's a sign of a great book. I was so absorbed in the world and following Kazan's struggles and schemes to escape with her life, that the romantic subplot was just a nice lil fun treat (three-at ;)) on top of an already existing wonderful story!! With the way this one ended, it could be a standalone- but I have to hope that we will get more story following a certain change of heart!!

Thank you so much to Ciel Pierlot and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I absolutely love vampire novels, but I felt like I couldn’t connect with the main female character in this one. There was some disconnect as she went through the story.

The cover and title of this book caught my attention. The synopsis captured it and I really thought I was going to love this book. The dedication alone had me pretty sold.
Though, I found it was a toss between feeling the story was dragging on or rushing. The beginning was intriguing but I found once we got to day one it was beginning to drag. It started really picking up after Kazan has a moment with the love interest. Though, it picks up too quickly and I find the ending to be rushed.
I thought the love interests were an interesting twist but I wish it went more into an emotional connection as well. It just seemed a bit odd to me that a lot was risked and there were so many lies being told and yet the only connecting really holding it together was some brief kisses, one steamy hook-up, and almost like infatuation… just seemed like so little compared to the risks.
I didn’t dislike the book but I didn’t love it. It’s an interesting read especially if you love vampires. I really enjoyed the magic and I wish they went deeper into the world building. For me personally, the book fell a little flat but I still enjoyed it.

Kazan created a powerful sword, capable of killing vampires.  On her way to find a buyer, her caravan is overrun with the creatures who then take her to their castle and make her their "queen".  Its not the honor it sounds like because after three days, she becomes their next meal.

Thoughts 💭
This book seemed like an interesting take on vampires, a topic that was once my favorite to read about. Kazan is a little morally gray and interesting.  She is talented enough to craft weapons to kill them after having a previous encounter. The vampires are gruesome and terrifying. It had the makings of a fascinating story but fell short for me.  There wasn't a whole lot of world building and it seemed like it was missing something.  Despite the interesting idea, not a lot happened.  The majority of the book is Kazan trying to escape a castle full of vampires.  It sounds more interesting than it was to read about.  The book dragged for me.  I recommend skipping this unless you can't miss a vampire story.

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

Title: The Hunter's Gambit by Ciel Pierlot
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pub Date: June 25, 2024

🩸 Vampires
🥀 Morally Grey MCs
🩸 LGBTQ+ Representation
🥀 Why Choose
🩸 3/5🌶

Kazan, our stabby human blacksmith, meets Adrius, our Morally Grey vampire MMC, during a party thrown by an dealer of exclusive goods. Though a deal couldn't be made, the dealer sends Kazan and her special weapon on a trip to someone who might be interested. Things on the road don't go as planned and Kazan finds herself in the vampire citadel, crowed "Vampire Queen," with only a few days before she's sacrificed in a ritual to keep it from crumbling.

My Review:

I didn't care for our FMC who made being a pathological liar her entire personality. I liked Reya though! The writing was fine, but I just wasn't invested. It's one of those books that you read and then forget what happened.

3/5

Thank you so much NetGalley and Angry Robot for the digital review copy. ❣️

Thank you for this arc I appreciate it. I do feel like there were a handful of plot holes. I couldn’t get behind the throuple. I feel like I wanted to love adrius and Kazan together but I feel like while the chemistry was good in the beginning it kinda died off. Reya never intrigued me as a character. I think the 3 day time period was hard to wrap my head around. Realistically these vampires aren’t gonna care about a human after 3 days. But overall a fun quick read and I appreciate the arc! Thank you

One of the things I liked most about this book was the FMC, Kazan. I always like when the morally grey is the woman and she killed it in that point, she's the type to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

The idea of ​​the book is good but I feel like it could be developed a lot more, I also didn't feel much chemistry in the romance part but in a way I was entertained so is it not a bad book, just needed some improvements.

If you like vampires and badass FMC’s I would highly recommend this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially the second half where interesting things finally started happening. Although the beginning is very good, I would have liked the world-building to be handled better, as it was addressed superficially. However, this does not detract from the story's interest.

In the first half of the book, I noticed that Kazan talked about escaping but did not show any signs of developing a plan or starting to take action. Fortunately, this improved in the second half, where we finally see a plan for escape being executed, which managed to redeem the book for me.

I loved all the characters, but especially Kazan; it’s always refreshing to have a morally gray protagonist. The ending left me with high expectations, and I hope there will be a short novel about our protagonists' reunion.

I really wanted to like this book. The concept was really interesting and unique and the world and characters had a lot of potential. Unfortunately it all fell flat for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I was so captivated by the description that I dove right in. I feel like it could have been a fabulous story if the execution were refined. The story was rushed, the characters didn’t feel well developed, and I wanted more. Sometimes it felt like things happened just for the sake of having some filler, when there was an opportunity to build the back story instead.

Honestly was stoked to get this early read, but unfortunately it fell flat to me. The idea was excellent in theory, but the whole story left me craving for more. More adventure, more spice, more romance. Overall, not a bad read, I just wanted more.

I absolutely love the premise of this book and it only taking place over a span of three days. The FMCs unreliableness added so much to the book and she always had me questioning what she was actually going to do with her situation. I can't wait to see what else the author will publish in the future!

I am quite saddened to give this 2⭐️ to be honest, considering I was really excited and looking forward to this vampire novel.

Honestly, the start was good, I did like it. Everything just went downhill after Kazan became the so-called vampire queen and the poor executive storyline of the vampire characters.

I would say the plot development and characters were lacking. It lacked that vampire feel to it, the mysteriousness of the character and the intrigued of the vampire content as well as the background or supporting details to make it convincing.

I would say I'm disappointed in how the 60% of the novel went. The potential was wasted. Kazan was disappointing, I was expecting more of her the same with Adrius. I could also say the same with Dasar and Ezelind.

Overall, it was honestly disappointing.

I requested a copy of the ARC from the publisher, ANGRY ROBOT BOOKS, and was approved in exchange for an honest review. All opinions discussed are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

There were two things in the book description that caught my eye about THE HUNTER'S GAMBIT: vampires and locked-room escape adventure. I just had to read it. As soon as I cracked it open and read the dedication, I knew I'd made the right choice.

The day I started this one, I meant to just read the first chapter, get an initial impression of the story and the author's writing style, but when I looked up, I had read 6 chapters! Ciel Pierlot wrote this as if she herself is a vampire: I was just as curious and fascianted as Kazan with her chance encounter with Adrius De Vere, the aristocratic vampire in the city to conduct a mysterious business transaction. I was mesmerized by the subtle attraction and building tension between the two, their banter and playful jibes. When Kazan finds herself a captive of the Vampire Court and only 3 days left to live - I was completely hooked! Kazan is a character that is resourceful, uses the power of her mind and takes inspired action.

Almost the entirety of our tale takes place inside the Citadel, a powerful vampire stronghold. The author keeps readers from getting bored with Kazan running circles around the castle, looking for a way to escape with some magnificently written moments, or scenes. I wouldn't describe Ciel Pierlot's style as purple prose, I feel it's very accessible and easy to follow, but she has some moments where she describes with crystalline detail of what's happening to deliver intense impact. There was one chapter where I reread the same 2 paragraphs 5-6 times because it was so insanely good. (It's the beginning of Chapter 30 for any wondering.)

Now I'm sure you noticed in the genre list that romance is listed, so I do feel compelled to give my opinion on the level of spice in this book. It ranks as a level 2 on my Spice Rating scale, which means there were 1-2 descriptive intimate scenes and mild language. I was a little surprised it was so mild since the dedication in the beginning threw a little shade at the Twilight series.

What makes this book stand out from the countless others I've read containing vampires is the reason behind this game of crowning a Vampire King or Queen every year and the blood magic invoked and practiced by the vampires.

I had such a great time with this one. I've already purchased the other book published by this author, Bluebird, so keep an eye out for that review in the coming months!

3.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed the main 3 characters within this book. I was invested in their relationship and enjoyed the build up to it. I liked the progression of the book and the struggle of the main fmc. At times it felt long but I understand it was necessary for the ending. However at times I found the amount of characters to be overwhelming and didn’t enjoy the way some were introduced without context. Forcing you to rely on the index of characters at the beginning. I would have enjoyed a more organic introduction without having to rely on the index so much. I think having a map would have also been helpful for this book due to the amount of places mentioned throughout.

The Hunter's Gambit surprised me.
I was all excited to read this one but then saw some reviews that made me a bit apprehensive. I should have ignored those reviews and read this earlier.
I loved it!
Kazan is a very flawed human, and that's ok. I love that she admits to being about self preservation and in it for her. She isn't perfect, but she is more real because of this. Reya and Adrius surprised me but I am a bit disappointed that there isn't more.
I feel like there is a lot more of this story to be told and I sincerely hope that we have more books in this world coming in future.

Thanks to publishers for this ecopy

The Hunter's Gambit has vampires, power struggles, humans and a plot that has twists and turns, what's not to enjoy.
This book is written really well and I loved the characters and the lavish descriptions that built this story up. The way the twists played out made it a fantastic read.