BLURB:

Her disappearance wasn’t an accident. Her rescue will be a mistake.

22-year-old Eileen goes missing while hiking in the remote Ashlough Forest. Five days later, her camera is discovered washed downriver, containing bizarre photos taken after her disappearance.

Chris wants to believe Eileen is still alive. When the police search is abandoned, he and four of his friends create their own search party to scour the mountain range. As they stray further into the dark forest and the unsettling discoveries mount, they begin to believe they’re not alone in the trees and that Eileen’s disappearance wasn’t an accident.

By that point, it’s too late to escape.

MY THOUGHTS:

Imagine this—you go on a simple hike, nothing crazy, just a little nature time, and next thing you know… you’re lost. But not just lost. Something is out there with you. It’s not quite an animal, not fully human, but definitely something straight out of your worst nightmares. And as if that’s not bad enough, your brother and friends decide they can do a better job than the cops at finding you… and boom, they’re lost too. Yeah. This book? This book owns you from page one.

The way I devoured Hunted should be studied. Like, I genuinely couldn’t put it down. Reading this was the book equivalent of binge-watching a new Netflix series—you know, the kind where the first episode is so good that you blink and suddenly it’s 3 AM and you’re deep into episode six? That was me with this book. I didn’t even bother looking up reviews while reading because I didn’t want anyone else’s opinion clouding my experience. I just let myself get lost in it, the same way I stumbled across it in the horror section of Barnes & Noble. I had no clue who Darcy Coates was at the time, but best believe this will not be the last book I read from her.

I’m a huge fan of horror movies where a group of friends gets stuck somewhere and has to figure their way out (cue the absolute chaos). That trope? Gets me every time. And Hunted delivered that in the best way. There was even a moment when a certain character (if you know, you know) got unalived, and I legit yelled, “NOOOOOOOO NOT HER!” Like, I felt that loss deep in my soul.

I know horror books are supposed to creep us out, and don’t get me wrong—this one definitely did—but I also had so much fun reading it. As an avid romance reader, I love throwing a horror or thriller into the mix every now and then to cleanse my reading palate. Is that weird? Probably. Do I care? Absolutely not.

I have zero complaints about this book. 10/10. I ate it up and can’t wait to dive into the rest of Darcy Coates’ catalog. If you love a good, spine-chilling, edge-of-your-seat horror story that feels like a cinematic experience, Hunted is for you.

Now excuse me while I go grab another one of her books.