Most of you are surely already aware of how much I love Talia’s writing in general, but her stories are usually contemporary romance—which she excels at, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been in such a paranormal mood lately that, when I heard she was releasing her first ever paranormal romance novella, I was freaking pumped.

They were fated, after all. They were written in the stars.

Mating the Huntress is a short little story about a woman from a family of werewolf hunters, who’s in for quite a shock when she learns that a local Were has not only taken an interest in her—he’s recognizing her as his fated mate, destined to fall in love and live happily ever after with him in his adorable little woodland cottage. I mean… it’s precious.

In typical Talia Hibbert fashion—and, as you can guess from the synopsis, no doubt—Chastity is not having it for a while. She’s been raised to view Weres as these blood-crazed, murderous beasts, and she’s content to keep viewing them that way, even if the Were who’s just asked her out on a date is incredibly handsome… and sweet… and funny… I digress. Chastity is a self-assured, sexy, intelligent, angry, and slightly violent woman, and I loved her, even though I occasionally wanted to smack her upside the back of her head.

Now, for the first time, he knew loneliness. Felt the gap of her absence. Felt true hunger.

Fun plot, kick-ass heroine, and atmospheric setting aside, it wouldn’t be one of Talia’s novels without a devastatingly adorable, lovable, sweet hero. Having dealt with anger issues in his younger days, Luke’s an artist now, using his wood-carving skills to keep his rage at bay—and doing a damn good job of it, considering how calm he manages to stay while Chastity is calling him names and, er… trying to murder him…

Seriously, though, these two characters are so damn cute, and I loved watching them gradually connect as Luke manages to show Chastity and her family of huntresses that things aren’t exactly what they’ve assumed them to be in the world of Weres. The entire “mating” aspect was one that might sound peculiar if you’re not accustomed to fantasy romance stories, but if you are, Talia pulls it off really well and keeps things perfectly consensual and fun. No gross, pushy alpha males in this pack! (Not that there really is a pack, because Luke is kind of a loner, and, well… I’m getting off topic again, aren’t I.)

She wasn’t sweet or gentle or biddable. She was a bloodthirsty fucking murderer. His heart sang.

If I had to pick one single favorite thing about Mating the Huntress, I’m pretty sure it would be how ridiculously enamored Luke is by Chastity’s violence and general bloodlust. I know it sounds odd out of context, but there are multiple moments where Chastity is just being this rage-filled little monster, and Luke is left swooning over her, and it’s just downright adorable. Alternatively, her outbursts tend to create a lot of tension, which leads me to my next point: as always, Talia’s steamy scenes are well written, with a refreshing focus on mutual pleasure, consent, and a little dominance with a lot of love behind it.

If I had to make any complaint, it would be that I wish this story was longer! I would absolutely love for this to have been written as a full novel, which would have given Chastity a little more time to believably overcome the prejudices she’d been raised in (and more time for Luke to be an angsty, lovestruck puppy). Then again, does wanting more of a story even count as a complaint? I adore everything I’ve read by Talia so far, and I’m positive I will continue to do so in the future!

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the author for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!