Taken by the Others

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads.

TAKEN BY THE OTHERS proves that even ancient vampires aren't above acting stupid over a woman. And, not only that, but these two elders are too self-involved to realize that the heroine doesn't actually want either of them, because she's already dating a hunky werewolf named Chaz. MEN! Granted, their motivations are slightly different, however at the end of the day it all comes down to jealousy. Six months have gone by since the previous installment, and Waynest was still under the misguided impression that she could walk away from the Others' universe, well this book certainly cleared that up, and then some! I love me a good super villain, and we get that in spades with Max Carlyle—epic battles, betrayals, show more and sacrifices ensued as a result. That first kill is always the toughest, but consider Shiarra officially initiated into the elite club of vampire hunters. BOOYAH!

Becoming a kickass protagonist is never easy, and Waynest was most certainly put through her paces in this latest novel. She gets kidnapped on several occasions, experiences her first (and second) fanged kisses, and beats one of her assailants to a pulp. She also gets bound to not one, but two vamps, and overcomes the symptoms of blood withdrawal in all of their glory. However, when the dust finally settled, she was still standing, and in Urban Fantasy that's the only thing that counts. I have enjoyed following Shia's journey from human P.I. to don't-mess-with-me slayer; I liked how Haines explained her insta-skills in HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, and then made her hit rock bottom in book 2. So many authors brush over the harsh learning curve that comes with their lead character's heroine status, but not Jess, she let readers witness Waynest's transformation in all of its gruesome magnificence.

The plot's rather self-explanatory, just read the blurb and you'll pretty much get the gist of it. I thought that the story tied in well with the previous novel while also adding to the H&W INVESTIGATIONS world nicely, and ensuring that this series will continue to gain speed in future installments. Another supe gets added to Haines' already teeming paranormal cocktail in the form of Dawn, the elf supermodel, and the White Hats show their true colours. I can't say that I was overly shocked by the latter, but at least Devon and Tiny demonstrated that not all members of their order are bigots. I also enjoyed learning more about this universe's vampires including more details about the Others' contracts, blood bonds, and their internal politics. The final powwow was an action lover's wet dream, and meeting Mouse was a real delight—I hope that this won't be the last we see of her.

I'm not completely sold on the direction of this series' romance; I like Chaz, but I just don't know. He gets mad props for sticking with Shia throughout her recent ordeals, and bonus points for staying the course without a contract, because no paperwork = no sex. They've officially been on-again for six+ months now, and surviving that long without knocking boots is a huge challenge for your average Joe, but for a werewolf it's nigh impossible IMO. It's either true love, or the man is a complete sucker. I personally like Royce as a match even though his true motivations remain unclear. I know, I know—me choosing fangs over fur that has to be a first! It's just that Chaz hasn't really shown any alpha tendencies, and I didn't particularly care for his reaction to Waynest's blood bond woes, although I did sympathize with his reasons.

I broke-up with the vampire hunter story line long ago, but TAKEN BY THE OTHERS is proof that Jess Haines is doing great things for this genre, and as a result, it might soon be making a comeback on this reader's shelves. show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

Pure fun. That’s was Jess gave us with HUNTED BY THE OTHERS and that’s what’s she’s delivers in the follow up, TAKEN BY THE OTHERS. Well, that and nonstop action, some of the best romantic tension in urban fantasy, and a heroine who just gets better with every book.

Royce and Shia have a pitch perfect urban fantasy relationship. He wants her for semi nefarious purposes (and he just plain wants her). She is rightly terrified of him half of the time and terrified of herself the other half. Whenever these two get near each other (not often enough for Royce’s taste & way too often for Shia’s), sparks fly and it’s anyone’s guess if Royce is plotting to bite Shia or bed her. Can you show more say romantic tension?

Shia & Co are my favorite character ensemble in urban fantasy right now. The dialogue always crackles with wit and biting sarcasm, dry humor, or sly innuendo with near perfect timing depending on the character. And Shia doesn’t just play the straight character who everyone else gets to be funny around, she holds her own cut-the-crap attitude and can’t help but mouth off when she’s really scared.

The only thing keeping me from giving this another 5/5 bat review is that I thought there was a little too much driving around while planning/revising the next move. But that’s pretty minor. Overall, it doesn’t get much better for pure urban fantasy than Jess Haines. DECIEVED BY THE OTHERS with be published on July 5, 2011. Take my advice and pre-order it now. If you’re still on the fence, check out this pee-your-pants-laughing comic strip of how Shia met Royce.

Sexual Content: Kissing. References to sex. show less

4.5/5
These series are really good (so I've said already). I still can't help but have a feeling that I'm reading early Anita Blake which for me is a high praise. I loved the first LKH books up to and including Obsidian Butterfly.

The difference between Shia and Anita is that Shia is not tough, she is weak and awfully scared of what can happen most of the time, but she still perseveres. I admire that.

There are some new players in this book, and some very curious alliances. I loved how Shia made Devon, a member of White Hats (anti-Others group) work together with Royce and Chaz. It was funny and at the same time endearing.

Shia gets bitten for the first time and I like how a bond to a vampire totally changes your conscience while they're show more working their mojo on you. It helped me understand more why she was so afraid of leeches.

I couldn't decide if I liked Alec Royce or not. It was like playing a game of hot and cold. He does something good and you really like him for that, and then he goes and ruins it all.

Mouse! Who could resist her charm? She was a really great albeit brief character, and I hope we'll see more of her in later installments.

Overall, this book is just as strong as the first one, but wait until I review the third book *wink-wink*... show less

I liked book 1 but I liked this one even more! And now I do not know where to start, but what else is new. The ones I like and can't put down, yes those are so hard to review.

My favourite new P.I. Shiarra has avoided Others after her last ordeal which nearly killed her. Well except for her werewolf boyfriend Chaz, whom she has not yet slept with since she does not want to sign a contract handing over her life. Of course life is not that easy and if it was we wouldn't get a story. There is a new vampire in town who wants her dead (and I can't help liking him, he is so deliciously evil, truly evil.) And then there is Royce who wants her (mmm vampires) and those pesky White Hats who wants her to hunt Others for them.

As you can see things show more are heating up, poor Shiarra gets into a lot of trouble, serious trouble. She can't fight a vampire like Max. And I like that, ok that sounds horrible, but heroines must have faults, must be normal. And she as a mere human can't fight someone that powerful. I also like that she takes it slow with Chaz since she knows what a contract like that would do (in case he goes moon crazy and rips her into pieces he won't get prosecuted). Which he hopefully never would do since he loves her.

This book just never stopped. First it has me smiling because of a certain tabloid, and the next moment it had me fearing for her life. The story just flows along and takes me along for the ride and I sure enjoyed it.

Conclusion:
I recommend this urban fantasy series. It has a great heroine, a bit of humour, action and bloodthirsty beast. What more could a girl ask for?

Rating:
Did not want to put it down show less

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A human PI drawn into a struggle of “vampiric” proportions. Tensions within the story revolve around the fear of being too enamored into another’s life, at the loss of one’s own personality.

Opening Sentence: I don’t usually have people pointing guns in my face.

The Review:

The second installment of H & W Investigations series, Taken by the Others, sheds light on Shiarra Waynest’s thoughts and fears relating to the Others, or supernaturals like Vampires, Weres, and Magi. Her world has accepted the Others and incorporated them into their society, but can Shiarra? Though she is far more enlightened than she was in the last book, circumstances arise that test her new, more relaxed show more and understanding, self. There is a new player in town, and whether she wants to or not, she is about to be involved in a struggle for dominance between two very powerful vampires, Max Carlyle and Alec Royce.

Shiarra has accepted the idea that the Others she has viewed as monsters for so long, may not all be that bad. After all, her boyfriend, Chaz, is a werewolf and she loves him. There are also magi, or magic users, that she considers as friends. So, why does she still avoid vampires like the plague? Mostly because Alec Royce, one of the nation’s oldest and most publicly known vampires, confuses her. She has feared him since their contract was signed, but he has never given her real reason to. When she is kidnapped for the sole purpose to cause Royce pain and anguish, all of Shiarra’s worst fears are realized. Her fear even leads her to accept the help of the White Hats: a group of anti-Other militants that have declared war against anything, or anyone, relating to those that are non-human.

Shiarra does a few new things in this book. She finds a way to include all the factions and besieges them to work together toward a common enemy. This is a much more mature character than we read about in the first book. She exhibits the ability to see past the prejudice, and judge a “person” as an individual instead of grouped into a stereo-type. It’s unfortunate that her fears of the monsters, both human and Other, turns out to be well founded. When she is shown the worse that the vampires can do, she can no longer stay rational about them as a whole. Even though Royce’s actions reflect his best intentions for keeping her safe, Shiarra cannot bring herself to acknowledge his efforts. All she is able to see when looking at him is her own trauma staring back at her. Can she ever find it in her heart to give Royce the opportunity she has allotted for everyone else in her life?

Even though her relationship with Chaz seems to be getting better, they still have their own problems to deal with. For instance, Chaz seems to have a hard time balancing his time and attention between his pack and Shiarra. No woman wants to think that her man is more involved with anything other than herself, pack alpha or not. They also must still deal with Royce and his romantic overtures toward Shiarra. Will Chaz’s insecurities with the vampire be the cause of pushing his girlfriend away? Will Shiarra decide that she would be better off with someone else, Royce or not? Can they work through both of their insecurities before it’s too late?

Shiarra’s involvement in the White Hats organization is brief. Though they continually look to recruit her to their ranks, they also refuse to let her join the “other” side. Though they helped her get away from Max’s clutches the first time, she doesn’t support their cause. When the time comes and she asks for their help in banding with weres and vampires to take down a larger foe, they refuse on the grounds that they will never work alongside the “monsters,” only kill them. But as long as Shiarra continues to be involved with Others, she will have to deal with the White Hats and their prejudices.

There is nothing too special about the bad guy in this book. Max Carlyle is an elder vampire that has been holding a grudge against Royce for centuries. Angry over the loss of the woman they both loved, Max has found the perfect revenge in Shiarra. His plans to “take” her away from Royce drive his every move. Even though he is a little clichéd, Max is an honest and consistent villain. There is never a moment when you believe that he will turn over a new leaf and join the good guys. There is no doubt that Shiarra is not his focus in this game. He uses her for his own ends and discards her when he no longer needs her.

I get the hint that Shiarra is done with the vampires for a while. I hope that, in some future book, she and Royce either battle it out or get together. Either way, I think that Chaz is dumb and I hope something happens that breaks them up. Between the two, I much prefer Royce because he has never denied his nature for the sake of Shiarra’s “delicate sensibilities”. Shiarra is a strong character, with or without the talking belt, and I hope to see more of that in the future.

Notable Scene:

I faltered, not wanting to talk about being bitten. The thought still frightened me, even with the haze of adoration I had for him.

“Come to me.”

As soon as John and the other vampire released me, I flung myself into Max’s open arms. He’d keep me safe. He’d make the others stay away and leave me alone. Tears of joy sprang to my eyes when he wrapped his arms around me. He wasn’t so mad at me after all. One hand lightly brushed through my hair, the other cradled me to his chest as he whispered so soft and endearing into my ear.

“You’re mine now.”

FTC Advisory: Kensington provided me with a copy of Taken by the Others. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

There’s a new vampire in town and he is not happy with Shiarra – blaming her for killing his progeny. Of course, it’s only a deeper excuse to make a move against Royce over a deep seated grudge that goes back centuries. And Shiarra is a perfect tool to advance that revenge.

But who can protect her from the revenge of a vampire that ancient? Royce, perhaps – but would that mean putting herself even more under his control and how sure can she be that she can trust him?

But are the authorities sufficient to hold off a being this ancient? To be safe, Shiarra needs to go on the offensive.



This story takes the excellent world that began in Hunted by the Others and starts to play in it nicely. The world doesn’t expand but it’s more us show more getting used to the world that is presented – because it is so huge it’s good to have a book that lets us get used to it, let’s us explore what has already been revealed rather than pushing the boundaries back. The world is coloured in, more details added, we get an idea of the politics and the way the different groups work together and the challenges of this supernaturally integrated world. I like that a lot – not just because I like the world but because so many urban fantasy novels feel a desperate need to add something new with every book – some new revelation, some new shiny creature (usually Wendigos) every book and never really develop what they have.

Shiarra herself has also grown somewhat. She’s still scared of the Others (and tells us so, at length), but is capable of thinking beyond it and is less inclined to collapse into a puddle of goo whenever challenged. She has a level of confidence that makes her fit the role a bit more, though she has room for further growth.

I do like the story itself – the duelling vampire masters using Shiarra as a tool to further their own vengeance. It flows well and has some interesting twists, though I think it has some convoluted moments (like Royce being able to convince the police that he wasn’t responsible for a slaughter) and the premise always shakes me – yes the woman the enemy loved is dead. 2,000 years ago. Time to get over it and move on, get some therapy, go eat a vat of ice cream, whatever you gotta do, but time to move on. But other than those elements (and the White hats, which I’ll get to), it worked – Shiarra is trying to find a way out of her situation, she doesn’t trust hardly any of her allies and the ones she does trust don’t really have a reason to stick their neck out for this battle. She tries to find a way through and while not all her decisions are sensible, she makes them in her own right and seeks her own path. She learns a lot more about Royce and their relationship gets both closer and a lot more complicated in a very organic way. The story works. I never felt the need to put it down and I never felt the need to avoid it. I enjoyed reading it, I resented interruption and I was interested to find out what would come next.

There are 2 things that jar me from the story – one is that the writing has a habit of being long winded. I get that Shiarra is afraid of the Others, there’s no need to repeat it constantly. The second thing is that she makes some bemusing decisions. Like she decides to call her friends who are due home tomorrow – and then assure them they don’t need to come home. Why call them? Why leave them with that worry? Or she decides to make the call about hate groups and monsters in the middle of doing her grocery shopping with everyone in the super market staring at her. She feels pity for the man who kidnapped her – within hours, possibly minutes, of being kidnapped and oddly decides to believe everything he says. She continually does these things that are… bemusing to say the least

I really don’t like how the White Hats are portrayed in this book, especially in the beginning and after the first book. As I said in my review then, I hate how the Others are portrayed as a marginalised group and that discrimination and prejudice against them is views in the same way as bigotry against POC or the disabled or GBLT people.

But if we’re going to have that element then it needs to be consistent. And if we’re going to present the Others as a persecuted group, then the White Hats, a group that burns down their businesses, murders them on the street et al is one of the most violent and horrific hate groups out there. Even aside from that, the White Hats appear on Shiarra’s doorstep with a gun pointed at her. They’ve made it pretty clear the full nature of their organisation

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You may also read my review here:http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/06/review-taken-by-others-by-jess-haines.html

Shiarra is enjoying being a PI and hanging out with her werewolf boyfriend Chaz, when she finds out that Max Carlyle, a very powerful vamp, is gunning for her. He blames her for the death of one of his vamps, the treacherous Anastasia, and is determined to make her his own, or kill her. Good thing she’s contracted to the most powerful vamp in the city, Alec Royce, right? To make things worse, the leader of the White Hats want to bring Shiarra over to their side, no matter what. When Royce reveals that he plans to confront Max on his own, Shia’s having none of it, and she’s not the only one. The White Hats and Chaz want show more in on this action!

Shiarra is one of my fave urban fantasy heroines this year. She’s human, with no special powers of her own, so every decision she makes is based on that. However, she has a nifty weapons belt, created with mage magic, that contains the spirit of a dead hunter. When she wears the belt, she’s stronger, faster, and well, you get the point. She’s Shiarra 2.0! She’s slowly but surely coming to terms with the fact that dealing with the Others is her new way of life, and she’s come a long way from the Shia of Hunted by the Others. Getting kidnapped by Max Carlyle brings her in contact with Devon, a White Hat that starts to learn the same lesson that Shia has, that not all supes are slavering, raging beasts, and agrees to help the gang take down Max. Ms. Haines really ups the ante on Shia in this one. Max is a really, really nasty guy and things get pretty dark as we head into the second half of the novel. She also begins to view Alec quite differently and soon realizes that there may be more to him then she thought. Like I said, Chaz is also along for the ride, and the tension created between him and Royce is always entertaining and causes a lot of eyerolling on Shia’s part as she struggles with the contract she has with Royce, and the relationship that she’s trying to cultivate with Chaz. Like I said, Taken is quite a bit more violent than Hunted, and Shia is learning some hard truths about the direction her life has taken. Twists and turns abound, and Taken by the Others is a game changer for Shia, in more ways than one. Ms. Haines is definitely on her game with Taken, and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in Deceived by the Others! show less