Review: Jack Templar, Monster Hunter

Jack Templar, Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Middle Grade (12 and up)
Recommended for: People who have been looking for a boy-friendly MG to YA urban fantasy, people who like MG to YA urban fantasy
Trigger Warnings: violence, fighting, betrayal

My Thoughts: I had noticed this book a number of times, and been waffling on it, until I read Kriss Morton’s excellent review and feature. That decided me and I finally decided to go ahead and accept this book for review.

Ever have one of those days? Yeah, so have I. This story covers that day with Jack Templar, the day before his 14th birthday. The day that everything changes.

I have to say that the devil-werewolf? That freaked me out. When I was really young—before I even went to school—I used to have nightmares about a creature that looked very much like the devil-werewolf was described. I had never even heard of werewolves at that point in my life, so yet another of the mysteries in my life: knowledge I have that I shouldn’t.

It’s fast-paced. It’s intense. And it’s wonderful! I really like that it’s told from a boy’s point of view—there are not nearly enough boy-friendly MG/YA adventure reads—and I really like the story, the world... the whole thing. I really can’t recommend it enough, and I’ll definitely be watching for future adventures in this new series. If you’ve been looking for a book that your younger male reader will enjoy, that will give him someone to look toward as a role model, this is a good place to start. Be sure to check it out! There is also a website where you can keep up on Jack Templar while you wait for the next book. I’ve linked it, where formatting is allowed. Otherwise, you can probably find it in a Google search.

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died. The day before Jack's fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it's great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend "T-Rex" from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he's the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he's destined to be in the family business. Second, that there's a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits... until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him. 

As if that weren't enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the "One?" Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.



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