Lot's of great action in this book, it stays true to the beginning of the series in tone and style. There are a few really great emotional moments in this book that make it easy to connect to as an adult but a lot of well writing action scenes that younger readers will love.

The descriptions of the scenery are also fantastic, Gunhus's writing brings the world to life in my mind reminds me of the writers of my childhood and the vivid worlds that they created. ( )

Jack Templar has discovered he is a monster hunter, (book 1) and been trained at the Monster Hunter Academy in book 2. Now he has to set off on his quest in earnest, to collect five Jerusalem Stones in order to save the world from destruction by the lord of all the monsters, known as Creach, who come in five types. This book deals with the vampiric kind. It’s full of action and puzzles and thrills and lightning and “will he, won’t he” types of questions.

The writing is terrific. I was totally enthralled by the descriptions of Marrakech; the desert storm; the travel through Spain (especially the “barrel-chested Spaniard with a hearty laugh and thick arms that looked better suited for wrestling bulls than creating delicate morsels of food”); the arrival in Paris, and the flying buttresses of Notre Dame. I have to confess I am a big fan of Notre Dame’s flying buttresses. If you ever go to Paris, do not miss a walk round the back of Notre Dame - preferably at midnight, which is a perfectly reasonable hour to be walking around Paris if you're over 18 or with your parent(s). The cathedral will be lit up and the flying buttresses look superb. So do the gargoyles. Jack Templar finds both buttresses and gargoyles far from superb as he battles with them during a furious thunderstorm. But such is the life of a monster hunter.

It’s not just description and monsters and fighting. There is an excellent team of well-rounded (or rather sharp) characters, including a rival for the object of Jack’s (suppressed) affection. Mr Gunhus must have lost a few early loves to write this so well! It’s a team with a wonderful mix of skills, too, including the nerdish inventor.

I confess I didn’t enjoy the climax of the book as much as the earlier scenes, since the fighting with the vampires is quite prolonged and involves a lot of revelations about Jack’s ancestry to drive the next stage of the series forward, but it is entirely forgivable. It doesn’t stop me looking forward to the next in the series. I don’t think I need to read the first two now, as I think most of the back story is covered here. I’m sure I’d enjoy them, though.

I’d like to thank Mr Gunhus for making it perfectly possible to start with book 3 in the series, but I suspect at least four more are planned, and I wouldn’t start any later if I were you! And I definitely recommend you start, if you haven’t already.

A fast and furious adventure, full of disgusting monsters, gory detail, a lot of fighting, and clever inventions, but a lot of real life incidents too. Roll on book 4 – the Lord of the Werewolves!

( )

5 stars

I hated every time I had to put the book down. This is full of drama, action, danger and history. The worst part of reading this series is my memory of the previous books. I just could not take the time to read the other books again right now. The story went from one drama action scene to another the whole way. It did not slow down the pace.

I liked the characters. Even the monsters. When we see some of them by their selves you can see their personality in them. The human characters are growing with their experiences but also staying true to themselves. They have weaknesses, but more positive traits. They want to save the world and their friends. They don't to let each other down.

I did stop and look up some of the scenes in Paris on the internet because they were fascinating to read about. It is the only way I will see them.

Jack and his two best friends and two monster hunters are on a mission to find the five Jerusalem Stones and bring them back together so they can save the world from all the monsters reuniting to fight against and destroy mankind. The stones are with different groups of monsters.
They decide to go after the vampire one first.

Before they can even try and find the vampire leader and its lair they have to find a man that might be able to help them. They have to face lots of challenges first. Working together they solve some of the puzzles and fights.

This is a book aimed at middle school. Harry Potter, Percy Jackson or Ranger Apprentice fans would like this series. Where really all ages can enjoy it. It is exciting adventure.

I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it and join the blog tour. ( )

I received a copy of this book for an honest review.

This is the first Jack Templar book I’ve read and I am going to have to read the first two before the next one comes out. This book was difficult to put down once I got into it. Not only is there a lot of action, but it keeps you interested throughout. It is suspenseful, full of surprises, and it even made me cry.

It does have quite a bit of violence. How could it not have violence when Jack and his friends are monster hunters? It is done in such a way, however, that I don’t think it would bother most children, especially if they’re already reading books in the young adult genre.

I definitely recommend Jack Templar and the Lord of the Vampires. ( )