Title:  The Hunt
Author: Stacey Kade
Publisher/Year: Disney – Hyperion 4/7/2015
Length: 384 pages
Series: Project Paper Doll #2

Overview

Ariane Tucker has finally escaped GTX, the research facility that created her. Now that she’s on the run, Zane Bradshaw is the only person she can trust. He knows who-and what-she is and still wants to be part of her life.

But accepting Zane’s help means putting him in danger.

Dr. Jacobs, head of GTX, is not the only one hunting for Ariane. Two rival corporations have their sights set on taking down their competition. Permanently.

To protect Zane and herself, Ariane needs allies. She needs the other hybrids. The hybrids who are way more alien and a lot less human. Can Ariane win them over before they turn on her? Or will she be forced to choose sides, to decide who lives and who dies?

My Thoughts

I really enjoy this series and i think that we’re finally starting to see how complex and mixed up things are – and not necessarily in a good way.  We remember the ending of the first installment of the series – where Zane and Rachel managed to break Ariane out of GTX, at the same time she learned that her ‘father’ had been lying to her for the past 10+ years too – so all in all, not the best of days.

So now she’s on the run and Zane is coming along with her since he’s on the hunt for his mother who she now knows where she’s been ‘hiding’.  We can only imagine that things will continue to go from bad to worse and it does!

They are on the run, and manage to some how get to his mom’s and when they get there, it’s a shock to see that Zane’s mom is none other than Mara – the nurse that was re-assigned once Ariane was forced to kill the mouse all those years ago.  It’s upon seeing her that we get another shock – that Mara works for one of the competing labs now – and thinks that Ariane is Ford – one of the other hybrids that’s part of that other lab. the thing too with the other hybrids is that they’ve never managed to assimilate into society and are rather alien like in their mannerisms.  They also have this bond that keeps them tethered to one another, and we quickly learn that their ‘keeper’ has them on some stimulant that they need in order to survive.

Where we go in this 2nd installment is on the journey with this happy couple as they try to figure out what the next move is and how to survive since we know that Ariane is supposed to go to and win the Trials.  It’s never easy since we find that GTX and the lab that Mara works for is now after them, and no one is safe.  You still have to wonder who you can trust.  Ariane is put into several situations where she’s some how forced to choose between alien or human, zane or Ford – and well, that’s never good.  especially when things seem to be moving in a great direction for the happy couple at one point and then in the next scene – it goes all pear shaped and upside down.

What i really like about this though is that there’s still that third lab that you don’t hear about – since the 2 have discounted his methods because it has to do with viral physics or something like that.  They just don’t think that he’s a threat.  I think that we’re going to see something quite interesting and rather twisted happen now that St John (the 3rd doc) has appeared at an interesting time, and has taken capture of one of our favorites in this series.  Life or Death and a mad scientist doctor really makes for an interesting story.

So….the question that comes up is what’s going to happen with Ariane and Zane, Ariane and the other hybrids and Ariane in general?  i want to see her happy with her love life and see her free – but i don’t know if that’s something that can happen.  So….another 2 weeks until i can get my hands on The Trials and we’ll see then.