Wanted by the Hunter by Lynnea Lee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

NATALIE

A knight in shining loincloth

That’s what I’m looking for. I’ve been lusting after the Xarc’n hunters since they landed on Earth, offering to help us fight the alien bugs. These seven feet tall, musclebound warriors are horned, clawed, and fanged—the ultimate protectors. And Rajiv’k is the perfect specimen.

Just one problem: I can’t fall in love. Nope! Not after the crappy relationships I’ve had. I refuse to deal with a broken heart during the bugpocalypse. No way! So I keep things transactional, his protection for my companionship. What can go wrong, right?


RAJIV’K

Hunters are supposed to revel in the physical act of fighting and killing the scourge. But not me. I kill them, they multiply, I kill them, they multiply. What’s the point? Why spend my life saving worlds I didn’t care about?
Then, she comes along. Little human Natalie fires up my need to claim and protect. And suddenly, I have a reason to fight. Natalie is mine. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Wanted by the Hunter

Alien man meat!

The following ratings are out of 5:
Narration: 🎙🎙🎙🎙🎙
Romance: 💚🖤💙❤️💜
Heat/Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Story/Plot: 📕📗📙📘📔
World building: 🌏🌍🌎🌏🌎
Character development: ☹️😳🥺☺️

Character Background and Plot Summary

Wanted by the Hunter takes place partly alongside the events of the first book, but it begins much earlier with Natalie during the alien insect invasion that devastated Earth. Natalie was seriously injured after being slashed by one of the insects, leaving her with a permanent limp. Rather than letting her injury define her, she throws herself into learning everything she can. I really appreciated that her intelligence became one of her strongest traits instead of just making her “the injured heroine.”

Rajiv’k is another Xarc’n hunter, a close friend of Kaj’k from the first book. Like the other hunters, he is a clone created for one purpose, to destroy the insect swarms that escaped their creators and spread across the galaxy. What makes Rajiv’k stand out is that he is always experimenting and looking for ways to improve equipment and solve problems. When Kaj’k asks him to watch over Natalie because of her injury, Rajiv’k immediately recognizes that she is his mate.

One of my favorite parts of the story was watching Rajiv’k focus on finding ways to help Natalie instead of simply accepting that nothing could be done. His determination to improve her mobility showed how much he cared long before either of them openly admitted their feelings. I also loved that Natalie had secretly been fascinated by the Xarc’n hunters ever since they arrived on Earth, so there was already a believable attraction on her side before Rajiv’k entered her life.

Highlights and Limitations

Natalie was easily my favorite part of this book. It would have been easy to make her injury her entire personality, but instead she remains curious, funny, and surprisingly bold. Even with her limp, she refuses to sit on the sidelines, and I enjoyed seeing her challenge Rajiv’k instead of treating him like an untouchable alien warrior.

Rajiv’k is exactly the kind of protective alien hero I enjoy. He is fiercely possessive once he realizes Natalie is his mate, but he also respects her intelligence and actively involves her in his work. The scenes where they spend time together discussing his inventions and possible treatments for her injury helped their relationship feel like it was built on more than physical attraction.

I also liked seeing the timeline overlap with the first book. Instead of feeling repetitive, it added another perspective to familiar events and gave Rajiv’k a chance to step into the spotlight.

If I had one small criticism, it would be that I wished the medical side of Natalie’s recovery had been explored a little further. Rajiv’k’s efforts were satisfying, but I found myself wanting even more detail about the process because I was so invested in seeing her regain as much mobility as possible.

Narration

The dual narration worked really well for this story. Troy Duran continues to be one of my favorite voices for these powerful alien heroes. His deep, confident delivery perfectly captured Rajiv’k’s protective nature while still allowing quieter moments of tenderness to shine through.

Keira Stevens was an excellent choice for Natalie. She gave Natalie an intelligent, warm, and feminine voice that matched the character I imagined while listening. She also handled Natalie’s determination and vulnerability equally well, especially during the scenes where Natalie struggled with the limitations caused by her injury but refused to give up.

The alternating points of view made it easy to understand both characters’ emotions, and I thought both narrators complemented each other nicely.

Final Opinion

I ended up enjoying this book even more than I expected. Natalie and Rajiv’k were incredibly easy to root for, and I loved that their relationship grew through shared conversations, problem solving, and genuine admiration instead of relying only on the fated mates trope. Watching Rajiv’k quietly dedicate himself to improving Natalie’s life was one of the sweetest parts of the story, and Natalie never lost the spark that made her such a fun heroine.

If you enjoy protective alien heroes, capable heroines who refuse to let adversity stop them, and romances with plenty of action alongside heartfelt character moments, this audiobook is definitely worth picking up. Between the engaging story and the excellent performances from Troy Duran and Keira Stevens, I had a hard time stopping once I started listening.

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