Synopsis 
 Joyeaux Charmand is a Hunter, one of the few people able to make a stand against the creatures constantly trying to break through from the Otherside. Raised in a mountain village, Joy is summoned to the Apex to fulfill her civic duty. She's been trained (in secret) to be able to stand up to all kinds of creatures from the Otherside, but nothing prepared her for the Apex and the Cits', or civilians, obsession with the Hunters. Cameras follow each Hunter around as they patrol different sectors and the video feeds are watched by Cits all hours of the day and night. The more successful the hunter, the more famous they become. Joy doesn't Hunt for the fame, but a quick rise up in rankings has her in the crosshairs of a conspiracy. 
 Thoughts: 
 I love Mercedes Lackey, but this is not a good book to start with if you've never read one of her books. I highly recommend Arrows of the Queen or Magic's Pawn. They're not YA, but so good. Anyway, back to this book. Information dumping by the MC made this really difficult to get into. It gets a little better at roughly the halfway point, but not enough to save it. I can understand why so many people marked it DNF. To me, the MC was not a good storyteller. She'd repeat already introduced information more than necessary and went on tangents beyond information that didn't add to the world building. The premise itself was intriguing. Kind of like YouTube meets reality TV meets dystopian society. Each Hunter has their own channel where they're ranked by number of views (YouTube), cameras follow them around everywhere they go (reality TV), and they live behind walls to protect them against the creatures lurking outside of them (dystopian). Execution, not Mercedes Lackey's best. I set out to love this and left with disappointment. Be prepared to wade through 100 pages of unnecessary exposition as you wait for real character interaction. As much as it pains me, I'd say that this is one to pass over (unless there are drastic changes before publication since I read an advance copy). Check out the author's book Arrows of the Queen instead. It has a similar vibe to it: outcast girl in a strange new place trying to make friends and find her place. 
 Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for the ARC. 
 Publication Date: September 1, 2015 
 Original Post 4/10/2015: 
 I didn't know this was a thing. How did I not know this was a thing? 
 Mercedes Lackey is the author that sealed my obsession for reading. I still read the Queen's Own trilogy yearly. 
 I cannot wait for this.