Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Hexbreaker
SERIES: Hexworld #1
AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press
RELEASE DATE: August 3, 2016
LENGTH: 8 hours, 36 minutes
BLURB:
New York copper Tom Halloran is a man with a past. If anyone finds out he once ran with the notorious O’Connell tunnel gang, he’ll spend the rest of his life doing hard time behind bars. But Tom’s secret is threatened when a horrible murder on his beat seems to have been caused by the same ancient magic that killed his gang.
Cat shifter Cicero is determined to investigate the disappearance of one friend and the death of another, even though no one else believes the cases are connected. When the trail of his investigation crosses Tom’s, the very bohemian Cicero instinctively recognizes the uncultured Irish patrolman as his witch. Though they’re completely unsuited to one another, Cicero has no choice but to work alongside Tom…all the while fighting against the passion growing within.
Tom knows that taking Cicero as his familiar would only lead to discovery and disaster. Yet as the heat between them builds, Tom’s need for the other man threatens to overcome every rational argument against becoming involved.
But when their investigation uncovers a conspiracy that threatens all of New York, Tom must make the hardest decision of his life: to live a lie and gain his heart’s desire, or to confess the truth and sacrifice it all.
REVIEW:
Welcome to the world of witches, hexes and familiars. It’s a world full of danger, secrets and a bit of intrigue. It’s a world created by the very talented Jordan L. Hawk – so you know it’s going to be entertaining – and dangerous.
Cicero, cat shifter and unbonded familiar is on a mission to find his one of his friends that vanished the same night another was horribly murdered. While on the trail he comes across Tom Halloran, a New York copper who rubs him the wrong way – or in the very right way depending on your perspective. The two join forces to the truth, but when they close in the danger to theirs and everyone else’s life is so much worse than they ever could have imagined. Well, Tom know that danger first hand, seeing as it caused the death and destruction of all of his friends and family.
Right off the bat I was invested in this book and Cicero and Tom. I wanted to know more. It was also refreshing that Cicero was a cat shifter – and not the lion or panther kind of cat, but a black cat that could be mistaken for any other housecat in the world. Then there was the familiar side of things, which is completely new to me so I immediately wanted to know more. Know more about the bonding, the feral familiars and just every aspect of it. I think it’s one of the things I’m mostly looking forward to explore in the books to come. Because the bond between Tom and Cicero promises great things.
Maybe this was just me, but I couldn’t quite get a grip on the time period for this book. To me it felt like this strange mix of the past and present. I mean the descriptions and feel of the book was late 1800th century, but some of the mannerisms and expressions were definitely of present day and didn’t quite fit with the tone of the rest of the book.
Another thing that really got to me were the superlong pauses between some paragraphs and between chapters. More than once I wondered if I’d accidentally hit pause on my phone. It might not seem like a big deal, but while listening you are soaked in this world, searching for clues – or even in the middle of some fight of some sorts. So these pauses take you out of this world and re-emerge you with reality again and shifts your focus. Other than that Tristan James did a great performance of this book. He captured the essence of the characters; who they were and their feelings and made you a part of this story.
I had a great time listening to this book and can’t wait to start the next one to see what troubles awaits my new friends. I kind of also want to see a lot more of Isaac and know what happens next for him.
RATING: 
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