Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Hexslayer
SERIES: Hexworld #3
AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press
RELEASE DATE: November 2, 2017
LENGTH: 9 hours, 15 minutes
BLURB:
Horse shifter Nick has one rule: never trust a witch.
Nick has devoted his life to making his saloon a safe haven for the feral familiars of New York. So when a brutal killer slaughters a feral under his protection, Nick has no choice but to try and catch the murderer. Even if that means bonding with a handsome Irish witch.
Officer Jamie MacDougal came back from the war in Cuba missing part of a leg and most of his heart. After his former lover becomes one of the killer’s victims, Jamie will do anything to solve the case.
Nick comes to Jamie with a proposal: after making a temporary bond, they will work together to stop the murders. Once the killer is caught, they walk away and never see one another again.
It sounds simple enough. But the passion that flares between the two men won’t be so easily extinguished. And if Nick can’t learn to trust his witch, he stands to lose everything – including his life.
REVIEW:
We’ve known Nick for a while now. The familiar who hates all witches almost to the point of an obsession. He also, more or less, thinks of familiars that bonds with witches as traitors. It’s so deep rooted that it has caused rifts between him and his brother and his friends. He’s been vocal about what he thinks that’s for sure. So when “his” witch comes along, and is a police detective to boot, he is less than thrilled.
Foy years he’s devoted his life to one cause; to create a safe space and help feral familiars. And the new ban put in place by the higher ups, giving the police the authority to round up and arrest what they’d call dangerous familiars and put them in menageries is putting fear in the feral community. Naturally Nick starts up a resistance. He along with a few acquaintances starts smuggling ferals out of state, but when one of them turn up dead everything is put upside down. The only way the police is going to investigate is if he bonds with Jamie, his witch. What they learn is far more dangerous and horrible than they ever imagined. As more and more ferals turn up dead the pressure increases for them to stop the responsible party, all the while keeping the higher ups unknowing of their investigation.
As always I loved the premise of this book, horrible as it was. Gosh I feel for the feral familiars, how they were hunted and harassed for just being. Sadly, or I would say scarily, this kind of thing happens in real life as well if you are outside the norm in some way – but I won’t go into that here. Jordan L. Hawk has an amazing talent for creating magical and fantastical worlds that are never quite as they seem.
Jamie lost his lover in the war – or at least that’s what he believed until the dead body of his former love was found in the park surrounded by bloody hexes. He is determined to do what it takes to bring the killer to justice, even if it means bonding with a familiar that hates all witches and blames them for all that is wrong with the world. The more they uncovers and the more he learns about familiars and ferals, the more he questions everything the thought was true.
It was easy to fall for and sympathise with Jamie. Sure he’d been misled by false information by people he trusted, but at least he was willing to listen. Willing to learn and re-evaluate and make up his own mind. Nick on the other hand, not so much. He didn’t budge an inch, never willing to really let anyone in and was quick to judge. I’m not saying he doesn’t have valid reasons for his dislike of witches alike, but not everyone will be the same. Because in the end, isn’t he doing the same thing as they were?
Tristan James once again delivered a masterful narration. He juggles voices, feelings and accents expertly. He makes it easy for the listener to follow the story – to live in the story with Jamie and Nick. It’s an experience that you shouldn’t miss out on if you are a fan of James and Hawk’s.
RATING: 
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