Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: A Christmas Hex
SERIES: Hexworld #2.5
AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press
RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2017
LENGTH: 1 hour, 44 minutes
BLURB:
Roland knows he will never find love. Everyone views wolf familiars like himself as dangerous beasts, unable to rein in their savage impulses. He’s resigned himself to his fate—or so he thinks, until he meets the dashing Augustus Cao. His witch.
Gus is on the trail of a gang of thieves, and Roland holds an important clue. Even though they can never bond, Roland can’t pass up the opportunity to spend a night with his witch.Can Roland conceal his secret, while helping Gus catch the thieves? Or will the handsome detective be the one to steal his heart?
REVIEW:
In this Christmas novella we meet Roland and Gus. For Roland Christmas brings pain and really emphasises his loneliness. He want’s nothing more than to love and be loved in return, but he knows that will never happen. After all, everyone are deathly afraid of wolf familiars – even his family threw him out because of it. So when he meets his witch he knows nothing will come of it, but he can’t help but to seek him out, night after night, falling for him a bit more each time.
It’s difficult to find a balance in novellas, to have a plot, well-rounded characters, a love story that doesn’t feel rushed and a mystery to boot. Yet Jordan L. Hawk nailed it with this book. A Christmas Hex never felt like a short story, nor did it feel rushed or lacking. It was however a very nice and entertaining story to cook dinner to.
This wasn’t as effortless a listen as we’ve come to know from both Tristan James and Jordan L. Hawk. Between each chapter there were too long pauses. While it was only a few seconds too long, the listener is thrown out of the story, wondering if they’d accidentally pressed a paus button, if the phone died etc. It might only be a few seconds, but those few seconds of silence made the pacing feel off. Ignoring that James made these character and this story to come to life. And he sure made my evening chore much more entertaining.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: