Hexbreaker

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Tristan James

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2016 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2016 Jordan L. Hawk

Another amazing combo: Jordan and Tristan

If you are unfamiliar with Jordan L Hawk, know that she has an amazing ability to interweave the fantastical with the historical, mix it up with a mystery and some romance and the output is an absolute gem of a story!

In this case we get some cops and robbers back in the day when gangs and mobs ran the streets of old New York but in this case they are witches and their familiars. The familiars are shifters so you get a human and an animal tied to you. (That was my favorite part of this story, the bond between witch and familiar- *sigh… so sweet and romantic in the case of Tom and Cicero).

A fair amount of the story is the mystery – to be sure – as with Widdershins, the other JLH series I’ve read – the mystery and action/adventure component of the story is the absolute center of focus, but the romance – at least to me – seemed to be more approachable and felt more important… maybe because there wasn’t the secrecy… I’m not sure, but that’s how it felt to me. Therefore it was nearer to my heart and I liked it more than that series.

I really liked the fact that when the characters re-connect after what could have been a potentially clichéd “Big Misunderstanding” the author gracefully avoided that pitfall and let them TALK IT OUT. Gah! I loved that. Instead of leading us down that ol’ trail, she let them use their words! Beautiful!

Add to it Tristan James and you have a blockbuster! Tristan’s voice is like honey, and he can do all those crazy accents so you really feel like each of the rich and well-developed characters are right there telling you their story. I especially loved Cicero's voice (and Tom's) but Cicero - he holds a special place in my heart and Tristan just GOT that... so awesome!


For fans of the author, this is a series you’ll adore, if you haven’t picked up one of her stories yet, you’re absolutely missing out on greatness.

I highly recommend this to fans of great narrations, paranormal romances, historical romances, mysteries and great writing.

5 of 5 stars

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Beginning of a new series

I really enjoyed this first book of a new series by Jordan L Hawk. Although this is the first book, there is a prequel book call the The 13th Hex which I recommend reading. It is the story of another couple, Dominic and Rook, which will add to your enjoyment of this book. Also, Cicero makes his initial appearance in that book and there is some world building and mystery in that book that makes itself known in this one.

That said, you can certainly listen to this as a stand alone as well. This story takes place in the late 1800s in an AU of New York City where witches and hexes are a part of everyday life. This is the story of Cicero and Tom; two very opposite characters. Tom is an Irish policemen, with a secret past, who knows he is a very rare witch and is trying to hide it. And Cicero, a cat witch familiar, has been waiting for his witch for a long time and is horrified when Tom shows up. He believes Tom is everything he has come to fear from men. He makes assumptions about Tom that are far from the truth; as he slowly comes to realize. They have a rocky road to love but it is a lovely journey. As with all JLH's books, there is a mystery to solve and wonderful action scenes that give our cast a characters the chance to be heroes.

To top off what is already an awesome story, the wonderful Tristan James is the narrator. He puts in his usual awesome performance complete with an Irish brogue and English accent. His voice is like honey and just brings this story to life. JLH is one of the few writers that I buy the ebook as soon as it is out and the audiobook. Can't wait for the next one in both formats. Highly recommend.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Such terrific world building!

Any additional comments?

Set in an alternate universe populated by witches and their familiars, Hexbreaker is lushly described, the world building pretty incredible and the characters authentic to the time period.

Tom Halloran is a copper who has tried to bury his past by becoming the best man he knows how to be, but when a Hex turns up that possibly brings his past to meet his present he can't ignore it and keep to his new status quo, because that's not the kind of man he's become. So he opens communication with the New York Metropolitan Witch Police "MWP" and is assigned a temporary partner, of sorts, to investigate the Hex.

Cat shifter Cicero is a familiar who is being pressured by the higher ups to bond with a witch, but Cicero is determined to only mate with his fated witch, as he's seen and heard the horror stories of bonding to the wrong person. Of course, he's also seen firsthand his best friend's pain at finding his witch and being rejected.

So when Cicero is partnered with Tom he knows two things, he instinctively recognizes the Irish copper is his witch, even though Tom's hiding his abilities from everyone, and Cicero is afraid the much bigger Tom will end up hurting him, either physically or emotionally when he realizes Cicero is a lover of other men.

The two grow closer as they investigate the murders and Hexes and it's a roller coaster of emotion as the two come together only to risk it all when they realize the threat is far larger than they thought.

Tristan James just gets it. He paces the story in such a way that it weaves a world for the listener and doesn't just mechanically read from a page. Tristan infuses emotion, pulls off terrific accents for the characters, and keeps all of his character voices distinct. One of the things I rarely have to worry about when listening to Tristan is a bad accent. I loved the almost crisp, foppish, British accent for Cicero with the wonderful Italian asides, and Tom's Irish accent was wonderfully done.

I have one complaint about the narration: there were a couple of words that seemed mispronounced to me and every time I heard it took me out of the story (for example - "twining" was consistently pronounced "twinning").

Otherwise, once again, I was consistently entertained by the narration and enjoyed the story. I'm looking forward to hearing Tristan narrate more of this series. For those who like historical and/or, paranormal romances with a strong mystery plot, rich world building, and entertaining narration you should definitely check this out!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

This is an enjoyable listen

I did like this book and really enjoyed the time and location of the events. Tristan James does such a wonderful job with his accents its always a pleasure. We have a new world where ordinary and magical powered police are working together to solve crimes. It's nice to have both worlds represented and not just a secret society of magic users. We have a few characters who are a little resistance to their witch and witch's familiar rolls but they do get it together and use it well when the time comes. It's a nice little M/M romance as well. I recommend this audio.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

So good

Let me just preface this by stating that i absolutely love Jordan L. Hawk and Tristan James. having them both in one go? Heaven!
Hexbreaker is the first full length story in a new world from the insanity that must be Jordan's mind. I mean how on earth does she keep coming up with such great characters and stories?!
Anyway- I love love love Cicero. He's just adorable ( but please don't tell him I said that).
The story is full of action yet has enough tender, romantic and steamy scenes to satisfy any romance fan.
Adding Tristan's voice to the natration just makes it that much better. His ability to make the characters come alive with each having his or her own distinct voice and way of speaking is amazing and really adds so much to an already wonderful story.
Well done guys and I can not wait for the next one!!!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

What a delightful surprise!

Jordan L. Hawk may turn into one of my favorite authors in fantasy. The pace felt like it lagged only twice, and the world building detail was fantastic. Can't wait to read the second book in the series!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Greatly enjoyed the gay love story.

I kept listening. I couldn't help but find an excuse to keep driving to listen to this story

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Thoroughly enjoyable

My first story by this author but already I am seeking more as this story was great. Absolutely loved it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great story base and world building.

One great afternoon spent in a world of mystery and intrigue. Well put together, and enjoyable read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

best wichery and shifter19th century love story mystery

It's quasi-steampunk with magic filling in where the period's udimentary technology can't. Witches and their familiars which are shifters in this story. Cops and bad guys galore and an unusual case and mysterious characters abound. Fun and not the usual M/M standard tropes make this a fine case of a conspiracy within a conspiracy.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Awesome!

I wasn't sure at first if the whole idea of witch and familiar wouldbe good enough in a gay setting but OMG! This is really good! I am amazed about how much I fell for the characters! Thomas is so cute and Cicéro is the best cat human you can think of! There are amazing together! I was always excited to listen to the next chapter. And the narrator voice is sexy. In terme of erotic passages. 😂

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Cicero's terrible British accent ruined this book

This audiobook is a testament to how a narrator can ruin a book by doing accents he is deluded he can do, and totally NOT proficient at. I honestly don't know how the accent for Cicero's character got passed.

Were talkin' Dick Van Dyke 'Mary Poppins' territory here! I have no idea where in the British Isles Ciccero is supposed to be from because within a sentence Tristan James accent wavered from Liverpool, then Newcastle, then Birmingham, London Cockney and then Irish. Getting a tour of the United Kingdom each time Cicero has dialogue distracted me from the story. If James had just played this character with a British RP accent it would have been a 5-star book for me, but as it stands I cringed every time this wonderfully written character Cicero had dialogue.

Tristan James made lots of mistakes and they were not picked up in the proof listen. Lines were flubbed and mumbled when voicing Cicero and Tom's cod 'Oirish' accent also jumped counties.

I understand that latest research shows that 64% of American's have never left the US so those listeners just want something that is 'vaguely British sounding' and they would not notice the massive, poorly narrated regional variations. But us European listeners can discern the accents and in turn, this was at times a painful listen.

I don't know whether this is a case of overconfidence on the part of the narrator or the rights holder was so glad to commission him she didn't pay attention to the finished product. This could have been a gem of an audiobook in the hands of a British narrator who can do American accents rather than an American who can't do British accents!

Jordan L. Hawks writing is wonderful but I'm not sure if I will continue with the series in audiobook format. I might just get the ebooks!