Hexslayer

Hexworld, Book 3

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Tristan James

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2017 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2017 Jordan L. Hawk

Satisfying

On second review I realized that this author rocks. Tristan James reads this and all of his narrations with a fine actors aplomb. So good the second time!

Intense

The mystery and intensity of this series keeps growing more and more and I LOVE IT.

Of course the narration made it more so. Tristan James is just a gem. He nailed this performance perfectly as usual.

Jamie was such a strong character despite all he’d been through. He gave as good as he got which was particularly true when it came to Nick. He wasn’t forceful, No, but he didn’t let himself be pushed around / bullied by Nick.

Speaking of Nick, he annoyed me in the initial stages of the book because I kept wondering why he was so damn rude and angry all the time. It became clearer why as the story went on .

Additionally , as I began to understand his thought processes and motives, I began to warm up to him.

The writing here was impeccable as usual. There was no way to predict how the story would go and the final showdown both thrilled and terrified me in equal measure while keeping me on the edge of my seat all throughout.

I’m definitely continuing this series till it’s final book no doubt. I do wonder if Isaac’s book is next. Doesn’t matter to me though, if Tristan James does the audio, I’m listening to it. Period. :D

Jordan L. Hawk is a master

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.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Mesmerizing. A little bit more plot than romance

This is an expertly crafted works full of nuanced interactions and very much in parallel with current events today. Though each story features different MC it really is more ensemble in its overarching narrative. Historical with a dystopian feel, this one is heavily action plot oriented and it keeps you guessing. Tristan James is sublime. The perfect narrator.

A different take

This is a marvelous series featuring different couples in each book. We get to see previous couples in the subsequent stories though.
Jamie and Nick compliment each other well. This magical series is quite different and amazing. Tristan James brings each character to life and the emotion he manages to convey is astounding. He is always a stellar performer.

Magnificent

This is my favourite of Hawk's books and mr. James captured the characters wonderfully

wonderful

This book was wonderfully narrated. I loved Nick and Jamie's book!! Cant wait to listen to the rest of the books.

An amazing story read by an amazing narrator!

I love this series by Jordan L Hawk! It’s not my typical style, so that’s a surprise in itself, but Jordan is an amazing writer so it’s not really a surprise at all.

This series takes place in the past, with a lot of magic and is in a world where shifters (familiars) and witches are part of the main population. In fact the witches are the police and pretty much everything is run with some form of magic – but – it’s still a very harsh world and magic doesn’t necessarily preclude technological advances. It’s fascinating!

We’ve met Nick before, but you don’t have to read these books in order (necessarily) to read this one. However, I do recommend it, not only because they are so good, but because it gives a lot of background.

In this story – Nick – who hates witches – for a variety of reasons – must bond with one in order to help the ferals (unbonded familiars) who are his passion.

Poor Jamie is a “war hero” with a hole in his heart the size of New York. He can’t help but be attracted to Nick even though everything in him screams to stay away.

This is a wonderful enemies to lovers romance, with a mystery and a lot of action. We also get some social commentary and a look at how society manages “the good of all at the price of one”.

The “monster” at the end of this nearly broke my heart – but it was a wonderfully sweet and happy ending. I love these guys together and I think this just might bump book one out of line as my favorite in the series.

I literally laughed and cried and held my breath while reading this – if you’re a fan of the series or the author you won’t want to miss this. If you’ve never read anything by the author I’d suggest this series as it’s wonderful and not as long as some of the others, but I’m sure you’ll want to move on to those as well!

Highly Recommended!

5 of 5 stars

Audio

What can I say about Tristan James that I haven’t before? He’s just so damn good! He’s got this amazingly sensual voice, a terrific Irish accent, a great sense of timing and wonderful emotional depth to his voice that makes stories like this magical.

I loved reading this story but listening is absolutely the way to go. It’s like being given an inside look into this world and being able to listen in on their lives.

Tristan absolutely NAILS Nick's voice and his "horse" mannerisms!

Highly recommended!

6 of 5 stars

a touch of evil

A mystery with, as in its predecessors, nteresting characters, plot twists & surprises to enjoy.

Loved it!

Another great book in the Hexworld series! This installment follows Jamie and horse shifter Nick while they try to uncover a murderer. I always enjoy Jordan L Hawk's books and Tristan James' narrations and Hexslayer was no exception. I really liked that Nick didn't suddenly change his opinions and fall instantly in love. The lying and deceit were a little unfortunate for Jamie but were in character for Nick, who did finally come to terms with his feelings in the end. Looking forward to the next one.