Reviews

The Hexed by Heather Graham

cmorris109's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

pillywiggin's review

3.0

Typical Heather Graham. A good paranormal mystery, but I personally find the sex scenes in the book unnecessary. Predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless.

jazzrizz's review

5.0

This was was MUCH better than the last one. I love Rocky and Devin.

The storyline was more engaging too. I tend to love storylines that revolve around the Salem witch trials.

I have to say, the whodunnit kind of threw me this time. I initally considered who it turned out to be, but wasn't sold on it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be who it was.

I love that Jane, Jenna, Sam, and Angela are working the case too. I think that was part of my hang up on the past couple of books. I much prefer the team working together on cases instead of mainly focusing on the "couple" working the bulk of the case.

kaygay13's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Was a medium burn but still recommend, I’m just a fast paced book lover. 

the_sassy_bookworm's review

4.0

Excellent cover on this one. Great use of graphics. Great representation on the story found within. It loses a star for the author's name being more prominent than the title.



Enjoyed this one. Loved the setting. Loved the history. The mystery kept me guessing right until the end. What I wasn't a fan of was how we are left hanging in the romance department. It seemed a little abrupt and with no resolution of whether they were even a couple of just fuck buddies.

That said, I don't read these books for the romance, so c'est la vie.

booksabrewin's review

3.0

I received an e-copy from the tour host in exchange for participation in the blog tour and an honest review.

It is no true surprise that I was asked to join the blog tour for this little beauty. I am a big fan of paranormal romance and had yet to read anything by Heather Graham. She has a tendency to write trilogies that stick within the same world so they can both be read independently as well as sequentially. I was worried when I found out it was the 13th book in the series, but it was easy to read out of sequence (something I rarely, if ever, do). This was my first experience with Heather Graham as a writer and I was curious how she would stack up against other authors in the paranormal romance genre.

The book opens on Rocky at a much younger age finding his dead friend not far from his house. She had been ritualistically slaughter and was found with her throat slashed and a pentagram hanging from her neck. Rocky never recovered from that experience and went on to join the FBI. It was only fitting that the boy who found his dead friend by way of a ghost leading him to her body would find himself joining the Krewe of Hunters, a branch of law enforcement that works exclusively with odd, supernatural cases. When Rocky discovers, 13-years after his friend's death, that another woman has been murdered not far from his home in Salem, he is the first to join at the chance to find his friend, Melissa's, killer.

Devin had just moved back to Salem after her great-aunt Mina had died. She had given up her career as a reporter in favor of writing children's books about a friendly witch who teaches fantastical creatures lessons every child should learn growing up. She believed Wiccan's were real, but as far as ghosts were concerned, they belonged in horror movies. Yet, she finds herself following a ghostly voice begging for help to where she stumbles across a body. As she is running for help, she comes face to vehicular grill with Rocky. It was from there that Devin enters a world where ghosts are real and a murderer is on the loose.

It is up to Devin, Rocky, and a few friends (both living and dead) to find out who the murderer is and how it could possibly be connected with the Salem witch trials and a 300-year-old murder.

This book was middle of the road for me. That is not based on the level of writing skill or any faux pas in the story line. That is mostly based on my own personal preferences. I am the type of reader who loves paranormal romance that has a lot of romance and a little paranormal thrill. This was more paranormal thrill/murder mystery than romance. There was one particular line that made me physically groan. "And we made love... And made love and made love." What? That's it? No detail of this love making? I feel cheated. Graham's description of the magical event was nice, but, call me crazy, I feel like if you skip the dirty details then it's more mystery than romance.

This book is perfect for those people who are not big romance buffs. It is heavy on the suspense, moderate on the paranormal, and light on the romance. To some that balances out to a great read, to me, it equals... eh.

Review Posted on: http://www.ladybugliterature.blogspot.com

clarissep's review against another edition

3.0

Intriguing case and creepy as promised. What drew me in was the history of Salem, and in that aspect I learned a lot. But again the characters aren’t all that easy to connect to. Rocky is very likable tho! I just wasn’t a fan of the instalove. The mystery also dragged a little longer than was necessary. Overall okay.

readwithchey's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Another great Krewe novel! As someone who just went to Salem in October it was so fun to be back in that sphere! Loved the past murder and the future mystery and the addition of a pet bird. This little trilogy in this series so far is so good!! 

kait_sixcrowsbooks's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Well that was…quite a waste of my time, tbh. Going into it, I tried, really. I did. But the longer I read…yeesh.

It just wasn’t good. The writing often repeated itself (like, the characters would ask each other questions…and then ask them again mere pages later), and it was simply basic. Nothing conjured up emotion for me, I was never really given a chance to connect with any of the characters outside of knowing that Rocky was just so haunted by his friend dying back in high school. If I was smart, I would’ve started a tally of how many times that was mentioned because, frankly, it was getting ridiculous after five.

And for a book that centers around Wicca and witchcraft, it seems really kinda slimy for both the narrative itself and the characters in general to constantly throw satanism under the bus. The whole book surrounds how Wiccans don’t hurt people, but the same grace can’t be given to Satanists? Hm.

And don’t even get me started on the romance and the out of the blue first sex scene. What even was that??? Truly did not make sense to me at all (and the whole “we passionately make love multiple times a night because we’re so in love and oh look at that we’re cured of our past because of our love”? Bro STOP, my god).

Anyway…what a dud of a book, lol. And for it to be my first finished book of the year? Man…lmao.

jasmine256's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0