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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
How about taking some risks, dear Hawk?
I don't want to repeat myself any more, but this series is so dull.
I don't want to repeat myself any more, but this series is so dull.
Real Rating: 3.8* of five
An entertaining read, befouled by six (6) w-bombs, one extra heinous because it occurs midway through a sexual encounter. I mean! How the hell is one supposed to maintain an erection while some goofball w-verbs? Mr. Softee pretty much guaranteed.
Anyway, the story itself builds out Hexworld more completely. We learn that there are seven popes; we learn the ancience of familiars' existence with a reference to Altamira's cave paintings...an explanation of their odd actions that's just flat genius! We're "treated" to an expanded take on the plight of the familiars. We're shown why so many familiars are same-sex couples.
And the story itself? Well...I wasn't thrilled. Nick, the angry stallion, got old fast. His witch, Jamie, puts up with being lied to, manipulated, abused physically and emotionally, and absorbs with stunning rapidity the fact that "he didn't mean it."
Um. Yeah...no. The man's a classic narcissistic abuser. The last-minute conversion/forgiveness isn't thrilling to me. But Nick's conversion to decency at least an admission that he wasn't a great guy to begin with. Rook, his brother, doesn't seem to be anywhere near critical enough of Nick's rage's effects of those around him.
I felt parts of the tale were rushed, eg the smuggled ferals, the quasi-redemption of a duplicitous relative; I suppose this is inevitable when publishing a book in this category where 100,000 words is way past the norm of 70,000. I'm also pleased that so many of the previous couples in the series get the screen time that they do. It's not a lot but it's used to reinforce the interconnectedness of problem-solving activities in this world. No one, nor any couple-unit, is required to rely solely on their own resources...IF they can get their issues out of the way of asking for help. Nick, angry stallion that he is, learns that lesson very late but very effectively.
I have nothing but happy feelings about the nature, identity, and fate of the baddies.
So there it is...more to like than to frown at, more to applaud than to censure. Hexworld is a terrific creation. Not every hero is blemish-free, not every villain is a wicked mustachio-twirling caricature. And in the middle of it all are men trying their damnedest to grab and hold some happiness, spread some kindness, and sit in the sunshine with their loved ones, absorbing the world's sweetness.
An entertaining read, befouled by six (6) w-bombs, one extra heinous because it occurs midway through a sexual encounter. I mean! How the hell is one supposed to maintain an erection while some goofball w-verbs? Mr. Softee pretty much guaranteed.
Anyway, the story itself builds out Hexworld more completely. We learn that there are seven popes; we learn the ancience of familiars' existence with a reference to Altamira's cave paintings...an explanation of their odd actions that's just flat genius! We're "treated" to an expanded take on the plight of the familiars. We're shown why so many familiars are same-sex couples.
And the story itself? Well...I wasn't thrilled. Nick, the angry stallion, got old fast. His witch, Jamie, puts up with being lied to, manipulated, abused physically and emotionally, and absorbs with stunning rapidity the fact that "he didn't mean it."
Um. Yeah...no. The man's a classic narcissistic abuser. The last-minute conversion/forgiveness isn't thrilling to me. But Nick's conversion to decency at least an admission that he wasn't a great guy to begin with. Rook, his brother, doesn't seem to be anywhere near critical enough of Nick's rage's effects of those around him.
I felt parts of the tale were rushed, eg the smuggled ferals, the quasi-redemption of a duplicitous relative; I suppose this is inevitable when publishing a book in this category where 100,000 words is way past the norm of 70,000. I'm also pleased that so many of the previous couples in the series get the screen time that they do. It's not a lot but it's used to reinforce the interconnectedness of problem-solving activities in this world. No one, nor any couple-unit, is required to rely solely on their own resources...IF they can get their issues out of the way of asking for help. Nick, angry stallion that he is, learns that lesson very late but very effectively.
I have nothing but happy feelings about the nature, identity, and fate of the baddies.
So there it is...more to like than to frown at, more to applaud than to censure. Hexworld is a terrific creation. Not every hero is blemish-free, not every villain is a wicked mustachio-twirling caricature. And in the middle of it all are men trying their damnedest to grab and hold some happiness, spread some kindness, and sit in the sunshine with their loved ones, absorbing the world's sweetness.
Things get more gruesome and horrifying in the third book of the series. I loved seeing Nick fall for Jamie despite himself. And yay a character with a disability! My stomach was churning in the last several chapters with anxiety at what was going to happen. Now for the last book, finally Isaac and Bill's story!
This might be my favorite of the series, but it's awfully close. Nick always intrigued me, and Jamie is such a good man to be saddled with such a stubborn ass. How could it not be great? The stakes rise once again so I read the last half of this book in a rush of 'Oh, no!' 'Uh-oh...' and 'Aw, crap!'
It's really good. They're all really good. READ THIS SERIES!
It's really good. They're all really good. READ THIS SERIES!
Excellent
Nick and Jamie are an excellent addition to Hexworld. It also provided a good exploration into the very adult problem of having to re-evaluate ones beliefs in light of new information. It's not any easier to learn to trust than it is to realize you put your trust in the wrong place.
The person one chooses to be is more meaningful than any political stance, career, religion, bloodline, or talent. That's a lot of message sweetly tucked amidst sex scenes, silly puns, and murder - but it works.
Nick and Jamie are an excellent addition to Hexworld. It also provided a good exploration into the very adult problem of having to re-evaluate ones beliefs in light of new information. It's not any easier to learn to trust than it is to realize you put your trust in the wrong place.
The person one chooses to be is more meaningful than any political stance, career, religion, bloodline, or talent. That's a lot of message sweetly tucked amidst sex scenes, silly puns, and murder - but it works.
One of the things that has frustrated me about the previous Hexworld books is that, because the characters are part of the MWP (Metropolitan Witch Police), there's clearly a lot of really questionable (read: AWFUL) behavior regarding familiars that doesn't or can't get addressed at all, because it is the job of the police to enforce the status quo. Bringing Nick, Rook's brother and a staunch feral defender, in as a main character really lets Hawk take a more active look at human-witch-familiar relations.
I very much like that Hawk doesn't use feral oppression as a substitute for other kinds of oppression. Racism and sexism and sexual preference bigotry, etc. are all still present, the issues of witches and familiar just creates another axis of intersection. It's non-lazy writing, and I appreciate both that she makes the effort and that she understands the importance of making the effort. Ditto when she writes about the struggles Jamie goes through as a disabled man. Not internal struggles, or brow-clutching about his lost leg (Jamie has refreshingly come to terms with his new life/self) but the ongoing external struggle to be seen and treated as a whole, thinking and capable person by people outside of himself. It's part of the story, but it's not THE story and it's not the point of the story.
I also really liked the growth that Nick and Jamie had to go through and how that was represented. Their attraction to each other, their chemistry is never at question. It's a given and they both know it exists, in themselves and in the other. But whether that attraction and chemistry can become more and what that 'more' will look like is at stake and answering that question is far more interesting to me than "Does he like me?" Because really, 'like' or 'attraction' are the much easier parts of the equation. I liked how much Jamie was willing to give, understanding Nick's skittishness, and that Jamie's growth was less about Nick and more about how much he had to learn, the naivete he had to leave behind to be the right person for Nick.
And then finally, Hawk's just a good writer; I know full well she always serves up an HEA, but I still stayed up way too late, eyes wide and heart beating, hoping it would all work out, and scared that it wouldn't.
I very much like that Hawk doesn't use feral oppression as a substitute for other kinds of oppression. Racism and sexism and sexual preference bigotry, etc. are all still present, the issues of witches and familiar just creates another axis of intersection. It's non-lazy writing, and I appreciate both that she makes the effort and that she understands the importance of making the effort. Ditto when she writes about the struggles Jamie goes through as a disabled man. Not internal struggles, or brow-clutching about his lost leg (Jamie has refreshingly come to terms with his new life/self) but the ongoing external struggle to be seen and treated as a whole, thinking and capable person by people outside of himself. It's part of the story, but it's not THE story and it's not the point of the story.
I also really liked the growth that Nick and Jamie had to go through and how that was represented. Their attraction to each other, their chemistry is never at question. It's a given and they both know it exists, in themselves and in the other. But whether that attraction and chemistry can become more and what that 'more' will look like is at stake and answering that question is far more interesting to me than "Does he like me?" Because really, 'like' or 'attraction' are the much easier parts of the equation. I liked how much Jamie was willing to give, understanding Nick's skittishness, and that Jamie's growth was less about Nick and more about how much he had to learn, the naivete he had to leave behind to be the right person for Nick.
And then finally, Hawk's just a good writer; I know full well she always serves up an HEA, but I still stayed up way too late, eyes wide and heart beating, hoping it would all work out, and scared that it wouldn't.
My favorite of the three Hexworld books so far - and I've really liked all of them a LOT. Super sweet romance - loved the chemistry between Jamie and Nick - and such interesting plot developments.
Nick is a prickly character, but you can understand why he can't trust witches. Jamie is a cinnamon roll, and a perfect balance to his familiar. This series is not being subtle about parallels to injustices in our real world, but nor should it be. These books are packed with action, and sometimes the romance comes secondary, but the happy endings are hard won and very satisfying.