A review by kristineisreading
The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft

4.0

I had to try this twice to get into it, but once I did, I found myself sucked into the bizarre world Bancroft has created. Powerful magic, intriguing characters both good and evil, monstrous beasts, a carpetbag turned treasure vault with its own guardian dragon, a plot against the king, a dystopian setting in an unspecified location - the ingredients for a good story are all there. And I would say they mesh wonderfully together overall. The writing was a little verbose at times and occasionally I skimmed ahead a bit, but it was also evocative and did a good job of setting the tone. In fact, some of the action scenes were so intense that I had to take a little break to recover. And there are a lot of action scenes because a LOT happens in this book. The plot moves quickly and covers a ton of ground. Iz's magic plays a big role. She's a clever and powerful hex caster with all kinds of tricks up her sleeves. And Warren is the perfect companion, capable and loyal and intelligent. The two of them make a formidable team, and have a lovely partnership in general. The love and trust between them jumps off the page. Their relationship is more believable, and enviable, than most books manage to pull off. Overall, this is a unique and interesting story and I'll be happy to eventually read the next in the series.