HEXED - My Favorite Quotes/Lines

"Why, I'm the Antichrist, of course."

"<Did I just hear you say something about bitches?> Oberon asked hopefully."

"They could be passin' out holy arrows with their Jesus crackers and you'd never know any different."

"I'd been reduced to monosyllables by a nightie."

"<Wait, you never told me what acid was.>

"It's the street name for LSD." 

<I thought the street name for that was Mormon.>"

"<Tell her I'm a Peace Dawg, but I think her cats are closely allied with the Man.  I'm going to stick it to them.>"

"Tell Jesus I said hi, and we should have a beer next time he's in the neighborhood."

"Do angels, fallen or otherwise, have assholes?"

"<Atticus, you know I can hear you when you're all spazzed up, right?  That was a lot of alliteration for a doubtful Druid deliberating over a deity's dubious de-signs.>"

"<Oh, great big bears! Beam him up, Scotty!  Now!>"

"Maybe I should try to figure out how to make my eyes flash green so I could freak out the baristas at Starbucks."

"A naked man pursuing two curvaceous women down the street would probably be mininterpreted by the general public."

"I am the shit, home slice, straight up," he replied."
"<See? I got your back and your front.  I deserve a treat.>"

Doughty Druid

This book gets a steely 5 gnomes out of 5 gnomes for being a superb sequel, having laugh out loud writing, and characters that the reader can truly care about.

This series has become one of my top 5 series, I just love so much about it.  The characters and story are refreshing because it has characters and themes that are common yet used in unexpected ways.  Take religion, if you read this series you will see and hear about a plethora of gods and goddesses from across many cultures.  I like that there are all these religious figures still out there in the world but some just appear more often than others.

The setting is the same as the previous book and you get to find out even more about the large cast of characters.  I liked seeing more of Atticus’s nighttime lawyer, Leif the vampire and Granuile his new apprentice.  

The side characters in this book are fleshed out really well.  The interactions between Leif and Atticus are great especially when he tries to help him with his word phrasing so he doesn’t sound as old as he actually is.  Granuile (who’s name I can’t for the life of me pronounce) is seen more in this book and shown to be quite savvy to all the weirdness of witches, police problems, and learning all manner of information on what druids can do.  It would be interesting if Atticus and Granuile had a relationship because you can tell he’s interested, on the other hand though Atticus has a well known weakness for pretty women and she is technically his student.

Many of the best lines in the book are said by Oberon, the Irish wolfhound.  Seeing how he and Atticus interact is a lot of fun and also makes me hope that Kevin Hearne never has any plans to kill him off like so many other authors, movies, and TV shows do with beloved pets.  I actually found myself tearing up a bit at the point in the book when you find out how old Oberon is and how much Atticus looks out for him.

If you thought Atticus had problems in in Hounded then you are in for even more carnage when you read Hexed.  There’s gods, goddesses, good witches, bad witches, a tall priest, a short rabbi, and even more magic and fighting.  The book is also chock-full of humor, I actually had to stop reading the book at work because I didn't want people to think I was a weirdo laughing to myself all alone in the library.

The endings of this book and the one before it are great because they both end on a funny note.  Ending at a funny line or situation is to me much more preferable and unexpected then having a cliffhanger that makes you want to throw the book out the window.  Overall I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy, magic, or really stupendous male main characters.  I for one am very happy that the third book has been released and plan to read it as soon as possible.  I look forward to reading more about Atticus’s world and whatever else Kevin Hearne writes in the future.

Sentence Sneak Peek - Hexed

Hexed by Kevin Hearne

The first sentence from each chapter of Hexed, it's a mini summary of what you can expect to read.

* Spoilers are highlighted like so :)

"Turns out that when you kill a god, people want to talk to you."

"Leif's fangs popped out and he launched himself from his chair to the edge of my front lawn, scanning the darkness for assailants with all his senses."

"Demons smell like ass—nasty ass that slithers down your throat, finds your gag reflex, and sits on it with au-thority."

"<Did I just hear you say something about bitches?>"

"Detecting some ambivalence, I asked Oberon if he'd rather stay home than visit the witches."

"Washing a filthy Irish wolfhound is entirely unlike washing a Chihuahua."

"I made sure to make a proper breakfast in the morn-ing, since I would be off fighting demons: a fluffy omelet stuffed with feta cheese, diced tomatoes, and spinach (sprinkled with Tabasco), complemented by toast spread with orange marmalade, and a hot mug of shade-grown Fair Trade organic coffee."

"Coyote was only five minutes late."

"I gotta admit, Mr. Druid, I didn't think we'd be seein' anythin' like that."

"I spent most of the cab ride home muttering about thrice-cursed trickster gods, but by the end of it I was smiling in spite of myself."

"The tendency of modern American women to exclaim "Hiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

"People who don't live in Scottsdale like to sneer deri-sively and call it "Snotsdale."

"I confess to feeling a sense of entitlement at times."

"I spent maybe thirty seconds thinking the Morrigan had left so quickly because she was getting a bit verklemmt over my offer of friendship."

"There were multiple missed calls on my cell phone."

"Those two guys are already more annoying than the police," I said to Hal after I assured Granuaile I'd be right there."

"The Morrigan tried to wake me up gently this time, but she still managed to startle me into a waking night-mare."

"There was no time to waste."

"Dropping a werewolf into a witch fight is like drop-ping a tank into a snake pit."

"Hal navigated his slick Z4 down the back alleys until he was only a building away from my shop, and he parked it in someone's private space."

"We called ahead to make sure they knew we were com-ing and all enchantments would be dissolved for the du-ration of our visit."

"Have you changed your mind about Thor?"

"Leif showed up at my house wearing a steel breast-plate and a broad grin."

"The Sisters of the Three Auroras came down from their tower quickly and met us in the underground parking garage."

"The situation outside was a giant bowl full of gloom and grim."

Epilogue: "It's rare that I take the form of a stag."  

Happy 4th of July

Here's hoping that everybody has a great Monday and a Happy 4th of July.  :)

Story I won from the Write Hope 2011 Auction

Was very happy when I had the winning bid to receive a short story by Stephanie Burgis.  The story is really funny and draws you right back in to the world and the characters.  This story is set in the same world as Stephanie's Kat, Incorrigible series.  I love the characters in this series and of course it's awesome to have a story dedicated to me and not available to anyone else for a little while at least.  :)

Mini Reviews

Here are some mini reviews of two books that I've just finished reading, Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler and The Adventures of Benjamin Skyhammer by Nicole Sheldrake:

Intense is the best word to describe this book.  It definitely gets of 4 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes.    Lisabeth Lewis is one truly troubled main character and will have you cringing at the way she sees herself yet wanting to help her at the same time.  You will think that you know where this book is going and then, WHAM you're going to be in for a lot of surprises.  I actually thought I wasn't going to like the book at first but it exceeded my expectations 100%.  I was expecting a book that was going to be sad all the way through but I really like that it ends on a hopeful note.  I know I'm intrigued enough that I will be buying the next book in this series.

Unexpected is how I would describe this story.  It's a very solid story and feels a little rushed sometimes but the characters are strong.  I'll give this book a strong 3 gnomes and a gnome hat out of 5 gnomes.  Seems at first like it's going to be just your average adventure/fantasy story but then the world draws you in.  In this place every human has magic and if you're born without it you're seen as a freak.  The main character has no magic but makes a living as a relic hunter (finding alien artifacts that people pay plenty for.)  The description of how magic is used and how it works is intriguing.  The magic for humans at least, comes from their King so you can't do magic unless you're within a certain proximity to the King.  There are strange species on this planet that seems to be living peacefully in their own places but it seems that a new ritual may be able to spread magic across the planet.  Skyhammer, the main character, is of course interested in this because magic is all he's ever wanted.  This is another story where I thought I knew how it would end but well, let's just say I sure foresee the book ending like it did.  This story is well worth reading for the ending alone.

Fourth of July Weekend Reads

I love long weekends because it means more time for relaxing and reading.

Here are the two books that I plan on reading this weekend:

I loved the first book in this series and can't wait to see what happens next to Bryn and her pack.

I've had this book for awhile but kept not having time to read it because of tour books.  I've heard such good things about it though and can't wait to read it.