How do you get four tales about four women of strength in both the paranormal and the mundane? The easy answer is you bring together such powerhouses in the genre as Ilona Andrews, Yasmine Galehorn, Allyson James and Jeanne C. Stein and let them enthrall you with tales about some of their best known characters. This seems to have bee the plan for the anthology Hexed.
Even though many of these stories are part of established book series, I will not warn of spoilers since there will be none. When I chose this title, it was not to test to see if a book series had retained it allure. Like many of the times I choose a collection of stories, I wanted to sample some unfamiliar characters and writing styles. I have discovered more than one book series or author this way.
Hexed gave me just what I was looking for. I was treated to four very unique styles of writing as well as four very different stories even though they all held to the central theme of something or someone being hexed. I'm not sure if it was by design but, they also featured strong female main characters. If that was the goal of the book, I'm glad it wasn't obvious. When it comes down to it, I just want a solid story that entertains. I could care less about demography if you can bring the character to life on the page. That is what was done not just once but, four times in this book.
At times it was easy to tell that these stories where part of a greater work. Even so, I never felt that I was missing out on key relationships or histories. I'm sure a more intimate understanding would likely make some of the more nuanced details seem significant but, if that was true it didn't get in the way of telling complete stories.
The best compliment I can give to all involved in this book is that I will definitely be checking into some of these book series as a result of reading this anthology. There is quite a bit of violence and mature subject matter within these four stories so, I have to give this a solid PG13 rating.
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