The Hexologists

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It's been a hot minute since I've actually written a whole review for a book. Life's taken a million turns, and we've been so busy lately that I just haven't had the brain power to do anything other than sit and play video games at night. But I finally scrounged up enough oomph to finish an ARC. It's late, of course, but it's done!

The Hexologists was a book that I grew interested in after hearing about it from Orbit's monthly newsletter. It looked vaguely steam-punky, vaguely historical, and it just sounded extremely unique. Well - I'm happy to say that it lived up to all of that and more. I'm not sure I would have picked this one up without Orbit harping about it. The cover is beautiful, but it doesn't really give you a hint at what's inside. I think they maybe did a disservice with the cover, but whatever. The book is worth picking up!!

However, it's hard to find something similar to compare it to. The closest I can come is – The Parasol Protectorate series. There's differences, of course, but it has the same ~serious but also a little silly~ vibe to it. There are tentacle monsters, talking birds, ghosts, magic, and just...it's just wildly original, and so much fun. The setting is interesting but vague enough that the author can add on to it at any point without it feeling forced.

I adored the main characters - Iz and War. Iz is a no-nonsense hexologist (a type of magician) who investigates mysteries for a living. Her husband does not appear to have any magic, but is more of her body guard than anything else. I love love loved how much they cared for one another. This was so apparent right away, I never had any question that War or Iz would give their life for the other.

The mystery at the center of the book had so many twists and turns that it was hard to follow. The reveal at the end was jaw-dropping, mildly terrifying, and so worth the journey. I will be lining up to read the next book in this series, no question.