Review: Hex and the City (Stolen Hearts Book 1) by Nazri Noor

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Hex and the City starts off a new series, Stolen Hearts, by Nazri Noor, and I’m happy to share that’s it’s a very exciting start indeed.

The beginning was a titch rocky for me as I’m not a fan of the insufferably vain ,so self-indulgently awesome as to be stupid , main character. Especially when that’s the first voice the reader “hears” as they drop into the narrative.

But that quickly turns into something else, a more layered reality when a second main character and different perspective is added. Then we see that the first character’s voice and projection isn’t exactly what the reality is.

And that changes everything.

Leon Alcantara or Witch Boy as he’s called, is a finder. He’s the last of his line. A bruho, a male witch. But he’s constantly on the run, barely making it, moving from place to place. Hardly the careless happy image he’s projecting at the beginning of the story. He may be good looking but he’s seriously not the strongest , successful player in town and he knows it. And we soon see exactly where Leon stands by looking at him through the eyes of another finder.

That’s Maximilian Drake. A mysterious man of wealth who still lives as a finder, he sees the ragged clothes Leon wears and will come to hear Leon’s history of subsistence and endurance.

Noor completely brings us into the universe he’s creating, slowly leaving us bits of knowledge about the world, its structure, and the struggles within. We get the criminal families, and the Masques, a strange enigmatic group of magical law enforcement agents wearing their own masks that cover magical crimes. One of which is the basis of the story here.

The author creates a fascinating story around a semi-lawful culture of Spiders, a group of beings that accumulate wealth of knowledge of ,well, everything, and the finders they send out for things. A hunt that brings Max and Leon together with huge complications. The more the hunt goes wrong, the more creative and layered the characters and plot becomes as the author expands on the history, relationships, and world building.

It goes on to explore what the characters relationship might turn into, what mysteries their backgrounds hold, and the layers Noor is still working into the series. All of which are very compelling.

The second book, Elixir of Strife, will be released soon. I can’t wait. I’m highly recommending you begin your Stolen Hearts journey with Hex and the City. It’s a great beginning to what looks to be a fabulous tale!

Stolen Hearts:

✓ Hex and the City #1

◦ Elixir of Strife #2 – July 28,2023

◦ All Out of Flux #3 -Sept 29,2023

Buy Link:

Hex and the City (Stolen Hearts Book 1)

Description:

Leon Alcantara is a real son of a witch.

The last in a proud line of witches, he’s come to test his small magic in the big city. Stealing enchanted artifacts pays the rent, but the competition is fierce. And handsome. And great at magic, too.

But Maximilian Drake and his dark, brooding glances are the least of Leon’s problems. A chain of anomalies surges through the city, strange distortions in reality that threaten both Dos Lunas and its people.

Suspected by the arcane authorities, Leon is forced to work with his nemesis to clear his name. But Max is so secretive over his shrouded past. Can he even be trusted? Leon must decide before the anomalies destroy the city — and his entire life.