Hex Appeal Part 1

	Title: Hex Appeal Author: Edited by P.N. Elrod Genre: Anthology, Horror, Urban Fantasy Format & Pages: Paperback, 356 Publication: St. Martin's Griffin, 2012 Source: Borrowed Rating:

Hex appeal is an anthology for horror short stories that tend to contain those sexy, romantic twists. Since there are multiple stories, I am going to break up the anthology in two parts. I want to give each story the attention it deserves and keep the post from being as long as my arm. Anywho, let’s get on with the reviews!

Retribution Clause-Ilona Andrews, 37 Pages,

Taking place in post-apocalyptic Philly, destruction was not wrought by nuclear bombs, destroying the environment, or any other thing that man thought would spell doom for life as we know it. No, the Shift happened, an insurgence of magic that rocked the world. With that magic came a rebirth of creatures of yore, as we can see when Adam turns into a giant.

The story is very well written and pulls you along. The world is believable, along with the characters. I really wanted to know more about the characters throughout the story and we get little hints throughout. The ending was a twist that left me wanting more. I especially wanted to know more about Sirun and her past.

Bigfoot on Campus-Jim Butcher, 51 Pages,

I really enjoyed the new take on Bigfoot that Jim Butcher has presented us with. Not only are Bigfoots (or would that be Bigfeet) still hard to find, large and intimidating, but they also posses magic. This magic is what allows them to avoid being seen throughout the years.

The story is told during a police station interview, in which Harry, our magical private investigator, explains what happened to cause Bigfoot to rampage about campus. The story itself filled with twists and turns until the very end. The characters are well written and draw you into the story. There is some adult content towards the end of the story, but it’s not extremely explicit, in my opinion.

Holly’s Balm-Rachel Caine, 51 Pages,

This story starts off with a brief history of Holly, the main character and her life with Andy. I found that really important since I got to know about her a bit before the story really started, which made things a lot less confusing. The characters are really dynamic and well thought out. I especially like how everyone views witches, especially the police force.

This is a thriller, murder mystery at heart. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It seems the story started previously, so reading that work probably would have greatly enhanced my enjoyment of this one. There is also a scene with adult content. I found that it was a bit overdone and a tad too explicit for my tastes.

Snow Job-Carole Nelson Douglas, 39 Pages,

This was my least favorite read in the whole anthology. The story first starts out in 3rd person with Snow’s point of view. After a few paragraphs, it switches to 1st person from Delilah’s POV. I found this slightly disorientating and put me a bit off throughout the whole story. I found the story to be confusing throughout. I felt like I had missed a vital piece of information somewhere along the line. I am not sure if there are previous stories concerning Delilah, I am sure there must be, but without them I was utterly lost. It was inventive, but without any back story I could barely understand what was going on.