Hexed: The Sisters of Witchdown – Michael Alan Nelson

Release date: May 5th, 2015
Publisher: Pyr Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 281
Format: ARC
Source: Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

THE FIRST NOVEL BASED ON THE HEXED COMIC!

Luci Jenifer Inacio das Neves, Lucifer for short, isn’t your typical teenaged girl.  She’s a thief who survives by stealing bad things from bad people in the magical and mystical underworld hidden beneath our own.  So when a policeman’s daughter, Gina, is kidnapped by a force he can’t explain, Lucifer is the only one who has a chance at getting his daughter back.  

With the unsolicited help of Gina’s friends, including Gina’s boyfriend David, Lucifer’s investigation leads to the unfortunate truth of the kidnapping.  Gina was taken to an otherworldly dimension by a creature of unspeakable evil: one of the Seven Sisters of Witchdown.  Against all odds, Lucifer must use every magical tool hidden in her trick bag to steal her way into the Shade and bring Gina back before the Sister sacrifices her for her own dark ends.  But the closer Lucifer gets to Gina, the closer she gets to David.  And David to her.  Lucifer must risk her life by confronting demons, witches, and the cruel demigoddess controlling her destiny – all to save the one girl who stands in the way of Lucifer finally finding love.

Review:

The Sisters of Witchdown is the first book in the Hexed series, a young adult novel based on the Hexed comic. If you haven’t read any of the comics yet, don’t worry, the book perfectly introduces you to the main character Lucifer and her world, so no prior knowledge is needed. I was however curious to see how a story that has been growing as a graphic novel would translate to prose. In this case it was pretty successful. I really enjoyed the powerful story and was immediately hooked by the quirky Lucifer.

Luci Jenifer Inacio das Neves, or Lucifer, is anything but an ordinary teenager. Not even eighteen, she lives alone and doesn’t go to school. Instead she steals powerful things from people who would use them for the wrong purposes. This way she tries to keep a balance between the underworld and the world we know as our own. One day she’s visited by a policeman who needs her help to get his kidnapped daughter, Gina, back. Gina has been taken to the Shade by one of the Sisters of Witchdown, a force even Lucifer might not be able to handle.

Lucifer gets the help of Gina’s dad, friends and her boyfriend. Not all of them are at first very eager to believe or help her. As the search for a way to save Gina continues, Lucifer and Gina’s boyfriend, David, grow closer. It was interesting to see how Lucifer dealt with her feelings for David. She’s been alone for so long and the thought of a boyfriend seems very alien to her. Not to mention that she’s trying to save his girlfriend from the clutches of powerful witches. Their connection was however very sweet and gave the story a softer side. As you get to know Lucifer you’re glad that someone like David cares about her and tries to have her back.

Gina’s dad, Buck, is the typical worried father figure. He gets thrown into this world of witches and dark magic, which confuses him, but determined as he is to find his daughter, he’s willing to go with almost anything. Being a policeman doesn’t make it any easier for him. Lucifer’s methods aren’t always that law-abiding. I liked this fierce determination to do anything to save his daughter, even enlist a minor, who happens to also be a thief of dark objects and who knows how to extract a filcher demon out of possessed people.
David, Gina’s boyfriend, offers to help Lucifer in her quest to find Gina. Lucifer first thinks he will be a nuisance (though a very cute one), but soon they start growing closer. As a reader, you can see this is going to be problematic, but then again, sometimes love can’t be stopped. Especially when you’re a teenager and when you’ve faced down dangerous creatures from the underworld together. I thought their blooming relationship was really sweet and it was clear Lucifer needed someone like David in her life.

Especially interesting was Lucifer’s mysterious background story. Though we don’t find out everything about her past and why she has become who she is now, throughout the book we learn more about the tattoo she has and The Harlot, who seems to have control over her. I’m curious to find out more about this. ‘Hexed: The Sisters of Witchdown’ is full of action-packed, quirky YA fun and an excellent read for readers looking for an interesting heroine. The ending will leave you slightly heartbroken and wanting more. Definitely recommended!