Review of Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Title: Hammered (Iron Druid Chronicles #3)
Narrator: Luke Daniels
Author: Kevin Hearne
Published by: Brilliance Audio
Length: 10 hours
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is worse than a blowhard and a bully — he’s ruined countless lives and killed scores of innocents. After centuries, Viking vampire Leif Helgarson is ready to get his vengeance, and he’s asked his friend Atticus O’Sullivan, the last of the Druids, to help take down this Norse nightmare. One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plane of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer - wielding Thunder Thug himself.

There is never a dull moment in an Iron Druid Chronicles novel.  They are packed with action, adventure and tons of mythology.

Atticus is back and this time it's his mission to kill Thor.  I'm not quite sure why Atticus promised Leif he would do this.  It's a dangerous mission and while Thor is a complete number one jerk, Atticus has no personal issues with him.  As we got to know each of Atticus's companions and their reasons for wanting to kill Thor, I was right along with them.  It wasn't enough that I wanted his head on a silver platter, I wanted his death to hurt.  He was a horrible man and I'm happy that this unlikely, but lovable crew came together to plot his demise. 

While this book had tons of action and fighting it was lacking some of the light-heartedness of the other novels.  No matter how dire things got, there was usually some comic relief, but not so much in Hammered.  I missed Oberon, the widow, and some of the other characters who kept things fun and lively. 

The narrator, Luke Daniels, did an exceptional job as always.  I seriously could listen to this guy read books to me all day long.  He does a wide range of voices for each character and puts so much expression into his tones that it makes it quite enjoyable to listen to.  If you are new to audio books or just looking for a great narrator try Luke Daniels.  You won't be sorry.

While this wasn't my favorite book in the series, it was still a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series. 

Review of Hexed by Kevin Hearne

Title: Hexed (Iron Druid Chronicles #2)
Author: Kevin Hearne
Narrator: Luke Daniels
Published by: Brilliance Audio
Length: 9 hours
Source: Library
Format: Audio
Rating: 3.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II.

With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex.

Atticus and friends are back in another action packed, sword yielding, enemy killing, installment of the Iron Druid Chronicles. 

Atticus's life never slows down, especially now that he's killed Aenghus Og.  He's got friends calling in favors, fallen Angels to kill and a new coven of witches trying to kill him.  To me Atticus seemed a bit younger in this book than in Hounded.  In Hounded, Atticus really thought carefully about every situation and showed the wisdom and restraint of his 21 centuries old self.  However, in Hexed he was a bit more rash and compulsive.  Shouldn't he have grown out of that stage by now.  I felt he should have been a bit more patient.  The book talks about how he was in hiding for so long, and that it took him centuries to connect his charm necklace to his aura and so on, that I think he could have taken a couple of minutes to step back and assess some of the situations.  Especially when it came to those new witches.

The new characters introduced in Hexed are out for blood and a piece of the old druid himself.  Atticus is constantly in battle almost to the point it seems routine.  This is something that didn't sit well with me.  I felt that Atticus went from one death-defying battle to the next without much in between.  I would have liked to see more of a connection between Atticus and his friends, especially Oberon.  Though of the battle scenes they were brutal to all parties involved.  Good thing Atticus can heal himself with the power of the earth or he would have been hospital bound a long time ago.

Luke Daniels did an amazing job reading each of the character in Hexed.   I especially love his voice for Oberon and it is exactly like I imaged a dog's voice would be.  I enjoy that he uses distinct tones for each character as it is easier to keep track of everyone.  He's easy to follow and keeps the story interesting. 

I  enjoyed the audio version of the Hexed and I can't wait to listen to Hammered.   

Review of Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Title: Hounded
Author: Kevin Hearne
Published by: Random House Publishing Group

Pages: 239

Source: Bought
Format: ebook
Rating: ★★★★

Summary from Goodreads: Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

I had so much fun reading this for the Kiss Me I'm Irish: Hounded Read Along.  It was a great experience and made me think about Hounded in different ways than I normally would have.  If you haven't had the chance to participate in a read along go out and sign up for one.  They are such a great experience.

Out of all the paranormal and fantasy books I've read I have never read one about an ancient Druid.  It was fascinating learning all the magic that Atticus could do and all the knowledge he has.  I thought vampires lived forever, but apparently they have nothing on druids.  Hounded was fresh and original + I loved how Kevin Hearne incorporated the gods interacting with the human race.  There were so many mythical creatures in the novel that it had a little bit of something for everyone.
Let's start with Atticus....Yumm!!!  Not only is he super knowledgeable, he can fight and look hot doing it + he's really nice to old Irish widows.  If that is not great husband material I don't know what is.  Atticus was an incredibly interesting character.  He really knew how to read people and how the world worked.  He was cautious and most of the time kept his wits about him.  The best thing about him is that I genuinely believe he was a great guy + he has the coolest dog in the world.  After reading about Oberon you will be insanely jealous and want an Oberon all for yourself. 

While there wasn't much romance, that didn't take away from the book for me.  The fighting scenes were interesting as brute force wasn't always the successor; there was a lot of scheming and cunning knowledge involved.  Sometimes it seemed to be about who you knew and who could help you, than who has the biggest sword.  It was always interesting who would show up to either help in the battle or who was working against Atticus. 

The one thing that I really loved about the story was how connected Atticus was to the earth.  He had so much respect for it and I'd like to think that along with it being his source of power he has also realized (due to his vast time spent on it) how important the earth is and how badly it's been treated in the past.  Overall this was a great read that I think all ages would really enjoy.