Hexed

Gwen Sparks #4

by Stephanie Nelson

The rules that once bound magic no longer apply. The balance between death and life has tipped, and Gwen Sparks can’t remember a thing. Left at the mercy of those claiming to be her friends, Gwen must piece together her life through flashes of random memories and vivid dreams, featuring two very alluring men. One thing is for sure, if they don’t fix the problem soon, the fate of the supernatural world is doomed.

With the help of the last four remaining spirit walkers, Dorian Hade will fight like hell to fix what’s been broken and save the woman he has fallen for. But he’ll find out that some problems aren’t that easy to fix, and the only solution to this one is death.

Gwen will sacrifice everything to save the ones she loves and right the world.

Dorian will do everything to stop her. To save the woman he loves.

Genres: Witches, Paranormal, Vampires, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

ebook

First published September 22, 2014

About the author

Stephanie Nelson resides in Illinois with her husband and their furry children. She began writing five years ago as a hobby and quickly fell in love with storytelling. She’s been teased about being a vampire due to her night-owl ways. However, she claims to only write about the fanged and not be part of their ranks. When she’s not working on the next Gwen Sparks or Anna Avery adventure, she enjoys: reading, traveling, playing the Wii and spending time with her family. The best part of her job is connecting with her readers.

Reviews

[Mick C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received a complimentary copy for an honest review. Ok this book HAD to be named Hexed! It just is the perfect name for the whole story. My favorite line is: "I squeezed my eyes and did something I had never done before; I prayed. I prayed for forgiveness, for Him to save her, for her to stay with me. I also prayed for strength should her body not accept the virus, strength to keep my word and let her go. It felt as though the bottom of my stomach had dropped out. My chest was tight. My heart slammed against my ribs as though it was trying to leap out to get to her, and my body temperature dropped as the unknown loomed in this tiny bedroom." by Dorian AKA Death. Wow, just wow! Can't wait for the next book.

[Natalie]

I read books 1-3 awhile ago and liked them well enough, but I couldn't get into this one. The writing wasn't flowing and I felt the open scenario didn't ring true. I just didn't like it. I'm putting it aside for now. Maybe I'll try again some other time.

[Sarah Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I guess this is the last book in the series? I looked around and couldn't find Resurrected and since it's been 3 years my hopes are dwindling that it will ever be published. Dorian and Gwen now (not earlier when it happened for some reason which is never really explained) have to deal with the fall out of him putting her would back when really she should have died. This one felt a little choppy and I do get tired of her waffling about Dorian. The end separation with her friend felt weird prrobably because there was supposed to be another book. I guess we'll never know.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's start with the quote that made me start reading the Gwen Sparks series. Yes, I read a sample of Hexed before reading Craved, judge away.

She hugged her hands to her arms, and I knew she must be cold. I should have given her my coat.
What has happened to me? Give her my coat, seriously?
That woman not only annoyed me with her ability to get herself in trouble, but my reaction to her also frustrated me.

The most accurate way to describe this book is by saying that this is the story of Gwen and Dorian falling in love-again. I know this seems like a terrible reason to praise a book so much but I just can't help it. Who doesn't love it when their favorite couple gets a chance to fall in love all over again?

"What do you expect me to say, Dorian? That I love you?"
I threw my hands up in frustration.
"I love you, okay? I loved every minute with you, even the ones where you pissed me off."

So we start with Gwen scared to death of The Angel of Death(ha, get it?). He's following her and all that and she has no idea who he is but she gets a bad vibe from him. And that is exactly how she felt the first time she saw him(in a dark and stormy night, awwww). Eventually, he makes her stop running and she listens to him, but still doesn't trust him so she goes to the police station and meets Micah.

When looking at Dorian, one wouldn't associate him with safe. His very appearance screamed 'danger'.

I miss Micah and Gwen so much. I loved their relationship. Not the I'm-pining-for-him relationship she had early on but the whole he's-my-ex-but-we-work-together thing that developed later. This was one of the best things for me in Craved. So Micah explaining Gwen's life to her was actually kind of a big deal to me.
Then comes Fiona. I was in desperate need of their friendship and whatdoyouknow Fiona comes back to Flora and helps Gwen and tries to save her life and tells her all about their history and stuff at least until it all goes to shit in the end.
Knock knock, here comes Lauren. Oh my Goddess, how I love her. She's the best. She's sexy and dangerous and she's got spunk. I couldn't stop laughing when she knocked on Gwen's door and started to playfully touch Dorian's chest(with Gwen watching, of course). And Gwen being rude to her-just like she was in the beginning- was so fantastic. Lauren lending Gwen some clothes and taking her to a club also made me jump for joy.
Okay, now for the more serious part: Aiden. I feel like crying every time I think about him. I loved his and Gwen's relationship so much. I just can't talk about it without getting hit with a wave of emotions. I mean, even after everything that happened, he never stopped loving her. He's still watching over her(granted in a sort of stalker-ish way, but he's taking care of her nevertheless). They talk over the phone and he laughs and she feels something over hearing him laugh and...God, I just can't. I can't talk about it. It's too painful. But the point is: he's there and he still loves her and she wants Dorian and it hurts. It doesn't even make sense for me to be feeling this way 'cause I'm Dorian's girl so I shouldn't feel bad about Aiden. But I just can't move past the way Aiden and Gwen felt about each other in Craved. What can I say, I'm nostalgic.

She swiveled her head and looked at him, but when she reached a hand out to touch his face, my chest tightened and squeezed the air out of my lungs.
"The trickster," she whispered, dropping her arm.
"Always playing tricks and wounding damsels with your lies."
She dropped her eyes and turned her back to Aiden. When her eyes met mine, they were glossy. Was she on the verge of crying? I wanted to comfort her, maybe even feel sorry for her, but I couldn't. At the moment, the only emotion I felt was anger.
Was she really still affected by Aiden, after everything he did to her?

Oh. My. Dorian. He tells Gwen that he loves her not once, BUT TWICE. T-W-I-C-E. Yeah, that's right. The freaking Angel of Death declares his love to a woman twice. He refers to her as his girlfriend. He wants to take Ethan's soul just 'cause Ethan wouldn't die for Gwen. He likes the jealous side of Gwen. He would give everything up for her. AND HE DID.

"I've taken a lot of families' loved ones, watched the loss break them apart. I never understood it until you, until there was a chance that you may be taken someday, too. I get it now, understand how losing someone can completely wreck a person, but their pain will not compare to mine if I lose you, Gwen. Because in my very long existence, I have never met anyone who loved someone as much as I love you."

Random things that were great:
-Gwen without her memories is the best. She's funny and snarky and just perfect.
-Eddie The Ghost is the best spy ever. I can't help but laugh every time his Volvo t-shirt is mentioned.
-I really enjoyed meeting the other spirit walkers. It was a nice addition.
-Amara is great. Her interaction with Dorian somehow added length to his character.
-I loved having Dorian's POV.
-Aiden's short story made me cry.

[Heather Emery · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5). It was a light, quick read. There wasn't much depth and I think because of that it felt like something was missing for me. It was still a good read.

[Phaedra Seabolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book, though I highly recommend reading Coveted (book three) close to reading this one. At the end of Coveted, Gwen is dating Dorian (the Angel of Death). They are wandering around the streets of Flora, a town full of supernaturals, when Gwen loses all her memories. Dorian goes to her and the story ends with everyone being confused because Gwen has no idea who she is. The ironic thing about having read that book so long ago, I felt a little like my memory of what had happened to Gwen had been lost as well. I had to remember all the things that had happened to her in the other three books while reading this one. So when Gwen got a flash of a memory, it was kind of like I did too. I know that was not Stephanie Nelson's objective there because she won't tell all her readers to wait a year in between reading books three and four, but it was a rather neat experience for me.

In this story, Gwen has lost all her memories and they are all trying to figure out what has happened. Also the balance between life and death and within the entire magical world has been disturbed. Spells are going wrong, vampires can walk in the sun, people aren't dying when they should...It is a big mess that Dorian is pretty sure is related to Gwen. What will they do when it becomes clear that Gwen must die in order to restore the balance in the world? Does Dorian's love for Gwen triumph over the laws of life? Can he find a way for Gwen to remain on this plane of existence and to remain in his arms for the rest of their lives? Does Gwen even want to spend the rest of her life with Dorian? All questions you will discover the answers to in this book. I LOVED IT!

[Phaedra Seabolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic book, though I highly recommend reading Coveted (book three) close to reading this one. At the end of Coveted, Gwen is dating Dorian (the Angel of Death). They are wandering around the streets of Flora, a town full of supernaturals, when Gwen loses all her memories. Dorian goes to her and the story ends with everyone being confused because Gwen has no idea who she is. The ironic thing about having read that book so long ago, I felt a little like my memory of what had happened to Gwen had been lost as well. I had to remember all the things that had happened to her in the other three books while reading this one. So when Gwen got a flash of a memory, it was kind of like I did too. I know that was not Stephanie Nelson's objective there because she won't tell all her readers to wait a year in between reading books three and four, but it was a rather neat experience for me.

In this story, Gwen has lost all her memories and they are all trying to figure out what has happened. Also the balance between life and death and within the entire magical world has been disturbed. Spells are going wrong, vampires can walk in the sun, people aren't dying when they should...It is a big mess that Dorian is pretty sure is related to Gwen. What will they do when it becomes clear that Gwen must die in order to restore the balance in the world? Does Dorian's love for Gwen triumph over the laws of life? Can he find a way for Gwen to remain on this plane of existence and to remain in his arms for the rest of their lives? Does Gwen even want to spend the rest of her life with Dorian? All questions you will discover the answers to in this book. I LOVED IT!

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this novel In exchange for my honest review.

Hexed is book four of The Gwen Sparks series. The story continues where Coveted left off. Gwen visits a new bakery and questions the owner about the illegal spells being placed on the cupcakes. The owner blows blue powder into Gwen’s face and …poof! She’s transported into the middle of the street with no memory! Dorian is running to her and she runs away, after all, she doesn’t remember him! Once again, Gwen’s life is turned upside down as they try to help her remember and also try to figure out who put the bakery owner up to removing Gwen’s memory. Remember in Coveted when Dorian said he’d have to pay a price for saving Gwen from dying? Well, it’s time to pay the piper and you’ll never guess what they want.

Once again, Stephanie Nelson does not disappoint. The characters we’ve grown to love, and even some that we hate, make an appearance. Gwen shows enormous courage throughout this story, even when she couldn’t remember anything she was still rather spunky. I also thought it was neat to watch her fall in love with Dorian all over again. This was a pretty fast paced action filled paranormal romance. I really hope there will be a book five. These are characters I’ve grown to love and I hate to see their story end.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars but I'll round up to 3.

This series is one of my guilty pleasures--light quick reads. good characters, fun paranormal themes. For various reasons (some good, some seemed avoidable) the author was very late in getting book #4 out which was disappointing and I think that carried over into the book for me. After waiting so long I was a little annoyed and didn't pick it up for a couple of months after it was finally published, choosing to read other books instead. Then, I finally started but left it again for other books for another couple of months as it seemed to take a long time to build to any real action and forward movement in the story. I finally picked it up and kept going and it did end up finishing strong with a good cliffhanger and for that I will read the next in the series (which has been pushed back a month already--not a good sign). Hopefully it won't be another year's wait.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gwen is in a world where magic has gone on the Fritz and the balance between life and death has shifted, on top of which, Gwen's memories have been stolen. every decision has consequences and this wrong has to be righted.
you can't help but get sucked into Stephanie Nelsons Gwen sparks series. I've been hooked since book 1 and have waited what feels like forever for this 4 th book in the series.
As soon as I started reading Hexed, I wasn't sure I liked where it was headed , it was obvious sacrifices needed to be made but by who? Gwen? Dorian? Aidan? and at what cost, but I couldn't put it down, I HAD to know ! and Yes, I did shed a few tears as I couldn't help but get caught up in their emotions.
In short, I loved every single word and can't wait for book 5 ...........role on 4th January

I recieved an ARC from the Author in return for a genuine review

[Louise Swift · Rating 5 out of 5]

The long awaited Hexed is finally here, was the wait worth it? ABSOLUTELY!

Hexed is a roller coaster of a story, never slowing down long enough for you to catch your breath.

Stephanie Nelson sure can tell a story, before you know it you have left your own world and you are planted firmly in the little town of Flora where literally anything can happen and will happen.

In hexed Gwen is struggling to remember who she is after a witch hexed her and took her memories, but was it just a nasty witch with a point to prove or was the witch working towards a bigger picture??

Hexed will make you laugh and cry and leaving you gasping for more! I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes a bit of paranormal.

[Antionette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dorian is an idol. Angel of death I don't think could be any hotter.... The chemistry in this book is off the charts. Gwen is finally with the love of her life.... But of course all goes wrong and crazy. And all because he just couldn't let Gwen die. This books is definitely a page turner.. The passion is crazy intense. The suspense was off the charts. And I can not wait for the next book. Will Gwen finally have her happily ever after? How far will the love between Gwen and Dorian go? I won't spoil anything, but this books is completely about them... All I can say is about damn time. she finally excepts what we have known all along.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series! With each book you get hooked right from the start. If life would've let me I could've finished this in one sitting.

Being in Gwen's world is never easy and it's just as true in Hexed. Dorian and Fiona are always there helping her when she really needs them, but will she be able to keep them there?

I don't want to give away to much but I can't wait for the next book. This was another great book in the Gwen Sparks series. I love escaping into their world even if it's a book at a time.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The calm after the storm? Ha - not!!! As you all know, Coveted was intense! Stephanie picked up with that intensity in Hexed where she left off in Coveted.
It's funny, I had forgotten the ending of Coveted, so when I started Hexed, it all sunk in again. Then I was gone...lost in the world of Gwen Sparks.
Stephanie really knows how to weave magical and mystical tales that leave you breathless. Breathless out of fear and lust for those hot and heavy scenes.

[Claudia · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a long wait until I had "Hexed" in my "hands" (or on my Kindle) but this was a real worthy book in this series. I loved the plot, the emotions - and there was everything in there: from betrayal and angst to deep, deep love and romance

Coveted was the best book so far and it was real intense. but Hexed takes it to next level. with each book gets Stephanie Nelson better and better

I can't wait for the next book and I really hope it comes out soon.

[Bookworm Betties · Rating 5 out of 5]

The calm after the storm? Ha - not!!! As you all know, Coveted was intense! Stephanie picked up with that intensity in Hexed where she left off in Coveted.
It's funny, I had forgotten the ending of Coveted, so when I started Hexed, it all sunk in again. Then I was gone...lost in the world of Gwen Sparks.
Stephanie really knows how to weave magical and mystical tales that leave you breathless. Breathless out of fear and lust for those hot and heavy scenes.

[Michelle Red Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure how she does it but Stephanie Nelson keeps every book in her series fresh and interesting. I am more interested in what is going on with Gwen after 4 books than when I just found out about the series. Dorian is amazingly complex and struggles a bit in this one. I can't wait for book 5. I almost wish I waited to read these until they were all out because I hate waiting between books!!!!

[Ashley W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fourth book in the Gwen Sparks series. The storyline was refreshing because it did not solely revolve around council business or brew. This book made me fall in love with Dorian even more. Dorian and Gwen encounter a witch. She puts a memory hex on Gwen. The hex makes Gwen forget her own name, past, and present. Magic...what's that? Gwen becomes a blank slate. Why and who would do this to her??? Will the bad boy Angel of Death stay?? Has Dorian lost Gwen forever?

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy oh boy oh boy..... Dorian's hatred knows no bounds I tell you! I used to be conflicted but... For some reason I'm still liking Aiden more... Kinda hoping they get back together in the next one....Dorian's a great guy but... I guess I'm an Aiden girl at heart.... Can't wait to read the next one!

[Kathie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My only complaint with this book is the poor editing. There were several instances where the errors were extremely distracting. Other than the editing, the plot and characterization are strong, exciting, and engaging and what one expects from Ms. Nelson. Read the book; you won't be sorry. Anxiously awaiting the next book.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anticlimatic

I did not like this book at all. Gwen losing her memories was an interesting ploy, but everyone was so unpleasant and negative. The gods suddenly taking an interest in Dorian's saving her life was very late and contrary. They punished innocent souls by allowing the imbalance. Just not the book I was expecting and the solution sucks!!!!

[Andrea Heltsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hot sauce, this book was even better than the last! So much sexual tension and magical mayhem! The ending was a great lead-in for the next book. Ressurection is going to rock! LOVE this author and this series! Five glittery stars!

[Jana Gundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my yes! Dorian and Gwen are the real deal and they prove that on this one. Gwen is cursed and can't remember who she is so its up to her friends and Dorian to fix that. It's funny to see Dorian and Gwen when she can't remember him. Aiden is back...........

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!! Couldn't put it down!!! definitely didn't see that one coming!!! Definitely didn't see a few things coming!!!

[Franny · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Alisa Lawry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously a fabulous story! Loved loved loved it!

[Barbara Eichler-Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memory loss 3 1/2

The excerpt from the last book put me off but I finally read this book. Enjoy this series a lot of ups and downs. The characters are lifelike. Interesting ending.

[KelticKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always I enjoyed the ride!

It definitely helped for me to re read the previous books in this series! Enjoyed the journey and ride that these books take my mind and heart on.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing...best book of the series so far!

[Cocktails and Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh...the changes!!! Can't wait for the next book.