Book Analysis: “Not Your Ex’s Hexes” by April Asher

I think we’re due for another book analysis. For a moment, I didn’t know if I would do one for this book but when I realized I had some strong thoughts on one particular aspect, I figured it made the most sense.

As a reminder, these aren’t really reviews. I look at a book and study the author’s choices to see what I can learn from them as a writer. So there will be spoilers under the cut below. If you want to just read a review of the book, you can find it on my other blog here.

So today we are looking at “Not Your Ex’s Hexes” by April Asher, a sequel to her book “Not the Witch You Wed.” I did a book analysis of it here.

Check out the analysis under the cut.

“Not Your Ex’s Hexes” follows the second Maxwell triplet, Rose, as she adjusts to no longer being the Prima Apparent now that Violet’s magic has finally come in. She is also newly single and decides to make no commitments. That’s when she meets half-demon veterinarian Damian. When she ends up doing community service at his animal clinic, they realize they can’t deny the attraction between them. But Damian harbors a secret that could mean their relationship never progresses from more than just sex.

I think that’s a good enough summary. Rose also discovers she’s good at hunting and Damian returns to it to help her as well as get some money for his clinic. So there’s that as well.

What was the main thing I really wanted to write about? Well, it was about how I felt like Asher was just repeating herself. There were times where it felt like I was just reading Violet and Linc from the first book all over again. There were many ways that Rose and Damian felt like different characters from Violet and Linc but there were too many similarities as well.

And I’m already sensing this pattern repeating itself in the third book, Not Your Crush’s Cauldron, which I’m currently reading as Asher has introduced that male leading character’s father, Mikael (who I believe is supposed to be the archangel Michael) and surprise, surprise, he’s an overbearing father who disapproves of his son’s choices and tries to control him.

Just like Linc. Just like Damian.

I get that it can be hard to create multiple romances. I worry about this with my Fairytales of New York series since I plan on that being five books, meaning five different couples. However, I do think I would be able to handle it better than Asher right now. After all, I would be following the fairy tales, which all have different dynamics. That certainly helps.

I also feel like I have created several different kinds of romances using the same two characters in my fanfics. I’ve also worried about repeating certain character aspects that were not rooted in canon (and I will admit it is having Robin have conflict with his father but it’s more to parallel Regina and her relationship with her mother) before reminding myself that I can have the same headcanon about the same character even in different universes.

This, though, isn’t that.

Clearly Asher has a thing for men with daddy issues. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But it just repeat the same character over and over in the same series isn’t something I would recommend.

So I’ve learned to be careful about that.

(In many ways, the same is true of Rose. There’s a lot where she’s like Violet but they are sisters so I can let it slide a bit more).

I think that’s been enough of a rant. Let’s move on to other aspects.

Asher did a good job expanding her magical world by introducing the concept of hunting. (Which likely was borrowed from Supernatural, which gets name-checked a lot in these books along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer). She weaves these creatures expertly into our world and describes them well. I have to applaud her for such an expansion.

I hope I can do the same thing with The Lost King since I plan on that being a trilogy. I want to make sure each book expands my new world a little more each time, even if I’m still following the same character. So I am definitely taking note.

I also enjoy the relationships between Rose, Violet, Olive and Harper. They feel like real sisters and friends. And they always support each other, no matter what. Asher really understands friendships between women. Given that most of my characters are women too, I hope I can write their relationships just as well. So I am taking notes from that as well.

I think that’s it for this analysis. I apologize that one subject took up so much of it but I clearly had a lot of Feelings about it.

But I got them out so that’s a plus, right?

Anyway, there are more analyses coming your way this year so stay tuned!

See you next week!