Hexennacht

Wheel of the Year #2

by C.M. Nascosta

Hexennacht is the Night of Witches, Samhain’s calendar twin. A night of revelry and dancing, of bonfires and sisterhood
. . . but it had been on another Hexennacht when her fortunes changed. Cast from the ancient circle, dispossessed of belonging. A solitary witch, practicing her craft alone . . . at least, until the day Anzan arrived at her door.

She never expected to fall in love with the quiet Araneaen upstairs, and could not have foreseen how easily he would spin his web around her heart.

When Anzan's future in Cambric Creek and their happiness is threatened, Ladybug has no choice but to open a door from the past and let a familiar face back into her life. Stepping outside her comfort zone is the last thing in the world she wants to do, particularly when she and Anzan are so happy in their insulated little bubble . . . but if she doesn't act, the bubble may burst beyond her control.

This high heat, cozy monster romance features a neurodivergent witch FMC and a non-human spider-like MMC and takes place within the Cambric Creek Universe. It is best read as part of the series. Hexennacht is the second volume of The Wheel of the Year and comes after The Mabon Feast.

Genres: Romance, Monster Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Witches, Paranormal, Monsters

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 22, 2024

About the author

C.M. Nascosta is an author and professional procrastinator from Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, she thought that living on Lake Erie meant one was eerie by nature, and her corresponding love of all things strange and unusual started young. She’s always preferred beasts to boys, the macabre to the milquetoast, the unknown darkness in the shadows to the Chad next door. She lives in a crumbling old Victorian with a scaredy-cat dachshund, where she writes nontraditional romances featuring beastly boys with equal parts heart and heat, and is waiting for the Hallmark Channel to get with the program and start a paranormal lovers series.

Reviews

[toointofiction]

“I will fight for you until my last breath, my Ladybug. A life without your love is not one I’m interested in living.”

I didn’t realise how much I missed Ladybug and Anzan until I started reading about them again. They are my emotional support, antisocial arachnid and autistic witch. I loved them in The Mabon Feast (book 1), I loved Ladybug’s cameo in Two for Tea (another Cambric Creek book), and I loved them in this one too. Also, I will never be one of those people who get bored after the main couple gets together, give me all the domestic Ladybug x Anzan you have, I will read it all. They were adorable.

There was one character that stole the spotlight, however, and it was neither of the protagonists. Holt, the very sexy, very feline (in every way) familiar, became my favourite character in the entire Cambric Creek universe. Honestly, any character with the personality of a cat becomes my instant favourite. It’s not my fault, cats are awesome. I would go into more detail, but I’m confident that “personality of a cat” tells you all you need to know about him. I hope there’s a whole lot more of him in the future. I would love to get a book from his point of view. His backstory in this book was amazing.

Moreover, as with every monster smut book, pretty much everything other than romance, smut, and some surprisingly good character development for several characters, has been average. The stakes looked high, but they really weren’t. The plot was interesting but not complex in any way. I did like the direction the story took; it was clear that there’s a lot more story to be told, and I am very excited for it.

On that note, the best part about this book was Ladybug making most of Cambric Creek like her and her Araneaen boyfriend with her ✨fun-time coochie cream✨. That Araneaen venom did wonders 👀.

[Poppy || Monster Lover]

Ladybug coming into her power

I loved book one and the autism rep in the FMC, so seeing a continuation was wonderful. Anzan is such the martyr and I love that Ladybug calls him out on it. I also adored his casual kleptomania and Ladybug’s foibles as well, as it brought depth to the characters. Ladybug was able to grow in her self-confidence without changing the fact that she’s autistic. I’m already struggling with the idea of waiting for the next book because I want answers now, but it’s worth the wait. They are too precious for words.

Spice: 4/5

Triggers: grief, bullying (off page), harassment from neighbors, discrimination, ableism, cancer, grief, mention of boiled babies

[Kazen]

After reading some of the newer Nascosta books back to back I have a new understanding of how her writing works, and I don't think it's suited for the novellas she churns out. Morning Glory Milking Farm is an aberration - a contained, satisfying story that does paranormal stuff while hitting Millennials in the generational feels. The rest of her work, though, is best thought of as a big, overarching story told in short, awkwardly chopped up fragments.

Two for Tea, more of a women's fiction book than a romance, gave me the keys I needed to enjoy the Wheel of the Year series. It was my introduction to Holt, a major character in Hexennacht, and hints at future conflicts.

Where things go wrong is that the hints are ham-handed, coming off not as glimpses of what's coming but threads that are completely dropped. I mean, you can't casually mention that some witches (spoiler) are going down the path of sacrificing a human baby without the reader latching on to it, you know?

I'll keep reading Wheel of the Year because I'm interested in the larger picture, but I doubt any of the books will get more than three stars from me. Hopefully Nascosta will write some longer, more cohesive stories whenever she decides to move on from Cambric Creek.

[Erin]

Literally brings me back to the absolute surprise of how heart touching morning glory milking farm was, cannot wait for the rest!

[Effy Wolfsdottir]

I hate to rate so low but this flashback style of writing is really getting out of control. I loved the base plot though and the last 25% was really good. But I just can’t anymore.

[Victoria Brown]

This was disappointing, because I really loved Anzan and Ladybug’s first book. I still love them as a couple, but this didn’t add much for me. Also (and I can’t believe I’m saying this in a Nascosta novel) but it could have used a lot more smut in my opinion.

The author’s note said that a lot of plot threads from other books would come to a head in this one, and I didn’t feel that at all. I’m not sure if I just missed it or didn’t get it, but this felt boring, and a continuation of her not giving us very many answers (and leaving me not even knowing what the questions are supposed to be).

[Claire]

Sooo disappointing. After loving the first book in the series, I was really looking forward to this one, but wound up DNF-ing. The author describes the FMC as having severe social anxiety and being awkward and that was endearingly true in the first book - in this, however, the author just makes her stupid. Other characters have to explain basic concepts like computers, and cell phones to her. I found it insulting.

[Melee (⁀ᗢ⁀)]

Too Slow Paced for me

TROPES

- Found Family
-Slow Burn
- Female Protag on the spectrum
- Hurt comfort
- Past trauma
- Outcast
- Second Chance
-Mysterious Guy
- Normal F/ paranormal creature

SPICE 🌶
2/5 (2 🍋 and some 🍏)

Personally, I think this book was really slow paced. If you like super slow burn, then this is the book for you. I got a bit frustrated reading this book, because nothing really interesting was happening between the FMC and male romaric interest until way past the half point of the book. I don't think this series if for me. There are 2 more books in the series coming out in the future, but I don't think I will read them. If you like slow burn, witch vibes, paranormal romance, character self growth, and sense of community then you might like this book 👍

[Jessica L. Walls]

Not what the author promised

The author had promised all the CC stories would start pulling together in this new book. As far as I'm concerned, that was not what happened here. Yes, quick cameos and allusions to other CC characters were here, but they were not integral parts of the story, as the author said they would be.

[LBN]

Imo this completely fell apart. I really don’t care about our side character and he’s the main focus of most of this book. Maybe a novella about him would have been better if there was so little interest in continuing the story of our couple from the first book.

[adriana]

Not what I wanted or expected after reading book one.

[Bryony]

How is this book nothing to do with the mmc? Like… who cares about the demon cat? Ngl. DNF at like 8%.

[Cait The Great]

There are only so many times you can read that she doesn’t “sparkle” like other girls before your reading attention and appetite dull.

[Brittany]

DNF'd

[Salpy KS]

All of these teasers (“shit is coming together” “you really want to have read the other books”) had better pay off.

[Giselle]

DNF 23%

[SmuttyBuddy]

DNF @19% Just not feeling it right now, will return later!

[Kenneth Rotter]

WHY? WHY IS THERE NO SPICE? WHAT ARE WE EVEN DOING HERE?

[binha]

cozy but missed many things
DNF 37%

[bookworms.paradise]

Not the most entertaining of sequels, and nonetheless a flatter version of the heated erotica found in The Mabon Feast, leaving me disappointed and wanting. :/

[Jade Tatreau]

This may just be the only book of hers I don’t like. 1/3 of the way in and it is painfully boring 😳

[Catherine]

If you like a cozy romance with paranormal entities.

If you like cozy romances with paranormal entities then this is for you.
I really liked the first one but this one... Maybe I wasn't in the mood for it but its a cozy read. I think it would be nice for fall.
It just didn't hold my interest and wasn't really exciting.
Its one of those small town cute stories just with paranormal stuff. That's it.
I give it a 2.5. that's just my personal preference.

[Lizzy Love ❤]

Dnf at 56% may pick it up again but i just got bored

[Kartana]

Dnf. Drags on for a while and doesn't seem to really go anywhere

[Libbies_library]

"I will fight for you until my last breath, my Ladybug. A life without your love is not one I am interested in living."

Continuing on from The Mabon Feast, Hexennacht follows our beloved Anzan and Ladybug, an unlikely couple of a witch and an Araneaen.

Their relationship develops beautifully in this sequel and Nascosta shows their ability to write heartwarming and believable relationships. The representation with Ladybug's anxiety and neurodivergence is good to see and I love how she truly starts to come out of her shell more in this book and let her personality shine.

I believe there is to be more from this series, and following the same characters, I cannot wait to read more of this pair again.

[Alexandra]

I really loved book one and was hoping in this one we would get more time with Anzan and Ladybug but unfortunately that is not the case. The pacing of this book is weird as well, it’s so incredibly slow and at one point I went to check how much more was left only to see I was only at page 90 of 217 pages. This one just wasn’t for me and I didn’t care for the main story or the stuff happening with the familiar Holt, just overall a bore.

[Megan Knighton]

cute

Good story but difficult to follow in some places. There are storylines that are cut short or forgotten about it seems…almost like a string was cut into 3 parts; the middle part was removed and then the string was tied back together. I feel like that meme of John travolta in pulp fiction going huh?

[Honest Mabel]

pretty slow

I honestly was surprised just how slow moving this book is. I am not sure what is up with this pace happening but okay.

I love Holt and he didn’t have enough page time imho. Ladybug isn’t a character for me personally. The dipsy doodle act doesn’t appeal to me. And there is no resolution to the main problem we see presented in this book.

[Holly]

2.5⭐️

[Revy]

Ngl I find this pretty boring and it's more vibes than any overarching big plot. Ladybug is a cute protagonist though and Anzan is a great love interest. I need more spider-people as love interests pls.