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I'm enjoying the Iron Druid series and feel Hexed lives up to the promise of Hounded. I find them both to be fast, engaging reads, with a host of interesting characters, from the main ones to the minors. Hexed has a load of action, perhaps too much, but it's largely appropriate, as a couple conflicts are fall-out from Hounded, and the new one involves an invading witch group. I enjoy the complexity of Atticus, from his seemingly extreme distrust of witches, to his committed friendship with his wolfhound, to new details we learn about him during WWII. Oberon, his hound, continues with his clever remarks and provides quite a few laughs.I really enjoy the earth magic Atticus uses and feel its a different angle on the road to power and magic systems. I find it interesting that he seems to feel restoring life to the forest destroyed in Hounded is so important, but unfortunate that he gets minimal time to do so in Hexed. I look forward to learning why he hasn't recreated a druidic grove and what the implications will be.I know some feel like he is too powerful, but ultimately, he is supposed to have two millennia to refine and gather his power--that's a whole lot of time. I also believe Hearne is using the terms "gods" much like the Greeks and Norse did--immortal members of a pantheon of deities, but certainly not all-powerful or all-knowing. Understanding that helps make it clear how Atticus can beat a "god." I also feel his tips to the goddesses about amulet making help give the impression of how time-consuming some of that learning can be. As a matter of fact, that leads me to one of my only quibbles with the series, in that Atticus "feels" and acts so young--a little too contemporary. Reactions to attractive young mortal women seem to encourage the sense of youngness, in that he is very embarrassed by his reaction to his apprentice. There is a section in Hexed that deliberately deals with language "updating," and Atticus giving hints to another long-lived entity. But he generally seems and acts like a contemporary, spending very little time meditating/ experimenting/ practicing, and mostly maintaining his business, socializing with the neighbor and going for runs with Oberon. In short, he feels and acts like a young modern soul.Nonetheless, his story is engaging and the cast of side characters are fascinating. I plan to continue the series and will undoubtedly put it on auto-buy.