2.5! fun, creepy, and chaotic!
I had a lot of huh? moments but all questions were answered!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

What did I just read? This was short (thank god) and a hot mess.

The idea was there....the execution was not.

VEXXED is an unapologetically chaotic, wickedly sharp tale of necromancy, charm, and a lead who makes all the wrong choices—and somehow makes you root for him anyway. The world is gritty and weird in the best way, and the writing crackles with wit and emotional undercurrents. I loved how the story balanced grim magic with snarky humor and complicated relationships—it’s clever, fast-paced, and feels like The Witcher took a bad dare at a cursed tavern. I couldn’t put it down, and I didn’t want to.

So this is a short, mostly unedited, likely unfinished outline for a book I think? I can see what the story is supposed to be, but there definitely needs to be some editing, adding context, etc.

Assuming this is just an outline, I’m gonna rate it accordingly. The story itself (from what I could understand) is promising. The actual writing is questionable. Lots of broken paragraphs, not a lot of context. It really appears to be a rough draft of chapters or an outline. I’m not sure.

If the story was fleshed out and written like an actual book then yes, I do think this would be really interesting. Therefore, I would rate the plot, story idea 3.5 stars and that’s what I will give it.

This Book is a Glorious Dumpster Fire of Magic and Mayhem—and I’m Obsessed

Y’ALL. This book is like if sarcasm had a baby with a resurrection spell and raised it on vampire gossip and bad decisions. I devoured VEXXED like a cursed snack and I’m not even sorry. Snarky raven? Check. Bloody flirting? Check. Curses, chaos, and one necromancer who seriously needs a therapist (and maybe a helmet)? DOUBLE CHECK. It’s messy, moody, and completely unhinged in the best way. Read it. Regret nothing. 🖤🔥🕸️

Vexx, necromancer and self-proclaimed rogue is summoned by Baron Blackthorne to the town of Grimholt to clear up a ghoul problem. Vexx and his sidekick Nevermore, the snarky talking raven, investigate the graveyard and are shocked by the infestation and quickly determine that there is something much deeper going on in Grimholt’s graveyard – especially when Vexx comes face to face with Ilvara, the vampire.

But Ilvara isn’t the only woman with her eyes on Vexx, but the baron’s daughter Evelyn is off-limits, too bad she doesn’t seem to understand boundaries. And if all this isn’t enough – there is Vexx’s secret that is only going to make things much, much, much more difficult.

It was painfully clear that this was a debut novel and while the idea of the story was fun, the author needs to work on execution. The structure of the story is messy, and the author clearly has no familiarity with plot structure, character development and apparently no fondness for proper paragraph use. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a series – the reader was given no backstory on Vexx or his relationship with Nevermore (which BTW – Really? A raven named Nevermore??) or his secret. It made for an incredibly frustrating read. I think this author has potential and with the right editor/writing coach could probably write an amazing story – but this story is not a book I would recommend.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher/author. All opinions in this review are my own. *

You know you go into reading a book and it turns out to be nothing you expected at all. Well this was it.

I had no idea it was more of a novella but it worked!

I think a couple of my favourite sub genres are necromancy and animal sidekicks. This has both.

There was so much banter between Vexx and Nevermore. It had me laughing out loud.

I enjoyed the story overall but I just wish it had been a whole novel. I want more adventures with Vexx and Nevermore. I want a whole series.

I liked the creepy gothic vibes I got from the setting.

I'm trying to figure out if this novella was a test to see if we liked the story, the characters and the setting. It's a yes from me!!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Bookbuzz for the arc. This is my honest review of the book.

Chaotic Fun, But a Bit Too Vexxing

Vexxed is a wild, necromantic ride with plenty of snark, blood, and bad decisions. The premise hooked me right away—graveyards, vampires, morally gray characters, and a flair for chaos? Yes, please. The voice is sharp and clever, and I appreciated the fast pace and bite-sized length. It’s definitely got that “Witcher-on-absinthe” vibe it promises.

That said, the plot sometimes felt like it was sprinting without a clear destination. Things happened fast—maybe too fast—making it hard to feel grounded in the world or emotionally invested in the characters. The romance (or flirtation?) was messy in a way that felt more confusing than compelling, and I found myself wishing for a bit more depth behind the banter and bloodshed.

If you're into magical mayhem, witty narration, and don't mind a bit of narrative whiplash, Vexxed might just hit the spot. For me, it was fun in the moment, but didn’t quite leave a lasting scar.

This book had all the ingredients for something truly fun: a cursed world, morally gray vibes, chaotic magic, and banter that gave me a couple of genuine chuckles - especially between Vexx and his raven companion. Their back-and-forth hinted at a deeper bond I really wanted more of but somewhere along the way, the story lost me.

The plot quickly spiralled into a whirlwind of "what is happening?" and by the end, I was more confused than invested. I was intrigued by the premise, and I wanted to love it. But the further I got, the harder it was to stay engaged.

3.5 ⭐️ a very quick Novella style read. It’s about 93 pages. I really did like the idea of a curse necromancer named Vexx. The dark elements that surrounded the story in a different characters we meet were very interesting. It just kind of got a little crazy towards the end. I do hope she she’ll write more to the story later on. I really loved the idea of it. Perfect October novella.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This had the bones of something interesting (no pun intended) but lacked the substance to pull it off. I liked a lot of the interactions between Vexx and Nevermore (though the Poe reference in a world where he clearly didn't exist was immersion-breaking), they clearly had some backstory/history I wanted to see more of. I feel the characters are probably fully fleshed out - but only to the author. The rest of us are left trying to understand who they are with very minimal details.

The rest of the plot quickly spiraled into a lot of "what is happening" and by the end I was more confused than anything else. So much of the book is "witty" dialogue that the little action we do get doesn't have a chance to show the reader anything.

Overall it was enjoyable enough to finish, but not something I'd give a strong recommendation for. 2.5/5

Thanks to Netgalley & also to Ilya for a throughly entertaining book.

This book feels like the lovechild of monty pythons the holy grail & the blade itself by Abercrombie. The characters are excellent and the story is a quite funny. The constant bantering between Vexx & his raven friend reads like the " who's alon first" skit from the 50s.

There's magic, swords, necromancy....annnnd...something much older....much older. Lol. The book has its sharp swords, and even sharper with and all characters mesh wonderfully for this darkly comedic fantasy

A great read

This is a what in the world did I just read book?!?! It’s very… Strange. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all! This book falls under the fiction, fantasy and romance genre. It is weird and creepy, mixed in with some dark humor. Even though I did finish the book, it left me wondering why I did.

“Vexxed” is about a cursed necromancer, who is named Vexx. He gets a graveyard job and it gets very dangerous quickly! This cursed guy is with an undead raven at his side. The raven gives Vexx a different perspective on his situation at hand. Romantic interests start happening, along with magical things. I give this a 2 out of 5 stars. This book was just not for me. It might be for others though! I see this book as being a very controversial one.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Ilya Voskresensky for this digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is out now!

Was a fantastic book that i thoroughly recommend and will be buying as I need a trophy version lol. I enjoying the different dynamics at play and the way that different cultures were introduced and included. It’s a fantastic book and I highly recommend!