susanylee

HOLY COW! Well, I had heard some really great things about this book and it comes recommended by some amazing readers and writers so…duh…I had a feeling it was going to be GOOD.

I just had NO IDEA (my own fault…I should be paying closer attention) how action-packed, SCARY, skin-crawl-inducing, heart-pounding it would be! This is not some sweet, quiet, historical romance. Not even close. This has death, and afterlife, and grave sites, and occult practices, and SCARY CHARACTERS and at numerous times, I found myself turning on all the lights in my apartment before turning the next page.

Ok, but to be fair, that’s not ALL it has. This also has a really GORGEOUS slow build relationship between Whyborne & Griffin and…I LOVE THEM. I love each of them separately. I love them both together. And I can’t wait to know more about them. It breaks my heart when Whyborne sees himself as drab, awkward, unattractive, undesirable. And then I get all giddy when Griffin, the gorgeous & charming one, falls for him. Their professional partnership, their growing friendship, and their budding relationship are lovely and adoring, and I’m a sucker for it all.

What I love most about this book is that Jordan L. Hawk gives us SO MUCH story…we get pasts from both characters, we get family struggles, work situations, historical context, emotion, conflict, misunderstanding, professions of love….the book is SO FREAKING FULL…and that’s exactly how I felt by the end. Full.

My only complaint would be that it’s not the kind of book I could just get lost in. I had to put it aside a few times, step away, and come back to it. Maybe it’s the intensity. Maybe it’s that I had trouble stomaching some of the sensory descriptions. I’m not exactly certain. But, as much as I really enjoyed it, I had some trouble getting through it. (and I see how that makes no sense at all). And as excited as I am that there are 2 more books already out with W&G, I’m not quite ready to jump in right away.

But maybe it’s just that way…a series to be savored…in my own timing. And I already can’t get Whyborne & Griffin out of my mind so I know I’ll be craving more from them soon enough…

*PS – here’s a warning for those who get easily aggravated or sensitive to certain words: Whyborne refers to his “member” or Griffin’s “member” tons of times…I thought it was charming, but some may find it annoying. Head’s up…