Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk (#1 in the Whyborne & Griffin series)

Some things should stay buried.

Repressed scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has two skills: reading dead languages and hiding in his office at the Ladysmith Museum. After the tragic death of the friend he secretly loved, he’s ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man.

So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons following the death of his partner, hoping to start a new life. But the powerful cult which murdered Glenn has taken root in Widdershins, and only the spells in the book can stop them. Spells the intellectual Whyborne doesn’t believe are real.

As the investigation draws the two men closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. When the cult resurrects an evil sorcerer who commands terrifying monsters, can Whyborne overcome his fear and learn to trust? Will Griffin let go of his past and risk falling in love? Or will Griffin’s secrets cost Whyborne both his heart and his life?

I'm giving it a 4 and this is why:

Percival Whyborne is a shy, socially awkward kind of guy, comfortable hiding away with moldy old tomes. The thought of taking a lunch outside his office and having to actually converse with someone is out of his comfort zone. He can speak 13 languages and can read even more but he doesn’t think that any big thing.

He’s sweet and modest and hiding himself from the world for more reasons than shyness.

When Griffin Flaherty, a handsome PI walks into his life and ask Whyborne to decipher a mysterious journal his world is about to get a whole heck of a lot more exciting. As you may have guessed, this is no ordinary old book.

Some very sinister things happen and Whyborne finds himself playing a huge role in all of it. He’s also forced to put some demons in his past to rest which resulted in some pretty great character building. Along the way, he and Griffin become friends and in between mystery solving and monster slaying there’s plenty of time for innocent kisses and a whole lot more.

Widdershins is a strange mix of monsters, mystery, and action along with a well-developed sweet and very sexy romance. I was worried it would fall down and fail me but somehow it all works. There is great care taken here to develop all aspects of the story. It has spooky atmosphere and lovable characters. There was only one point where I had my doubts, when Whyborne discovers something in Griffin’s room, but I got over it and cannot wait to read more.

I listen to a ton of audio and I am pretty picky about narration. This narrator did a decent job with Whyborne but unfortunately a not-so-great job with Griffin’s character. They have very different personalities but sound exactly alike which left me feeling a little confused here and there (though I admit that is not too difficult a feat). I would’ve liked more of a distinction between the two and would give the narration a 3 while the story gets a 4 1/2. Even with that said, I've just restarted the audio because I can't face deleting it without listening one more time.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast.com."

You can buy it @ Amazon, Audible or wherever you can still find books.

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