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Widdershins

Book Review of Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin #1), by Jordan L. Hawk

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WiddershinsI bought a copy of Widdershins, by Jordan L. Hawk.

Description from Goodreads:
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?

Review:
While reading Widdershins one word kept repeating through my head—CUTE, cute, cute, cute. Then I thought how refreshing it was to have two strong sexy men who weren’t alpha-assholes. Yeah, Griffin gets a little bossy in the bedroom, but both men are pleasantly beta-like. I liked it. They’re also a little older than the average romance hero and I always like meeting a non-nubile twenty-year-old, with a little life-experience in a lead role.

The villain was appropriately evil, while the supporting bad guys had enough grey to make them interesting. There was a strong, kick-ass female character (almost unheard of in the m/m genre, in my experience). Yes, Christine for the win! The sex was hot, without ever cluttering the story and I enjoyed the writing.

So, lots to like about this book. My only real complaints were a FEW editing slips and I didn’t think Whyborne got enough of credit or…is there a word for having everyone see how horribly they’d been misjudging him? Anyhow, that. But I suspect that’s because he needs that same persona to carry on into future books. (Speaking of future books, this one ends. It’s not a cliffy.)

I’m calling it a success on all fronts.

The Quest for Juice

Book Review of The Quest for Juice (Paranoia #1), by Jonathan-David Jackson

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The Quest for JuiceAuthor, Jonathan-David Jackson sent me an e-copy of his novel The Quest for Juice. I also notice that, at the time of posting, at least, it is free on Amazon.

Description from Goodreads:
Oscar has always lived a life of quiet paranoia, but now everything is changing. Suddenly, the bus is frequently late, his housekey won’t fit in the lock, and someone has taken his juice, which was the one thing holding his life together. He strikes back against the people behind it all, but when he strikes too hard an innocent man ends up dead, and Oscar ends up in jail, diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and facing life in a mental institution. On his journey to mental health and the truth, he has to make hard decisions about medication, trusting his own mind, dating a nurse, and whether that hedgehog can actually talk.

Review:
The Quest for Juice could best be described as quirky, in a somewhat dark sort of way. It is unquestionably a fun read, with lots of twists, turns and uncertainty about what is real and imagined. The writing is very readable and it’s fairly well edited. I think I noticed one or two mistakes, hardly anything in the grand scheme of things.

I did find the end notes distracting, though most of them were quite funny. So, it kind of balanced out. By the end, things started to get just a little ridiculous, at least one character is just abandoned along the way (though, maybe he’ll show up in the sequel) and I don’t think the whole thing quite wrapped up in the end. Don’t get me wrong. It ended appropriately (no cliffhanger), but the question of ‘why Oscar,’ or Hope for that matter, wasn’t wholly addressed. Again, maybe in the sequel.

As a side note: for some reason, even though it’s stated that it’s set in the USA, I found myself thinking it was set in England more than once. It just feels British in some ill-defined sort of way, maybe it’s English-like humour. All in all, a satisfying read, even if not a favourite.

Light of Kaska

Book Review of Light of Kaska, by Michelle O’Leary

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Light of KaskaDespite its horrible cover, I downloaded a copy of Michelle O’Leary‘s Light of Kaska from the Amazon free list.

Description from Goodreads:
Escaped convict Chase Stryker is on the run from the Collectors, an agency that tracks down criminals and brings them to justice. Hiding on a drowsy farming planet seems ideal, but murder and mayhem follow him wherever he goes—in an ironic twist of fate, he’s blamed for a murder he didn’t commit and sentenced to death by flame without a trial. Rescue comes in the form of Sukeza bet Marish, an unlikely champion whose unassuming, fearful exterior inspires his contempt. But there’s more to his little rescuer than meets the eye, starting with the fact that she’s not part of the farming community and the secret they’d kill to protect. His reluctant fascination begins when he discovers that she smells like sunshine, tastes like nectar, and can offer him everything he never knew he needed.

Review:
Very middle of the road read, for me. It has good points and bad. On the good side are some interesting side characters, a sexy alpha hero, a HEA, older main characters (40ish maybe), and some really cute scenes when Chase basically freaks out over finding himself the recipient of kindness. The writing was also fine and the editing wasn’t too mistake laden.

On the bad side was some major repetition. Apparently, Sukeza is small and Chase is big. This fact is reiterated about a bagazillion times. Apparently, little bitty Sukeza can’t imagine a big, dangerous, predator-type man would be interested in her and big, dangerous Chase can’t imagine a skittish slip of a woman would look twice at him. Again, we’re told this about a million times.

The romantic plot line is stretched far beyond reasonable limits based on nothing more than misunderstandings, jumped to conclusions and refusal to communicate. This is frustrating and unpleasant. Plus, all the sex scenes were about as effective as a snapped rubber-band, as Chase pulled away, away, away and then gave in and pounced back, again and again.

Sukeza’s character is inconsistent. Roughly halfway through the book she has a personality 180. The author tries to explain it away by saying it’s because she’s come home, but it doesn’t work. The her at the end is irreconcilable with her at the beginning.

The book is too long. The first half of the book feels very disconnected from the storyline of the second half of the book and there is a large lagging bit in the middle, where Chase and Sukeza aren’t even together. It’s essentially useless to the rest of the book. Though, to be fair, Harle and Chase’s bromance is BY FAR my favorite part of the book.

So, in the end I’m calling this ok, but not great, with the caveat that the beginning is better than the end.

Best scene in the book: when a chained up, intimidating Chase is forced to ask Suzeka, with complete incredulity, “Are you petting me?”