Never Hollowed By The Stare

Whyborne & Griffin: Draakenwood – Jordan L. Hawk

Someone is killing members of the old families…and the evidence points to Whyborne.

Widdershins has been unusually quiet for months. But now a mysterious creature from the Outside is on the loose, assassinating members of the town’s old families by draining their blood. Whyborne and Griffin set out to solve the mystery—but as the evidence piles up, the police begin to suspect Whyborne himself is the murderer.

Now Whyborne must both clear his name and stop the horrors the monster threatens to unleash. His only hope: an alliance with his old enemies the Endicotts.

Because something terrible lurks in the Draakenwood, and it will stop at nothing to seize control of the maelstrom itself.

Draakenwood is the ninth book in the Whyborne & Griffin series, where magic, mystery, and m/m romance collide with Victorian era America.

Niles apparently likes giving Griffin gifts. That Niles accepts Griffin as Whyborne’s husband and treats him as such are major points in his favor and I’m glad he and Whyborne are getting along albeit grudgingly.

Miss Parkhurst and Persephone’s relationship was finally revealed to Whyborne and it is one of the funniest scenes in the book. That Miss Parkhurst finally had major page time was long overdue and well-deserved.

Detective Tilton is another recurring character I like. That he knows how things work in Widdershins and what’s going on between Whyborne and Griffin but kept it to himself makes him a good ally.

Iskander meets somebody who has connections with his mother. That he had to have a fight about it with Christine was a pity but I’m glad that he, like Griffin, found a true home and family.

Whyborne and Persephone work in tandem to do some awesome mindblowing magic. That it was Stanford who…, well…why is it always Stanford?

Draakenwood gripped me from the start. I really like it when the focus is Widdershins and I have always been curious about the Old Families. Here, the Fidelus plot was continued and Endicott cousins show up. Personally I’m hoping these long awaited masters would make their appearance already. But, as expected of the series, we’re in for a lot of action and nail biting moments in between moments of romance and comedy. This is already book 9 and I’m still as excited about this series as I was when I started. That it ended with a cliffhanger promises of more W&G goodness to come.

Rating
4.5 – perfection is only half a step away

Soundtrack: Bad Blood
Artist: Royal Trux
Album:

(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33506227-draakenwood)