Review: The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

The League of Gentlewomen Witches
(Dangerous Damsels #2)
India Holton
Release: March 15, 2022
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Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the teahouse...

Miss Charlotte Pettifer belongs to a secret league of women skilled in the subtle arts. That is to say—although it must never be said—witchcraft. The League of Gentlewomen Witches strives to improve the world in small ways. Using magic, they tidy, correct, and manipulate according to their notions of what is proper, entirely unlike those reprobates in the Wisteria Society.

When the long lost amulet of Black Beryl is discovered, it is up to Charlotte, as the future leader of the League, to make sure the powerful talisman does not fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is most unfortunate when she crosses paths with Alex O'Riley, a pirate who is no Mr. Darcy. With all the world scrambling after the amulet, Alex and Charlotte join forces to steal it together. If only they could keep their pickpocketing hands to themselves! If Alex's not careful, he might just steal something else—such as Charlotte's heart.

Review:
I finally read The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels earlier this year and I adored it! Lady pirates! Assassins! Flying houses! So many gothic romance references! I fell for not only the main characters, Cecilia and Ned, but also for Ned's best friend and pirate, Alex O'Riley. Let's just say I squealed in excitement when I found out the next book in the series was his story! Add in the fact that we'd get to learn more about the witches that were mentioned a couple times and I needed to get my hands on a copy immediately!

I didn't know what to expect going into The League of Gentlewomen Witches but I was hoping for a similarly delightful and fun story as the first book. And it blew all of my expectations out of the water! In fact, I loved this book even more than the first one. Part of that is because I was already familiar with the world so this book read a lot smoother and I was instantly pulled into the story. The shenanigans in this book are still absolutely bonkers but they are also delightful! I thought flying pirate houses were an excellent and refreshing twist. I didn't know I needed these witches in my life who were constantly trying to slightly maim or murder each other!

I loved Cecilia in the first book but Charlotte quickly replaced her as my favorite! I loved seeing her interactions with Cecilia and the other lady pirates! But what I adored was her interactions and constant banter with Alex! Y'all! The romance hit me in the feels and I just needed everything to work out for them to get their happily ever after. They both have some serious baggage they needed to work through.

And can we talk about all of the Jane Austen references in this book! It made my inner Austenite so, so happy! I found myself loving the side characters in this book as much as the first one. I can't be the only one absolutely intrigued by the butlers and maids in this series, can I? Y'all! They could easily have their own series and it would be just as delightful and bonkers! It was also fun seeing so many familiar faces from the first book as well as seeing a different take on the overbearing aunt trope.

My one critique of this series in general is that there isn't much plot in the two books. It is a very character driven series. That being said, I think that the lack of plot didn't phase me as much as it would in other books because the book was just so much fun to read! Honestly, I didn't recognize there really wasn't a plot besides steal the amulet until I started to write this review because of how delightful the story was.

I ended up listening to the audio of this one on my morning commute and Elizabeth Knowelden did an amazing job on the narration! I would highly recommend picking it up! It's one of my favorites of the year so far!

I hope we get more books in this series! Hopefully, one that follows a certain butler.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 Stars

 

My reviews of other books in this series:
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

The Lady Society of Lady Scoundrels
(Dangerous Damsels #1)
India Holton
Release: June 15, 2021
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A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.

Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.

Review:
This book was absolutely bonkers in the best way! I'm not sure what rock I was hiding under but I really thought this was a pure historical romance book and not a fantasy book. But I am not mad that it didn't turn out as I thought.

I will say that it took me a while to get my head into the way the story was narrated but once I was able to immerse myself I didn't look back. I'm not sure how to describe what goes on in this book. At-a-glance, this book is a romance, an adventure, and a tiny bit steampunk with a dash of the piratical all rolled into one hilarious romp! I don't want to say too much because I think this is one of those books that you want to go into a bit blind. I will say that this story is chock full of so many great things that I would have never of thought to put together! Pirates with flying houses! Scoundrels! Assassins! SO many shenanigans! Proper Victorian ladies! Enemies-to-lovers! A master of disguise! Complex family relationships! The literary references and subsequent roasting of said literature! So many book references! It was kind of amazing, to be honest.

I especially loved the flying houses and the weird camaraderie and competition found between members of the Wisteria Society! I had a difficult time at first keeping the characters straight. And I will admit I had a hard time relating to the heroine, Cecilia, at first but I grew to love her by the end of the book. I will say I loved Ned and his friend, Alex, from the moment they appeared on page. 

This alternate version of England with magic and battle houses made me grin from ear to ear. I can't wait to read more books by this author! I am especially looking forward to the next book in this series which will star a certain Irish pirate!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

   

  4 / 5 Stars

Recommended for fans of: 

The Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carriger

Review: A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

A Marvellous Light
(The Last Binding #1)
Freya Marske
Release: November 2, 2021
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Red White & Royal Blue meets Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell in debut author Freya Marske’s A Marvellous Light, featuring an Edwardian England full of magic, contracts, and conspiracies.

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.

Review:
Do you ever read a book and love it so much but can't explain why in words? That is me with A Marvellous Light. I finished it back in February and I have been trying to write a review that is not just me yelling at you to go read this book ASAP! And honestly, stop reading this review right now and go get a copy of this book for yourself.

One of the reasons I adored this is because it made my nostalgic for all the fantasy-of-manners books Teen Me was obsessed with. This book is the queer version of that genre college me wanted so very much! Even better is that it is the first in a trilogy! This series starter is set in Edwardian England and is about a down-on-their-luck, non-magical person discovering that the upper crust noble families of England are secretly magicians and that magic is very much real when a clerical error puts him in position in a government office where his job is to be the civil service liaison to this magical secret society.

I came for the queer romance but the world building, intrigue, and magic system of this book was so exquisitely done that I stayed to see what was going to happen next! Well, and the magical house. The romance was everything though! I love me a good sunshine/grump romance and this book delivered! Robin had my heart within the first chapter and Edwin wasn't too far behind him! This was the historical romance himbo/librarian pairing I didn't know I needed in my life and they seriously needed each other. I am so damn glad that we will be getting more books in this world! 

The next book has Robin's sister, Maud, as the main character and it is taking place on a ship! I cannot wait to read it in all of its sapphic glory! And hopefully we'll see more of Robin and Edwin as well.

ARC provided by the Publisher via Netgalley

    

  5 /5 Stars!

 

Recommended for fans of:
A Matter of Magic by Patricia C. Wrede

The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Page & Sommers Series by Cat Sebastian

Review: A Bargain of Blood and Gold by Kristin Jacques

A Bargain of Blood and Gold
(Midnight Guardians #1)
Kristin Jacques
Release: June 15, 2021
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A novice hunter with a mission. A five-hundred-year-old vampire with a strong sense of irony. A town plagued by creatures in need of saving.

When Johnathan Newman arrives in Cress Haven, the last thing he expects is for his life to be irrevocably changed. Sent by a clandestine league of vampire hunters to investigate a string of murders, signs point to a vampire lurking amid the townsfolk. Johnathan’s attempt to enlist the locals leads him to an unlikely partnership with Vic, the town's most eligible, enigmatic bachelor.

As the pair work to solve the mystery, Vic’s secrets come back to bite him. Revealed, the vampire fights his attraction to a man trained to destroy him, while Johnathan’s emotions land him in the middle of forbidden desires. Even if Vic isn’t the murderer, how can Johnathan yearn for his natural enemy?

As Vic leads Johnathan into encounters with terrifying beings straight from children’s nightmares, Johnathan learns that not only is the world stranger than he knew, but that those he once trusted have far darker intentions that will place hunter and vampire at the center of a conflict between realms.

Cress Haven holds more sinister secrets than its resident vampire, a secret so great, it could unleash Hell itself.

For fans of Gail Carriger’s Supernatural Society, The Charm of Magpies series by KJ Charles, Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh, and The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee.

Review:
Do you ever see a beautiful cover and read a book's comp titles and immediately think "I need to read this book!"? That was my experience with A Bargain of Blood and Gold. It was compared to some of my favorite queer historical paranormal romance series so I had pretty high expectations going in to this book. Unfortunately, they were a little too high in the end.

This read was both intriguing and drove me absolutely bonkers. I felt like we just get thrown into the deep end with the worldbuilding and I spent a good chunk of the book trying to figure out how everything fit together. I think part of this stems from the writing style which was kind of disjointed and full of awkward phrasings. To be honest, I'm still not 100% clear on what was happening in the back story.

I did enjoy the characters and the mystery (which is where the author put all of their money in the storytelling) by the end but not enough to earn a place on my favorites list. I feel like the synopsis put a lot more emphasis on the romance than there was romance in the story. While there was some chemistry between the two love interests, for me, it wasn't enough to explain how the characters got together in the end. I will say that I am intrigued to see what happens next especially with a certain female character so I'll probably pick up the next book in the series at some point.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

  

  3 / 5 Stars

Review: Spectred Isle by KJ Charles

Spectred Isle
(Green Men #1)
KJ Charles
Release: August 3, 2017
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Archaeologist Saul Lazenby has been all but unemployable since his disgrace during the War. Now he scrapes a living working for a rich eccentric who believes in magic. Saul knows it’s a lot of nonsense...except that he begins to find himself in increasingly strange and frightening situations. And at every turn he runs into the sardonic, mysterious Randolph Glyde.

Randolph is the last of an ancient line of arcanists, commanding deep secrets and extraordinary powers as he struggles to fulfil his family duties in a war-torn world. He knows there's something odd going on with the haunted-looking man who keeps turning up in all the wrong places. The only question for Randolph is whether Saul is victim or villain.

Saul hasn’t trusted anyone in a long time. But as the supernatural threat grows, along with the desire between them, he’ll need to believe in evasive, enraging, devastatingly attractive Randolph. Because he may be the only man who can save Saul’s life—or his soul.

Review:
Guys, I loved this book so much! You all know how much I adored the author's The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal. Spectred Isle is set in the same universe a few years after the last entry in Robert's tale of his and Simon's relationship. I was a bit hesitant to go into this book because I was afraid I'd be disappointed and I didn't want my love of Simon Feximal to be tainted in any way. I'm so happy to report that Spectred Isle was everything I wanted it to be and more. You would thing with as many of KJ Charles' books I've read, I would be a bit more trusting of her ability to write books that draw me in from page one.

This book is kind of strange mix between an insta-love and unwilling allies-to-lovers romance. I kind of loved how put out both Saul and Randolph were with each other from the start which is understandable from both of their points-of-view. Especially when certain annoying gentlemen kept showing up time and time again where they really shouldn't have been. I also loved how that shared annoyance slowly became friendship and then evolved into something more. The chemistry between Saul and Randolph was off the charts and I may have not so subtly cheered when they finally got together. They are two opposites whose curiosity and life experiences made them so perfect for each other.

Without giving any spoilers, I loved how this book was set in the Simon Feximal world but was still its own thing. It was completely marvelous! I loved how it expanded upon the world of our favorite ghost hunters/occultists and evolved into something new. Which it really had to become since much has changed since the war and we're just barely beginning to see what the consequences it will have on the world of the arcane. I also loved how the King Arthur mythos came into the story. It just made it even better! And I loved that we got to see a couple familiar faces! I have my fingers crossed that a couple even more familiar faces will show up in later books.

I loved this start to this new series and I am ridiculously excited to get more books. Currently, the second one is on permanent hold while KJ Charles figures things out story wise. I just hope everything comes together soon because I want more! Especially since the next book is teasing a f/f romance that I'm pretty stoked about.

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 Stars

Book 36/30

Book 23: Military Mews- Read a Romantic Suspense with a Military Hero

My reviews of other books in this series:
The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal

Really Short Reviews: Legends of the Storm Series by Bec McMaster

I originally read book 1 of the Legends of the Storm series as part of an anthology last summer. I had missed its release in December as a single title until I got the ARC for Book 2. So I'm including my review for Heart of Fire, previously published on Goodreads, in case anyone else missed it too.



Heart of Fire
(Legends of the Storm #1)
Bec McMaster
Release: December 14, 2017
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the author

The old eddas speak of dreki—fabled creatures who haunt the depths of Iceland's volcanoes, and steal away fair maidens.

Freyja wants none of such myths. Dreki seducing young ladies? Ha. They probably eat such foolish girls. But when the local dreki steals her last ram—costing her any chance of feeding her ill father through the winter—Freyja intends to confront the fearsome myth.

Sentenced to a life of exile from his clan, Rurik is fascinated by the furious woman who comes to claim her ram. She reeks of mysterious magic and challenges him at every step. He intends to claim the passionate firebrand, but to do so, he must take mortal form.

It's the only time the dreki are vulnerable, and with a dragon-hunter arriving on the shores of Iceland, he can barely afford the risk—but lonely Freyja, with her elf-cursed eyes and pragmatic soul, tempts him in ways he's never felt before. Is she the key to reclaiming his heritage? Or will she be his downfall?

Review:

For such a short book Heart of Fire took me a long time to read. It was just before the halfway mark that I really got into the story and it started to move.

Freyja lives in a small village in Iceland and has always been ostracized because of her mismatched eyes and her magic. I thought her powers were great but she's asked repeatedly throughout the story, "What are you?" and even at the end I felt like the answer was tentative.

Rurik is a dreki (dragon) prince in exile living alone in his volcano lair until an encounter with Freyja inspires him to rejoin the world. That brings a dragon hunter and a homicidal cousin into his life as well. I thought his history and the Court politics were quite interesting and I look forward to seeing how that plays out when the Legends of the Storm series continues next year.

 1/2

3.5 stars

Storm of Desire
(Legends of the Storm #2)
Bec McMaster
Release: January 23, 2018
Goodreads Amazon
ARC provided by the author

The old eddas speak of dreki—fabled creatures that haunt the depths of Iceland's volcanoes and steal away fair maidens.

Haakon wants none of such myths. For years he's searched for the beast that stole his wife, desperate to slay the golden dreki and rescue his precious Árja. He has sacrificed everything to find her—including his honor—but now Haakon knows the truth. His entire marriage was a lie. The woman he knew as his wife was no victim, but the dreki herself. And when he finally tracks down the deceitful princess, there will be a reckoning of passion and glory....

She came to him on a storm...

Long ago, Árdís gave her heart to a mortal man, despite knowing it could only end in tragedy. When her clan summoned her home, she had no choice but to leave—or see her husband pitted against her vicious cousin, Sirius.

When Sirius insists upon a betrothal that will help him gain the dreki throne, she is forced to flee—straight into the arms of the now-ruthless dragon hunter she once called husband. But can Haakon ever forgive her deceit? And can she save him from a spurned dreki prince who would see them both dead?

Review:


Like book one in the series, Storm of Desire was a slow starter for me. I think that because historicals are not normally my thing, it takes me longer to immerse myself in the world. But I once I got going, I was hooked. And I was interested in the premise right from the start - it’s a second chance romance with dragons! How great is that?

And it’s a romance full of so much tension. Haakon and Ardis go from enemies to allies to ... well, you’ll have to see for yourself, all while reminiscing about their past. And then they go on a journey. I’m such a sucker for a road trip story! I might have liked to see more of the human supporting cast, though. I love cousin Tormund!


I was also happy to see more court politics and meet some of the other dreki, as well as learn more about their magic. And I of course, I was excited to see Prince Rurik from book one again and learn a little more of the story behind his exile. I’m looking forward to seeing how their rebellion progresses in the next book.

    

4  stars

Review: The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by K.J. Charles

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal
K. J. Charles
Release: March 25, 2017
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A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes.

A note to the Editor

Dear Henry,

I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide.

You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told.

So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death.

I dare say it may not be quite what you expect.

Robert Caldwell
September 1914

Review:
In this last Monday's Read This F@!%ing Book post, I mentioned a novella in the Whyborne & Griffin series that crosses over with K. J. Charles's Simon Feximal stories. I loved that novella and it made me want to read more about Simon Feximal and Robert Caldwell's adventures with the occult. The novella is an older one and had listed a few short stories the author had written and posted to Smashwords. Much to my delight, I discovered that Charles had compiled those short stories and others into one volume earlier this year and was available as a Kindle book.

Spoiler alert: I bought it and I loved the hell out of it!

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal is really a collection of short stories chronicling how Simon and Robert's first meet and different key cases that they worked on in the early years of their acquaintance. Funny enough, their relationship starts out with Robert Caldwell having a ghost he can't ignore anymore when the walls start bleeding. He finds help in the form of one Simon Feximal, noted occultist with steel-colored hair. Robert finds himself almost instantly drawn to this serious man who smiles so rarely.

This fascinating book is presented as the posthumous journal of a well-known popular writer in the Watson/Holmes dime novel mold. It starts as what appears to be two stand-alone short stories but then the storylines quickly become intertwined, much as do the lives of Robert and Simon. These tales are the stories that Robert could never tell in his writing of his Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter novels because they chronicle the love story between him and Simon.

If you've read K. J. Charles's A Charm of Magpies books, you know that she has a knack for writing a plausible image of queer life in Victorian London that's filled with the paranormal and the occult. Her characters have to deal with the dangers of a hostile social world that condemns two men for having a romantic relationship. She weaves that feeling of having to hide in with the fact that ghosts and the occult are accepted as normal parts of life in her novels. Simon and Robert have to deal with much of the same. What I loved is that even though them having to hide their relationship is part of the story, it's not the focus of the story. Simon and Robert’s world is full of fearsome things and the events of the stories are fascinating and intriguing at the same time but their developing love for each other and hope for a life together is what gets the spotlight.

I loved this strange little collection of vignettes so much! I can't really go into detail about why I loved the ones I did the most because they are short stories and any talk of specifics would be spoilery. The romance is a lot sweeter than I thought it would be when we're first introduced to one Simon Feximal. Both Robert and Simon are complex characters who don't always act as we first predict. Because of that, these two sneakily found themselves a spot on my favorite OTPs list before I even realized that I shipped them together. Just go read this book and come join me in happily shipping Simon and Robert together.

Random Note: Charles introduces historical figures in the story who were celebrated in the world of the occult in the 1890s which reminds us that there has always been a human fascination with the world below.

    1/2

  4.5 / 5 Stars



Recommended for fans of:
The Magpie Lord by K. J. Charles
Widdershins by Jordan L. Hawk

Read This F@!%ing Book (60)

Welcome to a feature we're going to post called:

Read This F@!%ing Book!

This is a feature for us to push our favorite reads that just aren't getting enough attention!

We're also opening it up to anyone who would like to guest post. Do you have a book that you just LURVED but feel like its not getting the play it deserves? We'd be THRILLED to have you post about it here! Especially if it's something we haven't reviewed yet - that's even better (but not necessary)! If you're interested, email us at goldiloxandthethreeweres@gmail.com.

Read This F@!%ing Book Post 60: The Whyborne & Griffin Series by Jordan L. Hawk

(Click book cover to go to Goodreads page)

For Pride Month, I decided that I was going to read as many of my LGBTQ+ books as I could and it was glorious! I read SO many amazing books that I just kept going. My Pride Month reading extended well into August.

Who am I kidding? It's still going.

A few years ago, my friend, Meghan, read this self-published book and immediately started pushing it and the rest of the series on all of our friends online and in real life. I trust Meghan's recommendations a lot because we read and love a lot of the same things. But with this series, I was immediately sold when she told me it was "kind of like Sherlock Holmes meets The Mummy (with Brendan Fraser) if Sherlock was an introverted museum philologist with an ex-Pinkerton Watson who fall in love with each other and encounter secret societies and eldritch-type horrors". I bought Widdershins that day while it was still on sale along with the next two books. Sadly, they just sat on my kindle with my other unread books until last month.

Guys. I freaking loved these books! I binge read all nine books, the two novellas, and the three short stories in less than a week. And I wanted to immediately reread them as soon as I finished. It's magical when a series invokes that kind of reaction.

Why should you read this series? Let me give you some reasons.

The Romance
I was pretty much an insta-shipper of Whyborne and Griffin the moment Griffin was nice to Whyborne in their first meeting. They just work well as a couple and they NEED each other in so many ways. I loved them together by the end of the first book. By the end of the series, they had catapulted through the ranks and landed a spot on my Top 5 OTPs list. Griffin's humor and extroversion balances out Whyborne's seriousness and introversion. They struggle and fight and grow together and I'm just here for that kind of romantic growth.

Christine Makes This Great Series 100% More Awesome
Whyborne's best friend and museum colleague totally gets her own bullet point. I love Whyborne and Griffin but Christine made the series for me! She's a spunky, independent woman who is not going to let society push her into the box they think women should be in. She's an Egyptologist who has made one of the biggest archeological finds in decades. She needs no man to be who she wants to be and I loved that about her!

Her friendship with Whyborne is an A+ platonic relationship that should be the rest of us's friendship goals. She's always ready to back Whyborne up whether it's in a staff meeting at the museum or battling monsters and secret societies. They're each others' found family and their relationship gives me life! Also, I loved that she accepts Whyborne's sexuality without blinking an eye in a time when it meant serious trouble if people found out. And I love that the only outrage she showed about it at all was that Whyborne thought she'd dump him for it. I probably could write a whole post about why I love Christine but I'll stop there for now.

Not Your Normal Town and Not Your Normal Monsters
The worldbuilding in this series is amazing! Widdershins has the totally weird and abnormal town aesthetic down and its history adds so much to the narrative. I want to visit there so badly! One of the most used phrases in this series is that "Widdershins knows its own" and I loved how the author integrated that into the story. I won't tell you how though because spoilers, sweetie.

The magic system is intriguing as is how Whyborne stumbled upon sorcery but what I loved the most was the monsters. They're not your normal paranormal fare. There are vampires and werewolves that show up. Kind of. They aren't your garden variety supes. They've been given an eldritch upgrade and have very few characteristics with the vamps and werewolves that immediately come to mind. Plus, this series boasts some original creatures and it was refreshing to read! I kind of loved them even though one of them kind of scared the pants off me at first. This series would be worth reading for the worldbuilding alone.

The Adventure! Oh! The Adventure!
Whyborne is the reluctant adventurer I never knew I needed in my life. He doesn't like to travel and if he never had to leave Widdershins that would be just fine with him. I love that he lets himself get dragged to far off places almost against his will. He may consent to go and help but he will not be happy about it and I love that about him. The gang have adventures in so many awesome and weird places! They go to places like Egypt and the Yukon and a small town in Kansas. Kansas may not seem very exciting but it really was an interesting and kind of exciting setting. I need more homebodies having reluctant adventures ala Whyborne and Bilbo Baggins in my books and in my life.

Those are just a few of the examples I can think of off the top of my head on why you should read these books. If you're looking for a fun m/m romance series with a lot of adventure, look no further. The Whyborne and Griffin series is just what the doctor ordered! 

Random Aside: If you're a fan of K.J. Charles's m/m romance books, there's a fun crossover novella with the leads from her The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal book and it's utterly delightful! I highly recommend that one as well! Look for my review of it later this week!

Have you read this series?
Let us know in the comments below!
Did we persuade you to add these books to your TBR mountain?

Novellas and Short Stories in this Series:
(A couple of these stories are offered for free and the links will direct you to where you can read them. The rest of the links are to that book's respective Goodreads pages.) 

Eidelon (Whyborne & Griffin #1.5) by Jordan L. Hawk
Carousel (Whyborne & Griffin #3.4) by Jordan L. Hawk
Remnant: A Caldwell & Feximal/Whyborne & Griffin Mystery (Whyborne & Griffin #3.5) by Jordan L. Hawk and K.J. Charles
Harmony (Whyborne & Griffin #5.5) by Jordan L. Hawk
Undertow (Whyborne & Griffin #8.5) by Jordan L. Hawk