Unhallowed

A Novel of Widdershins (Rath & Rune, Book 1)

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Monsters. Murder. Librarians.

Librarian Sebastian Rath is the only one who believes his friend Kelly O’Neil disappeared due to foul play. But without any clues or outside assistance, there’s nothing he can do to prove it.

When bookbinder Vesper Rune is hired to fill the vacancy left by O’Neil, he receives an ominous letter warning him to leave. After he saves Sebastian from a pair of threatening men, the two decide to join forces and get to the truth about what happened to O’Neil.

But Vesper is hiding secrets of his own, ones he doesn’t dare let anyone learn. Secrets that grow ever more dangerous as his desire for Sebastian deepens.

Because Kelly O’Neil was murdered. And if Sebastian and Ves don’t act quickly enough, they’ll be the next to die.

©2020 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2020 Jordan L. Hawk

Widdershins' Library

First, it's Joel Leslie. It's read well and well paced.

Next, it is Jordan L. Hawk's strange little town of Widdershins, Massachusetts. You don't need to have finished the W&G series to enjoy the book. I didn't love the Whyborne and Griffin narrator, so I didn't make it past the first few chapters of Fallow, but I didn't have any trouble following the events here. That said, you'd probably benefit from the world building in at least the first book in that series. I recommend reading it though.

I loved both Ver and Sebastian. I loved Sebastian's sister and her passle of happy children. I laughed aloud at "A wife in every port and a husband on every ship." I am absolutely shipping Miss Endicott and Nocturne. Tentacles are awesome.

I'll definitely read the next when it is released. Recommend.

Keeps you wanting more!

Listened to the audiobook and loved it. Joel does an amazing performance, distinct characters difined by his narration.
I must admid, I didn't enjoy the first series, this is a spin off from it, and only read the first book.
This one I enjoyed a lot, I was really swept into the story and could not put it down.
The characters are interesting, the plot twists and has just the right amount of suspence and mystery to keep you engaged but not to the point of anxiety.
It had just the rigtht amount of romance and heat too, not overpowering the story.

A JLH book

I love the recurring characters at times, and I now too, have a soft spot for Noct. He must be protected at all times.
I see also, the inspiration from Undertow 😉😋😏 Putting things to good use behind closed doors I see.

LOVED IT

There's so much I loved about this. The historical setting of Halley's Comet's visibility, and the hysteria that surrounded it. The trans allegory a la X-Men. The library setting. The nerdy-hot characters. And who knew I'd be into m/m monster/human sex. Welp. Guess I found a new genre.

Joel Leslie is fantastic as usual, except for the painful Boston-esque accent he attempts for Sebastien. That was uneccessary.

Love the whole Whiddershins series!

I've Whiddershins novels and have never been disappointed! Love, romance, lovecraftian, spooky, funny, adventurous, and fun.

Monster with a heart of gold

For a book about magic and monsters and the end of the world, the book is surprisingly straightforward. It’s YA story with a couple adult scenes. Vers has a worryingly abusive backstory but a good heart.

I thought the romantic timeline was too rushed and Ver’s behavior came off as too assimilated for his backstory of no friends, no casual acquaintances. The motivations of everyone seemed to lack depth. But the saving grace was the, well, grace of the protagonists. It’s easy to root for characters who are kind. And a lot of times, characters went against stereotypes in a good way - when I thought there would be a misunderstanding, they didn’t fall for it! It was really nice to run into. Seb’s sister is the real gem.

There’s a bit of a mystery with ooky blood rituals and a rushed romance but the reader at least knows that the nice people making offers of friendship & housing made the offers in good faith. If you’re looking for a fantasy book that’s a little dark but maybe not too dark in these trying times, I think this would suit.

Steam: med low. M/M kind of on page. Good consent aside from Ver’s background. That was one of the disconnects for me - Ver was portrayed as up for the relationship but someone with his sequestered background should have been incredibly naive so I wondered if he was ready. Seb did not shy away from the less human parts of Vers which was nice, and might be more excitingly steamy in future.

Narration: Pretty good. I listen to this narrator a lot. This effort was decent.

What a Blast!

Well written; well read. My only quibble is the cover art, which contains a spoiler.

a fun new adventure in Widdershins

The characters are raw and honest in a very human way, even the 'bad guys' are complicated. I love that even the side characters are interesting and compelling and both the fight scenes and intimate scenes are lovingly rendered!

A new visit to the town of Widdershins

I loved this! It has a distinctly different feel from previous Widdershins books: the opening is tense, dark, and dense, and our characters considerably more assured of themselves, for their own betterment or for worse. The tone becomes warmer, lighter, and more hopeful as we progress: Hawk has clearly grown as an author, and it really shows, which is impressive considering how good the previous Widdershins series was.

If you ever wanted to know more about the Librarians, it seems that they will be a focus of this series, and I greatly look forward to it. Our narrator's voice give such richness and setting to the story. Overall, I'm delighted, and almost sorry that I found this book so soon, because the wait for the next Rath and Rune book will be so long.

History, enchantment + love!

I enjoy historical m|m romances with a touch of magic, so this book checked a lot of boxes for me. Plus, hello, wickedly powerful librarians! 💪🏼 I was not prepared, though, for the deeply touching scenes revealing first Ves’ pain and isolation and then his absolute wonder at being accepted — and loved! — for his monstrous form. Bravo! As always, kudos to Joel Leslie for truly embodying his characters.