Reviewed by Chris

TITLE:  Guardian Spirits

SERIES:  Spirits #3

AUTHOR:  Jordan L. Hawk

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  260 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 18, 2018

BLURB:  

Psychic medium Vincent Night and his lover Henry Strauss have spent months striving to uncover the dark secret harbored by Vincent’s dead mentor, James Dunne. Their only clue comes from a journal: Dunne was seeking to restore the Grand Harmonium, an artifact meant to breach the walls between life and death.

Fate seems to intervene when Henry and Vincent are offered a job investigating the haunted orphanage where Dunne lived as a youth. But the ghosts of the orphanage don’t rest easily, and the lovers soon find themselves in a battle to locate the Grand Harmonium before it falls into the wrong hands—and unleashes evil upon the world.

REVIEW:  

Lies can be dangerous things, but some truths can be fatal. After learning that their mentor and father figure might not have been as honest or as upstanding as they always thought, Vincent and Lizzie are left left reeling. Henry is unsure how to comfort the man he loves, but he hopes that maybe he can at least distract him enough to stop Vincent from becoming dangerously obsessed with the questions around what exactly Dunne had really been up to all those years he had been training Vincent and Lizzie. Unfortunately Henry’s attempt backfires when the advertisement asking for a group of psychics to investigate a haunting that he picks is in fact tied to Dunne and the orphanage he grew up in. Desperate for answers that they are not getting anywhere else, the rest of the group agrees to go investigate the place, and perhaps while they are there find the key to Dunne’s Grand Harmonium–whatever that turns out to be–as well as to the question of why exactly Dunne has practically adopted Lizzie and Vincent in the first place.

First off…I kinda advise that if you have not read the previous two books in this series for a while, it might behoove you to go back and do a reread before starting this one. While Hawk does a decent job of reminding us about what happened in previous stories to help keep us from getting too confused, there were definite times where I really regretted not having the time to go back and do a series reread before I had to read Guardian Spirits. I wasn’t ever lost, but there was a certain sense of being two steps behind for some sections of this novel, and it made it a bit more work to keep up with what was going on on page.  So if you have the time (and aren’t trying to meet a deadline like me) go back and reread Restless Spirits and Dangerous Spirits again. I think you’ll thank me when you get into the meat of this third book.

Secondly…oh my god I’m never going near the mountains, or in a cave, or down into the basement with Jordan L. Hawk because I’m not exactly sure I would come out alive. Although her characters do tend to make it out…mostly…intact so maybe she is the exact right person to undertake those things with. Probably best to just avoid those places altogether, though, because, as Vincent says, “Nothing good ever happened in basements.” 

Thirdly…despite the fact that there were times I was having to dredge up vague memories of stories I haven’t read in years in order to remember who some of these characters were, I had a blast reading this book. Hawk is always so good with these types of stories. Kinda horrifying, but not so bad that I want to turn away from the page. The monsters are always so interesting and enthralling, all the while being scary and revolting at the same time. And because she is not afraid to get a little weird when it comes to her Big Bads, you never know what you are going to get, which makes you dread and crave the reveal all the more. Even with a series based around ghosts, where you have a pretty good idea what is coming, it is never quite like you expect it. What I’m saying is that the further I got into the story the more I was hooked because some part of me just wanted to close my eyes until it was over but a larger part of me was utterly crushed each time I had to put the kindle down to go back to work, or catch a bus. I love when stories can do that.

I’m hesitant to say a lot about the plot because of spoilers, but I do want to vaguely mention two aspects that I liked quite a bit, but which on the whole aren’t the focus of the book. One being I kinda loved what Hawk did with Lizzie’s character in this book. I’ve always liked her, and some of the events in this book, especially near the end made me really happy. It was all very low-key, no stress–well the parts that didn’t involve death and destruction–and I’m happy where the book let her go. I also like the character from one of the MC’s past that shows up in this book. Well, ok, not liked, but I like the way they were handled. While their actions do have an impact on the plot–which was a bit obvious, if well handled–my favorite part was the way they were written. With enough humanity to make you think maybe there is something redeemable there, but even if there isn’t, it made them well-rounded enough that you can hate a person and not a cardboard cut-out.

While there were a few times where I felt like calling almost the whole lot of them idiots for certain decisions made in this book, I was never once bored or uninterested in the outcome of this story. Jordan L. Hawk once again delivers a thrilling tale of danger and romance, much to no one’s surprise, I’m sure. And, yes, I do recommend that people don’t come into this book cold, I have found the whole series to be highly enjoyable, so go ahead and do a quick catch up before diving into this one. The only thing you will regret is that you’re never going to be able to sleep with the light off, or the doors and windows unsalted, ever again.

RATING:  

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