Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Adder and Willow 
SERIES: The Rowan Harbor Cycle
AUTHOR: Sam Burns
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 155 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 11, 2018
BLURB:
Fletcher Lane has a problem. His boyfriend’s parents are coming for a visit, and they want to meet up. He’s ready to commit, so what happens if his prospective in-laws don’t like him? And how is he supposed to keep Rowan Harbor’s unique nature a secret when he might be the worst liar ever born?
To make matters worse, when he finds and helps two strangers stuck on the road, it leads him to a new threat: the man who’s been terrorizing the town has set events into motion that endanger more than just Rowan Harbor. Can Fletcher and his friends stop him before there’s nothing but a smoking crater where the Oregon coastline used to be?
REVIEW:
Closing out the second trilogy in this nine-book cycle, Adder and Willow brings the story back around to focus on Fletcher Lane and Conner Mason.
With everything that has gone wrong lately in Rowan Harbor, you’d think that Fletcher would have enough to worry about. And he does. There is some crazy man out in the world trying to wipe Rowan Harbor off the map, Fletcher barely has a grip on his shifting abilities, and Oak has been hinting that if his powers continue to grow he might be tied to the town for the rest of his life. And that is not even factoring in Conner’s parents–who don’t know about the magical world, and hence the real reason their son decided to drop his old life in San Francisco and move to a strange small town in Oregon–who are set to arrive in only a matter of hours for the weekend.
So, of course, disaster strikes. Again. And this times it could do much more damage than anything the town has faced before.
Through all the ups and downs of this series, I have come to really care for these characters of Rowan Harbor. Each book has only added to the story and expanded the characters. I love picking up each new book unsure what the story will hold, but certain it will drag my yet further in love with everyone.
While I don’t think this one will go down as my favorite, I still greatly enjoyed it. Fletcher is always a pleasure to read about, and his flustered nature when he is around Conner’s parents is just too adorable. We didn’t get nearly as much time with Conner as I would have preferred, but he still put in a good performance when on page. Him and Fletcher are such a good match.
However, I’m not sure why, but the danger in this book never really felt as intense as it should have. Which is probably why I didn’t connect as much as I could have to the story. The stakes were high, but there was something missing. I’m not sure what, though. Maybe a more personal threat? It wasn’t like Fletcher and Conner were safe…but maybe it was one-step too removed for me. I don’t know, it could just be I was too distracted while reading.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this. It was still a very good story, and I’m still very interested in where this series will go in the final trilogy. The characters and the town only grow more interesting with each new book, so I’m anticipating a truly enjoyable experience as things come to a final head.
RATING: 
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