Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Eagle in the Hawthorn
SERIES: The Rowan Harbor Cycle #7
AUTHOR: Sam Burns
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 153 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2019
BLURB:
Rowan Harbor has had a tough winter, and Devon Murphy wants nothing more than to make it better. When he proposes a solution to the town’s low morale, it creates a rift in his relationship with his boyfriend, Wade. They’ve hardly ever argued, and when things get tense, Devon has no idea how to handle it.
But an evil presence in his town targets the people Devon loves, he has to put his personal worries aside and face danger down again. Will he be able to protect his town, and if he can, will Wade be waiting for him when it’s done?
REVIEW:
As the Rowan Harbor series moves into its final cycle, everyone is starting to get into their final positions. But what are our intrepid heroes to do when the people they should trust the most end up being the ones they can rely on the least? As the ultimate confrontation draws ever closer, Devon and Wade must work together to figure out who is attacking the town’s people yet again. Which would be a lot easier if the two could stop fighting.
First off, I know that is a hella vague summary, but at this point in the series I kinda want to keep it that way. As we get closer to finding out some of the big secrets, I want to be extra careful to not give away any spoilers. I figure that by book seven most people who read this are going to be invested enough to know who I’m talking about. And for anyone who isn’t caught up…why are you reading this, silly?? Go! Go, catch up, and then you can come join the party.
So, in as non-spoilery way as I can talk about this…um…it was really good? It was certainly a quick read, and I was really digging how some of the “new” characters factored into life in the town. Some things about them I was expecting, some I definitely was not, but nothing was out of the realms of possibility. They also add a rather nice layer of complication on what has been up to this point a generally close-knit group of people. There have been outliers to that, but I liked how this story set about shaking things up from the inside as well as from without.
I also like where this story took Devon and Wade. Especially Devon. Their relationship has been my favorite, and I really had fun with how off-kilter things were for them in this story. It gave it a bit of an edge. Not that you ever felt like it was the end of them, but making Devon work for it was important. Devon is a lovable guy, sure, but the dude has commitment problems up the hoo-ha. He needed this.
On the whole, this was a very enjoyable story, and a great place to start off this third, and final, cycle. I am extremely excited to see how things shape up in the next two books. As always, this is certainly not the place to jump into the series, but if you have been along for the ride, plan on some lovely scenery with a few mysterious turns to keep things interesting!
RATING: 
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