Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Bloodline

SERIES: Whyborne & Griffin #5

AUTHOR: Jordan L. Hawk

NARRATOR: Julian G. Simmons

PUBLISHER: Widdershins Press

RELEASE DATE: December 16, 2014

LENGTH: 9 hours, 49 minutes

BLURB:

Between his bullying father and dissolute brother, Percival Endicott Whyborne has quite enough problematic family members to deal with. So when his sister returns to Widdershins asking for help solving the mystery of a derelict ship, Whyborne is reluctant to get involved. Until, that is, a brutal murderer strikes, leaving Whyborne and his lover Griffin no choice but to take the case.

The investigation leads them deep into a conspiracy of blackmail, murder, and darkest sorcery. But worst of all are the secrets held within the family itself, one of which will destroy everything Whyborne believed to be true, not only about his family, but about himself.

REVIEW:

What a book! On the one hand I truly loved it, on the other, there were parts that I really disliked. Mixed feelings anyone?

Bloodline hit much closer to home compared to the rest of the series have. It all started with an unexpected visit from Whyborne’s sister. A sister he’d never been close with. She asks him for help and to meet her in a seedy part of town. The events taking place changes the Whyborne family forever in the most devastating of ways.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Whyborne’s. The introverted scholar, the shy man who’s love for knowledge and dead languages made him awkward in social situations and honest to a fault. In Bloodline that’s not the case anymore. But almost overnight he’s deceiving his loved ones, lying to them. Not only that, the morals he’s always lived by aren’t as important. In short I did not like this version of Whyborne. Sure, some of it had their reasons and explanations, but it still made me enjoy the book less, at least the first half of the book.

The last part of the book was by far my favourite. I loved every second of that. The revelations, the twists and turns, both the expected ones, and the unexpected ones. And some things truly were unexpected. It was a thrilling rollercoaster and made me salivate for more.

There weren’t as much growing happening in the relationship between Whyborne and Griffin. Well, except for that one thing… There wasn’t much focus on it. It was there for sure, but not the main focus.

I loved the showdowns in the end, it was exhilarating, intense. Heartbreaking. Julian G. Simmons narrated it brilliantly. He really brought it to life to the point where you felt like you were there, experiencing the biting winds, watching the battle with your heart pounding. Hoping that the people you’ve come to love will make it out alive.

So far this is book is my least favourite of the series, but they can’t all be winners. However it did bring some answers as well as some new twists and turns that will be fun to explore more in the books to come.

RATING:

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