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Threshold by Jordan L. Hawk (2013) - Here There Be Books
This is the second book in the Whyborne & Griffin series and it is much like the first: wonderful plot, great characters, iffy sex scenes[1. more unfortunate word choices ruining otherwise okay sexytimes, although at least each sex scene involves important character/plot development things. I hate when you can cut out sexytimes entirely and lose nothing from the book; what’s the point of having them if they don’t DO anything?] and fun historical paranormal mysteries. Well, not FUN. More like terrifying. The Lovecraftian horror is strong in Threshold, with classic monsters from beyond time/space. They live in the woods! They eat people! They have insect parts in terrible places. They’re really gross and truly terrifying. JLH does a fabulous job of balancing horror, mystery, and romance– it makes for a very exciting book! I especially like how, despite it being a M/M paranormal romance series, there are lots of great female characters who play important roles in the plot. My most favorite is, of course, Dr. Christine, and I totally need her to have her own series ASAP. She’s an adventurous archaeologist who shoots monsters and takes no nonsense! I would read anything and everything with her in it, tbh. Not to say that Whyborne and Griffin aren’t fun to read about as well! And not just because of the paranormal mystery-solving shenanigans, either. They are total woobies when it comes to their romantic relationship, and in this second book they work through some issues together. I love when a romance doesn’t just stop once they get through the first stage of infatuation. It’s important to show development, especially in a series. It’s super easy to become complacent and only show a bunch of happy-go-lucky people in love; much more interesting is when those people fight and have to figure out a way to come back together. I really like this series, despite my problems with some descriptions in the sex scenes (“fundament” was used at one point. omfg). The mix of mystery, paranormal horror, romance plus admirable character development definitely keeps me coming back for more. Can’t wait to read the third book! Read: March 2-6, 2015
A. Finch