Widdershins

Whyborne & Griffin, Book 1

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Julian G. Simmons

Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Some things should stay buried.

Repressed scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has two skills: reading dead languages and hiding in his office at the Ladysmith Museum. After the tragic death of the friend he secretly loved, he's ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man.

So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons following the death of his partner, hoping to start a new life. But the powerful cult that murdered Glenn has taken root in Widdershins, and only the spells in the book can stop them. Spells the intellectual Whyborne doesn't believe are real.

As the investigation draws the two men closer, Griffin's rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne's iron control. When the cult resurrects an evil sorcerer who commands terrifying monsters, can Whyborne overcome his fear and learn to trust? Will Griffin let go of his past and risk falling in love? Or will Griffin's secrets cost Whyborne both his heart and his life?

©2012-2013 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2013 Jordan L. Hawk

I love it!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes i would! The story was great and thrilling, in many different ways.
The sexy time was hot and fulfilling. I love the magic parts and the romance and the action!

What other book might you compare Widdershins to and why?

I have never really read any book set in this period or with this kind of story. but i suppose any period piece with alchemetric and magic parts!

Which scene was your favorite?

i have many! But a few favorites were the second sexy time, anything with christine and all moments with magic!

Who was the most memorable character of Widdershins and why?

I really loved Christine! she was fun and interesting.
And Julian G. Simmons was good at making her voice without sounding like a moron like so many other narrators

Any additional comments?

I loved this book! it was all i wanted and more! sexy time and magic!
I look forward to reading the next part

Fun, exciting and full of craziness!

Jordan L. Hawk is one hell of a storyteller! Loved every minute. Whyborne and Griffin are one of my all time favorite couple.

The start of a beautiful series

I've read this book years ago and it's still so good. I love the series.

Love, mystery, death, with a touch of mysticism...

This was an interesting tale involving mystery and paranormal constructs that takes the listener on a journey of fanciful delight and sympathetic realism. Our protagonist, Percival Endicott Whyborne, begins the journey with such poor self-regard that one not only feels for him, but wants to slap him upside the head to make him realize his truth. Enter, Griffin Flaherty who see's in Percival what the reader see's and attempts to bring it to the forefront. There attraction and subsequent events are influenced by the times in which the story is told, yet love overcomes all...at least in fiction! Love, mystery, death, with a touch of mysticism are the tools that Hawk uses to tell this tale. Simmons, the narrator, does a great job reading this story. All in all, a great read and highly enjoyable.

An intriguing start to a great series

Percival Whyborne, scorned younger son of a railroad magnate, wants nothing more than to hole up in his office immersed in ancient writings; but a small book of arcane spells sets him on a dangerous path filled with magic and monsters. His unlooked-for partner is private detective Griffin Flaherty—handsome, enterprising, and traumatized by an encounter with these same monsters during his time with the Pinkertons.

The first book, compelling on its own, is still only the beginning of what Whyborne becomes and of his deepening love with Griffin, as the hidden world of sorcery and unhuman beings is revealed to have potent and dangerous sway over the mundane. The series is an excellent example of mystical/historical world building, in the service of interesting characters you want to adventure with.

Yeeeaahhhhh.

The story is...ok but the narrator is painful...as expressive as a turnip. Seems brutal but, as much as I force myself through books that don't impress me, I am truly struggling through this book.

Good story, awful performance

I’m very glad that I felt excited and intrigued enough by the world and the characters to splurge on an ebook box set of this series after I listened to this audiobook. I’m about 70% of the way through the whole series now and it’s a super solid fantasy romance series, and if you’re a fan of monster of the week, magic, and men being in love, I feel pretty confident you’ll have a fun time. But oh my god this audiobook almost turned me completely off before I could even finish it. The actor does not know WHAT he is doing, his emphasis choices are all wrong and he sounds so bored and flat throughout the entire novel that I felt like I had to fight to get any emotion out of the words at all. I haven’t encountered another audiobook with such a disparity between quality of work and quality of performance (although it’s taught me to always listen carefully to the samples before buying now!). I highly recommend picking up Hawk’s work in ebook or print, but save yourself some pain and skip the audiobook

Can't wait to find out more

Whyborne is many things; brilliant, speaks a dozen, forgive me 13 languages, passionate about his job at the Laydysmith Museum and he’s not having his best day when he first meets Griffin, the suave ex-Pinkerton in the midst of an investigation and in need of translating a mysterious book. It’s not long before unexplainable things starts happening. Unexplainable and dangerous and it’s up to Whyborne and Griffin to stop it before it’s too late and the world as they know it will cease to exist.

Whyborne and Griffin… The scholar and the ex-Pinkerton. They are about as different as two men can be. Yet so utterly perfect for each other. They fit, make sense and it was fun to watch them dance around each other, feeling the other out before finally coming together. I also have a weak spot for Whyborne, there’s something about his shyness and brilliance that speaks to me.

Julian Simmons was a new narrator to me. Finding new to me narrators is something I always look forward to. I love me some variations of voices. While Simmons might not end up on my favourite narrators list he’s definitely one that I’d happily listen to again. There’s only one thing speaking against him, and that’s his mostly monotone delivery. Sadly it never fails to make my mind drift more often than not and making me having to go back and re-listen to parts to know what’s going on. On the plus side, he had a wonderful and soothing voice and great pacing. Another thing that I really loved was some of his accents. They weren’t all the way credible, but they lightened the mood a bit. (and they were only minor roles, so it was never annoying).

Widdershins was a very promising start to an interesting series. I enjoyed the world building and possibilities and can’t wait to see what these two men get up to next, because something tells me that trouble will always wait just around the corner.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.

Interesting characters and storyline.

Narrator seems unsure in the beginning but then I realized the main character was insecure and a bit bumbling so the narration made perfect sense. I've listened to all the books and am listening again.

Great ebook, terrible narration

I wanted to revisit this great story I read on my Kindle years ago in audiobook format. Unfortunately, the narrator's voice is whiny, thin, and sounds like it was recorded in a bathroom stall. His reading is terrible and he sounds super bored - zero energy. Terrible performance. After just finishing TJ Klune's "The Lightning-Struck Heart," the performance of which was amazing, I shut this one down after 5 minutes. I want my money back. Too bad, because I really like the book and the series. Get the book or ebook instead.