Draakenwood

Whyborne & Griffin, Book 9

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Julian G. Simmons

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

Someone is killing members of the old families, and the evidence points to Whyborne.

Widdershins has been unusually quiet for months. But now a mysterious creature from the Outside is on the loose, assassinating members of the town's old families by draining their blood. Whyborne and Griffin set out to solve the mystery - but as the evidence piles up, the police begin to suspect Whyborne himself is the murderer.

Now Whyborne must both clear his name and stop the horrors the monster threatens to unleash. His only hope: an alliance with his old enemies the Endicotts.

Because something terrible lurks in the Draakenwood, and it will stop at nothing to seize control of the maelstrom itself.

©2017 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2017 Jordan L. Hawk

I'm enchanted

Widdershins knows its own and things are done in a certain way in that town. Don’t look at cloaked figures and don’t involve yourself in the business of the old families. At least not if you value your health – or more importantly your life.

The new chief of police do not follow those unwritten rules, so when members of the old families are found gruesomely murdered Whyborne isn’t only interrogated by the police, but he’s also arrested for those murders. It’s up to the ever increasing gang to investigate the crimes and stop the monsters behind them before unspeakable horrors comes knocking. But they have to do in hidden from everyone as they don’t know who they can trust and there’s more than one foe against them.

There were so many great moments in this book that I want to share. The funniest by far was the whole Persephone, Miss Parkhurst revelation and Whyborne’s complete cluelessness. It was too adorable. It was also so Whyborne. The Whyborne we got to know in Widdershins so while he’s made leaps and bounds in certain areas, underneath it all, he’s still the same man we all fell for when this adventure started. Another great moment was when Whyborne finally accepted Niles, started to believe that there weren’t any ulterior motives behind the change in attitude.

Julian G. Simmons was as usual brilliant. I love how much feelings he adds to the books and characters. How he captures the moments and brings it to life. During the hours you spend listening to this book and series, you are transported to Widdershins and spend every thrilling second there alongside your friends, fighting the creatures before it’s too late. It’s an experience that shouldn’t be missed out on.

Horror of all horrors, the next book in the series, Balefire has not yet been produced and been released into audio, and I have to resign myself to wait to see what happens next in this magical town. But with an ending like that, it’s going to be a tough wait.

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

I like this series...but

While I’ve enjoyed the Whyborne & Griffin series, Draakenwood felt like walking through cement. It feels like Hawk has lot the ability to tell a good story efficiently-ie too many repeated lines/paragraphs to catch the reader up. Yes, it’s a series, but it’s also a novel that could stand on its own with more editing. I have listened to this book 3 times, and still become lost by Chapter 25.

Draakenwood Doesn't Dissapoint

If you could sum up Draakenwood in three words, what would they be?

1 Exciting, lots of action in this installment.
2 Homecoming, we get to see all of the favorite characters from Widdershins.
3 Funny, as usual there is a lot of funny moments when poor Whyborne is just clueless & the banter is great too.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Draakenwood?

oh goodness, some of these are hard to answer without being a spoiler...
any interactions between Whyborne & Griffin are very memorable, they love each other so much & it really shines thru, especially when in danger.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene would have to be the final battle. Whyborne comes in to save the day of course but he has help with him & the townsfolk rally with him to help save everyone. Whyborne's dad really has a shining moment at the end too.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The desk... not going to say any more than that so as to not ruin the moment when you get there but I laughed so hard I cried.

Any additional comments?

Loved this sequel, make sure to read the rest of the series first so you can enjoy it more.
Julian G Simmons did an outstanding job on the narration.

Fantastic!!

Another phenomenal novel by Jordan L Hawk.
she is truly gifted!!
Make sure to start at the beginning with Widdershins. You won't be sorry!

Fantastic Climax!

Superb! It took me awhile to get into this one, but once I did, it quickly became my favorite one in the series! OK, Hoarfrost might tie with it!

The very definition of page turner!

Loved every moment I spent listening to this book. Its written expertly, and it engages the audience from the first page.

Doesn't disappoint

Absolutely amazing. Just when you think the series couldn't get any better, along comes another book that proves you wrong. I still don't trust the cousins, they are up to no good.

Another Amazing Adventure!

This series never disappoints me! I love the way the author writes the story, but I really love the performance by Julian G Simmons! Honestly, a lot of audiobooks have a narrator who I put up with, not enjoy. But I genuinely think this narrator makes the story even better!

Love this series

Can't wait for the next installment. I think the tale gets more interesting and complex.

Great addition to the series

This continuation is a worthy follow up for the rest of the series, only sad that I'm nearing the end. I will say though, the performance in this one isn't quite as good. there are a few mistakes that were redubbed with a robot voice, and at least one line was reused but the delivery didn't make sense the second time. It only took me out of the story for a short moment, no big deal. The rest of the performance is excellent as usual, and even at its worst it's better than some others I've listened to recently.