Fallow

Whyborne & Griffin, Book 8

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Julian G. Simmons

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

When Griffin's past collides with his present, will it cost the lives of everyone he loves?

Between the threat of a world-ending invasion from the Outside and unwelcome revelations about his own nature, Percival Endicott Whyborne is under a great deal of strain. His husband, Griffin Flaherty, wants to help - but how can he, when Whyborne won't tell him what's wrong?

When a man from Griffin's past murders a sorcerer, the situation grows even more dire. Once a simple farmer from Griffin's hometown of Fallow, the assassin now bears a terrifying magical corruption, one whose nature even Whyborne can't explain.

To keep Griffin's estranged mother safe, they must travel to a dying town in Kansas. But as drought withers the crops of Fallow, a sinister cult sinks its roots deep into the arid soil. And if the cult's foul harvest isn't stopped in time, Fallow will be only the first city to fall.

Fallow is the eighth book in the Whyborne & Griffin series, where magic, mystery, and m/m romance collide with Victorian era America.

©2016 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2016 Jordan L. Hawk

An upswing in the series.

This is one of those series that I wasn't sure about tackling at all, in the beginning. Historical fiction in the mm genre hasn't really been my thing, overall. These books are in fact much more fantasy than history though, and the things that I often find annoying about historical romances aren't really present in this series - I fell in love with Whyborne & Griffin from the very beginning.

Since I have read (or listened to) all of the books in the series it is difficult for me to judge if this book would work as a stand alone. I think it would be an okay stand alone - I don't think the listener would be completely lost as far as the plot of this book, though to be sure it features characters and makes mention of plots from earlier books - so would be best read as a part of the series as a whole.

I was all on board for the first handful of books in the series, but around book 5 I started to get a little nervous. Every time a new book comes out in this series I am both excited, but also anxious. Just by the nature of it being a relatively long running series, it is bound to either get repetitive or ridiculous as the jeopardy continues to inflate, by necessity, to retain the tension and reader interest. I live in dread of the volume where it finally completely jumps the shark.

Not yet. In fact, while I've only rated the story in the last couple of books with 4's (I liked them a lot, but they fell short of the first few that I totally loved), this one gets another 5 from me. It feels like it has returned a bit to the flavor of those earlier stories, and I was completely happy and satisfied at the end of this book. I will undoubtedly continue to look forward to future volumes with the same bit of trepidation - but I will also absolutely keep buying them.

Stay in your lane voice announcer!

This is for the Audio Version Only!

This is a first for me. I have never read a gay urban supernatural fiction centered romance located in the 1890s Lovecraftian Universe. To be honest this is my first gay romance, and it was pretty darn good.

That seems at first an almost bizarre combination, but it is great. I absolutely enjoyed this book and I am thankful my husband pushed me to read it. Don't worry I won't spoil the book, but I just had to comment on how much I did like it.

The story itself is great, I love the romance that develops in the book. The main character is very much in the same vein as Randolph Carter in Lovecraft's stories, in fact this book could very well take place in Lovecraft. The big difference is Jordan writes better.

The story is full of the horror we expect, the small towns, underground passages and things man shouldn't read. The big difference is there is no inherent racism or sexism directed at others in a hurtful way. The prejudices in the book are appropriate for the time and are written carefully to make it clear the author is telling a story of the time period, not that people in the real world are the monsters. Lovecraft was problematic at the best. This book avoids his pitfalls and shows the pains a homosexual man and a woman trying to push into the male dominated fields handle being professors at a university.

Oh, and the sex scenes (and there are some pretty explicit ones) are pretty good.

The only flaw in the entire setup isn't Jordan, its the narrator. He is pretty good overall, however he cannot affect an accent to save his life. He doesn't need to either, he is fine just reading the book like he does for most of it. However, the Irish accents and the women's voices are cringeworthy.

Once again, he was great overall, just stay in your lane sir, stay in your lane.

Just keeps getting better.

One of my favorite things about Jordan's writing, is to quote one green ogre, is the layers of world building we see peeled away as the story continues. The downside is the books really need to be read in order but as it's a great series I'd say, if you haven't discovered Widdershins, you have some mighty fine reading to look forward to. Angst levels bubble along at a steady pace, there but not on ed whelming.
Will I read / listen to again? Definitely.

This series is addictive!

Returning home. Facing the past. Facing the people left behind and everything that was were left unresolved is never easy. An magical artefact is found in Fallow, Griffin's hometown. The town he was forced out from when caught with the neighbouring boy. Now said town is dying. Dying from magical corruption, from failing harvests and if not stopped it won't be the only town left destroyed.

There are a lot of emotions tied to Griffin's going back to Fallow. So much hurt connected to that place and people. People with long memories and unkind hearts. I felt for Griffin so much in this book. How he was treated, both directly and the talk behind his back. On the other side I loved how Whyborne, Christine and Iskander never stood silently back accepting it. Then again I don't thing Christine is ever quiet. Never in this book, series really, is there every any doubt only unwavering support and unlimited friendships and love.

As far as the plot goes, stopping the evil to be unleashed; it was intense and thrilling as usual. It also hits closer to home than we're used to. But that too makes it all the more exciting. I do not know how Hawk does it, but they truly keep the essence and magic going all throughout the series.

Julian G. Simmons is Whyborne and Griffin. He captures the essence of all the characters so perfectly that it's almost eerie. One of my favourite portrays of his is Christine, he always nails her spunk, sass and guns blazing attitude. How she and Whyborne became such friends is more than amazing, but they are so different that their friendship becomes epic.

Fallow has been another wonderful instalment in this series and I'm sad that there's only one more book made into audio. On the other hand, I do have one more adventure before I have to take leave of these guys.

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

Bringing back the real mystery of the series

This honestly was probably my favorite in the series. We've gone back to the original feel of the first few books. I was very excited to see things brought back around to Griffin which I feel his story has been only told in relation to Wyborne lately so that was great to see!

Quick and to the Point

This, unlike many of the other books, is an easy one for me to talk about. There wasn’t a grand nature to this story. It took its time setting up and then had a fun third act that tied in with Griffins past. —— While I did find Percival a little annoying this book, for some reason, which I can’t quite put my finger onto why. His bond with Griffin is wonderful and the story really does a great job providing small moments for them to just prove to the reader that they do actually like each other. In so many other gay novels, the couple do an ebb and flow style relationship of dislike/distrust mixed in with lust and “respect”. —— The only fault with this book is that these side characters felt like a secondary thought. This book went by quickly and efficiently, but many of them were easy enough to toss aside. I remember them sure, but they did not effect the story as previous character had in the other books. They just kinda stood around while the main characters and villains did their thing. —— As always it was read well and it was a pleasant ride through a country side heist sub genre.

Good As Always

I love this series and I love the narration. It's just a good series. Jordan L Hawk never disappoints!

My favourite of the series

This is my favorite. I just love who Whyborne and Griffin are together, and how are they handling all the things thrown their way.


Still wish for a perfect performance of the narrator but I loved it nonetheless.

Wonderful look at Griffin's past

As usual Hawk blends historical detail, social commentary and gorgeously relatable characters to weave an intricate tale that can stand alone, but also advances the overall plot and themes of found family and belonging against all odds. Loved the otherworldly horrors highlighted on this adventure and the glimpses of more everyday horrors faced by those who don't fit societal norms were handled with compassion and nuance.