Restless Spirits (Volume 1)

By: Jordan L. Hawk

Narrated by: Greg Tremblay

After losing the family fortune to a fraudulent psychic, inventor Henry Strauss is determined to bring the otherworld under control through the application of science. All he needs is a genuine haunting to prove his Electro-Séance will work.

A letter from wealthy industrialist Dominic Gladfield seems the answer to his prayers. Gladfield’s proposition: a contest pitting science against spiritualism, with a hefty prize for the winner. The contest takes Henry to Reyhome Castle, the site of a series of brutal murders decades earlier. There he meets his rival for the prize, the dangerously appealing Vincent Night. Vincent is handsome, charming...and determined to get Henry into bed. Henry can’t afford to fall for a spirit medium, let alone the competition. But nothing in the haunted mansion is quite as it seems, and soon winning the contest is the least of Henry’s concerns. For the evil stalking the halls of Reyhome Castle wants to claim not just Henry and Vincent’s lives but their very souls.

©2015 Jordan L. Hawk (P)2018 Jordan L. Hawk

A thrilling supernatural mystery!!!

If you enjoyed her Hexworld books or Widdershins, you will LOVE this one!!!

This book was my first M/M, almost two years ago, and it not only introduced me to Jordan L. Hawk that has become one of my favorite authors. Jordan has a fantastic writing style and is one of the best world builder I have read to date. All three of her 19th century book serieses are fantastically written and have an ingenues way of being both realistic and raw while still having supernatural and magical elements. I love the level of research and feel of scientific accuracy this book has, the exorcism feels logical and true, and to be able to write it in such a way is a true gift indeed. The other thing I love about Jordan's writing is her inclusive, diverse writing. There are characters from every color, ethnicity, gender and gender identity in her writing and she fits each character and story to the time period with such accuracy it's astounding. She writes real people with genuine struggles in an other worldly setting, not an easy feat.
This book is a mystery both scary and intriguing, the plot twisting and unexpected.
I love the struggle between Vincent and Henry, both striving for the same goal but from opposing sides. The "hate-turned-to-lust-turned-to-friendship" between them is wonderful, with just the right amount of snark and fluster. They each bring something to the table and if they can only work together they might survive this hunted mansion. Lizzy and Joe, the wonderful and funny partners and co-workers are each a formidable female and show a strength and wisdom much greater then their sometimes dens male counterparts. This is the start of a wonderful series that puts a twist on Ghost Busters and combines science and spirit to save the day.

***Audiobook***
I remember e-mailing to ask if this book will come out in audio after listening to her amazing book Hexbreaker on audio (my first audiobook too!) and enjoying it so much. Little did I know that once it came out the narrator will be one of my favorites, Greg Trembly. He is a true master of emotions and has in incredible gift of understanding the characters in any story. I have thoroughly enjoyed every book he narrated and here was not different. Greg narrated the book with the perfect pitch, accents, emotion and pace. His performance was just what I wanted this book on audio to be, capturing the spooky dangerous atmosphere of the hunted house an delivery a shiver worthy narration. Having read this book and loved it re-reading it on audio was a great experience I feel only added to the story and I can not wait for the next ones to come out on audio!

Eerie Atmosphere with Witty Banter

Restless Spirits kicks off the Spirits series with a clever mix of gothic ghost-hunting and slow-burn romance. The tension between inventor Henry Strauss and medium Vincent Night sparks both conflict and attraction as they investigate a haunted house brimming with danger. Hawk balances eerie atmosphere with witty banter; the pacing drags under the weight of setup, but is a strong and satisfying series opener.

Spooky!!!

Audiobook 4/2021: upping my review to 3.5 stars. Loved Vincent the medium. Henry the scientist was tedious & annoying. I liked him at times, but overall I didn’t see the appeal. The audiobook was better & he grew on me.

Overall: a spooky ghost story

Plus: a BIPOC, Native American, & a surprising secondary character 👏👏

Good Stuff

Henry would like to use science as a means to take bias out of the equation of ghostly mediation. He has been used before, and he wants to spare others from such dire situations. Vincent is a legit medium who failed the only friend who saw more in him than a common street performer, and is afraid to fail another person. The two of them meet at the haunted castle where something horrible happened in order to prove which method is superior: science or mediation.

I liked Henry. He did what he did in order to help people. His drive unfortunately makes him have tunnel vision. he is convinced that anything that is not science will betray him, and he is not willing to trust others. Henry makes some questionable decisions towards the end of the novel that could have been pleasantly sorted out if he talked about his concerns instead of his usual accusations. I understand tunnel vision, but if it's used just to further the plot (when the character is obviously smarter than the decisions he makes), I do tend to get a little frustrated. Regardless, he does make amends, and I hope he does better in the next novel.

Vincent had to be my favorite. He was kindhearted and looked out for others. He was able to make smart decisions and learn from his mistakes. He is a good match with Henry and I look forward to seeing where their relationship takes them later in the series.

The other characters were interesting and varied. Henry's niece (cousin?) did her best to ground him. Vincent's associate was bad-ass. The castle characters upheld their parts to engage in a murder mystery as well as a paranormal haunting.

I liked the world presented for mediation and how each mediator had a different method to sense ghosts (taste, touch, and so on). That's a refreshing take. Overall, I enjoyed myself. Greg Tremblay, was absolutely FANTASTIC!

Victorian love and mystery wrapped in Spirits

I love Jordan Hawks Griffin and whyborne series and I have fallen hard for Greg tremberly/boudrouex and was not disappointed in this combo. the story is engaging and I could not stop listening to it. Greg does not just read the story to you but he preforms the story. I can see and here the world's he read and the house and the scene Greg narrated under the amazing pen of Jordan Hawks made this a story I will definitely be listening to again and again