5 out of 5 stars
E-book. Kindle Unlimited. 184 pages. Published March 8th 2018
Blurb:
Fletcher Lane wants to protect people. It was why he became a deputy. A month ago, it was why he killed a vampire who kidnapped one of his friends. Now, that death has started a cascade effect that’s tearing his life apart, leaving him possessed by magic that whispers to him in ancient Gothic.
While he’s already fighting for control of his own mind, he has to hold it together when strangers come into town looking for the dead vampire. They say they’re bounty hunters, but Fletcher knows that’s a lie. They’re the same kind of murderers who killed Fletcher’s mother. When one of them puts up a kind front, Fletcher knows that people who hunt the supernatural can’t be trusted. However nice Conner Mason seems, the worst thing Fletcher could do is fall for his act.
Likes:
- Instant hook.
- So much going on in the first chapter.
- Fletcher is a good guy.
- Connor was so much nicer than I expected.
- Didn’t expect Fletcher to get possessed by the book.
- Heartwarming.
- The non-romantic plot.
- Oak.
- Did not expect the twist at the end.
Dislikes:
- I was disappointed about what happened with Aldric.
- I wish Fletcher had had more closure with his mother’s murderer.
Another fantastic book in the series. Unlike with Jesse and Devon, Fletcher’s emotional wound is already known to the reader when the book starts. That allows the story to take off like a rocket from page one. Seriously, so much happens in chapter one. It’s not too much, but the hook is definitely there.
I’ve liked Fletcher since Wolf and the Holly, when Jesse realized how lonely he was. He’s instantly sympathetic, what with his mother having been killed by people who hunt supernatural beings. And to come face to face with one of those men? Let’s just say that Fletcher handled it better than I would have.
I was really hesitant when I realized that Fletcher’s love interest was in league with the hunters. I expected Connor to be at least a little unlikeable. Instead, he was adorably awkward and completely sincere. I liked that he didn’t help the other men hunt someone down unless that person was a murderer, like Sol White. Connor’s transition from part of the hunting group to sympathetic towards Fletcher and the entire town of Rowan Harbor was surprisingly smooth.
What wasn’t so smooth was Fletcher’s personal journey. Like the previous two books in the series, this book focused much more on the non-romantic plot. For Fox and Birch, a lot of that was Fletcher coming into his own. It was heartwarming to see how much he cared for the town, and how much they cared for him in return.
One surprise for me was that Fletcher got possessed by the book that was burned at the end of Wolf and the Holly. It’s mentioned in the blurb, but I didn’t bother reading the blurb, just jumped straight into the story. Fletcher’s possession actually gave him the nudge he needed to learn more about his shifting abilities, something he hadn’t done since his mother was killed.
I was a little disappointed that Aldric didn’t get a happy ending, although the choice he made was the first time he’d been in control of his life in centuries. I was also a little disappointed that Fletcher didn’t seem to get more closure with his mother’s murderer. It was a satisfying ending, but lacked any big impact.
As with the previous two books, the friendship and community spirit really made this story work. Oak gets a special shout out for their steadfast belief that Fletcher was one of them. I’m looking forward to seeing how Connor adjusts to the town in later books. I’m also looking forward to watching Fletcher fall in love.
Check out my rave reviews for the rest of the series Blackbird in the Reeds (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #1), Wolf and the Holly (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #2), Hawk in the Rowan (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #4), Succubus and the City (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #4.5), Stag and the Ash (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #5), Adder and Willow (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #6), Eagle in the Hawthorn (The Rowan Harbor Cycle #7), as well as Sam Burns’s collaboration with W.M. Fawkes on Poisonwood (Poisonwood & Lyric #1).
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