Title: Hawk in the Rowan
Series: The Rowan Harbor Cycle: Book Four
Author: Sam Burns
Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited
Length: 152 Pages
Category: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
At a Glance: This series has me captivated. I love the progression of the long story arc while still having individual trials and tribulations along the way, allowing me to grow more connected to the cast of characters.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: Devon Murphy has been back in Rowan Harbor for three months. He’s taken on a host of new responsibilities, and is in a serious relationship for the first time in his life. He loves the town and its inhabitants, but it’s starting to feel like too much for the former drifter.
Now there’s a storm on the horizon, and it doesn’t seem like things are going to slow down and let him catch his breath. A blizzard is brewing, and three people have gone missing in the woods south of town. Devon needs to find them before time runs out.
This book is the fourth of nine in The Rowan Harbor Cycle, not a standalone. Devon and Wade will return in book seven for their HEA.
Review: As the fourth book in the Rowan Harbor Cycle, this book is the first book of the second trilogy, and we are back to the couple that started it all in the very first book, Devon and Wade (confused yet?). As stated in prior reviews, these are not to be read as a stand-alone; it’s a trilogy of trilogies, and there will be nine books in total. I highly recommend the series, but if you haven’t started reading it from book one, Blackbird in the Reeds, don’t start here.
This series is building up in each story for what is the long story arc, but each installment is a story on its own, too. What I love about the Rowan Harbor Cycle series so far is the setting. The small town of Rowan Harbor isn’t what is seems, just like the people who reside there. The paranormal aspect is established in the first three books, but there is plenty to still be revealed. There are all types of supernatural creatures who reside in this small town, some whose abilities are clear, others who are not yet shown, and some who are just misunderstood. I love how the town council functions, the roles of those on it and how it is setting the stage for what is to come—the nosy neighbors, the squabbles, the townsfolk knowing everything about everything through the chain of gossip. I find myself falling for the town as a whole and not just each of the main characters.
Devon is firmly the head of the town council now. In his and Wade’s first book, he came with the intention of leaving. He struggled to understand the town and its weird quirks, until he finally discovered his family’s history and his powers. In the following books he seemed to have his feet planted firmly in Rowan Harbor, back with his best friends, making new friends, and being in a solid relationship with Wade while learning his capabilities and what they are. But, in Hawk in the Rowan the reader gets insight to his internal struggles. He still has the itch to flee somewhere else, to follow the pattern he and his mom set from when he was a child. He finds it difficult to think about permanence, both as to where he is but also his relationship with Wade. He automatically assumes every time Wade takes a step in establishing their relationship or moving forward just a little that Wade is ready for a ring, kids and a white picket fence. It freaks him out. Yet, losing Wade and the town freaks him out, too.
While he is trying to overcome his need to keep things temporary, to not complicate his relationship with Wade by thinking about the future, something is about to happen. Devon’s powers tell him something big is on its way, and he needs to be prepared. As a storm unlike anything Rowan Harbor has seen in decades is growing and heading to the town, and just before it lands, three townspeople go missing. Time is of the essence. With the weather turning drearier and the blizzard heading their way, it made the entire situation read with a dark, foreboding feeling. Devon finds himself with a new and unexpected friend (who is a great addition to the cast of characters, IMO), and in a situation that is horrifying, sprinkled with a sweetness, and ultimately helps him to clarify his feelings.
Though the storm appears to simply be Mother Nature, other parts of the story reveal just a little bit more about the approaching threat surrounding the town. Devin learns more about himself, his heritage and his connection with the town. Oak, with their wisdom, also gives just a hint of what is to come in the next, at least two, books. I think I understand what each trilogy’s focus is on. Or, at the minimum, the first trilogy, and now this second’s purpose is of the journey for the leads. I still have no clue what is actually coming, but so far, I’m just enjoying the ride to figure it out.
Though each book focuses on two male leads, there are strong secondary characters who seem to be a part of the larger picture—I am not completely sure how they fit in. I both love this and am confused by this. In Jesse’s book he meets and is now with Sean, but I still don’t know what Sean’s place is in the bigger story arc. This is the same with Fletcher and Connor. I see how Wade can fit in, but Sean and Connor, despite being the romantic interests for Jesse and Fletcher, haven’t really been established for me, while many of the secondary characters are. I had been hoping to have a little more on-page time with them and connect a little more to them but so far there is not much. I am really hoping in book five I get more connection to Sean and hopefully some understanding of how he might fit into everything. Its very possible, based on some of the chain of events from this book.
Each book so far of this series has been fast paced, and there is a problem and resolution within the pages, but the long plot that simmers beneath is much slower to divulge itself. This series is for the patient reader, in some ways, because it is taking a while to establish the relationships and the larger plot, which I am perfectly okay with.
I am hooked on this series and can’t wait for Jesse and Sean’s second book to come out.
You can buy Hawk in the Rowan here:
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