Title: Shaker of Earth
Series: SPECTR Series Two: Book Five
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 117 Pages
Category: Urban Fantasy
At a Glance: #TeamGrayleb for the win, as always. Getting to say that Jordan L. Hawk delivers yet again never gets old.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: Charleston is reeling beneath the onslaught of demons unleashed by the vampire spirit Drugoy and his human host Yuri. Alone and drained almost to the point of death, Gray and Caleb must make their way across a city gone mad in hopes of putting an end to Yuri and Dru. But the other drakul isn’t the only enemy they have to worry about.
After the death of a rogue agent at Gray’s teeth, John’s faith in his lovers has been badly shaken. But when SPECTR Chief Barillo orders the vampire destroyed by any means possible, John and his allies find themselves in a race to find Gray and Caleb before their fellow SPECTR agents.
Because their only hope of stopping Yuri and Dru is by working together. And if they fail to unite, the streets of Charleston will run red with blood.
Review: Jordan L. Hawk did a number on my head at the end of Breaker of Chains. As cliffhangers go, it was a meanie, but only because I had to wait months for this book not because I didn’t have faith that Hawk would make it all better, and, as always, my trust was well placed. Caleb and Gray are in mortal danger in Shaker of Earth, and to see them so vulnerable throughout this book was something we readers haven’t experienced to this degree before. Of course, Grayleb had never been faced with such a powerful and present danger as Yuri and Drugoy before either. They were tested, but they were not bested, and I was hanging on to my belief in Gray and Caleb all the way to the end.
There is one imperative beyond their survival in this last installment of the SPECTR Two Series; that imperative is their ability to recover, blow after devastating injury, so they can put a stop to the annihilation of Charleston and the murders of John and Zahira, the two people who mean more to them than anyone else in the world. I’ve loved Gray and the evolution of the character from the moment Gray began sharing Caleb’s very being, and it feels even more pronounced in this book, that Gray has become more attuned to things the drakul would still insist are mortal nonsense. I love how Gray sort of becomes Caleb’s conscience in this book, and there are some touching moments that went straight to my heart. There’s one line in particular, while John and Caleb are sharing a moment, that illustrates Gray’s assimilation so profoundly. It made me smile, and I think my heart also may have grown three sizes with that simple ‘Hey’. I know my affection for Gray multiplied times infinity, for sure.
John is also going through some big changes moving forward into Series Three (yay for more!). His loyalty to his job and to SPECTR seems a bit more tempered now by his love for and loyalty to Caleb and Gray, and by the changes to their professional and personal lives. I was so thrilled to see a certain someone get his due comeuppance—even if my black little heart would’ve loved to see him suffer a bit more; humiliations galore would have been a nice start—and I’m so excited to see where Hawk’s imagination will take their readers next in this -verse, especially as it seems there may be another drakul out there lurking somewhere. I’d never presume to speculate on how this will play out, but I know how I’d like it to, so time will tell.
All the usual applies here when discussing this author’s storytelling strengths: the writing is sharp, the pace frenetic, the action vivid, the danger tangible, and the conflict calculated to inspire an emotional investment from readers, which it does. John, Caleb and Gray were faced with a huge challenge, even beyond how they were going to save lives and eliminate Yuri and Dru. The future of their relationship hung in the sheerest of balances in this installment, the misunderstanding between them exacerbated by their separation, and every moment they spent apart was reason enough to keep me glued to my kindle until they were reunited and the danger was neutralized.
#TeamGrayleb for the win, as always. I adore this series and am excited to see it continue as the setting continues to grow and change with each potential new and challenging adventure. Getting to say that Jordan L. Hawk delivers yet again never gets old.
You can buy Shaker of Earth here:
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