Marc gives 10/10 pots of gold for Jordan L. Hawk´s Necropolis (Whyborne & Griffin 4)

Why I read this book: After finishing book three I begged Jordan to get an advanced review copy and I was over-joyed when I received it. After finishing the book, I was so happy and loved the book so much that I asked her if we could discuss it in a live interview and she was game 🙂 In short: This book is perfection. Such a balance between many different things and it totally works.

Also check out MtSnow’s review of Widdershins and my review of Widdershins, Threshold and Stormhaven as well as my interview with Jordan L. Hawk :).

Blurb: Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has spent the last few months watching his lover, Griffin Flaherty, come to terms with the rejection of his adoptive family. So when an urgent telegram from Christine summons them to Egypt, Whyborne is reluctant to risk the fragile peace they’ve established. Until, that is, a man who seems as much animal as human tries to murder Whyborne in the museum. Amidst the ancient ruins of the pharaohs, they must join Christine and face betrayal, murder, and a legendary sorceress risen from the dead. In the forge of the desert heat, the trio will either face their fears and stand together—or shatter the bonds between them forever.

Publication Date: May 5, 2014

Buy Necropolis at ARe, Amazon, B&N

Cover: Not only does the model perfectly fit the description for Griffin, the egyptian background had me bouncing. I’m a huge fan of egyptian mythology and always found pyramids very intriguing! :).

Title: The City of the dead – Necropolis! Intriguing, yet full of dread! I love it!!!

Story: Necropolis was my favorite in the series by far. It might have to do with my love for anything egyptian, but I felt like the story was perfect and I couldn’t stop reading until I was finished and directly needed to get my most burning questions answered. So thank you Jordan that you indulged me 😉

So, what exactly did I love so much about this book? Well, it felt like there was so much happening in the book but nothing fell short and didn’t get enough attention! It was a perfect balance of countless complex relationships and plot lines.

The book begins with a Christmas celebration from hell, but it shows the way the relationship between the characters has changed. Stanford is not the ”Golden Boy’ anymore and his father seems to slowly come to the realization that Percival is much stronger than he ever gave him credit for. His relationship with Griffin and his experiences in the previous books have given Whyborne a self-confidence that shows in the way he interacts with others and stands in stark contrast to his brother, who lost everything because he couldn’t let go of his vices.

There are many revelations about this book and waiting patiently for the next one is almost impossible. However, all these twists and turns that tease us with what is in store for the characters would be much less powerful if it wasn’t for the strong and complex relationships. The respect and friendship between Whyborne and Christine that makes him leave his home and travel a great distance on only very few information to help and support her. He, who does not even like to travel away from his home even a small distance. In this book that relationship gets even closer and we can see how they are not only friends but each others family. They both understand the injustice the other has to endure, Christine as woman in a male-dominated world and and Percival as gay man who has to hide his love. The understanding and support they give each other is wonderful to watch.

Then there is Christine’s relationship with Griffin. While she admittedly is Whyborne’s friend first and will always have his back, we also get to read the friendly banter between them as they become closer friends. Griffin has to really face many of his fear in this book, but he does it to help Christine and protect Whyborne and her.

Christine, meanwhile, is not only shown in her element (I LOVED that archeology took a much larger role in this book and we see the woman in action), but she has to juggle two new (to us) relationships as we meet her sister and her most trusted employee. I loved that she needed her best friend to help her navigate her feelings for them and the new dynamics that developed really enriched the book.

Of course, Whyborne’s abilities develop even more in this new book as he takes on the last element (I think after reading the other 3 books this shouldn’t really shock anyone). He might not really have a lot of control of it yet, but I can assure you that you will not be disappointed when it comes to his spellcasting abilities. This book was very, very exciting to me as a new direction becomes clear.

Then there are the man-eating hybrid monsters that stalk our heroes and their goddess, who wants to turn this world into one huge Necropolis, a city of the dead for her ‘children’ to feed on. Scary, yucky and utterly ghoulish, they work perfectly to add that sprinkle of horror to this story we love the series for. An atmosphere of dread that leaves readers at the edge of their seats.

For me, it was a perfect balance between historical, romance and horror as well as between the different character relationships. There is love, doubt, danger, betrayal, discovery and mystery. And many, many revelations and twists 🙂

I tried to keep this MOSTLY spoiler free, but read my Interview with Jordan L. Hawk, if you want a detailed discussion of this book with spoilers for this book and teasers for what will happen next in the series!