Review for entire spectr series--a fun end to a fantastic reading year.
This is a difficult series for me to review, and I've decided not to rate it until I've had some more time to mull.
Unequivocally: Jordan L Hawk has a brilliant, creative mind with a fantastic grasp of plot and characterization. She could very easily become a favorite writer for me. (But... To follow)
This story plays with concepts of familiar/other, mythology, paranormal, horror, the occult, voodoo, and strangely enough, polyamory. And it does it all really well. The plot arc over six books is flawless.
The three main characters, Caleb, Gray, and John, are all fascinating. Fully formed characters with well fleshed out goals, motivations, and conflicts. I enjoyed watching them come together in fits and starts, and the growing intimacy was really nice to to watch.
Here's the but....
The mechanics of the writing left me with the impression that these books were not subject to a full editorial process. Exposition was clunky in places, too much of it delivered via dialogue. Repeated words, homophone errors (and in one notable place, both: a homophone error repeated multiple times on one page), and some significant typos. Setting relied too heavily on names of places rather than the feel of them. As someone very familiar with Charleston, i would have liked to see a deeper connection to a place I love.
I think with a proper, hard core edit, this series would be among the best the m/m genre has to offer.
i do not review books i would not recommend to others. In spite of its flaws, this series is a diamond in the rough, and it is recommended, in particular to fans of the paranormal, the occult, super plotty stories, and unique characters.
(Review written on the ipad, not subject to a full editorial process. Fuck capitalization.) ;)