Release Review: A Hymn in the Silence
(Dark is the Night #2)
by Kelley York & Rowan Altwood
Since graduating from Whisperwood School for Boys, William has found a sense of normalcy in his life with James. He has a steady (albeit secret) relationship, a home, and a job—even if it doesn’t pay the greatest. Nevermind that he lacks James’ reckless bravery when it comes to dealing with spirits; he does his best and it hasn’t killed him thus far.
When a new client calls on their expertise in solving a grisly multiple homicide, William resists. They’re spirit hunters, not detectives. But the money is too much to pass up when they don’t know when their next meal will be, and soon they’re arriving at Evenbury Manor, nestled in a close-knit rural community, ready to investigate.
They're in over their heads, but in very different ways than William could have anticipated. The hills are filled with creatures far more dangerous than any they've ever encountered, and their usual tactics aren’t working. On top of his renewed struggles with his addiction, William is left to fend for himself against the dead to protect not only the community, but the person in the world that’s most important to him.
5 Stars!
Okay, so I'll be the first one to tell you I'm a wuss when it comes to horror anything (just ask my daughters), but as I've recently discovered, maybe it doesn't apply to books as much as to movies. Perhaps I'm a more visual person or something? *shrugs* I have no clue. However, both this book and the first in the series, A Light Amongst Shadows—which you totally should read if you haven't already, not only because it's amazing, but because we meet James and William there and you don't want to miss out on the start of their love story—are pretty scary and I stayed up until 4:20am this morning finishing it, despite me having to wake up at 4:40.
AHitS is the continuation of the Dark is the Night series and it starts 6 months after James and William graduate and start working with their friend Preston's aunt, who is a medium and has been training them to hunt and vanquish ghosts, spirits, demons and the like. William is still dependent on laudanum (and hard liquor) to get by, although James is in charge of doling out the former. My heart broke for William that he has to rely on that to be able to interact with others. James is his usual sweet and happy self, but it's obvious he's not a boy any longer and he can stand up for himself, even against William. The love between them is palpable and stronger than ever, even when things get difficult between them, you just know they are going to do their best effort to make it.
As I was chatting with my co-blogger Tracy, one of the things I like best when I read a historical book is to be privy of all the things men had to do to be together. It generally was a secret, seeing that if the wrong person found out and told on them, they ran the risk of imprisonment or even death. In William and James' case, their closest friends know that they're together and they try to be as inconspicuous as they can, but sometimes their youthful disposition and the love they feel for each other play against them. It was sweet that they would share these little but meaningful gestures like a kiss on the forehead, or calling the other darling or dear, or just exchanging a look that could mean anything to others but was everything to them. It was just lovely... and kind of reckless when they risked exposing themselves.
I adored Adelia and of course, it was delightful catching up with Virgil and I'm really intrigued about Preston and Benjamin. Are we getting their story next? Please say yes. *makes puppy eyes*
The book had several twists and turns and some came as a huge surprise, and there were some loose ends so I'm hoping this isn't the last we're seeing of William and James. I'm really intrigued by what The Order really is and about Thomas, too. As villains go, he was a tridimensional, kind of fanatically evil religious one, very believable in his role. And I so didn't see the part about Adelia's father coming either.
Ms. Altwood and Ms. York are certainly a formidable writing team, be it YA like the first book or a story with a more adult feel to it like A Hymn in the Silence, it was a masterfully constructed one, the world building and the execution were a thing of beauty and I can't recommend both books enough.
*** Copy provided to the reviewer via Booksprout for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
A Light Amongst Shadows is on sale at 99cents atm, don't miss out! Or check them both out on KU, I promise you won't regret it.
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