Just like so many other prejudices we hold against our fellow humans. Hawk's talent and depth as a writer that the so-called monsters turn out to have their own side of the story, and are really not monsters at all, once you get to know them. (Once they get used to her, of course!) I love that Griffin has found peace with the 'monsters' that have been haunting his nightmares and have caused him such terror and heartache. I also love the fact that Christine has found a love of her own, as she's a truly delightful character and I can't see how anyone could fail to adore her. Both men have deepened so much, as has their love for each other. I love this story so much! The development of both Griffin and Wyborne's characters has been especially great in the past two volumes of the series. I hope we will hear a lot more from Whyborne and Griffin in the future as well! The narrator also kept up his good work, I do really hope I may hear him in other books too, I like his style and voice for gay fiction and supernatural stories both. It also elaborated more on magic in a sensible way, I especially liked that it managed to give Whyborne a difficult opponent while still staying true to characterizing him as especially powerful, that was something I really liked since it is easy to mess that up.

Other than that, it had good new characters and a very nice building of suspense, since it kept me guessing to what exactly was going on, making it both logical and vague enough to make the guessing fun. Continuing the trend of book five in particular, it is more conciliatory towards the 'eldritch horrors', which is not bad, but I do hope we get something really alien and scary again. Griffin mostly on the receiving end.I just think that he makes the better dominant partner all in all, or it might be that it is that the dynamic in the first two books was more easy to relate to me personally as a gay man. No direct appearance of Whyborne senior, I always liked how the father son relationship was worked since it always managed to subtly show that it was more complicated than just the usual 'terrible father'. I can really only lay my finger on three things I did feel could have been better (or more to my liking) but none of it is really something missing, it is actually more what I would like for the next ones. If you liked the previous books, you will also like this, I would say. It spins on the threads of plot delivered before, it adds some new, it gives more hints and explores further. Hoarfrost mostly is business as usual, but in a good way. Very solid continuation of a great series.

Hoarfrost by Jordan L. Hawk