I really enjoyed this! I haven't read a paranormal romance where the romance was between two men before, but then I have read very little paranormal romance so my knowledge of that particular subgenre is fairly sketchy at best. Given the historical setting, however, and how unfriendly much of history was to gay relationships, the exploration of the difficulties that Whyborne and Griffin face is not only consistently and thoughtfully explored, but it's also had clear consequences, for Whyborne especially. He's the most interesting character here for me, someone so rigidly repressed, so unable to connect honestly with the wider world, that he's really only got one friend. That friend, Christine, is an archaeologist who works with him at the museum, and her career struggles - due to gender - are portrayed as sympathetically as Whyborne's sexuality is. This thoughtful treatment of both primary and secondary characters gives depth and appeal to the writing.

What really surprised me here, though, was the Lovecraft influence. I have to be honest, I am not a fan of Lovecraft. I find his prose purple and his fears pathetic, and I have never, not once, found his whole immensity of Elder Gods and whatever to be even remotely frightening. Frankly, I find all his Cthulhu shit to be largely tedious and just a bit silly, and had I known that this book was going to include some of it I would probably not have been very enthusiastic about picking it up. And that would have been such a shame. I can't say that Hawk has truly interested me in the Lovecraftian elements of Widdershins, but they are thankfully limited within the story, and while the central investigation is interesting enough, if a little predictable, it takes a back seat to the character and relationship work, which is far more interesting... and for me, far more attractive.

I look forward to reading the next novel in the series.