The Handsel Witches by Ryan J Hamshaw

 

Synopsis From Goodreads:

Four months after the defeat of the Dark Friars, Liam O'Connor is finally finding some balance in life. He's juggling college, his friends, and his role as a Keeper of the Crossing. But that balance is about to break, and his friends’ safety is on the line.

Tariq Ashar is trying to make his new relationship with Liam work while dealing with old secrets tied to Lucas Martindale, the obnoxious and unpredictable grandson of the Head of the Guild. When Lucas’ troubled past comes back to haunt him, it pulls Tariq and Liam into danger, putting everything at risk.

Meanwhile, a new enemy is rising in Sarumbourne, driven by anger and revenge. As darkness spreads through the city, the Keepers must fight to protect it - or lose what they’ve sworn to defend.

Do you have those books that, no matter the genre, become comfort reads almost immediately? The kind where, a paragraph or two in, you know you’re safe. You can set the rest of the world aside and just sink into the story as the words unfold on the page. I have far too many of those to list, but to give you an idea, they include The Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and the A Matter of Time series by Mary Calmes—along with, honestly, most of her books. I’m also pretty sure the Keepers of the Crossing series by Ryan J Hamshaw has officially joined that group.

I’m not ready to say I’m a full-on YA reader yet, but I might be getting there. Or at least I’m becoming a fan of a very specific flavor of YA: a little dark, a little queer, and a whole lot of fun. I don’t know why it still surprises me how good some YA authors are at building immersive worlds and filling them with characters I don’t just enjoy reading about, but actually come to care about. That happened to me years ago with Rotters by Daniel Kraus, and again earlier this year with The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass (a review I swear I’ll write eventually). Both pulled me into worlds I never wanted to leave. The world Ryan J. Hamshaw has created in the Keepers of the Crossing series fits right in with those.

What really surprised me was how The Dark Friars pulled me in… and then The Handsel Witches went and did it all over again. I honestly think I enjoyed this second book even more than the first. The stakes are higher this time around, especially when it comes to the people Liam loves most. The action is more intense, and the vampire fight alone is worth every moment spent in this version of Sarumbourne. 

But as much as I enjoyed the story itself, that’s not the reason I know I’ll be rereading this series for years. That credit goes to Liam, Tariq, Jack, Lily, and the rest of the cast (including Lucas). These are characters the author clearly loves, and that affection comes through on the page. There’s an intentionality to how they’re written that makes this series feel like a comfort read, even when things get dark. They’re flawed, insecure, hopeful, and constantly growing into themselves—and I’m more than happy to keep spending time with them as they do.

The Dark Friars by Ryan J Hamshaw

 

Synopsis From Goodreads:

For Seventeen-year-old Liam O’Connor, nightmares become reality when he dreams of a fellow student's murder. Eager to uncover the truth, Liam and his friends investigate, revealing hidden secrets about his identity.

Targeted by the menacing Dark Friars, Liam is saved by the enigmatic Tariq, who introduces him to a supernatural world where good and evil battle in the shadows.

Can Liam juggle college, family, friendships, and desires while bearing the heavy responsibilities of his newfound destiny?

Against the picturesque cathedral city of Sarumbourne, the looming threat of the Dark Friars intensifies, and Liam's normal life shatters amid the chaos.

To be perfectly honest, this synopsis bores me to tears and gives the reader absolutely no clue how fantastic this book actually is. At least, it was for me. Not a single second was wasted. I was hooked from the first few sentences as we get dropped right into Liam’s nightmarishly violent dream. I was so sucked in that the second I finished, I bought a copy—even though it’s on Kindle Unlimited—and then bought the second book a few minutes later. I had zero self-control.

I don’t read a ton of YA. I think I read one or two last year, maybe the same this year. I’m only mentioning this because I don’t have a huge backlog to compare The Dark Friars to, but I can say I enjoyed it as much as my favorite YA of all time, Rotters by Daniel Kraus—just for completely different reasons. Liam, his friends Lily and Jack, Tariq, and the rest of the Keepers and Guild members pulled me straight into a world of immensee magic and the fight between those trying to protect it and those who want to twist it for their own nefarious means.

In a not-small way, The Dark Friars reminds me of my favorite TV show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So much so that I’m giving in and breaking out the bullet points, though I still wish I could get away with using a giant Venn diagram.

• Like Buffy, Liam gets hit with immense power after the violent death of his predecessor. Unlike Buffy, Liam was forced to dream about that violent death for days.

• Buffy becomes the Slayer. Liam becomes the newest Keeper—one of six guardians protecting Sarumbourne from every manner of magical nightmare: shapeshifters, vampires, demons, and, of course, the Dark Friars.

• Buffy has the Watchers Council. Liam and the other Keepers have The Guild.

• Buffy has Willow and Xander. Liam has Lily and Jack—and honestly, I’d trade Xander for Jack in half a heartbeat. Jack is sooooo much better.

• Buffy has Angel. Liam has Tariq, and I’m already confident that Liam and Tariq are going to have a far healthier go of things.

That’s not to say the world the author has created feels derivative, because it absolutely doesn’t. This world stands entirely on its own and feels fully realized—a feat that can be difficult to pull off in the first book of a series. I could follow the paths of Craythorn Forest and Grovely Wood. The campus of Sarumbourne College is as real to me as my own. And I desperately want to wander the halls and rooms of The Seven Angels for myself. I think I would like it there.

All I know is that there better be a third, fourth, fifth, and twelfth book soon. Especially if they all have these gorgeous covers.