The Book Gourmet

Book reviews à la bookworm...The good, the bad, and everything in between.

 

 

Professional Reader Reviews Published

After Dark by Jayne Castle

After Dark - Jayne Castle, Jayne Ann Krentz

What a great start (real one) of the Harmony series. Wonderful introduction into the world, the history, and paranormal elements. And despite the fact it’s set in a foreign planet, in the (distant?) future, and the inhabitants all have paranormal abilities, it still reads like a pretty straightforward romance (almost contemporary, if you ignore certain para/sci-fi terms). It has murder, it has romance, it has danger, it has an explosive attraction, it has mystery and intrigue, it has sex, it has a pet, it has a tall-dark-and-dangerous hero, a stubborn heroine (that is, in true JAK/AQ/JC style, a little bitchy sometimes)...

And it also has a sequel. Does it need it? Yes, because there are two parallel stories going on. One is the current case (which is ‘solved’ at the end of the first story) and the second is the backstory that still needs an explanation—what happened to Lydia six months ago to make her experience her Lost Weekend, when she came to in the middle of the alien catacombs without her amber. Had she truly been reckless or had someone tried to get rid of her?

And yes, it also needs a sequel, because the romance isn’t ‘done’ yet. And well, I’ve grown rather fond of Emmett, though I still think he could’ve found someone less argumentative, biased, and bitchy that Lydia. I truly hope she’ll grow up a bit in the next book.

Anyway, this was a great start to the series and I’m an even bigger fan of it and the world as before.