#BookReview – “Midnight Crystal” by Jayne Castle

Blurb

Adam Winters has enough responsibility as the new head of the local Ghost Hunter Guild without being saddled with the family curse. He’s convinced his recent nightmares and hallucinations will lead to him becoming a psychic rogue—unless he can find a stolen relic and a woman who can read dreamlight.

Marlowe Jones rides into his life on a motorcycle and with a dust bunny at her side. Though a descendant of the rival Arcane family, she’s just what Adam needs: a psychic private investigator and dreamlight reader extraordinaire.

Together, amid the glowing catacombs and steamy underground jungles of Harmony, Adam and Marlowe must break the curse, save the entire underworld—and fight a passion that could destroy them both…

Review

In book three of the Dreamlight Trilogy (an Arcane Society spin-off), Marlowe Jones is the head of the Jones and Jones paranormal detective agency. She’s investigating the theft of an ancient Earth relic from the Arcane Museum vault, and the new Frequency City guild boss is at the top of her suspect list.

Adam Winters intends to clean up the corrupt guild. In Frequency, as well as in most places on the planet of Harmony, the guilds are seen as little more than organized mobs. Destined to fall into a fit of insanity, he needs to find the Burning Lamp and a dreamlight reader, a woman able to control the lamp. He needs Marlowe Jones. The problem? She’s a Jones, the enemy of the Winters, and the head of J&J, the rival of the guild.

Marlowe is one of the toughest female leads I’ve read in the Arcane books. She’s smart, stubborn, and can stand up to any man. Adam is the classic alpha hero who’s strong enough to accept and appreciate a strong woman, an equal, at his side. They both have astounding psychic powers and can control the lamp far better than the other couples did in the previous books.

I loved that much of the Arcane history has survived the centuries. Caleb and Lucinda, Griffin and Adalaide, Jack and Chloe, Fallon, and a few others were mentioned, and their journals and accounts of their adventures are considered “ancient” Earth legends. So funny!

This is the first book that really combines the Arcane series books and the Harmony series books. Originally, they were two separate series but this book, as part of the trilogy, meshes the other two. Though this book is a standalone, you should really read the first two books in the trilogy and have read some Harmony books to get a better feeling of that futuristic world. Unlike all the other Harmony books, there wasn’t much info in this one about how the human settlers arrived on the planet two centuries earlier.  For a new reader, that might be a little confusing.

Though I noticed a few punctuation errors like missing periods, the story flowed well and didn’t drag. It kept my attention, and I look forward to reading the next spin-off trilogy of the Arcane series.

5 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.