In book three of the Looking Glass Trilogy (an Arcane Society spin-off), Charlotte Enright returns to the sleepy island of Rainshadow to take over her eccentric aunt’s antiques shop.
Injured in the line of duty, police chief and hunter talent Slade Attridge is surprised to find Charlotte back on the island. Friendship and romance blooms fast between them, but he never intended for anything permanent. After all, he’s about to go psi-blind (losing his talent) and believes she won’t want him after she learns the truth. Charlotte, however, has an unusual psychic ability of her own. She reads rainbows in auras and knows more about Slade’s problem than he does. When a man is murdered in her shop and a few smugglers attack two kids, they have to team up to survive but learning to trust is the greatest battle between them.
Charlotte and Slade are stubborn characters, and Slade has his fair share of past trauma. I liked Charlotte for the most part, but I wish she would’ve been a stronger woman and not put up with Slade’s coldness. I couldn’t really relate to Slade. I understand his pain, resentment, and anger, but he should’ve treated Charlotte with more respect since she only wanted to help him.
The Quicksilver Mirror and a revamped Bridewell Curiosity is now in the futuristic world of Harmony, but both played minor roles in this book. I found that disappointing.
The Arcane series is now fully combined with the Harmony series (there aren’t any more Arcane books that’s set on Earth, as far as I know). The Rainshadow books, yet another spin-off, will focus on the members of the Arcane Society and on the Guilds, and only in the futuristic time period.
3 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.
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Another comfort read from JAK. This is a spin off story set on Harmony. He is a hunter and she has a powerful version of a skill that everyone believes is pretty useless. Of course it comes into play to save the day at the end as usual. There are continuing shenanigans concerning the Old Earth evil magic items which are the centerpieces of the Looking Glass trilogy which we are now finding out have been taken beyond the curtain by the original settlers.

The romance is low key as is usual in JAK's stories. If you've read her other stuff this is more of the same. Good writing and paranormal abilities and dust bunnies with a bit of romance. If you haven't read the others, I don't think you should start here as some of it could be confusing if you didn't know the world. ( )

This is the conclusion of the Looking Glass Trilogy which began in the book In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz and continued in Quicksilver by Amanda Quick. This story moves to the planet of Harmony and takes place on the island of Rainshadow. It is a small isolated island. Charlotte spent part of her childhood there with her aunt and now has returned to take over her aunt's antique store. Charlotte has a little-regarded psychic gift of being a rainbow reader. She can see people's auras and can tune some antiques to be just the right thing for a person. She has also recently inherited some things from a grateful client. She is busy organizing her aunt's shop and getting settled in on Rainshadow.

Slade Attridge has returned to Rainshadow to be the new chief of police. He has been forced to leave his higher profile career in law enforcement after an accident that the doctors and para-psychologists have said damaged his psychic gift beyond repair. Slade is determined to only stay on Rainshadow for a brief time while he makes other plans for his life.

Charlotte and Slade had met briefly fifteen years before and had been interested in each other but their lives led them in different directions. Now, the romance is rekindled. Slade is reluctant to make any sort of commitment to Charlotte, though, because of his very uncertain future.

But, when Charlotte finds a dead body in her store, Slade's plans to lie low until he has has new life plans in place is derailed. Charlotte may be in danger and Slade's protective instincts come to the fore. They are both busy trying to find out who killed Charlotte's intruder and also what is going on in the Preserve. This privately owned area is changing and becoming more frightening and dangerous.

Adding a lot of humor to the suspense and romance is Slade's dust bunny partner Rex. Dust bunnies are native to Harmony and occasionally adopt some of the humans. Rex looks cute and fluffy most of the time but he is a dangerous predator is there is a threat. Rex also loves zucchini bread which is a constant thread in this book since zucchini season has hit and one of the locals is constantly giving everyone loaves of it. He also has taken a fancy to an antique beaded evening bag from Charlotte's store and won't be parted from it.

This one has all the elements of the most successful of Jayne Castle's books. It has romance. It has danger. It has cute dust bunnies. And it has crisp, snappy dialog. All in all, it was a very satisfying read, a great conclusion to the Looking Glass trilogy, and a great introduction to stories about the Preserve and Rainshadow.

My only quibble with the story concerns the cover. I have no idea who the cover is supposed to illustrate. Charlotte is not the kind to go around in tight leather. That aside, this one is well worth reading. ( )

Although I've complained about some of Krentz's books that they are paint by numbers, nevertheless, I've continued to read them because they're fast, generally fun, and I like them. This one was slow, left all kinds of questions unanswered, and felt more like a chapter in a bigger book. As usual, the villain explains of the pieces of the plot at the end because otherwise the book wouldn't make much sense. It felt very slight -- the book. ( )

Canyons of Night
3.5 Stars

When Charlotte Enright returns to Rainshadow Island to run her aunt’s antique store, she is surprised to discover that the new Chief of Police is none other than Slade Attridge - someone she was never been able to forget after he rescued her as a teen. Now a number of mysterious break-ins and a dead body in her shop has Charlotte coming to Slade for help once again.

Series note:This is the 3rd book in the Looking Glass trilogy, and the 12th and final book in the Arcane Society series. Nevertheless, it is also book #8 in the Harmony series and the prequel to the Rainshadow series, both of which are ongoing (yes, it is as confusing as it seems).

Although set in the future and on a different planet, Canyons of Night is more contemporary romantic suspense that science-fiction. The basic plot follows the same formula as the other installments in the Arcane series and the romance is lukewarm. Nevertheless, there is something about Castle (aka Krentz’s) writing that makes her works eminently readable.

Although their chemistry isn’t that spectacular, Charlotte and Slade are very relatable both as individuals and as a couple. The mystery has potential, but is under-developed with little to no new information on Mrs. Brightwell’s clockwork curiosities and a villain who comes out of nowhere. That said, the enigmatic nature of the area of Rainshadow known as The Preserve is very compelling and the hints at something mystifying and perhaps even nefarious going on are enough to convince me to read the on.

All in all, this is a solid conclusion to the Arcane Society series, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Rainshadow Island. ( )