In case you don’t recall (and I don’t recall what I had for breakfast, so why would you recall a post from earlier this month?) the Reading Romances 2012 April Challenge was all about Alternate Realities month! You can revisit my original post, but I’ve left an overview and my review of my challenge book below. If you’ve joined the reading challenge, I hope you’ve left your review at the Reading Romances site so you’re entered for The Matchmaker’s Mark giveaway!
For Alternate Realities Month we could choose a topic, theme, or special event:
Topics: Read a contemporary book where something is different in the world than what reality reflects. (vampires, magic etc) OR Read a book set in the future or a historical with an alternative reality (i.e. steampunk).
Themes: Read one book that was nominated for the RITA or Golden Heart award!
Special Events: Read an LGBT book, a book with at least 3 of the 7 colours of a rainbow (violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red) on it’s cover, or a book with a title that includes the word: dream/s, wish/es, or rainbow. OR Read a book with an accountant/book-keeper character, or due to a shortage of funds, read a free or borrowed (library, friend etc) book.
And so I went with Canyons of Night by Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz). It’s a futuristic (alternate reality) and it met the color requirements for a cover in the special events category, and I’ll be borrowing it from my daughter’s kindle. It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite sometime. I’d hoped to add an RITA finalist to my April Challenge, but alas, I didn’t make it. (though The Lost by Caridad Pineiro is now on my kindle waiting for me).
Now… <drumroll> Here’s the blurb from Canyon’s of Night at Amazon and my review of the book.
The island of Rainshadow is home to the mysterious, privately-owned woods known only as the Preserve. Now, after fifteen years away, both Charlotte Enright and her teen crush, Slade Attridge, have returned. But will their psi talents and Slade’s dust bunny companion be enough to keep them from getting drawn into the darkness at the heart of the Preserve?
Canyons of Night is book 3 in the Looking Glass Trilogy (Arcane Society series) but it does stand alone.
Loved this book! The chemistry (and mystery) between Slade and Charlotte is right there from page one. Anyone who’s ever crushed on the cool, older guy can completely relate to Charlotte’s feelings. When they both wind up back on Rainshadow Island they start to understand why life hasn’t quite felt complete.
While the mutual physical attraction is there, so are the obstacles and mysteries – in both their emotional and professional lives. The adventure – tracking down who is behind a murder, a break-in, and finding a couple lost kids along the way all leads Slade and Charlotte on a path of tough decisions and an ever-so-satisfying conclusion.
In her futuristic world of Harmony, Castle has created a dynamic environment that adds to the excitement of the whole story. And Rainshadow Island is a particular sweet spot in her Harmony universe. It’s a quiet place with a quirky population, but Castles’ descriptions are so rich, I found myself wishing I could visit.
I’ve read a couple other books from her futuristic world, but this has become one of my favorites – and not just because of Rex, the amazing, tough as nails dust bunny who carries a tiny evening bag he snagged from Charlotte’s antique shop.
And be sure to visit next Saturday, when I share May’s Reading Romances Challenge!
UPDATE: Don’t miss the new giveaway today at the Close Encounters With the Night Kind blog: Name That Detective + a giveaway for the upcoming Matchmaker’s Curse!
Live the adventure!
