#Jayne Ann Krentz

[fated-mates]

"The thing about genre, the reason it even exists at all, is because it's the device and the mechanism by which we send our values down to the next generation. It's the way we affirm them to ourselves throughout our life, and it's the way a culture keeps its culture intact. It's the myth of the core value of that civilization, whatever it may be, that is going to go down through history and it survives or it doesn't survive, and that's what genre does, it carries the myth."

Jayne Ann Krentz

We just posted the transcription for our Jayne Ann Krentz episode.

#jayne ann krentz #genre #genre fiction #values #generational #civilization #myth

[allycryz]

The Fated Mates podcast is doing a Trailblazer series where they interview famous and unsung figures in romance history. One that's stuck with me is the Jayne Ann Krentz interview and not just because she's written some of my favorite historicals.

She talks about how everyone has a "core story" they like to return to. Hers is "two people learn to trust each other." I thought you all would like it as a counterpart to the "two cakes" line of thinking--there is NOTHING wrong with tackling the same subject matter again and again in new ways

(I believe they are working on getting transcriptions of the Trailblazer episodes. Hopefully this will have one soon.)

#jayne ann Krentz #writing #podcasts #writing advice #romance novels

[thereadingcafe]

#Jayne Ann Krentz #The Night Island #The Lost Night Files #Romance #Suspense #Mystery #Thriller

[bookwyrmshoard]

The Night Island, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Fast-paced, high-octane paranormal romantic suspense

(Note: This review contains spoilers for book #1 in the series, Sleep No More.)

I've been a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz's fast-paced, high-octane romantic suspense thrillers for years now, so I always look forward to the next one. The Night Island did not disappoint. In fact, the pacing is smoother than in the previous book in this series (Sleep No More), and the plot is easier to follow.

In Sleep No More, we learned that months earlier, three women (Pallas, Talia, and Amelia) had woken together, strapped to gurneys in a burning building, with no memories of the previous night... and with enhanced psychic abilities. Determined to find out what happened to them, they joined together to start The Lost Night Files podcast. Sleep No More recounts Pallas's investigation of someone else's missing night; she and the subject, Ambrose, eventually figure out that they both took the same psych evaluation test years before, and suspect that whoever experimented on the four of them may be working from a list based on that test.

After a prologue to introduce the hero, The Night Island begins with Talia March headed to a meeting with an unknown informant with information about the list. But when she shows up at the rendezvous, the informant is missing, and another interested party, hero Luke Rand, is also there. The pair warily exchange information, discovering that they are both looking for the same list, and for the same reasons: Luke, too, experienced a lost night and a significant boost to his psychic powers. Talia knows he's not telling her everything, but based on a clue found in the missing informant's house, they agree to join forces to investigate the Night Island and search for the informant using Talia's enhanced talent for finding things. Outwardly the home of a tech-free meditation retreat, the Night Island has a decidedly creepy vibe, with unusual vegetation, a mysterious conservatory, and a very weird gardener. When people on the island start turning up dead, it will take all of Luke's and Talia's skills to keep themselves alive and solve the puzzles of the Night Island.

If you're thinking this sounds somewhat familiar, you're not wrong. There were hints in Sleep No More that the Lost Night Files trilogy might eventually tie into the Fogg Lake trilogy, with its mysterious Foundation and secret, lost government labs where experiments in psychic abilities and weapons took place. Those hints grow stronger in The Night Island, which has me excited for the third book (presumably featuring the third member of the podcast team, Amelia, and probably releasing in January 2025.) And since there were hints in the Fogg Lake books that the Foundation may exist in the same "universe" as the Arcane Society novels, though independent and unaware of the Arcane Society... well, this Krentz fan is definitely hooked.

One of the things I love about the Arcane Society series is how the Society offers structure and organization to the paranormal world and to the various types of "talent." Most of the characters are aware of and operate within that known structure; it helps ground them. Their own talents may be off the charts, but most of them exist within a community that recognizes and acknowledges the existence of the paranormal. In a more nebulous way, the Foundation serves a similar purpose in the Fogg Lake books.

That's not true for the Lost Night Files characters, who went from having slightly-better-than-normal intuition or abilities to having a strong psychic talent. Not only are they dealing with the impacts of, and learning the extent of, their enhanced abilities, there's all the disorientation of not knowing what happened to them and who was responsible. And they have to cope with all this without the benefit of any support other than each other, in a world which doesn't believe at all in paranormal abilities. It makes all the Lost Night Files characters less confident, less trusting, and less open about their abilities than most of the Arcane Society characters... but equally determined to survive and thrive. Talia and Luke are no exception.

In fact, Talia and Luke are typical of Krentz's main characters—smart, capable, and emotionally strong—though both are on the edgier, less communicative side of the Krentz hero/heroine spectrum for the reasons I mentioned above. I'm still not entirely sure why Talia is so drawn to the deeply taciturn Luke. Then again, she's not exactly open about her own thoughts and feelings, and clearly recognizes and (to some extent) accepts Luke's reticence. As a long-time fan, I have accepted that sometimes, I just have to accept the attraction between Krentz's hero and heroine as a given, and that's what I did in this case. Krentz does a good job of showing how their relationship develops from wariness to reluctant-and-limited partnership to deep-seated trust as they learn more about one another. The progression feels slow, but since the book takes place over the course of four days, it's actually quite fast.

It's hard to say any more about the plot of The Night Island without revealing spoilers, so I won't. I'll just say that for me, it hangs together better than the plot of Sleep No More —which I nonetheless enjoyed—and that I liked The Night Island as much or more on a second reading (to refresh my memory for this review) than I did the first time through. If you are already a Krentz fan, I think you'll have fun with this book. If you are new to her work, or to her paranormal-themed romantic suspense, I recommend starting with either Second Sight (the first Arcane Society novel, written under her Amanda Quick pen name), or The Vanishing (the first Fogg Lake book.)

#book review #my reviews #jayne ann krentz #lost night files #paranormal romantic suspense #romantic suspense

[mygrowingcollection]

Jayne Ann Krentz

#jayne ann krentz #author #signed book #friends of the library

[sheilajsn]

Leyendo romances históricos

Durante el mes de agosto, participé en The Romance Readathon organizado por Maggie de Maggie’s Books and Stuff. Generalmente, yo no participo en readathons porque me parecen demasiado estresantes. Pero lo que me gustó es que, en lugar de una lista de prompts que limitan bastante las opciones de lectura, para este readathon, cualquier libro contaba ya que los puntos se acumulaban por la cantidad…

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#Amanda Quick #Emily Honeyfield #Girl Meets Duke #Jayne Ann Krentz #Lavinia Lake and Tobias March #Stacy Reid #Tessa Dare #The Romance Readathon

[cathy-mccaughan]

Does an Amanda Quick character ever do some traveling and become a Jayne Castle character?

#romance reader #jayne castle #amanda quick #harmony #romance books #jayne ann krentz #why is my brain like this

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz

Review: Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz

Series: Fogg Lake #3Author: Jayne Ann KrentzPublisher: BerkleyReleased: January 18, 2022Received: Blog Tour Lightning in a Mirror is the third novel in Jayne Ann Krentz’s Fogg Lake series. It’s also the last of the series. I may have made a bit of a mistake here, as I didn’t realize that it was part of a series until after I had started reading. That being said, I didn’t have much of a problem…

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#Berkley #Book #Book Review #Books #Fiction #Fogg Lake #Fogg Lake 3 #Jayne Ann Krentz #Lightning in a Mirror #Lightning in a Mirror by Jayne Ann Krentz #Literary #Literature #Mystery #Mystery Review #Review

[elumish]

Anyone have any (preferably not fantasy) romantic suspense books that came out in the last year or two that you recommend? Queer or straight.

#book recs #romantic suspense #i'm thinking in the suzanne brockmann j.d. robb jayne ann krentz vibe

[fated-mates]

Two years ago this week, we spoke with Jayne Ann Krentz, who has done it all. We talked about her journey and the way she continually reinvented herself to keep writing, about the importance of writers’ core stories, about genre and myth making, and about the role of romance in the world.

We love her so much!

#jayne ann krentz #romance novels #amanda quick #stephanie james #harlequin temptation #Youtube

[lizabethstucker]

Sleep No More by Jayne Ann Krentz

2 out of 5. DNF (40% read)

Lost Night Files 1

Ambrose Drake believes there was a murder at the sleep center he was at due to sleeping issues, but he can barely remember. When there is another possible murder that he cannot prove, he calls the three women behind The Lost Night Files podcast. Pallas Llewellyn is the one who decided to check out the tip, running into Ambrose at the long abandoned asylum she was investigating.

Jayne Ann Krentz writes romantic suspense under this name, historical romance as Amanda Quick, and speculative romance as Jayne Castle. While I used to be a big fan of romantic suspense, my tastes appear to have changed. I prefer romance with a dollop of mystery or suspense, not the other way around nowadays.

Sadly, despite my love for the majority of JAK's books and an intriguing premise, I found myself … bored. I made it about 40% into the book before I realized that I just didn't care. I didn't care who the villain was or their motive, and I just didn't care about Ambrose and Pallas' relationship either. When you don't care about one of these, the book might still be a fun read. But lose both? Yeah, I'm out of here. sigh Very disappointed.

#book review #Jayne Ann Krentz #Sleep No More #romantic suspense #contemporary romance #paranormal

[mermaidsirennikita]

I do find the pen name game with romance so fascinating. And like. Weirdly comforting? Like you could just flop the fuck out and be like "well I guess I'll start over with another fucking pen name". I wish we had pen names for real life.

#romance novel blogging #[we do caroline that's called faking your death and committing identity theft] #but jayne ann krentz! #famously one of the romance greats #(also known as amanda quick to historical romance enthusiasts) #flopped out of her name and had to start over w a new one #and you don't even have to flop out of a name to create a pen name #you can just make one to do something new #like if you're known for bomb gilded age historicals and you wanna write dark mafia contemporaries #if you wanna start any kind of indie career after being established in trad #so on so on so on #i mean i feel like so few people in romance write under their government names #might as well have like five of them

[thereadingcafe]

.

#Jayne Ann Krentz #Sleep No More #Lost Night Files #Romance #Mystery #Suspense #Thriller #Review

[bookwyrmshoard]

Sleep No More, by Jayne Ann Krentz

Sleep No More kicks off the Lost Night Files, a trilogy of books about three women whose psychic talents were apparently enhanced after a mysterious night none of them can remember.

Ambrose Drake is convinced he witnessed a murder while a patient at a sleep clinic. Or at least, he witnessed the cleanup. But without evidence, he can’t be sure. When a member of the clinic’s staff goes missing after contacting Ambrose, he contacts the Lost Night Files podcasters to investigate. The one who shows up is Pallas Llewellyn, an interior designer whose career has been derailed by her need to find out what happened on her “lost night.”

It turns out that Ambrose, like Pallas and her friends, also experienced an increase in his talent (in his case, reading auras) after a similar lost night… which has been affecting his sleep, as well as his writing career. The pair set out to solve the mystery of the missing man and uncover a lot more than they anticipated.

I really debated how to rate Sleep No More. It’s a fun, quick read, and I enjoyed it on the whole. However, the typically convoluted plot doesn’t hang together quite as well as in most of Krentz’s books, the banter is not as witty or sharp, and much of the novel felt like a rehash of various plot and character elements from previous books. For instance, if you are familiar with Krentz’s books, particularly the Arcane Society and Fogg Lake series, you’ll immediately see parallels with the Nightshade organization and their talent-enhancing formula. I suspect the series may tie in with the Arcane novels eventually, if only tangentially. (There’s even a Jones in the book, albeit briefly and in flashback.)

Another problem I had is that while the prologue does a good job of setting up Ambrose’s backstory and motivation, the same isn’t true of Pallas. In her case, Krentz keeps dropping hints about a similar experience in Pallas’s past, but for too long, I felt I was in the dark regarding the traumautic experience Pallas shared with her fellow podcasters — her main motivation throughout the book. (Note that the publisher’s synopsis leads with that incident, but the reader shouldn’t have to rely on a blurb to figure out what’s going on.)Structurally, I think the book might work better with two prologues, one from each main character’s POV. I do understand why Krentz didn’t lead with Pallas’s lost night; it may be her motivation, but it’s not the central plot of Sleep No More, although it will probably turn out to be the main focus of the overall series arc. But it would have helped to have the information sooner.

So all in all, a fun entry in the Krentz canon, but not one of her best. Still, I’m looking forward to the next installment!

Review originally published on The Bookwyrm’s Hoard blog.

#book review #romantic suspense #paranormal romantic suspense #jayne ann krentz #sleep no more #lost night files

[unpretty]

Hi, I really liked the post you did ages ago where you recommended romance novels, but I started with the Brothers Sinister and nothing has lived up to that. I think it's because there was other things going on in those books? In addition to Milan just being really good, of course. Any chance you have some recommendations for romance novels that also kinda have other focuses?

i think milan being really good is a significant factor, hahahaha. you might want to consider romance subgenres that require a touch more worldbuilding and end up with more plot, like paranormal romance (lots of shifters here), OR something like a romantic suspense novel (which includes thrillers and mysteries where the mystery is still secondary to Two People Fall In Love). unfortunately there's some real stinkers in the romantic suspense genre. i looked up two listicles and both had their number one as one of the worst books i have ever read in my life. do not read Mr Perfect or trust any list that tells you it's good. contemporary romantic suspense has the same problem as contemporary mysteries/thrillers which is too many goddamn bootlickers and sexy cops.

before i found courtney milan i was a big fan of amanda quick despite her tendency to write the same novel every time (and like, when you do that in a way that seems samey even for ROMANCE NOVELS you know it's notable). anyway she writes some like... historical gothic suspense type stuff under the pen name jayne ann krentz. she has a million pen names. but i can confirm those are definitely more plotty, but still have the fun historical vibes. you might also want to look into gail carriger books, although those are more fantasy-adventure than your typical romance (a whole series about one couple instead of a different person each sequel??? madness) (jayne anne krentz has a few series like this also iirc, where you stick with the same mystery solving couple)

my top fav before courtney was actually mary balogh but i haven't read those in a while. but the uuuh slightly? series? the bedwyns. i enjoyed those and they actually had an overarching plot that was very satisfying to see culminate in wulfric's book. however these are much more old school straight white historicals so if that's a dealbreaker don't bother.

i can't make a romance post without mentioning cat sebastian, erica ridley, tess bowery, alisha rai, and kj charles. i feel like kj charles charm of magpies might be a safe bet, is the first book free for kindle right now? alyssa cole writes in a LOT of romance genres in which there is a LOT going on (she also writes non-romance thrillers!)

i have probably already recced all of those and therefore you already tried all of them but i guess my core suggestions are alyssa cole, gail carriger, and kj charles. maybe jayne anne krentz if you wanna kick it old school.

oh, and check out hunger pangs by joy demorra and spitfire by maya kern, obviously :V

#original #i wandered but in fairness i don't think of brothers sinister as having that much going on #i would need to know which ones didn't have enough going on for you as a point of comparison #if you want to read about an unconventional spitfire bluestocking and a man simmering with barely controlled passion #and the first time they have sex it's absolutely godawful #then you will love Every Amanda Quick Novel #i do and so i did actually but. it's very noticeable that it's the same book.

[ereborne]

Hey hey, sliding this in under the door in the morning:

For the book as meme, 4 (fav sci-fi), 13 (fav thriller), and 37 (least fav trope used in a way that works for you)?

Did not actually read-read the other responses yet, so questions may have duplicated.

4) Favorite sci-fi: The answer I gave carrionfourth was: "The Ship Who Sang and Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. Exit Strategy and Network Effect by Martha Wells. The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. Rescues and the Rhyssa by TS Porter". I stand by all that, it's absolutely correct, but now I'm also thinking about Anne McCaffrey's works in general, and the incredible impact it had on me when I was a kid, to see her work her worldbuilding around so that she had fantasy staples like dragons (the Dragonriders of Pern) and unicorn girls (literally she named that series 'Acorna the Unicorn Girl'. I am in awe) and selkies (the Petaybee serieses) but with so much space travel and science around them that the books themselves still felt clearly sci-fi. She's not the only one, not by a long shot, but she was the first I read, and she changed the way I thought about genre conventions on a fundamental basis. There's a good chance that without her, I wouldn't have ever bothered reading any sci-fi, actually. There was a little chunk of time there where it seemed very much to me that fantasy books were for people (mostly girls) who liked animals and cared about having friends and sci-fi was for people (mostly men) who liked being very smart and having other people be afraid of them, and if I'd kept going with that mentality I think I'd be a much unhappier person today.

13) Favorite thriller: Well, having just said all that about being so glad I was taught to think outside the genre binary as a child, now I must confess I don't read a lot of thrillers. There's a level/type of suspense that just translates as stress to me, in a way I don't particularly enjoy (I watched a couple episodes of the Fargo show with Duncan and the intensity kept ramping up and when we turned the tv off my neck and shoulders ached. I'm just not good at it). I do really like mysteries--favorite mystery novel is probably The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie; I mostly preferred the Marple shows but I love the Poirot books--and romantic suspense is great--Elizabeth Lowell (fave Lowell book is Always Time to Die) and Jayne Ann Krentz (Lie to Me) are both fantastic romantic suspense writers--and the crossover of both that is the JD Robb In Death series is an unending delight to me. But mostly I'd say I go for mysteries or adventures over thrillers.

37) Least fav trope used in a way that works for you: I really love The Last-Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, even though it has a tremendous amount of angst and suffering compared to my normal tastes, kills off the main character's love interest in the first book, and then has him show up again reincarnated to pair off with the main character once more. Only Mercedes Lackey could keep me genuinely invested through that storyline. Azure Bonds by Kate Novak and Jeff Grubb, also: amnesia, followed by false memories, with a final flourish of 'am I even a real person if these are my origins', but actually the book's a heckin romp. It's the first in the Finder's Stone trilogy, which is overall deeply entertaining but a real nightmare to try to explain or describe to people who haven't read it.

#asks #sunkentowers #also I'm 90% sure it was you who mentioned the Unicorns of Balinor by Mary Stanton a while back? #for a bit while I was working on carrionfourth's ask I got the questions mixed up and thought one of them was 'favorite unfinished series' #and I was going to say that if it meant permanently-unfinished rather than just ongoing then the Unicorns of Balinor was my answer #I loved those books so much and it broke my heart when the finale never came