Review: It Takes a Psychic by Jayne Castle

 

It Takes a Psychic (Harmony #17) by Jayne Castle

Publication Date: June 3rd 2025 by Berkley

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Libro.fm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

It Takes a Psychic takes place in Jayne Castle’s fun, futuristic world of Harmony. People came from Earth after interstellar travel opened up, and those who colonized ended up with paranormal abilities awakened by the planet’s energy.

 

Ms. Castle does a fantastic job introducing and explaining the world of Harmony at the beginning so even though this is book seventeen in a series it works well as a standalone.

 

Leona Griffin is called into an elite event to authenticate alien artifacts but is amazed to discover she feels a connection to one of the items, Pandora’s Box. It could unlock information about her and her sister’s psychic abilities.  The event takes a dangerous turn and is helped to flee by Oliver Rancourt, a man interested in that particular Object of Power. In their escape they stumble upon a dead body.

 

Their investigation into the history of Pandora’s Box leads them to the town of Lost Creek, a place full of followers of the missing cult leader Vincent Lee Vance.

 

Both Oliver and Leona have paranormal abilities they use to help solve the mystery. Teaming up brings them closer, and they can’t help but act on the immediate attraction they felt upon meeting. This is a low angst romance, with the majority of the conflict coming from the mystery and danger they encounter in their investigations.

 

One of my favorite parts about the series is the dust bunnies! Leona gets attached to Roxy when she helps her in the beginning. These dust bunnies can go from “full on adorable mode” to “sleeked out” attack mode in the blink of an eye. Roxy “the licensed emotional support dust bunny” cracked me up always ready to defend or up for an adventure! Never ask “What could go wrong?” when a dust bunny is involved!

 

This was a fun combination of mystery, romance, humor, sci-fi with paranormal elements mixed in. 

4 Stars

Book Description:

Two unlikely allies search for the secrets of their pasts while on the run within the Alien world of Harmony in the thrilling new novel by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Castle.

Leona Griffin is at the height of her career as a para-archeologist thanks to a recent Underworld discovery. Her high profile attracts the attention of an organization of elite, secretive collectors. They want her to authenticate the artifacts that aspiring members submit as evidence to join their group. The ceremony takes place at a glittering reception where Leona is shocked to discover that one of the relics is a powerful Old-World object known as Pandora’s Box. But she’s not the only one interested in that artifact.

Oliver Rancourt, a man with a unique talent—they say you never see him coming—is also there. Leona knows she must not underestimate him. Attempting to make a discreet exit, she stumbles over the body of a waiter wearing the emblem of a dangerous cult. Before she can alert authorities, a police raid sends the reception into chaos. To avoid being arrested, Leona slips away with Oliver—a risky decision that gets her fired.

Now forced to work together, Leona and Oliver pursue an investigation that leads them to the town of Lost Creek where the locals are obsessed with a chilling legend involving a long-dead cult leader and illicit paranormal experiments. But Leona knows the real danger may be the irresistible attraction between herself and Oliver.

Photo credit: Marc von Borstel

About the Author

Jayne Castle, the author of People in Glass Houses, Sweetwater and the Witch, Guild Boss, Illusion Town, Siren's Call, The Hot Zone, Deception Cove, and more, is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under the Krentz name, as well as historical novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick.

 

Review: People in Glass Houses by Jayne Castle

 

People in Glass Houses (Harmony #17) by Jayne Castle

Publication Date: May 7th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Molly Griffin’s sister, Leona, has gone missing from the underground Hollister Expedition and Molly’s determined to find her. When she discovers the location of Joshua Knight, the navigator of the lost expedition she heads out to find him and piece together what happened and how to rescue her sister. However, Joshua has no memory of what happened.

People in Glass Houses takes place in Jayne Castle’s fun, futuristic world of Harmony. People came from Earth after interstellar travel opened up, and those who colonized ended up with paranormal abilities awakened by the planet’s energy.

Both Joshua and Molly have paranormal abilities they use to help solve the mystery and end up getting close and of course falling for each other. This is a low angst romance, with the majority of the conflict coming from the mystery and danger they encounter trying to look for Leona.

I think my favorite part of the story is Newton, the dust bunny! He could go from full on “adorable mode” to “sleeked out” and ready for a fight on a dime!

This was a fun combination of romance, humor, sci-fi with paranormal elements mixed in. The story is part of a larger series, but the story works well on its own and Ms. Castle does a nice job introducing and explaining the world of Harmony in the prologue.

4 Stars

Excerpt:

Book Description:

Two people desperate for answers wade through smoke and mirrors within the alien world of Harmony in this new novel by New York Times bestselling author Jayne Castle.

His name is Joshua Knight. Once a respected explorer, the press now calls him the Tarnished Knight. He took the fall for a disaster in the Underworld that destroyed his career. The devastating event occurred in the newly discovered sector known as Glass House—a maze of crystal that is rumored to conceal powerful Alien antiquities. The rest of the Hollister Expedition team disappeared and are presumed dead.

Whatever happened down in the tunnels scrambled Josh’s psychic senses and his memories, but he’s determined to uncover the truth. Labeled delusional and paranoid, he retreats to an abandoned mansion in the desert, a house filled with mirrors. Now a recluse, Josh spends his days trying to discover the secrets in the looking glasses that cover the walls. He knows he is running out of time.

Talented, ambitious crystal artist Molly Griffin is shocked to learn that the Tarnished Knight has been located. She drops everything and heads for the mansion to find Josh, confident she can help him regain control of his shattered senses. She has no choice—he is the key to finding her sister, Leona, a member of the vanished expedition team. Josh reluctantly allows her to stay one night but there are two rules: she must not go down into the basement, and she must not uncover the mirrors that have been draped.

But her only hope for finding her sister is to break the rules…

Photo Credit: Marc von Borstel

About the author:

Jayne Castle, the author of Sweetwater and the Witch, Guild Boss, Illusion Town, Siren's Call, The Hot Zone, Deception Cove, and more, is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, the author of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under the Krentz name, as well as historical novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. Learn more online at www.jayneannkrentz.com.

Review: Sweetwater & the Witch by Jayne Castle

 

Sweetwater & the Witch (Harmony/Ghost Hunters #15) by Jayne Castle

Publication Date: September 20th 2022 by Berkley

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher 

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Ravenna has special talent perfectly suited to her job as matchmaker. However, she has one client she can’t seem to get right, Ethan Sweetwater. Trouble is he’s part of an influential family on Harmony and so it’ll be tricky dropping him as a client. Instead of dumping him they agree to do a date assessment where she goes on a date with him. Ravenna gets more than she bargained for though when the date puts her in the sights of a deranged artifact hunter. Also, there’s someone from Ravenna’s past on a mission to take her out. Ethan is supposed to be a mild-mannered engineer, but it’s lucky for Ravenna that he’s more than that, carrying on the family tradition of hunting down bad guys, and he’s set on protecting Ravenna!

Sweetwater & the Witch was set in the futuristic world of Harmony and in the glitzy town of Illusion Town. It’s sort of like a futuristic Las Vegas/prospecting town where the hunt for magical artifacts is like mining for gold was on Earth back in the day. A lot of the populace, like Ravenna and Ethan have supernatural powers. Ravenna’s is a little more dangerous and is the reason she has some crazy people after her.  Ethan and Ravenna’s fell for each other little by little, while trying to stay one step ahead of the bad people and stay alive. I had my suspicions about why Ethan’s potential matches were always failing, and I was right. Can’t leave off without mentioning Ravenna’s sidekick, Harriett, the fun-loving dust bunny who could turn into a force to be reckoned with, getting all “sleeked out” and ready to attack whenever Ravenna or Ethan was in danger! I just loved the dust bunnies!

Sweetwater & the Witch was a fun, action-packed futuristic mystery with a sizzling romance as its center! It is part of the long running Harmony series but can easily be read as a standalone and enjoyed.

4 Stars

Book Description:

Welcome to the world of Harmony, where--despite its name, things are anything but--danger lurks just beneath the surface in this new novel by New York Times bestselling author, Jayne Castle.

If there's something Ravenna Chastain knows, it's when to end things. And after she almost winds up the victim of a cult that believes she's a witch, it's easy to walk away from her dead-end career, ready for a new start. But where to find a job that would allow her to use her very specialized skill set? The answer is clear: she becomes a matchmaker.

But even a successful matchmaker can't find someone for everyone, and Ravenna considers Ethan Sweetwater her first professional failure. After nine failed dates, Ravenna knows it's time to cut Ethan loose. But Ethan refuses to be fired as a client--he needs one final date to a business function. Since Ravenna needs a date herself to a family event, they agree to a deal: she will be his (business) date if he will be her (fake) date to her grandparents' anniversary celebration.

What Ethan fails to mention is that attending the business function is a cover for some industrial espionage that he's doing as a favor to the new Illusion Town Guild boss. Ravenna is happy to help, but their relationship gets even more complicated when things heat up--the chemistry between them is explosive, as explosive as the danger that's stalking Ravenna. Lucky for her, Ethan isn't just an engineer--he's also a Sweetwater, and Sweetwaters are known for hunting down monsters...

Review: Guild Boss by Jayne Castle

 

Guild Boss (Ghost Hunters #15) by Jayne Castle

Publication Date: November 16th 2021 by Berkley Books

Pages: 304

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads 

My Thoughts:

Lucy finds herself drugged, kidnapped, left in the underground hallucinating with no apparent way out, until Ghost Hunter Gabriel Jones, with the help of a dust bunny named Otis, shows up to rescue her. There’s an instant attraction, but Gabriel must ship off for the next assignment immediately, not realizing that the danger and drama has just begun for Lucy.

No one believes Lucy’s story, thinking she got drunk, got lost and then had a mental breakdown, her work reputation goes down the toilet. Gabriel disappears and she has no one to back up her story. Now that Gabriel’s back in town as the new Guild Boss for Illusion Town, Lucy is less than pleased to see him. However, he plans on getting to the bottom of Lucy’s ordeal, while helping salvage her career.

Guild Boss is set in a futuristic world reminiscent of Las Vegas with its glitzy lights and atmosphere with a darker underbelly and some paranormal oddities. Lucy and Gabriel are powerful talents in their field, and that makes Lucy a target for a larger conspiracy. They work together while Lucy works through her hard feelings toward Gabriel, and he tries to figure out whether Lucy’s recollection of the past wasn’t the product of her hallucinations. All the while battling constant dangers and the attraction brewing between them.

Guild Boss was a fun, action-packed futuristic mystery with a steamy romance at the core. I haven’t read the previous books, it’s part of a larger series, but it works well as a standalone.

4 Stars

Book Description:

Welcome to Illusion Town on the colony world of Harmony--like Las Vegas on Earth, but way more weird.

Living in this new, alien world doesn't stop the settlers from trying to re-create what they've left behind. Case in point--weddings are still the highlight of any social calendar. But it's the after-party that turns disastrous for Lucy Bell. Kidnapped and drugged as she leaves the party, she manages to escape--only to find herself lost in the mysterious, alien underground maze of glowing green tunnels beneath Illusion Town. She's been surviving on determination and cold pizza, scavenged for her by a special dust bunny, when help finally shows up.

Gabriel Jones is the Guild Hunter sent to rescue her, but escaping the underground ruins isn't the end of her troubles--it's only the beginning. With no rational reason for her abduction, and her sole witness gone on another assignment for the Guild, whispers start circulating that Lucy made it all up. Soon her life unravels until she has nothing left but her pride. The last thing she expects is for Gabriel Jones to come back to town for her.

The Lucy that Gabriel finds is not the same woman he rescued, the one who looked at him as if he were her hero. This Lucy is sharp, angry, and more than a little cynical--instead of awe, she treats him with extreme caution. But a killer is still hunting her, and there aren't a lot of options when it comes to heroes. Despite her wariness, Gabriel is also the one person who believes Lucy--after all, he was there. He's determined to help clear her reputation, no matter what it takes. And as the new Guild Boss, his word is law, even in the lawlessness of Illusion Town.

About the author:

Jayne Castle is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, author of more than fifty New York Times bestsellers. She writes contemporary romantic suspense novels under the Krentz name, as well as historical novels under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. Learn more online at jayneannkrentz.com.