Early Review of Jayne Castle's Canyons of Night

Title: Canyons of Night
Author: Jayne Ann Krentz, writing as Jayne Castle

Publisher: Jove

Formats: Mass Market Paperback and eBook

Source: Purchased

Publication Date: August 30, 2011

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I’ve been a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz in her various pseudonyms ever since my Mother-in-Law shared some of her Amanda Quick books with me, and I’ve really enjoyed her Paranormal Romances written under the name Jayne Castle. So I was thrilled when I saw her newest book, Canyons of Night (Book Three of the Looking Glass Trilogy), at Target last night, especially since it’s not being released until Tuesday, August 30. I managed to snatch up a couple of other new releases at the same time, so you’ll be seeing a few reviews in the next couple of days, assuming I don’t decide to actually do the work for which I am paid, namely, teaching Spanish. And while Canyons of Night feels a little short, it was a pleasant return to the world of Harmony and the Arcane Society.

The book takes place on the island of Rainshadow and begins when three young tourists out for a ride decide to harass 15 year old Charlotte Enright. She’s an awkward girl with horribly nerdy glasses, but she manages to fight off her attackers until 19 year old Slade Attridge shows up and scares them off. Charlotte has a major crush on Slade, who’s the ultimate loner, and she’s thrilled when he agrees to show her parts of the Rainshadow Preserves after her ordeal. The next day he leaves to join the Federal Bureau of Psi Investigation, and Charlotte vows that the next time they see each other he won’t be treating her like a kid sister. Jump to fifteen years later and Slade is back on the island, as is Charlotte. Slade’s burned out from his job with the FBPI and working as the island’s Police Chief for 6 months until he can get his security firm up and running. Charlotte has just moved back to the island herself after inheriting her eccentric Aunt Beatrix’s para-antiques store, Looking Glass Antiques. When the body of a man who was stalking Charlotte in Frequency City appears in her store, Slade senses that his death is not from natural causes and begins an investigation. In the course of the investigation, the two begin an affair and must deal with their fears about their psychic abilities while putting off a few busybody neighbors.

I’ve always enjoyed Ms. Krentz’s writing, and it’s like coming to home to read one of her books. You can count on her having likeable characters and interesting plots, and Canyons of Night is no exception to that rule. Even if you haven’t read any of her other books set in the world of Harmony, you’ll easily be able to follow along. However, while I very much like the book, I do feel that this is the weakest book in the Looking Glass Trilogy, mainly because it is so short. It’s only 325 pages long, and you can really tell the difference between this and earlier books set in Harmony, such as my favorites After Dark and Silver Master. While the older novels may have a similar number of pages, the font is noticeably smaller and there is less space between lines, yielding more text and therefore allowing for more development of characters and plot.

As for the romance between the hero and heroine, Slade is a sexy alpha male and Charlotte is one of Krentz’s trademark quirky heroines. They clearly share a connection from their experience in the Rainshadow Preserves nearly 15 years ago. The two definitely set off sparks, but the romance follows the formula of Krentz’s recent books. Like several of her other newer heroes, Slade’s had a violent change in his psychic abilities that he fears will end in madness, while the insightful heroine manages to help him learn to accept and deal with the changes in his life. But Krentz does a good job of selling us on this formula, and I enjoyed their romance, despite hoping for more development.

As in her other books, the mystery is tidily resolved, but in this particular novel I could spot the villain a mile off, which was somewhat disappointing. The resolution of the conflict between Charlotte and the villain struck me as familiar as well, reminding me of how the heroine in Fired Up! , the first book in the trilogy, manages to extract herself from dangerous situations.

Another niggling complaint has to do with the title of the book, Canyons of Night. The phrase refers to a term that Slade uses to describe the lakes in the mysterious Rainshadow Preserves.  I’m a bit conflicted about the use of the Preserves in the book, because they’re featured prominently in the story but our questions about them are never answered. I’m not sure why this was chosen as the title, since the actual mystery in the text doesn’t have anything to do with the Preserves. Several different characters venture into the forest at times and much is made of the fact that most who enter never return or return forever changed. However, the answers to the mystery of the Preserves is clearly intended for a future book. That we never learn about the danger that is clearly developing within the Preserves is a bit of a let-down.

All in all, I enjoyed returning to the world of Harmony and the Arcane Society, especially since we get to meet a new dustbunny, Rex, who likes to carry around an antique beaded clutch he stole from Charlotte’s store. Reading Canyons of Night is like catching up with an old friend, but I would have liked to see more development of Charlotte and Slade’s characters. They’re likeable but, because of the length of the novel and the somewhat formulaic nature of their romance, easily forgettable.

Should I give up on Medieval Romance? Or, Lack of Personal Hygiene is Not Romantic

It seems like the last week or so I’ve been reading a lot of romantic suspense, so I decided to change things up a bit and try something completely different. I went to my Kindle (always dangerous) and started looking through the Kindle store for books by authors I liked and discovered that Madeline Hunter has written several books I hadn't read yet. Now, I loved Ms. Hunter’s Rarest Blooms series after I discovered the books at the library, so I thought I’d give one of her earlier books a try. I chose By Possession, and after putting it down, then picking it up, then putting it down again, I realized that maybe I should have read the back blurb a little more closely, because it’s a medieval romance. And the problems I had with the book are not in any way related to the writing – Ms. Hunter does a wonderful job and clearly has researched her topic. Unfortunately, reality and medieval times just don’t strike me as romantic. I mean, no one brushed their teeth, for goodness sake! Also, there were no flush toilets, which is just gross, and people smelled really bad. If you were really lucky and had money, you could afford to bathe once a month and had perfume to cover the stink the other 29 days of the month. That’s just nasty. And I can’t help thinking about that when the hero and heroine start to DO the nasty, because I’m wondering if they’ve bathed recently or have lice or anything, which is a total mood killer, let me tell you!

Of course, most romance novels with medieval settings don’t mention that sort of thing, and really, neither do contemporary romances. Who wants to think about toilets in a romance novel? But when I’m reading a contemporary, I pretty much assume that the hero wears deodorant and brushes and flosses, so no problems there. The real problem with medieval romances for me is the way the women are treated. If the book makes any sort of attempt to be true to the period, women have no control over whom they marry or are allowed to own personal property, which is just awful. And that was the problem I ran into when I was reading Madeline Hunter’s By Possession. The hero is a nobleman and the heroine a bondwoman – or is she? You see, there’s some doubt about her actually belonging to him. She claims to have been freed earlier and almost everyone agrees, but the hero claims that’s not the case. So she’s stuck. This doesn’t strike me as a very loveable quality in one’s hero, am I right? Yeah, I pretty much wanted to stab him in his well-fitted tunic and hose, but alas, that was not what happened. The book does get much better, even for my modern sensibilities, but I decided that maybe I should just stay away from medieval romance for awhile.

Then I remembered that I’ve read medieval romances by two of my favorite authors ever, Amanda Quick and Christina Dodd, and even LOVED them, so maybe medieval romance isn’t so bad. Also, one of my all-time favorite mystery series is Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael books, which are wonderful and occasionally have romantic elements. And that prompted me to rethink my decision to give up on medievals. Here are 4 mini-reviews of medieval romances that I did like, including the not-as-bad-as-I-made-it-sound By Possession.

Christina Dodd Candle in the Window

This is one of the first books by Ms. Dodd I read, and it’s a real charmer. It also has the dubious distinction of having a cover with a heroine with three arms when first printed. (Check out the picture to the left.) Fortunately it’s been reprinted many, many times and the lovely Lady Saura of Roget no longer has an extra appendage (ahem). It takes place in 1153 in England, where Lady Saura is considered one of the most beautiful women in all the country. She’s been summoned to help Sir William of Miraval learn to deal with an injury that has caused him to go blind. Sir William is appropriately hunky and she’s not your typical medieval wench, so sparks fly. Lady Saura is an unusual heroine, because she’s been blind from birth, and I love watching her whip Sir William and his household into shape. Competent women of any time period are truly appealing, and Lady Saura is a real gem. Quite frankly, Ms. Dodd’s delightful sense of humor makes this one a lot of fun to read and led me to spend a lot of money I didn't have on her other books.

Amanda Quick’s Desire

While I’m no expert, I believe this is probably the least “realistic” of the medieval romances I’m listing here, but if you read romance for realism, you’re just crazy. Who does that? The novel begins with Lady Clare from the remote British Isle of Desire having written to her liege lord, asking him to send her several suitors so that she may choose one for a husband. Instead of listening to her requirements, which include that her suitors be of medium stature, pleasing disposition, and a man of learning, Thurston of Landry sends her one suitor – his son, Sir Gareth of Wyckmere, aka the Hellhound of Wyckmere. If you’re thinking that any guy nicknamed “Hellhound” probably isn’t of medium height or of pleasing disposition, you’d be right. At least that’s how it seems to Lady Clare when she meets Sir Gareth, but appearances can be deceiving. Ms. Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) writes some truly hilarious scenes, particularly the wedding night.

Amanda Quick’s Mystique

This and Desire are the only medieval romances that Ms. Quick has written, and this is my favorite of the two, even though Desire is a hoot. I love Mystique because the heroine is quite talented at working around the limited choices she has. She wants to go to a convent to study rocks and minerals, but her uncle will not allow that. When Lady Alice’s father died, his lame son was deemed unable to defend his lands properly and the lands reverted to Alice’s uncle. Yet despite this, Lady Alice manages to make her uncle pay and drives off several unwelcome suitors. It’s only when Sir Hugh the Relentless arrives, searching for a green crystal, that Alice is able to escape her Uncle’s home. Sir Hugh makes a bargain with the intrepid Lady Alice that she will pose as his fiancée until they recover his green crystal and then she can retire to a convent, but he actually plans on convincing her to become his wife in truth. While in general medieval men may not have appreciated intelligent women, it’s a pleasure to see Sir Hugh’s appreciation of Lady Alice's many interests.

Madeline Hunter’s By Possession

By now you may have decided to give Ms. Hunter’s medieval romance a pass after reading that the hero, Addis de Valance, refuses to admit that Moira Falkner is a free woman so he can keep her near, but that would be a mistake. Of the four books mentioned here, By Possession is by far the most “realistic” in how the medieval men and women interact with one another. It’s set in the 14^th century during the reign of King Edward II, and in addition to the realistic gender relations there’s also a lovely description of London at the time. When I say lovely, I mean gross, but let’s face it, pretty much every town of any size in medieval Europe had to be pretty rank. Two words – no sewers! But despite the harsh realism surrounding Addis de Valance’s treatment of a woman not of his class, their romance is both touching and sensual. There were plenty of moments when I wondered if this book could possibly have a happy ending, but it all resolves beautifully and the history that unfolds alongside the romance is gripping. While this is not a humorous romance the way that the other three are, it is definitely a great read.