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snugglekittyRaine Tallentyre is a psychometrist with unanswered questions about her family. Harper Connelly was hit by lightning, and as a result, can experience the last moments of a dead person if she stands at their grave.
Sizzle and Burn is the latest in Jayne Krentz's Arcane Society series. The first book, Second Sight, was set in Victorian times and written under Krentz's pseudonym Amanda Quick, and has been my favorite so far. Sizzle and Burn and its prequel White Lies are both modern. Krentz mostly writes romance, but sometimes writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction. In this series she is bringing her genres together, with decent results.
Sizzle and Burn was pretty good. I like Krentz' heroines, who mostly have backbones. This one was a bit less spunky than some, but she was very persistent in pursuit of the truth, and she also had a career that she loved as a costume maker, which I thought was really neat. Sometimes I like the love interests that Krentz creates, other times not so much. This guy was kind of "middle of the road" for me - I thought he was too arrogant and didn't really respect Raine's privacy, but he wasn't a jerk and he definitely supported her and liked it when she stood up for herself.
The ending of the book seemed rushed to me, and I think perhaps it had too many plotlines. Also, I don't think it would stand alone well - if you're interested in the series, you should start with the first or second book. But it was a good way to pass the time. This series would make for good, distracting plane reading. Three stars.
Grave Surprise is Charlaine Harris' second book about the medium Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver. I was never able to get into her Sookie Stackhouse books, but I really like these. Harper and Tolliver travel around the country, so that Harper can support them using her unique abilities to solve murders and sometimes missing-person cases. Most people think Harper is a fraud out to take advantage of people's grief, and those few who believe she is genuine are uneasy in her presence. She and Tolliver are together against the world, just as they were as the children of addicted parents. Harper gets a commission to demonstrate her powers, and unexpectedly finds a new body in an old cemetary. After that, things get complicated.
What I like about this series is that each book is short while packing an emotional punch. The ongoing theme of dysfunctional families may be triggering to some, but the characters felt very genuine to me. I particularly like the portrayal of the complex relationship between Harper and Tolliver. I enjoyed it. Four stars.
Sizzle and Burn is the latest in Jayne Krentz's Arcane Society series. The first book, Second Sight, was set in Victorian times and written under Krentz's pseudonym Amanda Quick, and has been my favorite so far. Sizzle and Burn and its prequel White Lies are both modern. Krentz mostly writes romance, but sometimes writes thrillers, fantasy, and science fiction. In this series she is bringing her genres together, with decent results.
Sizzle and Burn was pretty good. I like Krentz' heroines, who mostly have backbones. This one was a bit less spunky than some, but she was very persistent in pursuit of the truth, and she also had a career that she loved as a costume maker, which I thought was really neat. Sometimes I like the love interests that Krentz creates, other times not so much. This guy was kind of "middle of the road" for me - I thought he was too arrogant and didn't really respect Raine's privacy, but he wasn't a jerk and he definitely supported her and liked it when she stood up for herself.
The ending of the book seemed rushed to me, and I think perhaps it had too many plotlines. Also, I don't think it would stand alone well - if you're interested in the series, you should start with the first or second book. But it was a good way to pass the time. This series would make for good, distracting plane reading. Three stars.
Grave Surprise is Charlaine Harris' second book about the medium Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver. I was never able to get into her Sookie Stackhouse books, but I really like these. Harper and Tolliver travel around the country, so that Harper can support them using her unique abilities to solve murders and sometimes missing-person cases. Most people think Harper is a fraud out to take advantage of people's grief, and those few who believe she is genuine are uneasy in her presence. She and Tolliver are together against the world, just as they were as the children of addicted parents. Harper gets a commission to demonstrate her powers, and unexpectedly finds a new body in an old cemetary. After that, things get complicated.
What I like about this series is that each book is short while packing an emotional punch. The ongoing theme of dysfunctional families may be triggering to some, but the characters felt very genuine to me. I particularly like the portrayal of the complex relationship between Harper and Tolliver. I enjoyed it. Four stars.