In book two of the Dreamlight Trilogy (an Arcane Society spin-off), Adelaide Pyne is a social reformer with shady connections. After rescuing some women from London brothels, she draws the attention of a notorious crime lord.
Griffin Winters, a descendant of alchemist Nicholas Winters, is the first in the Winters bloodline to have his ancestor’s psychical talent. Because Nicholas mutated his DNA and passed it along to his descendents, Griffin and two other men down the line are destined to develop multiple psychic talents and fall victim to insanity. The process has already begun and he’s desperate to stop it. He needs to find a dreamlight reader and a long-lost lamp that Nicholas created two centuries ago. To his relief, Adelaide has the lamp and the power to work it.
Adelaide and Griffin are strong, wonderful characters. Though their thoughts and opinions often differ, they respect one another and appreciate the other’s perspective.
The Arcane Society is a group of psychically talented people that work together to keep their talents controlled. Since Sylvester Jones, the founder of the society, and Nicholas Winter were deadly enemies, the Winters family has avoided Arcane and the Joneses for generations.
I wish Ms. Quick would’ve showed more of Griffin’s criminal side. He owns gambling hells and taverns, he’ll make people “disappear” if needed, and he’ll bribe anyone to get his way, but none of that seemed too bad since his rival owns brothels and opium dens. He can’t be all bad since he’s the hero of this story, but he didn’t seem much worse than several of the other take-charge, protective heroes in the previous books.
Caleb and Lucinda Jones (the H/h from The Perfect Poison, book 3 in the original series) return as the heads of the paranormal detective agency Jones and Jones. Needless to say, there’s tension between Griffin and Caleb, but mutual respect as well.
The mystery of the Burning Lamp and the Winters’ family curse exists in three time periods. This book takes place in London in the late Victorian era while book one is in the present day and book three is in the future.
I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would, and it was nice to have a historical heroine that wasn’t a virgin. I’ve read most of the Arcane books and I usually like the historicals the least. This one, however, is one of my favorites of the whole series. I definitely recommend it.
5 Stars

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
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A very good read. Both the central characters were very well developed and the paranormal aspects were not overblown so much. You can connect to the storyline and the characters. Have read quite a few by Amanda Quick and this again does not dissappoint ( )

Burning Lamp
3.5 Stars

Once again, the historical installment is not on a par with the contemporary. In fact, Burning Lamp reads like a mediocre retelling of Fired Up.

The nature of Griffin's "curse" remains ambiguous and it is never clear whether or not the issue is resolved. Nevertheless, he is a compelling hero and his characterization as a crime lord with a soft spot is endearing. Adelaide is an intriguing heroine and her past is definitely colorful. Unfortunately, the romance falls flat as Adelaide and Griffin's chemistry is virtually non-existent and their declarations of love seem tacked on as an afterthought.

The mystery surrounding the Burning Lamp is interesting enough - there are several villains each with their own agenda and it all comes together nicely at the end.

The next book is Midnight Crystal, which is set in the future. I'm a bit wary as I've never read any of the books under the Jayne Castle pseudonym and I'm not a big fan of futuristic novels. ( )

reread, paranormal, romance, murder, crime, social-issues

This one is also after Perfect Poison, and does have appearances by the founders of the Jones Agency. As we see in the publisher's blurb, the crime boss meets a social reformer who is able to assist him with an apparent genetic issue. There is much interweaving with previous Arcane Society books, and the Sweetwater family is introduced at the end. I like it and reread it every couple of years. ( )

Rising to the top of the criminal underworld of London after being thrown on the streets upon his parents death, the hero uses his special ability to make himself invisible. When a woman freeing prostitutes threatens the truce he's made with a fellow criminal lord, the hero strikes a bargain with her. He needs her to save his live. With the development of a 2nd ability to kill people with nightmares, he fears for his sanity and his life. The heroine takes an instant likening to the criminal despite his less than moral behavior based on the fact that he takes a bullet for her and does everything he can to keep her safe when she's targeted by their enemies. I was sort of disappointed with novel though I can say that I did enjoy it. It wasn't, however, as good as I hoped it to be. There certainly seems to be a cookie cutter aspect to this series that I dislike. The plot, general character personalities and lack of conflict are a carbon copy of all the other books in the series. I don't like the fact that there isn't a beginning, middle and end. Instead the plot sort of jumps from one conflict to another and the issue that original brings the hero and heroine together is solves within the first 100 pages and instead they more on to a slew of other problems. The heroine is the same strong but submissive female and the hero is the same tortured -fearing for his sanity-guy. They encounter the same instant attraction, they are all just tossed into association with each other yet again instantly trust one another. I enjoy the surface of these books but I'm bored with reading about the same thing over and over again. ( )