Sierra doesn't want to trust the physically and psychically powerful man, but her senses—and her pet dust bunny, Elvis—give her the green light. To uncover the conspiracy within his own organisation, Fontana proposes . . . marriage. And though it's purely a business arrangement, there is nothing pure about the attraction that sizzles between them.
Comment: This is the fifth installment in the Harmony series by author Jayne Castle. I've read the first book in the series back in 2012, so it's been slow going, but this is, to me, one of those series that I know I can count on to be readable, entertaining and I don't feel pressure to gobble it up too quickly.
In this fifth story, the focus is now on Crystal City and how reporter Sierra McIntyre is determined to write exposes on subjects the readers of the tabloid she works for aren't used to. Still, some people take her work seriously, in particular Guild Boss Joe Fontana, and he decides to make her an offer which is going to be useful for them to unite efforts and discover what has been happening to some previous ghost hunters who were homeless and now disappeared. At first Sierra doesn't see the interest in this partnership, but she has Intuition, a skill to help her distinguish well intended people from those who might not be as good, and her Intuition does give her her some warnings about Joe, but surprisingly she only feels good vibrations from him...
As I've said before in other comments, reading a story in this series feels like returning to a familiar place and checking up on friends and see how things are going. I will be honest and say I barely remember the exact plots in each book, I can remember some recurrent issues,such as the ghost hunting thing and the world's "rules", but the rest is all mixed up now in my head. Still, as I kept reading and familiar elements were again mentioned, I've recognized them and that made things easier and familiar again.
The plot is quite simple and the author doesn't complicate things with too many elements. Basically Joe and Sierra are interested in discovering what is happening to the missing people and perhaps that can have a connection to the shady business Joe is suspicious of, within the Guild. The Guild is like an association which takes care of the ghost hunting and everything associated with it, and Joe is the most recent appointed Boss in Crystal, after the previous one was proven corrupted. Sierra also wants to investigate the Guild further, thus why they join efforts.
I should say that the Guild isn't seen as such a great thing by many characters, but it's something that also helps with many important situations, mostly related to issues that are pertinent to this world. This means Sierra doesn't have a positive bias about Joe's role as the boss, but since she has an Intuition that seems sharper than most people would consider, she can pretty much feel he is a good person and that he will be an adequate partner in this investigation. As for the need to have a marriage of convenience, I can understand why if I bear in mind the rules of this world, but it was still a "forced" tactic by the author to make these two be close together.
The romance isn't anything special, to be fair. It does follow the usual patterns in these stories, a lot of the characters' feelings are more inferred or shared as if fulfilled, and the reader doesn't see every single scene that leads them to admit or accept them as everlasting. I would not say this bad as it is, because a lot can be gained from simply follow their path and their reaction to even secondary things. But for a new reader who might want something more solid, I suppose the romance does feel weak.
The obvious fascinating element here, besides the world building of this futurist/alternative world in which humans traveled through some kind of dimensional curtain into a new planet, is how the characters are portrayed and if they are likable. I did like Sierra and Joe as a couple, but the scenes between them, romantically speaking, weren't many and the author certainly has the skill to do better. Individually, it felt as if we saw more of Joe or his personality and past. I think I finished the story with a good idea about who he is and his moral value.
As for Sierra, she is a "do-gooder" as Joe believes and she was disillusioned by a past relationship in which the man wanted her for her Intuition and not as much for herself. Since she and Joe also come from slightly different backgrounds, I hoped we see more interactions between them and their respective families. Well, due to plot reasons, more hers, and that didn't happen. I wonder if future books might include characters related to her, but if not this was definitely an element the author could have done better.
Oh, hey, I reviewed this one a few years ago--and managed to like it even less than you did (albeit, for a very specific reason).
ReplyDeleteAnd still, I get exactly what you mean about this being a series that's readable and entertaining--I blame the author's writing voice! ;-)
Ohh!
DeleteI'll go and read your review, then ;)