Jayne Castle - Obsidian Prey

The world of Harmony has its own special glow, thanks to the aliens who left behind powerful amber and twisting underground catacombs. Sparks fly, senses are rezzed, and passion can take you by surprise...
Three months ago, amber tuner and independent prospector Lyra Dore made the find of the decade in an underground rain forest: amethyst ruins. But the very man she was dating stole her claim -- and her heart. At least she has her artistically talented dust bunny, Vincent, to comfort her...
Amber Inc. CEO Cruz Sweetwater never meant to hurt Lyra. His affinity for obsidian amber gives him the ability to sense that she is his true love. But the ruins have mysterious powers, putting everyone involved with the project in danger. Only by trusting their psychic instincts will Cruz and Lyra survive -- and surrender to the desire that binds them.

Comment: Almost one year later, and I've read one more installment in the Ghost Hunters series by Jayne Castle.

In this installment Lyra Dore is still resentful that Cruz Sweetwater, the CEO of the powerful Amber Inc. company, stole her rights to a relic discovery when it seemed he liked her for herself. Months later, he's back and wants her help because some people got trapped and only her specific connection with amber can open up the trap. Lyra isn't the type to turn her back on helping innocent people but she won't let Cruz sweet talk her again...

Cruz didn't think Lyra would be as annoyed with how things went and he assume she would understand why his company«s tactic was for the best. This didn't happen, of course, and to make it worse she is personally angry at him, which means their personal relationship isn't good. This is quite the problem since he knows Lyra is the woman for him.

As the two of them reconnect, it seems something went wrong with the relic extractions but who is behind the whole plan to cause problems to Amber Inc. and to Lyra?

I might have said it before but the books in this series are quite self sufficient and can be read in any order. Perhaps it's not as fan in the big picture, but it's totally doable. I didn't remember anything from the plots of the past books - mostly just names and a few general details - but going into this one was as if I had never left the world. I think this series is one of those that reading one book now, another sometime later is quite enough, nothing major is really lost.

With this I don't mean that the stories are pointless, they certainly fulfill their role well, and I like reading the books even if they aren't as addictive as other things. It's only that I feel the idea here is not to have something mind boggling, but something comforting and steady and always the reassurance things follow a certain pattern in which one knows exactly what to expect. Nothing wrong with this, but it's enough to go at the series n«in well paced quietness.

The two main elements here are, as always, the plot and the romance. I liked Lyra and Cruz enough and we do get to know them through their actions and by how they respond to certain situations and/or declarations. I liked it that the author doesn't need to tell us everything all the time, but sometimes this might come across as sudden, in the sense that they go from one feeling to another without proper conflict on the page or, to my personal preference, enough sexual tension.

As for the plot, it was as balanced as the author traditionally aims for. Lyra and Cruz need to join forces to investigate what happened to the trapped people, who might be behind it and why and, while all this is ongoing, we get several references which, later on, end up being related to something else. Personally, I don't mind this technique and even find it fun at times, because it only shows to prove that stories like this one, seemingly unassuming, can prove readers are, indeed, easily distracted.

In fact, I was easily distracted but I say this in a positive sense: the story is comforting like I said and there's something to be said for a working formula. It's true the plot isn't amazingly complex but I feel this is way better than, for instance, plots that don't make sense or that have a poor resolution. I wouldn't have minded a bit more content to the characters' actions and I would have loved the main couple to be more demonstrative of their feelings in a way that would not come across as being "funny". I did like the hints to Cruz' family and how Lyra might suit him as someone who would fit in with those he cares about too.

All in all, a good enough adventure in the series. I'll read the next one in line some day.

Grade: 7/10