Connecting Rooms

by Jayne Ann Krentz

Available for the first time as a standalone eBook novella, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jayne Ann Krentz's Connecting Rooms.Amy Comfort is a real estate agent on Misplaced Island, a quaint, remote town located off the coast of Washington. When she sells an old Victorian manse to the sultry, sexy Owen Sweet, a private investigator relocating from Seattle, sparks fly from the get-go, though both Amy and Owen decidedly ignore their natural chemistry. Until, that is, Amy enlists Owen's help in looking into her aunt Bernice's fiance Arthur Crabshaw, who Amy suspects is not what he seems. To keep their cover intact, Amy and Owen pretend to be a lovestruck, newly engaged couple, as they travel to Villantry, Washington, to investigate Arthur. When the mystery surrounding Arthur begins to spin out of control, Amy and Owen must trust in each other to stay alive. But, when the lines between their make-believe courtship and reality begin to blur, will the faux-couple end up with something aside from what they had set out to find? From a bestselling anthology comes the story of two people looking for answers, who happen upon something they never knew was missing...each other.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Mystery, Contemporary Romance, Novella, Romantic Suspense, Short Stories

75 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2014

About the author

The author of over 50 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense in three different worlds: Contemporary (as Jayne Ann Krentz), historical (as Amanda Quick) and futuristic (as Jayne Castle). There are over 30 million copies of her books in print.

She earned a B.A. in History from the University of California at Santa Cruz and went on to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University in California. Before she began writing full time she worked as a librarian in both academic and corporate libraries.

Reviews

[Alp · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

Nothing fancy here, nothing spectacular, but pleasant enough somehow. Or in other words, it was an ok read.

The first half of the book was more enjoyable than the second one. I liked the conclusion of the story nevertheless.

Two main characters seemed a bit meh to me personally. Fortunately, there was an interesting plot which had me gripped throughout.

Although Connecting Rooms isn't my favorite by this author, on the whole, I liked it.

[Azet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jayne Ann Krentz pulls off her magic in this quick contemporary novella about this remarkable couple i just soooo ADORE!
Amy Comfort was a hell of a stubborn heroine,and so honest too at that. She truly cared for her aunt to go such means as to hire our hero to inspect her aunt`s fiance.

Owen Sweet ( i love the surnames the H and h have) is a very manly Alpha without being too arrogant-which also showed us some vulnerability in him when it came to his feelings for Amy.He was courting her all the time and she didn`t even know it,how naive of her,haha!

The conclusion is that i REALLY enjoyed this story overall,as i adore this couple 100%.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. Fun story! This novella was originally published in 1995, in an anthology called Everlasting Love. Now it's out in digital format.

I liked this one! (Wish it were longer, more fleshed out.) Owen Sweet is a tough, burnt-out PI who buys an old Victorian on Misplaced Island, off the coast of Washington. When his realtor asks him to take a case, he balks. He has something far more personal in mind for Amy Comfort. To his weary soul, she's a breath of fresh air.

Amy -- a romance novelist in her spare time -- hires Owen to investigate her aunt's fiancé. Something just feels wrong about Arthur Crabshaw. So off they go, posing as an engaged couple, to spend a few days on the coast visiting Aunt Beatrice. They check into connecting rooms at the Villantry Inn.

Owen certainly doesn't expect to find anything sinister, or even suspicious...

Fun story, with a classic Krentz feel. There's a twisty plot, some great dialogue, and one lovely sex scene. No typos. Minimal cussing. No vulgar language. No dripping panties, either.

What's not to like? The length, that's what! Although entertaining, it's about 40 pages too short. The couple needed more time together. I wanted to see Amy and Owen fixing up his old Victorian. Also, Amy irritated me when she put them at risk, doing something stupid.

[Anita · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novella was alright. Nothing interesting. Very straight forward story with little development and the same ol', same ol' type of romance and couple chemistry. Nothing to write home about, but it did okay as a story to pass the time with. I needed something to get my mind off of other books I'm struggling through at the moment.


***

2016 Reading Challenges:
• Goodreads Reading Challenge
• BookLikes Reading Challenge
• COYER Summer Vacation 2016 -- Bingo Board Two | Square Y23 -- Romance

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot- This is the best aspect of the novella. I’m interested.

Writing Their banter and dialogue is strangely formal and pulls me out of the book.

Characters- The MMC seems very centered on himself and his own desires. He kinda reminds me of a crusty old man, with the way he treats the FMC in a somewhat dismissive way, mutters disgruntled comments to himself that no one else can understand the meaning of, and …just his personality in general.
The FMC is cool. A little silly in her naïvety, but easy to like.

Romance- Not a fan. From what I can tell, the guy is just interested in getting in her pants, but isn’t interested in a deeper relationship. The way he seems to lack interest in a deeper connection or getting to know her before passionately undressing her is a turnoff.
The way he just kissed her completely out of the blue like he couldn’t be bothered with wooing her? Lame. That was a total caveman move. Me want girl.

DNF at halfway.

Content-
Language- none
Spice- at least one explicit sexy scene
Substance abuse- no
Cover- good
POV- dual POV
Cliffhanger- no, this is a novella
Format- ebook on Everand

[Diane ~Firefly~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a bit rushed since it was so short, but still managed to some standard JAK plot points, so I was happy.

Amy hires Owen to check out her aunt's fiancée, but of course they are attracted to each other and the case gets a bit more complicated.

[H.M. Gooden · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and cozy little mystery, the only complaint is that I would have liked it to be a little longer!

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, older book. Quick easy read. 3.5

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Owen Sweet is a private investigator now living on a small island and he developed a crush on Amy Comfort, his real estate agent and has been trying to subtly seduce her ever since. But she's not showing any interest as evidenced by her sudden interest in his professional abilities (not his personal ones). She hires him to look into her aunt's boyfriend and before long, he's investigating a blackmail case and someone is after them. He soon realizes, because of the very helpful connecting rooms they share, that Amy is much more interested than she seemed.

This was cute for something you want to read in a quick hour or two for some distraction, but I didn't love this. Part of that is personal taste, because while some may find Amy quirky or intriguing with her naivety about investigations, her constant questions and her always overthinking things, I found it a tad annoying. And evidently, so did Owen. He spent the majority of the book being irritated, rather than charmed by her behavior. It confused me then how he could like her enough to love her. Sure there's a healthy dose of lust, but her personality doesn't affect that it in the least. So the chemistry was affected by Owen's apparent irritation with her. I might have found her less annoying if Owen hadn't been so frustrated with her. Nevertheless, it's quick and cute and pretty sexy too.

[Marybelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, funny, romance, but definitely not blockbuster JAK. There were so many places where the story could be further developed when it just sort of stopped. But a nice read for someone looking for a simple romantic story.

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously one of Krentz's older works. Romance less intense than her newer novels, and the suspense was barely there at all. Recommend this book for fans of Harlequin romances.

[B. A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story shows its age

Jayne Ann Krentz is one of my top 3 favorite authors. This book, however, was written in 1995 and it definitely shows its age. The male romantic interest is strong and forceful, while she is treated as a weak, albeit reasonably intelligent, woman. Despite being somewhat "proper", she readily submits to him and immediately realizes she's in love. Too much, too fast and not realistic. Krentz had not yet developed her skill for creating full, believable characters. I'll stick to her later books.

[Babette Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teresa Siciliano (Matesi) per il Blog di Babette Brown.

Si tratta di un racconto acquistato in promozione (2,99 è un prezzo troppo alto per 72 pagine).
Presenta la solita coppia di investigatori della Krentz, l’altra faccia romantic suspence della Quick.
Nel suo genere, carino.

[Katrina Cates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Jayne Ann krentz is another of my favorite author's. I could read her books again and again. That's why I've bought copies of most of her books as I've found them for sale. Never disappointed.

[Melanie Atchley Robb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Quick read

While I have always enjoyed Amanda Quick books, this is the first time I have read Jayne Ann Krentz. I enjoyed it because it was fast-paced and amusing. Sort of like a modern Amanda Quick novel.

[Elaine B. Scordo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner

Author, Ms. Jayne Ann Krentz, has spun another successful yarn with several surprisingly twists and a sweet wrap up. Well done.....

[Emmaali · Rating 2 out of 5]

Classico harmony troppo corto e poco approfondito

[Janice Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice Book

I've read this book originally many years ago and I have a copy on my kindle and I have enjoyed it on several occasions when I am between buying new books.

[ReadKnitHoard · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

JAK light. Short and entertaining enough, but didn't really light my fire.

[Maureen C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boring

I enjoyed reading the majority of JAK's books but this one left a lot of empty promises. Not worth buying.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Entertaining.

[Rebecca Delio · Rating 5 out of 5]

WONDERFUL STORY

I love all Jayne Ann Krentz books under all her pseudonyms, and look forward to more books in the future. Her characters are always great and her stories also…..

[Ann C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novella. I liked it, but thought it would have been better as a novel.

[Kate McMurry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly entertaining, frequently funny, 1995 romantic suspense novella

Amy Comfort is a 30-year-old real estate agent who, up until a year ago, when a traumatic event occurred, was making a lot of money selling high-end condos in Seattle. She fled the big, bad city and, since then, she has been living a quiet, cloistered life on Misplaced Island, a small town on a remote, perpetually fog-shrouded island located off the coast of Washington State. Two months ago, she sold a dilapidated Victorian mansion to ruggedly sexy, 39-year-old PI, Owen Sweet, who also relocated from Seattle. They were both instantly, wildly attracted to each other from the moment they met. But very little has so far happened romantically between them because Owen has assumed that, if he acts too precipitously pursuing Amy, he will frighten her away. Until the day that Amy hires Owen to investigate her beloved Aunt Bernice’s fiancé, Arthur Crabshaw. In order not to offend Bernice with her suspicions that Arthur might be marrying her for the big estate she inherited from her recently deceased husband, Amy presents Owen as her fiancé when they go to her aunt’s town to check out Arthur.

This is a fun, quick read with a romantic-suspense plot as well as a quirky romance with many humorous moments. There is a lot of passion between this delightful couple, and the story is told, in classic romance-genre style, from the point of view of both Amy and Owen. Though this novel is from almost 30 years ago, it has aged quite well. Other than the lack of cell phones and social media, it doesn’t feel outdated at all.

I rate this story as follows:

Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Suspense Plot: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars

[Kathy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I am a huge fan of Jayne Ann Krentz, I had somehow missed this novella when it was published many years ago. It was fun to meet Owen Sweet and Amy Comfort. They had both admired each other from afar but, when Amy's aunt gets engaged to a suspicious man, Amy hires Owen to investigate. He is reluctant until Amy suggests that they pose as an engaged couple.

I really liked both characters and loved the interaction between the two of them. There were a couple of misunderstandings between them on their way to confessing their love for each other - and one attempted murder. But everything works out for this couple.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novella leans more towards mystery than romance. For a short story, the cliche mystery was rather good. However, there was no character development to warrant a romance. I find that sad as both Amy and Owen caught my interest on their own. In the end, it was a decent story. I don't feel cheated by spending the time to read it. But I wouldn't take the time to recommend it to a friend or read it again. I kind of doubt if I will remember it in a few months.

There was one thing that annoyed me and made me roll my eyes. The names! Amy COMFORT. Owen SWEET. VILLANtry. Perhaps they were meant to be tongue in cheek.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Owen Sweet is the only private investigator on Misplaced Island so when Amy Comfort needs help looking at her aunt's beau (he started dating her suspiciously soon after Amy's uncle died), she goes to Owen for help. She also can admit that she had a crush on him after he was a client of her real estate business. The two go to visit but pretend to be in a relationship so that Amy can explain why Owen is with her. While there, the two get sucked into a blackmail scheme.
This is a novella so there's not a lot of room to develop characters or the story so it's fine and indicative of Krent's early works.

[Sheila Melo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short Story with Little Relationship Development.

CONNECTING ROOMS is a short story about Amy Comfort and Owen Sweet. Amy hires Owen to investigate her aunt's fiance. The two masquerade as an engaged couple. This story is short and there is little in the way of relationship development. The focus of the story is the mystery about the aunt's fiance with some small part about Amy and Owen's relationship. I enjoyed the story and for less than one dollar, I was satisfied, but I'm not likely to read it again.

[Peg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was poorly edited

Which is why I gave it only 3 stars. The first few pages were back to back repeat pages which made it annoying that I almost deleted it from my reader. The story was a bit on the tame side, but it's an ok book to read to separate from the heavier books you normally read.

[Gmc · Rating 5 out of 5]

DeLightful short story

JAK keeps you guessing from the first page. Her main characters are fascinating and the plot interesting. Blackmail attempted murder, romance set in a fishing village.