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The Lost Night Files #2
Нощният остров
Преди седем месеца Талия, Палас и Амелия преживяват злополучна нощ, която ги сближава, макар да нямат никакъв спомен от нея. Те подозират, че са били подложени на незаконни експерименти с лекарства, целящи да подсилят паранормалните им способности. Почитателка на подкаста обещава да даде на Талия списък с имената на всички участници в опитите, но така и не се появява на уреченото място на срещата. Там обаче е Люк Ранд, който също се е събудил след безпаметна нощ, но със скалпел в ръка и два трупа на пода до него. Той е убеден, че е изгубил контрол над свръхестествения си талант и се е превърнал в кръвожаден убиец, и само Талия може да му помогне да разкрие истината.
Намерените в дома на Фийби улики ги отвеждат до ритрийт на Нощния остров – частен остров в архипелага Сан Хуан. Там би трябвало да се насладят на пълноценна почивка, здравословна храна и духовни практики в компанията на още трима гости, които изглеждат напълно безобидни. Но когато помощник-градинарят умира при мистериозни обстоятелства, Талия и Люк осъзнават, че не могат да имат доверие на никого. Защото сред тях се спотайва убиец, готов на всичко, за да запази тайната на Нощния остров завинаги скрита.
Намерените в дома на Фийби улики ги отвеждат до ритрийт на Нощния остров – частен остров в архипелага Сан Хуан. Там би трябвало да се насладят на пълноценна почивка, здравословна храна и духовни практики в компанията на още трима гости, които изглеждат напълно безобидни. Но когато помощник-градинарят умира при мистериозни обстоятелства, Талия и Люк осъзнават, че не могат да имат доверие на никого. Защото сред тях се спотайва убиец, готов на всичко, за да запази тайната на Нощния остров завинаги скрита.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 9, 2024
852 people are currently reading
1680 people want to read
About the author
Jayne Ann Krentz
401 books7,172 followersThe 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.
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.
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January 27, 2024
The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Lost Night Files series #2. Psychic paranormal romantic suspense. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series. Alternating POV’s, slow burn.
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rovers, bonded after being lured to a hotel where they believe they were psychic test subjects but they have no memories of the event. The three created a pod cast to cold cases and investigate cold cases.
Talia March is following up on a lead from listener Phoebe who has disappeared. Luke Rand is also looking for Phoebe and the two end up at a retreat offering an Unplugged Experience.
Que the music.
A fun horror-esq troupe: desolate, remote island, cutoff from the outside, a murderer on the island and no way to communicate with the outside world. And bonus! Carnivorous plants!
I enjoyed this second novel in the series and loved finding the Easter eggs from other series.
A page-turner by an author who delivers consistently.
4.5
The Lost Night Files series #2. Psychic paranormal romantic suspense. Can be read as a stand-alone but better as part of the series. Alternating POV’s, slow burn.
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rovers, bonded after being lured to a hotel where they believe they were psychic test subjects but they have no memories of the event. The three created a pod cast to cold cases and investigate cold cases.
Talia March is following up on a lead from listener Phoebe who has disappeared. Luke Rand is also looking for Phoebe and the two end up at a retreat offering an Unplugged Experience.
Que the music.
A fun horror-esq troupe: desolate, remote island, cutoff from the outside, a murderer on the island and no way to communicate with the outside world. And bonus! Carnivorous plants!
I enjoyed this second novel in the series and loved finding the Easter eggs from other series.
A page-turner by an author who delivers consistently.
4.5
January 24, 2024
✰ 2.25 stars ✰
“The minor psychic vibe each had possessed—a preternatural sensitivity that had seemed to be little more than especially keen intuition—had been enhanced in disturbing and unsettling ways.”
The second book in The Lost Night Files delves deeper into the mystery of that fateful night where the three female podcasters lost their memories and were subjects of a medical treatment that gave them enhanced physic abilities. Along with Ambrose, 'the four of them were now bound together by the mystery of their lost nights and the secrets they shared. They were not only a team working to find answers; they had become a chosen family.' The second book features Talia, a young woman with the ability to sense a dead body's presence and feed off the energy from an object to discern what may have happened to them. Following a lead that would have led her to further clues into what happened to her and the rest of her peers, she meets Luke, a mysterious young man who also shares memories of that unfortunate moment, and forms an unlikely partnership with him that leads them to The Night Island, which may offer them further evidence and context into who may have been responsible for what had happened to them.
Objectively, there was really nothing wrong with the writing style of The Night Island. I didn't find any issues with editing or conflict with the balance of tone. The dialogue is always on point and direct, but still can touch on not only the seriousness of the moment, but also provide just enough snark to ease the tension. But the mystery, itself, was so very lackluster and not at all entertaining that I couldn't find myself invested in it. Okay, to be fair, it did try, it's just that the topic of it was not exactly promising enough to hold my interest. Not like I was yawning or anything, but it was just an emotionless one. 😮💨 The alternating perspectives also helped dive deeper into each character's personalities, which were, at times, quite amusing, to see how far gone people are in their vindictive quest and rueful schemes. Yet, I just didn't feel the danger - I didn't mesh with the rather predictable formulaic plot and I didn't sense any real intrigue to this one. 🤷🏻♀️
“He reminded himself he had known her for a little more than twenty-four hours and that they were working an investigation.
It wasn’t as if they were lovers, or even good friends, for that matter. They were allies.”
I liked Talia and Luke's banter; they played well off each other and were both two troubled souls who had a fear of commitment and reluctance to open up to someone else. They impressed each other with their special abilities and I'm glad the inclusion of them never felt forced in any way. It was nice to see them also slowly shed that part of themselves and feel more comfortable in others' presence. ' You. You’re the one. Yes, they were more than friends.' It's their romantic chemistry, however, that felt a bit forced on my part; I didn't quite see the appeal or attraction; like, it was just so necessary for him to want her, as fiercely as he did! It just was an odd fit into the dire situations they found themselves in that I couldn't help but roll my eyes at it. 🙄
I do like how the author is building momentum and suspense for the devious machinations that are at work; the plot does indeed thicken in this installment, as Talia and Luke uncover further truths into their involvement in the procedures that led them to where they are now. The air is rift with a hint of malice, but we still don't quite know how it will inevitably blow up in their faces. There was some good action on the island - albeit, a bit too crazed for my senses that made it almost comical to how it was depicted. 😅 The island did exude the feeling of isolation, which then culminated in an explosive climax that still served as a way for the limited cast of characters to make a breakthrough in their character development and deepen their interactions a bit more. It is my own curiosity that makes me return to this series, because the seed has been planted for what could be a very explosive conclusion, if done well. And I'm looking forward to that moment when it comes. 🌟
“The minor psychic vibe each had possessed—a preternatural sensitivity that had seemed to be little more than especially keen intuition—had been enhanced in disturbing and unsettling ways.”
The second book in The Lost Night Files delves deeper into the mystery of that fateful night where the three female podcasters lost their memories and were subjects of a medical treatment that gave them enhanced physic abilities. Along with Ambrose, 'the four of them were now bound together by the mystery of their lost nights and the secrets they shared. They were not only a team working to find answers; they had become a chosen family.' The second book features Talia, a young woman with the ability to sense a dead body's presence and feed off the energy from an object to discern what may have happened to them. Following a lead that would have led her to further clues into what happened to her and the rest of her peers, she meets Luke, a mysterious young man who also shares memories of that unfortunate moment, and forms an unlikely partnership with him that leads them to The Night Island, which may offer them further evidence and context into who may have been responsible for what had happened to them.
Objectively, there was really nothing wrong with the writing style of The Night Island. I didn't find any issues with editing or conflict with the balance of tone. The dialogue is always on point and direct, but still can touch on not only the seriousness of the moment, but also provide just enough snark to ease the tension. But the mystery, itself, was so very lackluster and not at all entertaining that I couldn't find myself invested in it. Okay, to be fair, it did try, it's just that the topic of it was not exactly promising enough to hold my interest. Not like I was yawning or anything, but it was just an emotionless one. 😮💨 The alternating perspectives also helped dive deeper into each character's personalities, which were, at times, quite amusing, to see how far gone people are in their vindictive quest and rueful schemes. Yet, I just didn't feel the danger - I didn't mesh with the rather predictable formulaic plot and I didn't sense any real intrigue to this one. 🤷🏻♀️
“He reminded himself he had known her for a little more than twenty-four hours and that they were working an investigation.
It wasn’t as if they were lovers, or even good friends, for that matter. They were allies.”
I liked Talia and Luke's banter; they played well off each other and were both two troubled souls who had a fear of commitment and reluctance to open up to someone else. They impressed each other with their special abilities and I'm glad the inclusion of them never felt forced in any way. It was nice to see them also slowly shed that part of themselves and feel more comfortable in others' presence. ' You. You’re the one. Yes, they were more than friends.' It's their romantic chemistry, however, that felt a bit forced on my part; I didn't quite see the appeal or attraction; like, it was just so necessary for him to want her, as fiercely as he did! It just was an odd fit into the dire situations they found themselves in that I couldn't help but roll my eyes at it. 🙄
I do like how the author is building momentum and suspense for the devious machinations that are at work; the plot does indeed thicken in this installment, as Talia and Luke uncover further truths into their involvement in the procedures that led them to where they are now. The air is rift with a hint of malice, but we still don't quite know how it will inevitably blow up in their faces. There was some good action on the island - albeit, a bit too crazed for my senses that made it almost comical to how it was depicted. 😅 The island did exude the feeling of isolation, which then culminated in an explosive climax that still served as a way for the limited cast of characters to make a breakthrough in their character development and deepen their interactions a bit more. It is my own curiosity that makes me return to this series, because the seed has been planted for what could be a very explosive conclusion, if done well. And I'm looking forward to that moment when it comes. 🌟
February 13, 2024
This story is different; different in many ways. First, this book is a part of a series that must be read in order. Missed that when I picked up this book for review.
Secondly, this story focuses quite a bit on the paranormal with quirky psychic abilities, creepy locales, and a few disturbing characters that are clearly only out to murder you.
While the plot was well laid out and interesting, the conversation and interactions between the characters seemed flat and missing a spark. The Night Island failed to engage me and many parts just felt very strange. Plus, for those who love the romantic aspect, it is almost a second thought, added at the last minute. I wanted more for them.
For me, this book brings mixed feelings. It was good but not something that sucked me in or excited my senses. Book three is still to come as well, so look for that one to complete the trilogy.
~~~
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/the-night-is...
Secondly, this story focuses quite a bit on the paranormal with quirky psychic abilities, creepy locales, and a few disturbing characters that are clearly only out to murder you.
While the plot was well laid out and interesting, the conversation and interactions between the characters seemed flat and missing a spark. The Night Island failed to engage me and many parts just felt very strange. Plus, for those who love the romantic aspect, it is almost a second thought, added at the last minute. I wanted more for them.
For me, this book brings mixed feelings. It was good but not something that sucked me in or excited my senses. Book three is still to come as well, so look for that one to complete the trilogy.
~~~
* I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
* full review - https://amidlifewife.com/the-night-is...
January 20, 2025
I liked this book more than the first one so I am excited to pick up the third now. I liked the paranormal aspects, especially the underground greenhouses, they were creepy. I like how her books have the same feel even if they’re not set in the same world (although maybe this one is related, I’m not sure). The romance was fine, but I wasn’t as invested as I could have been. Talia meets Luke while waiting for her mysterious contact to sell her the list of names that she and her friends are on, along with others with psychic abilities. Luke was also waiting to buy the list and has his own amnesia day full of hazy memories of lab experiments. The two of them form an uneasy allyship to try to find the person who had the lists as it is clear she is alive and was taken against her will. The story moved quickly once I got into it and I’m excited to dive into the third one now.
January 8, 2024
This is the seond book in The Lost Night Files series. I haven't read the first one, but this was easily read as a stand alone. This was one of those creepy kind of books where things are happending to people that should never happen.
Description:
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rivers, bonded by a night they all have no memory of, are dedicated to uncovering the mystery of what really happened to them months ago—an experience that brought out innate psychic abilities in each of them. The women suspect they were test subjects years earlier, and that there are more people like them—all they have to do is find the list. When Talia follows up on a lead from Phoebe, a fan of the trio’s podcast, she discovers that the informant has vanished.
Talia isn’t the only one looking for Phoebe, however. Luke Rand, a hunted and haunted man who is chasing the same list that Talia is after, also shows up at the meeting place. It’s clear he has his own agenda, and they are instantly suspicious of each other. But when a killer begins to stalk them, they realize they have to join forces to find Phoebe and the list.
The rocky investigation leads Talia and Luke to a rustic, remote retreat on Night Island in the Pacific Northwest. The retreat promises to rejuvenate guests with the Unplugged Experience. Upon their arrival, Talia and Luke discover guests are quite literally cut off from the outside world because none of their high-tech devices work on the island. It soon becomes clear that Phoebe is not the first person to disappear into the strange gardens that surround the Unplugged Experience retreat. And then the first mysterious death occurs…
My Thoughts:
This was a gripping and suspenseful thriller that kept my attention throughout. I liked the characters Talia and Luke. The plot was well done and moved quickly. There's a romance here too to enjoy. The things happening at the retreat are dark and creepy. I liked the investigation of what was happening there.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication is January 9, 2024.
Description:
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rivers, bonded by a night they all have no memory of, are dedicated to uncovering the mystery of what really happened to them months ago—an experience that brought out innate psychic abilities in each of them. The women suspect they were test subjects years earlier, and that there are more people like them—all they have to do is find the list. When Talia follows up on a lead from Phoebe, a fan of the trio’s podcast, she discovers that the informant has vanished.
Talia isn’t the only one looking for Phoebe, however. Luke Rand, a hunted and haunted man who is chasing the same list that Talia is after, also shows up at the meeting place. It’s clear he has his own agenda, and they are instantly suspicious of each other. But when a killer begins to stalk them, they realize they have to join forces to find Phoebe and the list.
The rocky investigation leads Talia and Luke to a rustic, remote retreat on Night Island in the Pacific Northwest. The retreat promises to rejuvenate guests with the Unplugged Experience. Upon their arrival, Talia and Luke discover guests are quite literally cut off from the outside world because none of their high-tech devices work on the island. It soon becomes clear that Phoebe is not the first person to disappear into the strange gardens that surround the Unplugged Experience retreat. And then the first mysterious death occurs…
My Thoughts:
This was a gripping and suspenseful thriller that kept my attention throughout. I liked the characters Talia and Luke. The plot was well done and moved quickly. There's a romance here too to enjoy. The things happening at the retreat are dark and creepy. I liked the investigation of what was happening there.
Thanks to Berkley Publishing Group through Netgalley for an advance copy. Expected publication is January 9, 2024.
January 23, 2024
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
THE NIGHT ISLAND (The Lost Night Files Book #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz is an exciting second book in The Lost Files paranormal trilogy featuring three heroines bonded by a night none of them can remember. This book has a complete romance plot HEA, but the trilogy’s overarching suspense plotline is carried over from Sleep No More, the first book in the trilogy. I feel these books are best read in order.
Talia March has always had a knack for finding things, but since her lost night, it is like her power has been super charged, but also now includes the ability to find dead bodies. She follows a lead from the women’s podcast to find a woman who claims to have a list of all the test subjects and discovers she has vanished.
Luke Rand also shows up at the missing woman’s house. Luke is a history professor on the run for the last three months after waking up after his own lost night. While suspicious of each other, they agree to work together to find the missing woman and the list they are both after.
Talia and Luke follow the clues to the remote private Night Island, one of the San Juan islands off the Washington coast. It is a private retreat with strange vegetation covering the island and secrets below the surface. As they search for clues, their chemistry builds even though both feel they are not being completely honest with each other and neither feels they are made for lasting relationships. They discover a dead body of one of the island’s staff and soon they are caught up in a dangerous mysterious garden that may lead them to the missing woman they are searching for and answers to questions regarding their lost nights.
I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy and this one was even more engrossing. Knowing what we know about the lost nights from the first book allowed me to focus more on the overarching mystery and romance. Besides the suspense/mystery of the lost nights, I enjoyed Talia and Luke’s romance. Talia is endearing as she tries to convince Luke he has control over his powers and his fears are not true. There are sex scenes in this book, but they are neither overly graphic nor gratuitous. I loved and laughed at Talia’s ability to always put good food above all else. More is revealed regarding the antagonists and their motives in this book, which makes me want the next book sooner rather than later.
I highly recommend this addition in The Lost Night Files trilogy.
THE NIGHT ISLAND (The Lost Night Files Book #2) by Jayne Ann Krentz is an exciting second book in The Lost Files paranormal trilogy featuring three heroines bonded by a night none of them can remember. This book has a complete romance plot HEA, but the trilogy’s overarching suspense plotline is carried over from Sleep No More, the first book in the trilogy. I feel these books are best read in order.
Talia March has always had a knack for finding things, but since her lost night, it is like her power has been super charged, but also now includes the ability to find dead bodies. She follows a lead from the women’s podcast to find a woman who claims to have a list of all the test subjects and discovers she has vanished.
Luke Rand also shows up at the missing woman’s house. Luke is a history professor on the run for the last three months after waking up after his own lost night. While suspicious of each other, they agree to work together to find the missing woman and the list they are both after.
Talia and Luke follow the clues to the remote private Night Island, one of the San Juan islands off the Washington coast. It is a private retreat with strange vegetation covering the island and secrets below the surface. As they search for clues, their chemistry builds even though both feel they are not being completely honest with each other and neither feels they are made for lasting relationships. They discover a dead body of one of the island’s staff and soon they are caught up in a dangerous mysterious garden that may lead them to the missing woman they are searching for and answers to questions regarding their lost nights.
I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy and this one was even more engrossing. Knowing what we know about the lost nights from the first book allowed me to focus more on the overarching mystery and romance. Besides the suspense/mystery of the lost nights, I enjoyed Talia and Luke’s romance. Talia is endearing as she tries to convince Luke he has control over his powers and his fears are not true. There are sex scenes in this book, but they are neither overly graphic nor gratuitous. I loved and laughed at Talia’s ability to always put good food above all else. More is revealed regarding the antagonists and their motives in this book, which makes me want the next book sooner rather than later.
I highly recommend this addition in The Lost Night Files trilogy.
January 12, 2024
Seven months ago, Talia March, and her two friends, Pallas and Amelia, went to Lucent Springs, thinking they were being interviewed for a job and ended up waking up the next day with no memory of what happened. Each had minor psychic talents that were enhanced and strengthened after that “lost” night. Since then, they’ve been searching for answers, starting a Podcast to shine light on the event and get answers. A tip comes in that points to how they were all selected and targeted and Talia is tasked with retrieving it. This is where she meets up with Luke Rand, a man also in search of answers after suffering a similar experience. Pheobe, the woman with the list disappears, and Talia knows she’s been taken. She and Luke band together to find her. Of course, there’s an undercurrent of attraction between them as they sort out whether they can trust each other.
Luke and Talia’s investigations lead them to sign up for the “Unplugged Experiment” on one of the islands off the coast of Seattle, where they’re supposed to leave their phones and connection to the mainland behind and achieve “inner balance”. It soon becomes apparent that the retreat is a cover for more nefarious activities. Talia and Luke use their talents to try and find Pheobe and stay alive.
On an isolated island, with shifty characters, suspicious deaths, as well as strange plants that seem out of control, Talia and Luke had a lot to contend with. There are connections to past stories that fans will pick up on: The Bluestone Project, The Foundation, and a few familiar names, but The Night Island can easily be read as a standalone.
The Night Island was another fun, action-packed installment of The Lost Files series. Jayne Ann Krentz blends romantic suspense with a bit of the paranormal and a lot of imagination for a fast-paced, entertaining mystery.
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.
Luke and Talia’s investigations lead them to sign up for the “Unplugged Experiment” on one of the islands off the coast of Seattle, where they’re supposed to leave their phones and connection to the mainland behind and achieve “inner balance”. It soon becomes apparent that the retreat is a cover for more nefarious activities. Talia and Luke use their talents to try and find Pheobe and stay alive.
On an isolated island, with shifty characters, suspicious deaths, as well as strange plants that seem out of control, Talia and Luke had a lot to contend with. There are connections to past stories that fans will pick up on: The Bluestone Project, The Foundation, and a few familiar names, but The Night Island can easily be read as a standalone.
The Night Island was another fun, action-packed installment of The Lost Files series. Jayne Ann Krentz blends romantic suspense with a bit of the paranormal and a lot of imagination for a fast-paced, entertaining mystery.
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.
March 23, 2024
The ladies from the lost night podcast are back and still looking for others who like them went through the same experience of losing time and not able to remember what happened. So when Talia March gets a lead from a caller named Phoebe saying that she has a list of others who have had the same happen to them and is willing to sale her the list, Talia leaves to get it before she disappears! When she gets their. Phoebe's not their and Talia's talent tells her that she didn't leave willingly. And if that wasn't enough to send her nerves going the appearance of the dark and mysterious Luke Rand a failed experiment by the same people who are behind it all and a man that they were creating to be their own personal assassin things just got more complicated and neither one trust the other. When they left Luke for dead thinking he would go crazy and end up killing himself they made a big mistake and his talent to get into others minds makes him a big threat! Luke wants answers before he becomes the monster that they made! And along with Talia the hunted become the hunters. When answers lead them to Night Island retreat death soon follows and with so many unknowns and a creepy caretaker and people eating plants them and others just might never make it off the Island. Jayne Ann Krentz is a great storyteller and knows how to write a creepy chilling atmosphere suspense with awesome characters and a solid plot with a little romance thrown in. I loved both Luke and Talia and the villains were awesome too! This is a slow burn with a great amount of mystery and suspense.If you just love a good mystery with tame steamy scenes this one is worth a look. Until next time Luv's😉💋
January 19, 2024
3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because of nostalgia.
Our three heroines (one per book) are looking for answers to the mystery of their 'lost night'. The night that left each of them with highly developed psychic abilities. Talia March stars in this book, with her minor talent of finding lost objects having expanded to finding dead bodies. Talia, looking into how she and her friends were chosen for their 'adventure', discovers the existence of a list with their names on it, and someone who is willing to sell her a copy of said list.
Our hero, Luke Rand, is also in search of said list and has also been in contact with the seller. Talia and Luke run into each other at the seller's house, to find the seller has vanished. Or has something happened to her?
And now we are off and running.
Off to a private island near Seattle; an island that was the site of a hush-hush government research facility. An island that may hold clues to Luke's own lost night...
This was good fun, even if it was nothing new (to me).
JAK plays with one of her favorite para-normal riffs--menacing plants with an agenda of their own. Of course, these plants are part of a plan by the requisite baddie to develop a drug that will enable him to turn people with some physic talent into assassins who can kill with their now enhanced psychic powers. Well, at least, that's the baddie's plan...
Now, to wait for the third book, due this time next year. I'm planning to be there for the wrap-up.
Our three heroines (one per book) are looking for answers to the mystery of their 'lost night'. The night that left each of them with highly developed psychic abilities. Talia March stars in this book, with her minor talent of finding lost objects having expanded to finding dead bodies. Talia, looking into how she and her friends were chosen for their 'adventure', discovers the existence of a list with their names on it, and someone who is willing to sell her a copy of said list.
Our hero, Luke Rand, is also in search of said list and has also been in contact with the seller. Talia and Luke run into each other at the seller's house, to find the seller has vanished. Or has something happened to her?
And now we are off and running.
Off to a private island near Seattle; an island that was the site of a hush-hush government research facility. An island that may hold clues to Luke's own lost night...
This was good fun, even if it was nothing new (to me).
JAK plays with one of her favorite para-normal riffs--menacing plants with an agenda of their own. Of course, these plants are part of a plan by the requisite baddie to develop a drug that will enable him to turn people with some physic talent into assassins who can kill with their now enhanced psychic powers. Well, at least, that's the baddie's plan...
Now, to wait for the third book, due this time next year. I'm planning to be there for the wrap-up.
January 9, 2024
Talia March, Pallas Llewellyn, and Amelia Rivers, three strangers who all lost memories of a night and woke up differently, have joined to investigate. They created The Lost Night Files, a podcast dedicated to finding answers. While each book contains its own romance, there is an overall story arc. I recommend reading them in the order of their release.
Talia hears from a fan of the podcast. Phoebe claims to have a list of people who were all tested years earlier for their psychic abilities. She agrees to meet Phoebe. When she arrives, Phoebe has vanished, and she instead discovers Luke Rand. He, like Talia, is there for the list. He has a missing night and a dark secret as well. Scattered clues and intuition give them their first lead.
Both Luke & Talia have enhanced abilities. When an attempt is made on Luke’s life, they investigate together. Which leads them to a remote retreat on Night Island in the Pacific Northwest. The Unplugged Experience promises to rejuvenation. The island reminded me of previous books in Krentz’s paranormal stories with fast-growing plants and unbalanced properties.
The tale that unfolds was suspenseful, filled with danger and revealed what happened to Luke on his missing night. I liked both Talia and Luke and felt they fit as a couple, although both claimed they had commitment issues. The ending felt a bit disjointed, which kept this from being a favorite.
Krentz mixed passion with danger and the isolated location added to the overall suspension. We learned more and gained a new member. This series is perfect for fans of mystery, romantic suspense and paranormal woo-woo. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Talia hears from a fan of the podcast. Phoebe claims to have a list of people who were all tested years earlier for their psychic abilities. She agrees to meet Phoebe. When she arrives, Phoebe has vanished, and she instead discovers Luke Rand. He, like Talia, is there for the list. He has a missing night and a dark secret as well. Scattered clues and intuition give them their first lead.
Both Luke & Talia have enhanced abilities. When an attempt is made on Luke’s life, they investigate together. Which leads them to a remote retreat on Night Island in the Pacific Northwest. The Unplugged Experience promises to rejuvenation. The island reminded me of previous books in Krentz’s paranormal stories with fast-growing plants and unbalanced properties.
The tale that unfolds was suspenseful, filled with danger and revealed what happened to Luke on his missing night. I liked both Talia and Luke and felt they fit as a couple, although both claimed they had commitment issues. The ending felt a bit disjointed, which kept this from being a favorite.
Krentz mixed passion with danger and the isolated location added to the overall suspension. We learned more and gained a new member. This series is perfect for fans of mystery, romantic suspense and paranormal woo-woo. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
March 8, 2024
The Night Island is the second book in The Lost Night Files series. This one is Talia's story. She is one of the podcasters who who had their lives altered one night and now have enhanced psychic powers. Talia can find lost things and people. Luke is a professor who also has had enhanced powers from his own lost night.
Like the first book, this one was just OK for me. I really feel like this book was phoned in and there was not a lot new here. I will admit the night garden was kind of cool. However, the romance was kind of meh and again I didn't really feel it. We also aren't really any closer to getting answers as to what happened to the women on their lost night. Luke gets his answers in a way. Overall, I'm just not very excited about this series.
Like the first book, this one was just OK for me. I really feel like this book was phoned in and there was not a lot new here. I will admit the night garden was kind of cool. However, the romance was kind of meh and again I didn't really feel it. We also aren't really any closer to getting answers as to what happened to the women on their lost night. Luke gets his answers in a way. Overall, I'm just not very excited about this series.
January 12, 2024
Book & Audiobook Rating: 4.5/5
The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz is the follow-up to Sleep No More and the second novel in The Lost Night Files series. While I really enjoyed the first book, I can officially say I LOVED this one, and it was a perfectly creepy addition to the series. I'm not a huge fan of romantic suspense in general, but there is something about Krentz's writing that makes me not even care there is romance mixed in. It also isn't overwhelming and has just a handful of slightly steamy scenes, making it the perfect accompaniment to the story.
While you don't necessarily need to read the first book, I would highly recommend it as you are missing out on some important character facts if you go straight into this one. I honestly wish I had done a reread of Sleep No More beforehand although the author does provide essential details, so you aren't completely lost.
I loved the paranormal suspense aspect of the book and not only is the remote island setting outstanding, but it also holds more than a few surprises. I did listen to the audiobook and was pleased to learn the same narrator from book 1 was back for this one! Eva Kaminsky is the perfect voice for this series, and while it would definitely be nice to have a full cast, I can't deny that she does a great job. If you enjoy the genre mashup of paranormal and romantic suspense, both the series and The Night Island are for you!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The Night Island by Jayne Ann Krentz is the follow-up to Sleep No More and the second novel in The Lost Night Files series. While I really enjoyed the first book, I can officially say I LOVED this one, and it was a perfectly creepy addition to the series. I'm not a huge fan of romantic suspense in general, but there is something about Krentz's writing that makes me not even care there is romance mixed in. It also isn't overwhelming and has just a handful of slightly steamy scenes, making it the perfect accompaniment to the story.
While you don't necessarily need to read the first book, I would highly recommend it as you are missing out on some important character facts if you go straight into this one. I honestly wish I had done a reread of Sleep No More beforehand although the author does provide essential details, so you aren't completely lost.
I loved the paranormal suspense aspect of the book and not only is the remote island setting outstanding, but it also holds more than a few surprises. I did listen to the audiobook and was pleased to learn the same narrator from book 1 was back for this one! Eva Kaminsky is the perfect voice for this series, and while it would definitely be nice to have a full cast, I can't deny that she does a great job. If you enjoy the genre mashup of paranormal and romantic suspense, both the series and The Night Island are for you!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
February 1, 2024
A pair of reluctant and distrustful partners come together to hunt down a missing person with answers for their private quests in a darker, edgier night world of secrets on an isolated island. Sleep No More started a captivating new Jayne Ann Krentz psychic paranormal romantic suspense series and the atmospheric, sultry tension and secrets continue for a new pair trying to get answers about their lost nights that changed their lives forever.
While, I think one could pick this one up and read it standalone, the best way to experience it is in order so the mysterious villains in the background and the podcast team of people mean more.
Sleep No More was set in a creepy sanatorium and now an island with weird exotic experimental plants hosts the setting for Night Island. I love how much atmosphere and tension are built because of it. The heroine was a background character in book one and now, her background is fleshed out a bit more as is her enhanced psychic talent. She and the other Lost Night podcast crew joined together when they realized that someone deliberately exploited them by kidnapping and experimenting on them for a mysterious purpose and now they want to know why.
Talia is hunting down an informant with evidence the team needs that might lead to answers when she encounters Luke. Now, Luke, was also a guy who was taken by those mysterious people and experimented on, but he knew the darker purpose based on what he overheard when he was escaping his captors. He was meant to be turned into a psychic assassin. He escaped and now the hunted has become the hunter. He has a dark psychic gift and he isn’t sure how Talia will take it so he’s cautious. They’re both prickly at first even though they realize they have to work together.
The romance is rapid, but I did like this pair together and I enjoyed the tension level once they were isolated on the island have to figure out who is attacking them and where the missing woman is using their talents. Things got lightly creepy and I loved the mystery of who the assassin turned out to be. The reader is allowed in on some of the bad guy side’s machinations, but some is kept secret until the reveal.
All in all, I was deeply engrossed and read it so fast. Now, I must wait until the next installment as the organization behind it all is planning to up the ante against the Lost Night podcast team. Those who enjoy romantic suspense with a paranormal element should give this series a go.
I rec’d an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at The Reading Frenzy 2.1.24.
While, I think one could pick this one up and read it standalone, the best way to experience it is in order so the mysterious villains in the background and the podcast team of people mean more.
Sleep No More was set in a creepy sanatorium and now an island with weird exotic experimental plants hosts the setting for Night Island. I love how much atmosphere and tension are built because of it. The heroine was a background character in book one and now, her background is fleshed out a bit more as is her enhanced psychic talent. She and the other Lost Night podcast crew joined together when they realized that someone deliberately exploited them by kidnapping and experimenting on them for a mysterious purpose and now they want to know why.
Talia is hunting down an informant with evidence the team needs that might lead to answers when she encounters Luke. Now, Luke, was also a guy who was taken by those mysterious people and experimented on, but he knew the darker purpose based on what he overheard when he was escaping his captors. He was meant to be turned into a psychic assassin. He escaped and now the hunted has become the hunter. He has a dark psychic gift and he isn’t sure how Talia will take it so he’s cautious. They’re both prickly at first even though they realize they have to work together.
The romance is rapid, but I did like this pair together and I enjoyed the tension level once they were isolated on the island have to figure out who is attacking them and where the missing woman is using their talents. Things got lightly creepy and I loved the mystery of who the assassin turned out to be. The reader is allowed in on some of the bad guy side’s machinations, but some is kept secret until the reveal.
All in all, I was deeply engrossed and read it so fast. Now, I must wait until the next installment as the organization behind it all is planning to up the ante against the Lost Night podcast team. Those who enjoy romantic suspense with a paranormal element should give this series a go.
I rec’d an eARC via NetGalley to read in exchange for an honest review.
My full review will post at The Reading Frenzy 2.1.24.
November 22, 2023
In Jayne Ann Krentz's latest paranormal thriller, "The Night Island," the Lost Night Files trilogy takes an exhilarating turn with Talia March and Luke Rand's quest for truth.
The enigmatic disappearance of a key informant sends them to the secluded Night Island, uncovering a sinister plot rooted in government experiments and psychic enhancements.
Krentz masterfully spins a story of gripping suspense and heartwarming romance.
The dynamic duo of Talia and Luke captivates with their charm and chemistry, adding a layer of depth to the narrative. While the story's resolution may leave some questions unanswered, the engaging plot, relatable elements, and Krentz's signature touch make "The Night Island" a compelling and satisfying read.
As a longtime fan of Krentz's work, I find this installment to be yet another testament to her storytelling prowess over the last 15 years since I’ve started reading her stories.
Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own.
This book comes out in January 2024.
The enigmatic disappearance of a key informant sends them to the secluded Night Island, uncovering a sinister plot rooted in government experiments and psychic enhancements.
Krentz masterfully spins a story of gripping suspense and heartwarming romance.
The dynamic duo of Talia and Luke captivates with their charm and chemistry, adding a layer of depth to the narrative. While the story's resolution may leave some questions unanswered, the engaging plot, relatable elements, and Krentz's signature touch make "The Night Island" a compelling and satisfying read.
As a longtime fan of Krentz's work, I find this installment to be yet another testament to her storytelling prowess over the last 15 years since I’ve started reading her stories.
Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley, opinions are my own.
This book comes out in January 2024.
September 19, 2025
(Note: This review contains spoilers for book #1 in the series, Sleep No More.)
I've been a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz's fast-paced, high-octane romantic suspense thrillers for years now, so I always look forward to the next one. The Night Island did not disappoint. In fact, the pacing is smoother than in the previous book in this series ( Sleep No More ), and the plot is easier to follow.
In Sleep No More, we learned that months earlier, three women (Pallas, Talia, and Amelia) had woken together, strapped to gurneys in a burning building, with no memories of the previous night... and with enhanced psychic abilities. Determined to find out what happened to them, they joined together to start The Lost Night Files podcast. Sleep No More recounts Pallas's investigation of someone else's missing night; she and the subject, Ambrose, eventually figure out that they both took the same psych evaluation test years before, and suspect that whoever experimented on the four of them may be working from a list based on that test.
After a prologue to introduce the hero, The Night Island begins with Talia March headed to a meeting with an unknown informant with information about the list. But when she shows up at the rendezvous, the informant is missing, and another interested party, hero Luke Rand, is also there. The pair warily exchange information, discovering that they are both looking for the same list, and for the same reasons: Luke, too, experienced a lost night and a significant boost to his psychic powers. Talia knows he's not telling her everything, but based on a clue found in the missing informant's house, they agree to join forces to investigate the Night Island and search for the informant using Talia's enhanced talent for finding things. Outwardly the home of a tech-free meditation retreat, the Night Island has a decidedly creepy vibe, with unusual vegetation, a mysterious conservatory, and a very weird gardener. When people on the island start turning up dead, it will take all of Luke's and Talia's skills to keep themselves alive and solve the puzzles of the Night Island.
If you're thinking this sounds somewhat familiar, you're not wrong. There were hints in Sleep No More that the Lost Night Files trilogy might eventually tie into the Fogg Lake trilogy, with its mysterious Foundation and secret, lost government labs where experiments in psychic abilities and weapons took place. Those hints grow stronger in The Night Island, which has me very excited for the third book (presumably featuring the third member of the podcast team, Amelia, and probably releasing in January 2025.) And since there were hints in the Fogg Lake books that the Foundation may exist in the same "universe" as the Arcane Society novels, though independent and unaware of the Arcane Society... well, this Krentz fan is definitely hooked.
One of the things I love about the Arcane Society series is how the Society offers structure and organization to the paranormal world and to the various types of "talent." Most of the characters are aware of and operate within that known structure; it helps ground them. Their own talents may be off the charts, but most of them exist within a community that recognizes and acknowledges the existence of the paranormal. In a more nebulous way, the Foundation serves a similar purpose in the Fogg Lake books.
That's not true for the Lost Night Files characters, who went from having slightly-better-than-normal intuition or abilities to having a strong psychic talent. Not only are they dealing with the impacts of, and learning the extent of, their enhanced abilities, there's all the disorientation of not knowing what happened to them and who was responsible. And they have to cope with all this without the benefit of any support other than each other, in a world which doesn't believe at all in paranormal abilities. It makes all the Lost Night Files characters less confident, less trusting, and less open about their abilities than most of the Arcane Society characters... but equally determined to survive and thrive. Talia and Luke are no exception.
In fact, Talia and Luke are typical of Krentz's main characters—smart, capable, and emotionally strong—though both are on the edgier, less communicative side of the Krentz hero/heroine spectrum for the reasons I mentioned above. I'm still not entirely sure why Talia is so drawn to the deeply taciturn Luke. Then again, she's not exactly open about her own thoughts and feelings, and clearly recognizes and (to some extent) accepts Luke's reticence. As a long-time fan, I have accepted that sometimes, I just have to accept the attraction between Krentz's hero and heroine as a given, and that's what I did in this case. Krentz does a good job of showing how their relationship develops from wariness to reluctant-and-limited partnership to deep-seated trust as they learn more about one another. The progression feels slow, but since the book takes place over the course of four days, it's actually quite fast.
It's hard to say any more about the plot of The Night Island without revealing spoilers, so I won't. I'll just say that for me, it hangs together better than the plot of Sleep No More —which I nonetheless enjoyed—and that I liked The Night Island as much or more on a second reading (to refresh my memory for this review) than I did the first time through. If you are already a Krentz fan, I think you'll have fun with this book. If you are new to her work, or to her paranormal-themed romantic suspense, I recommend starting with either Second Sight (the first Arcane Society novel, written under her Amanda Quick pen name), or The Vanishing (the first Fogg Lake book.)
Challenges: COYER Unwind (2024) - Chapter 1; NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2024
I've been a fan of Jayne Ann Krentz's fast-paced, high-octane romantic suspense thrillers for years now, so I always look forward to the next one. The Night Island did not disappoint. In fact, the pacing is smoother than in the previous book in this series ( Sleep No More ), and the plot is easier to follow.
In Sleep No More, we learned that months earlier, three women (Pallas, Talia, and Amelia) had woken together, strapped to gurneys in a burning building, with no memories of the previous night... and with enhanced psychic abilities. Determined to find out what happened to them, they joined together to start The Lost Night Files podcast. Sleep No More recounts Pallas's investigation of someone else's missing night; she and the subject, Ambrose, eventually figure out that they both took the same psych evaluation test years before, and suspect that whoever experimented on the four of them may be working from a list based on that test.
After a prologue to introduce the hero, The Night Island begins with Talia March headed to a meeting with an unknown informant with information about the list. But when she shows up at the rendezvous, the informant is missing, and another interested party, hero Luke Rand, is also there. The pair warily exchange information, discovering that they are both looking for the same list, and for the same reasons: Luke, too, experienced a lost night and a significant boost to his psychic powers. Talia knows he's not telling her everything, but based on a clue found in the missing informant's house, they agree to join forces to investigate the Night Island and search for the informant using Talia's enhanced talent for finding things. Outwardly the home of a tech-free meditation retreat, the Night Island has a decidedly creepy vibe, with unusual vegetation, a mysterious conservatory, and a very weird gardener. When people on the island start turning up dead, it will take all of Luke's and Talia's skills to keep themselves alive and solve the puzzles of the Night Island.
If you're thinking this sounds somewhat familiar, you're not wrong. There were hints in Sleep No More that the Lost Night Files trilogy might eventually tie into the Fogg Lake trilogy, with its mysterious Foundation and secret, lost government labs where experiments in psychic abilities and weapons took place. Those hints grow stronger in The Night Island, which has me very excited for the third book (presumably featuring the third member of the podcast team, Amelia, and probably releasing in January 2025.) And since there were hints in the Fogg Lake books that the Foundation may exist in the same "universe" as the Arcane Society novels, though independent and unaware of the Arcane Society... well, this Krentz fan is definitely hooked.
One of the things I love about the Arcane Society series is how the Society offers structure and organization to the paranormal world and to the various types of "talent." Most of the characters are aware of and operate within that known structure; it helps ground them. Their own talents may be off the charts, but most of them exist within a community that recognizes and acknowledges the existence of the paranormal. In a more nebulous way, the Foundation serves a similar purpose in the Fogg Lake books.
That's not true for the Lost Night Files characters, who went from having slightly-better-than-normal intuition or abilities to having a strong psychic talent. Not only are they dealing with the impacts of, and learning the extent of, their enhanced abilities, there's all the disorientation of not knowing what happened to them and who was responsible. And they have to cope with all this without the benefit of any support other than each other, in a world which doesn't believe at all in paranormal abilities. It makes all the Lost Night Files characters less confident, less trusting, and less open about their abilities than most of the Arcane Society characters... but equally determined to survive and thrive. Talia and Luke are no exception.
In fact, Talia and Luke are typical of Krentz's main characters—smart, capable, and emotionally strong—though both are on the edgier, less communicative side of the Krentz hero/heroine spectrum for the reasons I mentioned above. I'm still not entirely sure why Talia is so drawn to the deeply taciturn Luke. Then again, she's not exactly open about her own thoughts and feelings, and clearly recognizes and (to some extent) accepts Luke's reticence. As a long-time fan, I have accepted that sometimes, I just have to accept the attraction between Krentz's hero and heroine as a given, and that's what I did in this case. Krentz does a good job of showing how their relationship develops from wariness to reluctant-and-limited partnership to deep-seated trust as they learn more about one another. The progression feels slow, but since the book takes place over the course of four days, it's actually quite fast.
It's hard to say any more about the plot of The Night Island without revealing spoilers, so I won't. I'll just say that for me, it hangs together better than the plot of Sleep No More —which I nonetheless enjoyed—and that I liked The Night Island as much or more on a second reading (to refresh my memory for this review) than I did the first time through. If you are already a Krentz fan, I think you'll have fun with this book. If you are new to her work, or to her paranormal-themed romantic suspense, I recommend starting with either Second Sight (the first Arcane Society novel, written under her Amanda Quick pen name), or The Vanishing (the first Fogg Lake book.)
Challenges: COYER Unwind (2024) - Chapter 1; NetGalley & Edelweiss Challenge 2024
January 20, 2024
This is the second in the author's The Lost Night Files series, featuring three women (and I'm sure eventually three men) who gained unusual psychic abilities during a "lost night." I listened to this in audio and definitely liked this one more than the first.
This book features Talia March, the second of the three women who formed the Lost Night Podcast after meeting each other after their lost nights. Talia's new psychic ability allows her to locate dead bodies, which unsurprisingly gives her terrible nightmares after she finds them. Our hero is Luke Rand, a paranormal history professor (not really sure how that works) who also has a rather terrifying new psychic ability.
The Lost Night podcast group has found a link to people who also may have new psychic abilities, and Talia and Luke meet while independently pursuing the lead. The two quickly team up and end up going to a weird retreat on Night Island (or as I thought of it, Nightmare Island). It's quickly apparent that the retreat is a con being run to get money from participants. But there also rather terrifying things happening on the island.
While there's a lot of odd paranormal activity here (the plants on the island are very special), and the romance is often in the background, I liked the mystery, and liked both Talia and Luke.
I'd give this a B-/B, so four stars here.
This book features Talia March, the second of the three women who formed the Lost Night Podcast after meeting each other after their lost nights. Talia's new psychic ability allows her to locate dead bodies, which unsurprisingly gives her terrible nightmares after she finds them. Our hero is Luke Rand, a paranormal history professor (not really sure how that works) who also has a rather terrifying new psychic ability.
The Lost Night podcast group has found a link to people who also may have new psychic abilities, and Talia and Luke meet while independently pursuing the lead. The two quickly team up and end up going to a weird retreat on Night Island (or as I thought of it, Nightmare Island). It's quickly apparent that the retreat is a con being run to get money from participants. But there also rather terrifying things happening on the island.
While there's a lot of odd paranormal activity here (the plants on the island are very special), and the romance is often in the background, I liked the mystery, and liked both Talia and Luke.
I'd give this a B-/B, so four stars here.
December 27, 2024
All of The Lost Night Files begin before the first book in this ongoing series opens to its very first page in Sleep No More. In fact, it’s starting to look like The Lost Night Files begins at the same time and with the same perpetrators – yes, let’s go with perpetrators – as the Fogg Lake series that began with The Vanishing.
All of which began with a top secret government project codenamed Bluestone. A project that absolutely went where the X-Files did but left considerably more damage – both direct and collateral – in its wake. A project that the government CLEARLY didn’t bother to clean up after. They just mothballed the whole thing in various situs and hoped that no one would dig into their dirty little paranormal secrets.
Like things EVER work that way.
In this second book, or rather this second case for the Lost Night Files podcast, the founders of the podcast; Pallas Llewellyn, whose story was featured in Sleep No More, Amelia Rivers, who will probably be the central character of a third book that had better be happening, and Talia March, the protagonist of THIS story, have a lead on why and how they were targeted for the experiment that ramped up their various strong intuitions into full-blown psychic talents.
They all took a test that measured psychic ability back in college, and they all scored high on that test. That test WAS the only link between them before their ‘lost night’ at the dilapidated Lucent Springs Hotel.
Now Talia is running down a lead on someone who is selling copies of the results of that old, supposedly long-forgotten test. Talia has high hopes that the list will lead to others who lost a night just as they did, giving them a trail they can hopefully follow back to the source of this mess.
What Talia finds first is another ‘victim’ of the experiments. Prickly and justifiably paranoid Luke Rand also took that test, also lost a night in eerily similar conditions to the Lost Night Files crew, and also woke up with newly enhanced paranormal talents and no memory of what was done to him.
Although Luke has one memory that Talia and her friends are fortunate not to have. The first thing he remembers after his lost night is standing over two dead bodies with a scalpel in his hands. He thinks he did it.
Talia’s not so sure about that. What she is sure about, because her talent is finding things, is that the person who was supposed to be selling them that list isn’t at the rendezvous – and neither is the list. What Talia does find is a talisman that links her to the would-be seller, and clues to where the woman was taken.
For experimentation, just as they were.
Reluctant and temporary allies, Luke and Talia band together to follow the trail of the seller, the list itself, and whatever operation is experimenting on would-be psychics. What they find is a huge con, a nightmare garden, and a series of murders that make Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None look like a walk in the park on a beautiful sunny day.
What Talia and Luke also find, in spite of themselves and their mutual antipathy and distrust – is a partnership that will save them, both from the monsters that haunt the Night Island, and from the demons conjured up by the experiment within them both.
Escape Rating A-: The thing about the ‘Jayneverse’ is that everything connects up – EVENTUALLY. Howsomever, that doesn’t stop a reader from jumping in pretty much anywhere and getting sucked right in. The Lost Night Files is an excellent case in point.
It might be better to start The Lost Night Files with ITS OWN first book, Sleep No More, but this series doesn’t depend on any knowledge of the greater whole, or even the smaller whole of Fogg Lake, to be easy to get into and a whole lot of fun to read.
It’s more that if you ARE familiar with some of the background there are bits that you read with a bit of a smile at the old memories – even as you make new ones.
The Night Island is clearly a middle book in its own series. In Sleep No More, we first met the crew of the podcast and were with them as they continued their investigation into WTF happened to them at the old Lucent Springs Hotel. AND discovered that they weren’t the only ones to have been experimented on, resulting in Pallas’ finding her HEA with fellow experiment subject Ambrose Drake.
In and on the Night Island, the investigation gets a few steps closer to the truth – or at least A TRUTH – about the nature of the experiments and their purpose. The reader gets a glimpse of the perpetrators, while Talia and Luke get merely a hint in that direction. Which moves the series as a whole along quite teasingly, but doesn’t detract or distract from the events of this book.
Events that are centered around Talia and Luke’s investigation of the Night Island itself, the way the bodies keep dropping like flies and the bizarre nature of the experimental flora on Night Island and how they seem to be evolving their way to fauna at a dizzying rate.
So there are oodles of puzzles to solve in this compelling story of paranormal romantic suspense and plenty of tasty red herrings to swallow on the way to solving them – as well as the descriptions of the chef’s yummy-sounding vegetarian cuisine. Talia and Luke turn out to be the perfect investigators for this case of con artists, psychic assassins and lost things, plans and people.
I can’t wait to see how The Lost Night Files wraps up all the mysteries that face them, hopefully in the next book in this series. And hopefully this time next year if not a bit sooner!
Originally published at Reading Reality
All of which began with a top secret government project codenamed Bluestone. A project that absolutely went where the X-Files did but left considerably more damage – both direct and collateral – in its wake. A project that the government CLEARLY didn’t bother to clean up after. They just mothballed the whole thing in various situs and hoped that no one would dig into their dirty little paranormal secrets.
Like things EVER work that way.
In this second book, or rather this second case for the Lost Night Files podcast, the founders of the podcast; Pallas Llewellyn, whose story was featured in Sleep No More, Amelia Rivers, who will probably be the central character of a third book that had better be happening, and Talia March, the protagonist of THIS story, have a lead on why and how they were targeted for the experiment that ramped up their various strong intuitions into full-blown psychic talents.
They all took a test that measured psychic ability back in college, and they all scored high on that test. That test WAS the only link between them before their ‘lost night’ at the dilapidated Lucent Springs Hotel.
Now Talia is running down a lead on someone who is selling copies of the results of that old, supposedly long-forgotten test. Talia has high hopes that the list will lead to others who lost a night just as they did, giving them a trail they can hopefully follow back to the source of this mess.
What Talia finds first is another ‘victim’ of the experiments. Prickly and justifiably paranoid Luke Rand also took that test, also lost a night in eerily similar conditions to the Lost Night Files crew, and also woke up with newly enhanced paranormal talents and no memory of what was done to him.
Although Luke has one memory that Talia and her friends are fortunate not to have. The first thing he remembers after his lost night is standing over two dead bodies with a scalpel in his hands. He thinks he did it.
Talia’s not so sure about that. What she is sure about, because her talent is finding things, is that the person who was supposed to be selling them that list isn’t at the rendezvous – and neither is the list. What Talia does find is a talisman that links her to the would-be seller, and clues to where the woman was taken.
For experimentation, just as they were.
Reluctant and temporary allies, Luke and Talia band together to follow the trail of the seller, the list itself, and whatever operation is experimenting on would-be psychics. What they find is a huge con, a nightmare garden, and a series of murders that make Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None look like a walk in the park on a beautiful sunny day.
What Talia and Luke also find, in spite of themselves and their mutual antipathy and distrust – is a partnership that will save them, both from the monsters that haunt the Night Island, and from the demons conjured up by the experiment within them both.
Escape Rating A-: The thing about the ‘Jayneverse’ is that everything connects up – EVENTUALLY. Howsomever, that doesn’t stop a reader from jumping in pretty much anywhere and getting sucked right in. The Lost Night Files is an excellent case in point.
It might be better to start The Lost Night Files with ITS OWN first book, Sleep No More, but this series doesn’t depend on any knowledge of the greater whole, or even the smaller whole of Fogg Lake, to be easy to get into and a whole lot of fun to read.
It’s more that if you ARE familiar with some of the background there are bits that you read with a bit of a smile at the old memories – even as you make new ones.
The Night Island is clearly a middle book in its own series. In Sleep No More, we first met the crew of the podcast and were with them as they continued their investigation into WTF happened to them at the old Lucent Springs Hotel. AND discovered that they weren’t the only ones to have been experimented on, resulting in Pallas’ finding her HEA with fellow experiment subject Ambrose Drake.
In and on the Night Island, the investigation gets a few steps closer to the truth – or at least A TRUTH – about the nature of the experiments and their purpose. The reader gets a glimpse of the perpetrators, while Talia and Luke get merely a hint in that direction. Which moves the series as a whole along quite teasingly, but doesn’t detract or distract from the events of this book.
Events that are centered around Talia and Luke’s investigation of the Night Island itself, the way the bodies keep dropping like flies and the bizarre nature of the experimental flora on Night Island and how they seem to be evolving their way to fauna at a dizzying rate.
So there are oodles of puzzles to solve in this compelling story of paranormal romantic suspense and plenty of tasty red herrings to swallow on the way to solving them – as well as the descriptions of the chef’s yummy-sounding vegetarian cuisine. Talia and Luke turn out to be the perfect investigators for this case of con artists, psychic assassins and lost things, plans and people.
I can’t wait to see how The Lost Night Files wraps up all the mysteries that face them, hopefully in the next book in this series. And hopefully this time next year if not a bit sooner!
Originally published at Reading Reality
January 14, 2024
This book was read for a book club and was way out of my genre. But though it started off slow, I did get into it. If you like paranormal stuff then read this one because the journey involves a group of podcasters who are looking into an organization - hence Night Island - using enhancing drugs to give power to selected individuals.
Apparently this is a series and of course while the book ended, the story is not over.
Apparently this is a series and of course while the book ended, the story is not over.
July 2, 2025
I enjoyed this book and it had various shocking points throughout the book. It was a good mystery with a somewhat unfinished end to tie everything up.
January 18, 2024
Great set up for moving the story along. Again two people with commitment problems. Additional people sign up to find out who caused a night with amnesia. More to come
December 7, 2023
Talia March is following up a tip to the list she and her partners at the Lost Night Files podcast are searching for when she discovers that her informant is missing. Luke Rand, who suffered a lost night of his own, is also looking for the informant and the list. The two are immediately suspicious of each other but agree to team up mostly to not let the other get a head start on the investigation.
Clues lead them to an isolated island off the Washington coast where they discover even more myteries and, unfortunately for Talia, more dead bodies. Finding bodies has been a consequence of having her psychic abilities ramped up during her lost night.
Luke's ability to read people via their emotions has also ramped up. Now, he is afraid that he has become a psychic assassin who can kill people with his talent. Talia tries to convince him that he's wrong because an ability still requires choice, and she knows he won't choose to become an assassin. Unfortunately, Luke wasn't the only one who had his powers ramped up to become and assassin and the other man who feels his ramp up was more successful is determined to kill Luke.
Not only do Talia and Luke have to deal with the psychic assassin but Night Island was once the site of botanical experiments, and the plant life has gone feral and dangerous. Avoiding an assassin and lethal vegetation give Talia and Luke a strong incentive to work together and learn to trust each other and, finally, to admit that they love each other.
This is the second of a trilogy which means that readers of the first book have more information about the ultimate evil doer who is behind both characters' lost nights and what the ultimate aim is. It was entertaining to watch Luke and Talia gather more pieces of the bigger puzzle as they fell in love.
Clues lead them to an isolated island off the Washington coast where they discover even more myteries and, unfortunately for Talia, more dead bodies. Finding bodies has been a consequence of having her psychic abilities ramped up during her lost night.
Luke's ability to read people via their emotions has also ramped up. Now, he is afraid that he has become a psychic assassin who can kill people with his talent. Talia tries to convince him that he's wrong because an ability still requires choice, and she knows he won't choose to become an assassin. Unfortunately, Luke wasn't the only one who had his powers ramped up to become and assassin and the other man who feels his ramp up was more successful is determined to kill Luke.
Not only do Talia and Luke have to deal with the psychic assassin but Night Island was once the site of botanical experiments, and the plant life has gone feral and dangerous. Avoiding an assassin and lethal vegetation give Talia and Luke a strong incentive to work together and learn to trust each other and, finally, to admit that they love each other.
This is the second of a trilogy which means that readers of the first book have more information about the ultimate evil doer who is behind both characters' lost nights and what the ultimate aim is. It was entertaining to watch Luke and Talia gather more pieces of the bigger puzzle as they fell in love.
April 18, 2024
Dangerous, paranormal plant life on a mysterious island
The FMC encounters the MMC when they both arrive at the home of a woman who is selling a list of names of people like them, who were born with paranormal abilities, and who were kidnapped by evil scientists and injected with a drug that enhanced their paranormal abilities. The side effect is amnesia. The action ends up on a mysterious island, with huge, fast growing, and potentially carnivorous plant life.
JAK has employed the trope of evil, magical plants in several other of her paranormal romantic suspense novels. But there is a twist in each of the stories that differentiates how the plants function, so this particular version does not feel redundant.
There is one main, murderous villain in this story, who satisfactorily gets his comeuppance. Rather than employing the notorious villain monologue at the end of this story, as JAK so often has done in the past, in order to reveal significant aspects of the overarching mystery that the FMC and MMC have not sleuthed out on their own, JAK uses the thriller-novel technique of periodically inserting the POV of the Big Bad of this entire trilogy and the main villain of each separate book.
There is an indirect connection to the Arcane Society in this series and the evil conspiracy, Vortex, because it sure sounds like the drug in this story, which is injected into the FMCs and MMCs, is a version of the Founder's Formula, though it is never referred to as such.
This is not one of my favorite JAK novels, but it is definitely entertaining, and I did not skim any of it. Which, at this stage in my very jaded reading existence, is actually a form of high praise.
The FMC encounters the MMC when they both arrive at the home of a woman who is selling a list of names of people like them, who were born with paranormal abilities, and who were kidnapped by evil scientists and injected with a drug that enhanced their paranormal abilities. The side effect is amnesia. The action ends up on a mysterious island, with huge, fast growing, and potentially carnivorous plant life.
JAK has employed the trope of evil, magical plants in several other of her paranormal romantic suspense novels. But there is a twist in each of the stories that differentiates how the plants function, so this particular version does not feel redundant.
There is one main, murderous villain in this story, who satisfactorily gets his comeuppance. Rather than employing the notorious villain monologue at the end of this story, as JAK so often has done in the past, in order to reveal significant aspects of the overarching mystery that the FMC and MMC have not sleuthed out on their own, JAK uses the thriller-novel technique of periodically inserting the POV of the Big Bad of this entire trilogy and the main villain of each separate book.
There is an indirect connection to the Arcane Society in this series and the evil conspiracy, Vortex, because it sure sounds like the drug in this story, which is injected into the FMCs and MMCs, is a version of the Founder's Formula, though it is never referred to as such.
This is not one of my favorite JAK novels, but it is definitely entertaining, and I did not skim any of it. Which, at this stage in my very jaded reading existence, is actually a form of high praise.
January 2, 2024
The Night Island
Can you sense when something is about to happen? Can you look at someone and know what they are thinking? Talia, Amber, Pallis and Ambrose work on a podcast that deals with psychic experiences. All four were victims of a kidnapping that caused them to have what they call a LOST NIGHT. Each waking up from the drugs in a mental stage that they had to teal with but in the end their Psychic abilities were enhanced. Imagine being able to sense the thoughts of another person and practically reading their mind and being able to forge ahead with decisions of how to handle what you hear within your mind. Intuition is the initial level of psychic ability and although debate, intuition is reading our minds rather than the minds of others. Meet Talia, Amber Pallis and Ambrose. The team is working on a podcast which focuses on this ability. However, all four were kidnapped and left to die but waking up they realized they were in an odd place and their senses had been enhanced. Tallis received a note to connect with someone who had the list that their names were on in order to track down who else had their senses enhanced why and how. This is the second in the Lost Night Files trilogy and added in the author added Luke rand, the disappearance of Phoebe sends them looking for answers but first Tallis finds herself inside the place that Phoebe rented and the revelations she finds, her connections to Luke that become hard to suppress, sends them to the island where the action is about to take place.
As Luke and Talia share their pasts and what happened that caused them to have a lost day, the incidents might be different, but the end result was the same. Each had a psychic experience resulting in their skills being enhanced. She can find anything and search for anything including dead bodies, or something found in a potted plant that connects her to the victim including objects that emit power of some kind. He can sense someone coming behind him, he can talk the person down with his mind and at times he does but at what cost to the assassin and him. Meeting Luke in front of the house of the informant they learn that she is no longer there, but a note written by her to Talia leads them to go to Night Island and from the moment they set foot things happen that cannot necessarily be explained. The plants are odd and seem to control the way things happen and they might even be poisonous. Might island be different, and the Night Gardener seems more than odd but the assistant one has a fatal encounter but why? He wanted to go off the Island, but the assassin has other ideas, and he enjoyed the hunt as game delivering a big rush, but events get tense when the body is found. Luke and Talia are present, but Luke checks out the body in one direction and Talia finds something that might give her a clue as to the cause of his death which the owners say is heart attack, but he knows it’s something else.
Lives hang in the balance, but which ones will be next as you hear the voice of the assassin who gets a rush when death is about to happen. Polomo Finch the Night Gardner gives us a lesson about the plants, how safe or not safe they are and the glowing feeling, light shines and how fast they are growing. Are they safe? Then Luke and Talia realize that there might be something more about their relationship but first how are they going to find out more about the assistant Night Gardner’s death? Finding something in his cabin that was taken apart Talia realizes what she missed the first time but this needs to be taken to the mainland in order to learn what is there.
Where will this go, and will they get off the island before more lives are gone?
Searching for Phoebe and looking inside where Poloma might be hiding Luke gets a feeling that the room or lab was where they tried to turn him into a monster. But, with Talia’s reasoning he understands that they failed and now they had to focus on finding Phoebe and the plants are getting darker, the night affects them too and what they find you won’t believe.
Luke was supposed to be insane, but the experiment failed. Phoebe was on the list but her skills as a psychic were not good enough, but she could not be freed. Talia and Luke provided a problem for Gill and the plants were slowly taking over the room, Poloma was getting a reaction, and the end result is yet to come. What about those that wanted to leave the island and Gill now had to deal with these three. The key the plants and how they appear, what their powers are and in the end what they can do to control situations until Luke took care of Poloma and the plants you won’t believe their real purpose and Phoebe Luke, Talia and one more take on Gill and they learn reading a notebook the hidden truths that controlled the experiments and why Luke , Talia, and others had lost nights and then add in Octavia who now joined their group but who else was killed and will they ever get off the island?
The final reveals and who crested this horrific project and the end results they want will be revealed in a graphic and creative way.one phone call Luke made and two men start a chain reaction that the complex of the Island the result of the UNPLUGGED experience will well-read if and find out for yourself what happens when two psychic talent takes over human thoughts and the end result well you decide if you want to visit NIGHT ISLAND!
But first we learn who was the successful victim of the enhanced drug and we learn just how far this person will go to end the life of Luke. The final scenes bring it all out in the open and we learn about the Foundation, those in charge and the ending you won’t believe. Meet the real person behind Night Island and learn what happens when he is confronted by the true creator. Endings are not always conclusive and paranormal research designed to produce assistant the goal lethal psychic talents. Just who was sacrificed, who joined the Lost Files Team and what lies next will know when the author pens the third and final installment in this trilogy. Luke Rand, Talia, Amber, Tallis and who was behind the Wynette Institute and was it real or a front? Lives are more than at stake and the ending leaves you wondering what is next for this team. Fran Lewis just reviews
March 24, 2024
We're back with the Lost Night podcast crew and things are complicated. As you might expect given they and the people they come across have been enhanced without consent and are struggling to come to terms with how their world has changed.
This time around we follow Talia who teams up with Luke when their paths cross while on the search for someone who might have answers. Talia's new ability is a little unnerving, but it's possible Luke's is even more unnerving. I mean, Talia can find dead bodies, but Luke has been enhanced to possibly be an assassin. Seeing as how they're figuring out things on their own, Luke is understandably wary of the things he's now able to do.
A little wariness doesn't stop the two of them from working together, though. An unexpected find that leads to a trip to the Night Island, a couple of unsettling encounters with the various individuals who populate and are on retreat there, and the first dead body are just the start of things. It isn't long before Talia and Luke are trekking through a nightmare garden, sparking off each other in a BIG way, and doing everything they can to make it off the island alive.
The good news? They do find a few answers to the questions about what happened to them months ago. They also find one another, which is very good. The bad news? Some of those answers spark more questions. Which means there's more to experience with the LNF crew! YESSSS!
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
This time around we follow Talia who teams up with Luke when their paths cross while on the search for someone who might have answers. Talia's new ability is a little unnerving, but it's possible Luke's is even more unnerving. I mean, Talia can find dead bodies, but Luke has been enhanced to possibly be an assassin. Seeing as how they're figuring out things on their own, Luke is understandably wary of the things he's now able to do.
A little wariness doesn't stop the two of them from working together, though. An unexpected find that leads to a trip to the Night Island, a couple of unsettling encounters with the various individuals who populate and are on retreat there, and the first dead body are just the start of things. It isn't long before Talia and Luke are trekking through a nightmare garden, sparking off each other in a BIG way, and doing everything they can to make it off the island alive.
The good news? They do find a few answers to the questions about what happened to them months ago. They also find one another, which is very good. The bad news? Some of those answers spark more questions. Which means there's more to experience with the LNF crew! YESSSS!
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
March 13, 2024
The Night Island is the second book in the psychic paranormal romantic suspense series: The Lost Night Files. In this installment, we have familiar characters from the first book in Pallas, Ambrose, and Amelia, but they are definitely minor characters. Book two focuses on Talia and a new character in Luke Rand.
Talia and Luke see no option but to trust each other to try to find a missing person who just may have the list of people The Lost Night Files crew has been looking for. I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Talia and Luke. There was a connection right from the start and I liked the build-up. I would definitely recommend reading the first book if you haven't prior to reading this one. That played a great deal into how much I liked this story, as it was a continuation of the theme of the series: finding out about their lost nights. This book would not stand well on its own. Not to say there is anything lacking in the story, just that it would be hard to feel invested in the plot otherwise.
I liked the author's writing style, with quick chapters and alternating points of view. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. I do wish more of the podcast was sprinkled throughout the story. It is a big part of what Talia, Pallas, and Amelia do, but it rarely shows up on page.
I purchased this book and am voluntarily sharing my honest review. My review is not influenced in any way.
Talia and Luke see no option but to trust each other to try to find a missing person who just may have the list of people The Lost Night Files crew has been looking for. I enjoyed the back-and-forth between Talia and Luke. There was a connection right from the start and I liked the build-up. I would definitely recommend reading the first book if you haven't prior to reading this one. That played a great deal into how much I liked this story, as it was a continuation of the theme of the series: finding out about their lost nights. This book would not stand well on its own. Not to say there is anything lacking in the story, just that it would be hard to feel invested in the plot otherwise.
I liked the author's writing style, with quick chapters and alternating points of view. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. I do wish more of the podcast was sprinkled throughout the story. It is a big part of what Talia, Pallas, and Amelia do, but it rarely shows up on page.
I purchased this book and am voluntarily sharing my honest review. My review is not influenced in any way.
January 22, 2024
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. So I accidentally read this not realizing it was the second in a trilogy!! However, there was enough background woven in that it worked out well and honestly I never felt lost.
-Paranormal happenings with multiple characters having enhanced abilities
-Stuck on a creepy island
-Fast paced with short chapters (which I LOVE)
-Romance with some spice sprinkled in (#onlyonebed alert)
-I didn't see that reveal at the end coming at all!
New to me author with a huge catalog of work. I'd check out her paranormal romantic suspense novels similar to this one.
Read via physical library loan.
-Paranormal happenings with multiple characters having enhanced abilities
-Stuck on a creepy island
-Fast paced with short chapters (which I LOVE)
-Romance with some spice sprinkled in (#onlyonebed alert)
-I didn't see that reveal at the end coming at all!
New to me author with a huge catalog of work. I'd check out her paranormal romantic suspense novels similar to this one.
Read via physical library loan.
January 25, 2024
It has been many, many years since I have read a Jayne Ann Krentz book. The @brendanovak book group on Facebook chose this book for January. It was a little different than what I normally read. Paranormal and government conspiracy aren’t my first go to’s. This is book two in a trilogy.
It was a quick read. I read in one day as I had to know what was happening next. I have not read book one and was fine following the storyline. The fast romance between Talia and Luke was interesting and a tad steamy.
It was a quick read. I read in one day as I had to know what was happening next. I have not read book one and was fine following the storyline. The fast romance between Talia and Luke was interesting and a tad steamy.
March 4, 2024
Well didn't see that coming. That was an interesting and vaguely terrifying story. More of a suspense story but there was a bit of a romantic edge dipped in to keep it interesting.
February 25, 2024
I didn't think I would like this book from the first page. I'm not into paranormal stuff. I did end up enjoying the main two characters and their interactions. I thought Talia, one of the main characters, was very likable. I may have to read the next book if she writes one!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2023
Characters possessing paranormal abilities has been a recurring theme in Jayne Ann Krentz's novels, and in novels under her pseudonym Amanda Quick since 2007 with her Arcane Society series. Beginning with Krentz's story White Lies and Quick's book The Third Circle, the author continues this theme in her latest novel The Night Island, the second installment in her Lost Night Files trilogy.
Some background information about the Lost Night Files trilogy is it centers around three women, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rivers, who share one lost evening. It is a night that none of the three can remember what happened to them. They woke up in the Lucent Springs Hotel, surrounded by a raging fire that forced them to run to save their lives. Lingering thoughts lead them to suspect they were subjects in an experiment designed to enhance their psychic abilities because from that moment forward, their respective psychic talents were deeply enhanced.
Book one, Sleep No More, is the love story between Pallas Llewellyn and Ambrose Drake. Book two, Night Island, develops the romance between Talia March and Luke Rand, who was subject A in an experiment called Cold Fire 2.0 to create psychic assassins. Rand was considered a failure and expected to die. Instead, he survived, leading a nomadic life, continually moving around and never feeling safe to settle down in one place in case the individuals who used him as an experiment were out to kill him.
Luke and Talia are on the trail to finding a list of people used in government funded experiments to enhance individuals psychic abilities when they meet. Together, they forge a bond and a trust of one another that is inspiring. Krentz endows the pair with enthralling and endearing traits that make them likeable to the reader. Not only does the story keep the reader engaged, wanting to discover the malfeasant behind these treacherous experiments, but the charming characters also draw the reader's attention.
Aspects of the story are relatable to current conditions in society such as the means to enhance the subject's psychic abilities is through injections and boosters. Readers will relate this part of the story to the COVID 19 vaccines and boosters that are being promoted globally to allegedly keep people safe. It puts the story in the modern age rather than making the reader feel detached from the events unfolding.
Another aspect in the story that is relatable to the current conditions of society is the manipulation of plant life to enhance their malevolent qualities through the means of advanced technology and artificial intelligence. Krentz sheds light on the negative effects that scientific experiments can produce.
One unsatisfying part of the story is that Krentz frees the mad individuals, who are funding the scientific experiments. This is unusual for her books. She leads the reader to the wealthy Cutler Steen whose children, Benedict, Celina and Adriana are involved in a sick competition to gain their father's admiration. Readers will relate the Steen's to other families that wield great influence like the Kennedy's or the Rothschild's. The three Steen children are behind funding these experiments, and thus far, none of them have been discovered by the Lost Night Files group.
Readers who become engulfed by Luke and Talia's story will be eager to see if book three will uncover the Steen family's devious plans. And if the Steen family will have to face their crimes against humanity. It is a trilogy that puts the reader in the present.
Some background information about the Lost Night Files trilogy is it centers around three women, Pallas Llewellyn, Talia March, and Amelia Rivers, who share one lost evening. It is a night that none of the three can remember what happened to them. They woke up in the Lucent Springs Hotel, surrounded by a raging fire that forced them to run to save their lives. Lingering thoughts lead them to suspect they were subjects in an experiment designed to enhance their psychic abilities because from that moment forward, their respective psychic talents were deeply enhanced.
Book one, Sleep No More, is the love story between Pallas Llewellyn and Ambrose Drake. Book two, Night Island, develops the romance between Talia March and Luke Rand, who was subject A in an experiment called Cold Fire 2.0 to create psychic assassins. Rand was considered a failure and expected to die. Instead, he survived, leading a nomadic life, continually moving around and never feeling safe to settle down in one place in case the individuals who used him as an experiment were out to kill him.
Luke and Talia are on the trail to finding a list of people used in government funded experiments to enhance individuals psychic abilities when they meet. Together, they forge a bond and a trust of one another that is inspiring. Krentz endows the pair with enthralling and endearing traits that make them likeable to the reader. Not only does the story keep the reader engaged, wanting to discover the malfeasant behind these treacherous experiments, but the charming characters also draw the reader's attention.
Aspects of the story are relatable to current conditions in society such as the means to enhance the subject's psychic abilities is through injections and boosters. Readers will relate this part of the story to the COVID 19 vaccines and boosters that are being promoted globally to allegedly keep people safe. It puts the story in the modern age rather than making the reader feel detached from the events unfolding.
Another aspect in the story that is relatable to the current conditions of society is the manipulation of plant life to enhance their malevolent qualities through the means of advanced technology and artificial intelligence. Krentz sheds light on the negative effects that scientific experiments can produce.
One unsatisfying part of the story is that Krentz frees the mad individuals, who are funding the scientific experiments. This is unusual for her books. She leads the reader to the wealthy Cutler Steen whose children, Benedict, Celina and Adriana are involved in a sick competition to gain their father's admiration. Readers will relate the Steen's to other families that wield great influence like the Kennedy's or the Rothschild's. The three Steen children are behind funding these experiments, and thus far, none of them have been discovered by the Lost Night Files group.
Readers who become engulfed by Luke and Talia's story will be eager to see if book three will uncover the Steen family's devious plans. And if the Steen family will have to face their crimes against humanity. It is a trilogy that puts the reader in the present.
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