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Harmony #3
Illusion Town
A new adventure begins on Harmony…
With its opulent casinos and hotels, the desert city of Illusion Town is totally unique—and will take you on a thrill ride you’ll never forget.
Hannah West isn’t the first woman to wake up in Illusion Town married to a man she barely knows, but she has no memory of the ceremony at all. For that matter, neither does Elias Coppersmith, her new husband. All either can remember is that they were on the run…
With Hannah’s dubious background and shaky para-psych profile, she could have done much worse. The cooly competent mining heir arouses her curiosity—as well as other parts of her mind and body. And even her dust bunny likes him.
But a honeymoon spent retracing their footsteps leads Hannah and Elias into the twisting underground catacombs, where secrets from both their pasts will come to light—and where the energy of their clashing auras will grow hot enough to burn…
With its opulent casinos and hotels, the desert city of Illusion Town is totally unique—and will take you on a thrill ride you’ll never forget.
Hannah West isn’t the first woman to wake up in Illusion Town married to a man she barely knows, but she has no memory of the ceremony at all. For that matter, neither does Elias Coppersmith, her new husband. All either can remember is that they were on the run…
With Hannah’s dubious background and shaky para-psych profile, she could have done much worse. The cooly competent mining heir arouses her curiosity—as well as other parts of her mind and body. And even her dust bunny likes him.
But a honeymoon spent retracing their footsteps leads Hannah and Elias into the twisting underground catacombs, where secrets from both their pasts will come to light—and where the energy of their clashing auras will grow hot enough to burn…
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2016
483 people are currently reading
1667 people want to read
About the author
Jayne Castle
54 books2,158 followersThe author of over 40 consecutive New York Times bestsellers, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ writes romantic-suspense, often with a psychic and paranormal twist, 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.
Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.
Pseudonyms:
Jayne Ann Krentz
Amanda Quick
Stephanie James
Jayne Bentley
Jayne Taylor
Amanda Glass
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.
Ms. Krentz is married and lives with her husband, Frank, in Seattle, Washington.
Pseudonyms:
Jayne Ann Krentz
Amanda Quick
Stephanie James
Jayne Bentley
Jayne Taylor
Amanda Glass
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 501 reviews
July 14, 2017
In each of these books there is a dust bunny that has a name that somehow relates to the person who is their owner. So, when this one was named Virgil, I was excited. After all , the Roman poet was Dante's escort through hell. So, I'm thinking:
But, strangely enough, the bear was wrong.
So, that famous saying, "Always trust a bear", was wrong?
WTH? It's like everything I've ever known was wrong now. Can horses really remove a computer virus?
World view shattered!!
This is one of those stories where the couple wakes up married in (alien) Vegas and attempts to figure out what in the hell happened the night before. The girl is a local and has the makings of a great, sassy, worldly chick. She isn't. She's boring and completely one-dimensional. The guy is an engineer. Apparently the author isn't too keen on engineers, because we are reminded of how boring and dull they are, and that the male is one, every other page. Seriously, enough about engineers! They're pencil-pushing snooze-fests. We get it!
At least they are trust-worthy. Unlike a certain bear I know....
The chemistry between the couple could only be described as "electric" - if you are a big fat liar. There was none. No juice. Couldn't power a rubber ball. It was basically me in chemistry class when Stoichiometry came along.
Aww, who's a good boy? You are! You won't let me down, will you, Rover?
There was a biker gang, Las Vegas-themed casinos, an underground ghost town, and even a magic circus involved in this story, so it should have been a win. But, the dullness of the MC's was such a bring-down that nothing could save it. Not even a demon carousel. It's like that old saying, "Even a possessed pony in make-up can't save this shit storm". Thankfully , that one is true.
But, strangely enough, the bear was wrong.
So, that famous saying, "Always trust a bear", was wrong?
WTH? It's like everything I've ever known was wrong now. Can horses really remove a computer virus?
World view shattered!!
This is one of those stories where the couple wakes up married in (alien) Vegas and attempts to figure out what in the hell happened the night before. The girl is a local and has the makings of a great, sassy, worldly chick. She isn't. She's boring and completely one-dimensional. The guy is an engineer. Apparently the author isn't too keen on engineers, because we are reminded of how boring and dull they are, and that the male is one, every other page. Seriously, enough about engineers! They're pencil-pushing snooze-fests. We get it!
At least they are trust-worthy. Unlike a certain bear I know....
The chemistry between the couple could only be described as "electric" - if you are a big fat liar. There was none. No juice. Couldn't power a rubber ball. It was basically me in chemistry class when Stoichiometry came along.
Aww, who's a good boy? You are! You won't let me down, will you, Rover?
There was a biker gang, Las Vegas-themed casinos, an underground ghost town, and even a magic circus involved in this story, so it should have been a win. But, the dullness of the MC's was such a bring-down that nothing could save it. Not even a demon carousel. It's like that old saying, "Even a possessed pony in make-up can't save this shit storm". Thankfully , that one is true.
July 15, 2016
3.5 stars
Jayne Castle (also writing as Jayne Ann Krentz) is the queen of paranormal romance lite. Her Harmony books are wonderfully addictive, and the first one I read (not the first in this series since they can function as standalones) turned me into an instant fan. I always struggle a bit to find my footing in her books since I have to catch up on the worldbuilding I’ve missed along the way, but Castle makes it easy and her books just pull me in with no effort at all.
Illusion Town is Harmony’s version of Las Vegas – City of Lights with a magical underworld. There’s everything one could possibly find in Vegas, only amplified. Our two heroes, Hannah West and Elias Coppersmith, wake up married after a date neither of them remembers. It’s clear that they both expected to lose their memories and that they married to make sure they’d stick together until the danger passes, but the source of the danger is unclear and the actual events are coming back to them in flashes.
Both Hannah and Elias are powerful, both of them used to getting their way. Elias is the son of a very rich magical family, and Hannah an orphan with two loving, eccentric aunts. The two talked online for about two months prior to their date and marriage, but they are practically strangers tied together in very stressful circumstances.
As usual, the best thing about Castle’s books is the worldbuilding. Harmony, with its alien technology and many different talents, is a constant source of delight for the reader. There is still so much to learn about this world, so many possibilities for Castle to explore. But what I truly love about her books is that they are not primarily paranormal romances, or at least they don’t read as such. As an infamous hater of all things PNR, I tend to stay away from the genre altogether (with just a few notable exceptions), but Harmony books don’t focus primarily on the romance. The plots are always well planned and executed and not just a background for the romantic endeavors of the protagonists. And the romance that’s actually there is more or less angst-free, my favorite kind.
I jumped into this series somewhere around the middle, and so can you. The books really can function as standalones, and although it takes a little bit of time to understand the world, once you do, you’ll love everything about these books.
Jayne Castle (also writing as Jayne Ann Krentz) is the queen of paranormal romance lite. Her Harmony books are wonderfully addictive, and the first one I read (not the first in this series since they can function as standalones) turned me into an instant fan. I always struggle a bit to find my footing in her books since I have to catch up on the worldbuilding I’ve missed along the way, but Castle makes it easy and her books just pull me in with no effort at all.
Illusion Town is Harmony’s version of Las Vegas – City of Lights with a magical underworld. There’s everything one could possibly find in Vegas, only amplified. Our two heroes, Hannah West and Elias Coppersmith, wake up married after a date neither of them remembers. It’s clear that they both expected to lose their memories and that they married to make sure they’d stick together until the danger passes, but the source of the danger is unclear and the actual events are coming back to them in flashes.
Both Hannah and Elias are powerful, both of them used to getting their way. Elias is the son of a very rich magical family, and Hannah an orphan with two loving, eccentric aunts. The two talked online for about two months prior to their date and marriage, but they are practically strangers tied together in very stressful circumstances.
As usual, the best thing about Castle’s books is the worldbuilding. Harmony, with its alien technology and many different talents, is a constant source of delight for the reader. There is still so much to learn about this world, so many possibilities for Castle to explore. But what I truly love about her books is that they are not primarily paranormal romances, or at least they don’t read as such. As an infamous hater of all things PNR, I tend to stay away from the genre altogether (with just a few notable exceptions), but Harmony books don’t focus primarily on the romance. The plots are always well planned and executed and not just a background for the romantic endeavors of the protagonists. And the romance that’s actually there is more or less angst-free, my favorite kind.
I jumped into this series somewhere around the middle, and so can you. The books really can function as standalones, and although it takes a little bit of time to understand the world, once you do, you’ll love everything about these books.
September 17, 2018
once again jayne castle aka jayne ann krentz has pulled me into her world of harmony!!! i loved this book. like all her harmony books the characters are bold,passionate men and women, in this new book we are in illusion town and her characters are hannah west and the hot and sexy elias coppersmith when they wake up together in bed and find out that their married, neither remembers how it happened but little by little what happened that night comes back to them and these two will have to uncover the truth of what happened that night and at the same time stay ahead of a murder who's out to get them. i love these mysteries and the dust bunnies are so cute,and hannah's is virgil hes adorable!!! great story i give it 4 dust bunnies stars!!!
July 29, 2022
Not as good as others in this series. A bit flat, scenes that could have been very exciting weren't. Rounding up to 3 stars.
October 6, 2022
This is thirteenth in the Ghost Hunters series, but it's the start of its own subseries. There are a bunch of brief cameos at the very end where you see many of the dust bunnies from before and it feels like you should need to read Siren's Call because this one features a brother of the lead in that one. But you don't really need that if you don't feel like it. What I'm saying is that this is a good place to start if you want to just jump into the series.
So it's a Harmony novel so psy-everything and energy everything else and an adventure novel with a romance core. Castle delivers the goods on this kind of story, so it turned out pretty much exactly as expected. And for me, I mean that in a good way.
Hannah and Elias were great. Elias was prone to attributing things to being an engineer that the engineers I know would probably laugh about, but that's because he's a psy-engineer. Obviously. Hannah is a little too family-hungry for someone who has a most excellent found family who clearly love her (and she loves them). And the setting isn't very serious as a thin veneer of psy pasted over Las Vegas. And all of that sounds like negatives but they really weren't. At least not to me. I will admit to being deeply disappointed when we got a psy tsunami and not one person called it a psynami! I mean, that's a gimme right?
Anyway, I'm calling this four stars and I'll admit that it's largely because I knew what I was getting into with a Jayne Castle story set in Harmony. I spent a frustrating bit of googling trying to track down the reference to Arizona Snow. Hannah's dust bunny finds an action figure and attaches to it and I know that name sounds familiar. I traced it back to the Eclipse Bay series but apparently not a main character.
A note about Steamy: There's a couple of explicit sex scenes putting this almost in the middle of my steam tolerance. It was magical. And stuff.
So it's a Harmony novel so psy-everything and energy everything else and an adventure novel with a romance core. Castle delivers the goods on this kind of story, so it turned out pretty much exactly as expected. And for me, I mean that in a good way.
Hannah and Elias were great. Elias was prone to attributing things to being an engineer that the engineers I know would probably laugh about, but that's because he's a psy-engineer. Obviously. Hannah is a little too family-hungry for someone who has a most excellent found family who clearly love her (and she loves them). And the setting isn't very serious as a thin veneer of psy pasted over Las Vegas. And all of that sounds like negatives but they really weren't. At least not to me. I will admit to being deeply disappointed when we got a psy tsunami and not one person called it a psynami! I mean, that's a gimme right?
Anyway, I'm calling this four stars and I'll admit that it's largely because I knew what I was getting into with a Jayne Castle story set in Harmony. I spent a frustrating bit of googling trying to track down the reference to Arizona Snow. Hannah's dust bunny finds an action figure and attaches to it and I know that name sounds familiar. I traced it back to the Eclipse Bay series but apparently not a main character.
A note about Steamy: There's a couple of explicit sex scenes putting this almost in the middle of my steam tolerance. It was magical. And stuff.
June 24, 2025
2.5 stars, still entertaining if you want to read a fatasy/sci-fi. However the previous books of the series are better. It seems that's the fatal destiny of long series...
April 23, 2017
This is a fun comfort read series full of action and mystery. The dust bunnies make it even better.
This is a fully fleshed out world that is always nice to visit. If you are looking for a easy happy read with a little adventure, this is a good choice. The books in the series do blend together though.
This is a fully fleshed out world that is always nice to visit. If you are looking for a easy happy read with a little adventure, this is a good choice. The books in the series do blend together though.
June 5, 2017
Rating: 3/5
***Minor spoilers***
Hannah has a special ability. When she sleeps, she can walk around and interact with the real world, but nobody can see her. She uses this ability to run a business in finding things for people, giving her the alias Finder. She works a job for a man named Elias, who is in the family to runs one of the richest companies in existence. He asks her to go out with him, and she agrees. But this is where the memory stops. Shes wakes up the next day in a motel with Elias, with no memory of the night before, and married to him. He has no memory of this happening either. All they can remember is motorcycles and being attacked at some point. What happened to them? Elias thinks that they ended up married to give them some sort of clue, so they immediately investigate what could have happened, and who could have tried to kill them.
This book took place in an interesting world. I definitely wouldn't have been as confused if I started at book 1, but I need this book for a challenge. From what I understand, the stories in the rest of the series aren't necessarily interconnected, but the insight into the universe they give you is definitely helpful. Enough of the different phenomenon that exist in Harmony are explained well enough that you're not completely lost, but it took me a while to get a hang of what they were talking about, and I still don't understand everything. I can't blame the author for this since it's my own fault for jumping in at book 13 of all places, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
The plot for this was interesting enough, but that's not really the thing that kept me reading the book. I thought the whole sci-fi aspect and the characters were more interesting than the actual plot. It's been a while since I've read a series with a whole other universe carefully crafted, so delving into this one was a great experience. I thought Hannah and Elias had good chemistry, and while they weren't amazing or anything, they were a brighter point than the plot. I think the best part about them was that they played off of each other pretty well. Each of them had knowledge that the other didn't that was necessary for them to get through whatever situation they were in. Neither felt like extra baggage in any situation.
Overall, this was a pretty solid read that I enjoyed well enough when I wasn't confused. While my rating may have been higher if I read the rest of the series, I'm not sure it would have made all that much of a difference. The plot wasn't that great, which is the main reason I didn't rate it higher. The writing wasn't particularly gripping to me either, so that would be the other contributor. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but I feel like if the plot was as good as the characters, the book would be better as a whole. I would still recommend it the a sci-fi fan, but you're probably better off starting at book one instead.
***Minor spoilers***
Hannah has a special ability. When she sleeps, she can walk around and interact with the real world, but nobody can see her. She uses this ability to run a business in finding things for people, giving her the alias Finder. She works a job for a man named Elias, who is in the family to runs one of the richest companies in existence. He asks her to go out with him, and she agrees. But this is where the memory stops. Shes wakes up the next day in a motel with Elias, with no memory of the night before, and married to him. He has no memory of this happening either. All they can remember is motorcycles and being attacked at some point. What happened to them? Elias thinks that they ended up married to give them some sort of clue, so they immediately investigate what could have happened, and who could have tried to kill them.
This book took place in an interesting world. I definitely wouldn't have been as confused if I started at book 1, but I need this book for a challenge. From what I understand, the stories in the rest of the series aren't necessarily interconnected, but the insight into the universe they give you is definitely helpful. Enough of the different phenomenon that exist in Harmony are explained well enough that you're not completely lost, but it took me a while to get a hang of what they were talking about, and I still don't understand everything. I can't blame the author for this since it's my own fault for jumping in at book 13 of all places, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
The plot for this was interesting enough, but that's not really the thing that kept me reading the book. I thought the whole sci-fi aspect and the characters were more interesting than the actual plot. It's been a while since I've read a series with a whole other universe carefully crafted, so delving into this one was a great experience. I thought Hannah and Elias had good chemistry, and while they weren't amazing or anything, they were a brighter point than the plot. I think the best part about them was that they played off of each other pretty well. Each of them had knowledge that the other didn't that was necessary for them to get through whatever situation they were in. Neither felt like extra baggage in any situation.
Overall, this was a pretty solid read that I enjoyed well enough when I wasn't confused. While my rating may have been higher if I read the rest of the series, I'm not sure it would have made all that much of a difference. The plot wasn't that great, which is the main reason I didn't rate it higher. The writing wasn't particularly gripping to me either, so that would be the other contributor. It wasn't a bad book by any means, but I feel like if the plot was as good as the characters, the book would be better as a whole. I would still recommend it the a sci-fi fan, but you're probably better off starting at book one instead.
July 25, 2016
Five reasons to grab Illusion Town
Off planet paranormal woo-woo – Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) has created a futuristic planet where inhabitants of Earth have relocated. The series ties into her Arcane series but books in this series work as standalone and some are broken into trilogies. Harmony is a fascinating planet filled with underground catacombs and ancient alien technology left by earlier inhabitants of the planet. Castle brilliantly explains the world from the colonized cities to the strange paranormal elements.
The characters will quickly pull you in as Castle reveals their secrets.- Elias Coopersmith is a member of the Coppersmith Mining Family. Fans of the series are familiar with this family and Elias’ siblings. Elias will be heading up the mining of Ghost City located just outside Illusion Town. Elias is an engineer with a special talent for working stones. Recently he hired Hannah West a dream talent with a finder ability to locate a missing family ring. The two have developed an online rapport and now that the job is finished, Elias’ asks Hannah out to dinner. This was essentially a blind date and I had a blast with the way Castle unfolded their story. Secondary characters from Hannah’s Aunts, locals, and villains added depth and pulled me into Illusion Town.
The plot was delicious, suspenseful and action packed. Elias picks Hannah up for their date and the next thing you know the two of them wake up in a hotel room with no memory of the previous night. She has a fortune in her purse and he has an MC in his wallet. An MC is a marriage of convenience and apparently, sometime last night these two tied the knot! As they retrace their steps, they soon discover they're in danger and the tale that unfolds delivered a well-crafted mystery, danger and a slow-building romance.
Dust bunnies If you have never met these delightful creatures who inhabit Harmony and befriend talents you are missing out. Wait until you meet Virgil our little furry fluff ball. I love getting to know each of the bunnies as much as I do their owners and Virgil made me laugh.
The writing While these books tend to have a formulaic plot the characters, mystery and dust bunnies always manage to keep things fresh. Honestly, I devour them in a single sitting and then huff about it because I am once again counting down the days until my next visit. Castle quickly pulls the reader in with her suspenseful plots and delivers genuine romances with characters who make you swoon and laugh.
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Off planet paranormal woo-woo – Jayne Castle (Jayne Ann Krentz) has created a futuristic planet where inhabitants of Earth have relocated. The series ties into her Arcane series but books in this series work as standalone and some are broken into trilogies. Harmony is a fascinating planet filled with underground catacombs and ancient alien technology left by earlier inhabitants of the planet. Castle brilliantly explains the world from the colonized cities to the strange paranormal elements.
The characters will quickly pull you in as Castle reveals their secrets.- Elias Coopersmith is a member of the Coppersmith Mining Family. Fans of the series are familiar with this family and Elias’ siblings. Elias will be heading up the mining of Ghost City located just outside Illusion Town. Elias is an engineer with a special talent for working stones. Recently he hired Hannah West a dream talent with a finder ability to locate a missing family ring. The two have developed an online rapport and now that the job is finished, Elias’ asks Hannah out to dinner. This was essentially a blind date and I had a blast with the way Castle unfolded their story. Secondary characters from Hannah’s Aunts, locals, and villains added depth and pulled me into Illusion Town.
The plot was delicious, suspenseful and action packed. Elias picks Hannah up for their date and the next thing you know the two of them wake up in a hotel room with no memory of the previous night. She has a fortune in her purse and he has an MC in his wallet. An MC is a marriage of convenience and apparently, sometime last night these two tied the knot! As they retrace their steps, they soon discover they're in danger and the tale that unfolds delivered a well-crafted mystery, danger and a slow-building romance.
Dust bunnies If you have never met these delightful creatures who inhabit Harmony and befriend talents you are missing out. Wait until you meet Virgil our little furry fluff ball. I love getting to know each of the bunnies as much as I do their owners and Virgil made me laugh.
The writing While these books tend to have a formulaic plot the characters, mystery and dust bunnies always manage to keep things fresh. Honestly, I devour them in a single sitting and then huff about it because I am once again counting down the days until my next visit. Castle quickly pulls the reader in with her suspenseful plots and delivers genuine romances with characters who make you swoon and laugh.
Copy provided by publisher. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer
July 31, 2016
Welcome back to Harmony, the planet with Alien Dead Cities, Ghost Hunters, ruin rats and the cutest companion ever existed - the dust bunny. Illusion Town is the Las Vegas of Harmony, where Casinos reign supreme and where our heroine works in a shady side of town "finding" things with her dreamlight talent.
This is the usual Jayne Castle futuristic fare, throwing in some interesting links back to the Arcane Society in the "Old World" right from the beginning of Sylvester Jones to Jones & Jones of Scargill Cove with the hero linking back to JAK's Coppersmiths clan from her Dark Legacy series.
One of the nicest thing about reading JAK, Quick or Castle is that you always know what to expect from her books. But I must admit, I do have a soft spot for the dust bunnies... I wish they would stowaway from Harmony back to Earth so that I can adopt one! 4 stars.
This is the usual Jayne Castle futuristic fare, throwing in some interesting links back to the Arcane Society in the "Old World" right from the beginning of Sylvester Jones to Jones & Jones of Scargill Cove with the hero linking back to JAK's Coppersmiths clan from her Dark Legacy series.
One of the nicest thing about reading JAK, Quick or Castle is that you always know what to expect from her books. But I must admit, I do have a soft spot for the dust bunnies... I wish they would stowaway from Harmony back to Earth so that I can adopt one! 4 stars.
May 31, 2021
I liked the slightly different format of this book. The MCs have had their memories fried and spend much of the book retracing their steps. I thought that was a clever way to tell the story, and made it feel a little different from the others in the series. Because our hero has also lost his memory, he's not such a know-it-all Mr. Perfect as most of the others, and he actually listens to the heroine quite a bit. I enjoyed their dynamic a lot. The plot lacked logic, but that's not really what I read these books for anyway, and the plot is secondary here - it's definitely about the developing relationship. I also thought Runner and the dust bunnies added some fun to this story. So yes, it was kind of slow but I still had fun reading it.
NB- This is one of the books in the series that is narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. I think she's wonderful, and I enjoy listening to this, so give that a try, too!
NB- This is one of the books in the series that is narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. I think she's wonderful, and I enjoy listening to this, so give that a try, too!
June 1, 2017
It seems like JAK has finally gone the way of Laurell K. Hamilton with her writing. And I don't mean she's added a bunch of raunchy inter-species sex to her stories. Nope, Krentz has started doing that other LKH staple of filling up her stories with boring, repetitious info dumps copy-pasted from previous stories and stilted, unrealistic "As you know" conversations. The beginning of this book was excruciating to get through because of this.
The two main characters, Hannah and Elias, start the story by waking up in a cheap motel with amnesia of how they got there and they're forced to retrace their steps to figure out what happened. That SHOULD have been interesting, but it was dull as dishwater because instead of showing us any kind of attraction between the pair, JAK instead focused on rehashing aaaaaaaaalll the Harmony backstory in virtually identical language as she'd done in previous stories. And not just Harmony, we got recaps of the Arcane Society, Jones and Jones, Scargill cove, Mrs. Bridewell and Nightshade too. All in very boring "I'm telling you something you already know," "Yes, you're right, I do already know that and here's something else that we both know," conversations.
There's no spark between the two characters. We don't even get a physical description of either one of them. I assumed that Elias was tall and strong because all JAK's heroes are, but she never actually says that. And we got more description of Hannah's red dress and stilettos than we did of Hannah herself. It's like JAK forgot to put the romance into this book because there's nothing to indicate that these two are in any way attracted to each other. All through the first half we have them going through the motions of figuring out what happened to them and there are never any smoldering glances or unnecessary touches, etc. We're in Hannah's perspective for most of it and she never, ever thinks about Elias being handsome or in any way attractive. The best we get is her noticing that he seems "irritated" whenever she mentions that their marriage is "just an MC." Their conversations are completely devoid of any emotion or possible sexual subtext. It's awful. And then, completely out of nowhere and with no justification, Hannah just asks Elias if he'd mind if she kissed him and they immediately have sex. WHAT?!?! She shows no attraction to him whatsoever and then just falls into bed with him? It was obviously put in because JAK's paint-by-numbers approach to story writing said it was time for the first sex scene, regardless of whether there was justification for it in the narrative. And just to underline how awful the romance was in this book, even after they have sex, there's no more emotional closeness between them than there was before. They just move on like it never happened and go back to being impersonally polite. They don't kiss, or touch hands or any of the things you expect lovers to do. And after a few more chapters of this frosty performance, Hannah realizes she's in love with Elias. WHAT? Ugh, the romances was just so, so bad.
As for the rest of the plot, it's 100% bog standard Harmony. There's yet another paranormal gate that needs to be gotten through and the heroine just happens to have the exact right kind of talent to open it up. The nature of her talent makes it difficult for her to have relationships but of course the hero just happens to be psychically compatible with her. We get the same exact recitation of how it's hard for the heroine to sleep on old beds because of the built up dreamlight energy that we've seen in at least three other books. There's the requisite dust bunny companion, a poorly justified Marriage of Convenience, and a toothless villain with designs on the heroine for his evil schemes. Absolutely nothing original is on display here.
But what finally knocked this book down to a 1-star rating for me was how bad the writing was, especially towards the end.
I've enjoyed JAKs writing over the years but at this point she's basically Thomas Kinkade. Soullessly stamping out the same work over and over and mass marketing it to the fans who, apparently, will snap up anything with her name on it. In previous books I've been disappointed to keep rereading the same story over and over with just the barest tweaks to the details to justify calling it a new book, but they were at least competently written in terms of story mechanics and character development. This book is a train wreck. Like, it literally looks like someone laid out a finished book on the train tracks, and then after it got run over, tried to Frankenstein the pieces back together. The result is an emotionless, malformed shell that barely holds together as a story and stares at you with empty, lifeless eyes. Don't waste your time with this one.
The two main characters, Hannah and Elias, start the story by waking up in a cheap motel with amnesia of how they got there and they're forced to retrace their steps to figure out what happened. That SHOULD have been interesting, but it was dull as dishwater because instead of showing us any kind of attraction between the pair, JAK instead focused on rehashing aaaaaaaaalll the Harmony backstory in virtually identical language as she'd done in previous stories. And not just Harmony, we got recaps of the Arcane Society, Jones and Jones, Scargill cove, Mrs. Bridewell and Nightshade too. All in very boring "I'm telling you something you already know," "Yes, you're right, I do already know that and here's something else that we both know," conversations.
There's no spark between the two characters. We don't even get a physical description of either one of them. I assumed that Elias was tall and strong because all JAK's heroes are, but she never actually says that. And we got more description of Hannah's red dress and stilettos than we did of Hannah herself. It's like JAK forgot to put the romance into this book because there's nothing to indicate that these two are in any way attracted to each other. All through the first half we have them going through the motions of figuring out what happened to them and there are never any smoldering glances or unnecessary touches, etc. We're in Hannah's perspective for most of it and she never, ever thinks about Elias being handsome or in any way attractive. The best we get is her noticing that he seems "irritated" whenever she mentions that their marriage is "just an MC." Their conversations are completely devoid of any emotion or possible sexual subtext. It's awful. And then, completely out of nowhere and with no justification, Hannah just asks Elias if he'd mind if she kissed him and they immediately have sex. WHAT?!?! She shows no attraction to him whatsoever and then just falls into bed with him? It was obviously put in because JAK's paint-by-numbers approach to story writing said it was time for the first sex scene, regardless of whether there was justification for it in the narrative. And just to underline how awful the romance was in this book, even after they have sex, there's no more emotional closeness between them than there was before. They just move on like it never happened and go back to being impersonally polite. They don't kiss, or touch hands or any of the things you expect lovers to do. And after a few more chapters of this frosty performance, Hannah realizes she's in love with Elias. WHAT? Ugh, the romances was just so, so bad.
As for the rest of the plot, it's 100% bog standard Harmony. There's yet another paranormal gate that needs to be gotten through and the heroine just happens to have the exact right kind of talent to open it up. The nature of her talent makes it difficult for her to have relationships but of course the hero just happens to be psychically compatible with her. We get the same exact recitation of how it's hard for the heroine to sleep on old beds because of the built up dreamlight energy that we've seen in at least three other books. There's the requisite dust bunny companion, a poorly justified Marriage of Convenience, and a toothless villain with designs on the heroine for his evil schemes. Absolutely nothing original is on display here.
But what finally knocked this book down to a 1-star rating for me was how bad the writing was, especially towards the end.
I've enjoyed JAKs writing over the years but at this point she's basically Thomas Kinkade. Soullessly stamping out the same work over and over and mass marketing it to the fans who, apparently, will snap up anything with her name on it. In previous books I've been disappointed to keep rereading the same story over and over with just the barest tweaks to the details to justify calling it a new book, but they were at least competently written in terms of story mechanics and character development. This book is a train wreck. Like, it literally looks like someone laid out a finished book on the train tracks, and then after it got run over, tried to Frankenstein the pieces back together. The result is an emotionless, malformed shell that barely holds together as a story and stares at you with empty, lifeless eyes. Don't waste your time with this one.
September 3, 2016
Whenever a new book by Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle/Amanda Quick comes out, it immediately pops to the top of my ‘MUST READ IMMEDIATELY’ pile because I know I’m going to be entertained. Illusion Town IS entertaining but there are better books in the series. This feels like what I call a ‘bridging’ book – its primary purpose is to lay down threads for books to come. Still, it’s an entertaining read – just not an outstanding one. I am still be looking forward to more sequels!
This is a Harmony world novel, the first in the sub-arc set in Illusion Town. If you’re thinking Las Vegas transported to the Harmony world of ghost hunters and dust bunnies you’d be mostly right. At the heart of Illusion Town are some very unusual alien ruins, ruins that are marked by signs of an ancient cataclysmic event, ruins that leak oddly twisted alien psi and create markedly different sections of the town.
The hero is Elias Coppersmith, yeah, he’s a Coppersmith of Coppersmith Mining – we met them a few books back in Lost Night and Siren’s Call, not to mention the contemporary Krentz stories of Copper Beach and Dream Eyes. [No you don’t have to have read the others before this one, JAK is very good at dropping any background information you need along the way.] The heroine is Hannah West, an unusual dreamlight talent known as Finder in certain circles as she is VERY good at finding what has gone missing. And of course there is a dust bunny, this one is named Virgil and has a thing for all things edible.
After completing a commission from Elias, Hannah allows herself to be talked into a blind date [blind because all previous communication between them has been via email]. It’s a night both of them would really like to remember since they wake up in bed together with a marriage of convenience license and the remains of a psi-burn buzz… Trying to track the missing evening they start retracing their steps which lead first to a tacky wedding chapel called ‘Enchanted Night’ and then to the ‘minister’ who operates under the name of Elvis. This leads to more steps and more information and more danger and more secrets – you get the drift.
There are several subplots running through this besides the ‘What happened and why did we think getting married was the solution?’ - there’s her priceless legacy, the Midnight Carnival, that everyone wants, there’s her dreamlight skills that someone thinks will be useful in getting in and out of Elias’ Ghost City jobsite, the slimy para-researcher and the genealogist with agendas of their own… There might have been too many plots actually as it seemed a little murky. I’m sure future books will be clearer.
Series:
Harmony World
H00.5 Bridal Jitters
H01 After Dark
H02 After Glow
H03 Ghost Hunter
H04 Silver Master
H05 Dark Light
H06 Obsidian Prey
H07 Midnight Crystal
Harmony World, set on Rainshadow Island
H08 R00.5 Canyons of Night
H09 R01 The Lost Night
H10 R02 Deception Cove
H12 R04 Siren's Call
Harmony World, set in Illusion Town
H13 IT01 Illusion Town
This is a Harmony world novel, the first in the sub-arc set in Illusion Town. If you’re thinking Las Vegas transported to the Harmony world of ghost hunters and dust bunnies you’d be mostly right. At the heart of Illusion Town are some very unusual alien ruins, ruins that are marked by signs of an ancient cataclysmic event, ruins that leak oddly twisted alien psi and create markedly different sections of the town.
The hero is Elias Coppersmith, yeah, he’s a Coppersmith of Coppersmith Mining – we met them a few books back in Lost Night and Siren’s Call, not to mention the contemporary Krentz stories of Copper Beach and Dream Eyes. [No you don’t have to have read the others before this one, JAK is very good at dropping any background information you need along the way.] The heroine is Hannah West, an unusual dreamlight talent known as Finder in certain circles as she is VERY good at finding what has gone missing. And of course there is a dust bunny, this one is named Virgil and has a thing for all things edible.
After completing a commission from Elias, Hannah allows herself to be talked into a blind date [blind because all previous communication between them has been via email]. It’s a night both of them would really like to remember since they wake up in bed together with a marriage of convenience license and the remains of a psi-burn buzz… Trying to track the missing evening they start retracing their steps which lead first to a tacky wedding chapel called ‘Enchanted Night’ and then to the ‘minister’ who operates under the name of Elvis. This leads to more steps and more information and more danger and more secrets – you get the drift.
There are several subplots running through this besides the ‘What happened and why did we think getting married was the solution?’ - there’s her priceless legacy, the Midnight Carnival, that everyone wants, there’s her dreamlight skills that someone thinks will be useful in getting in and out of Elias’ Ghost City jobsite, the slimy para-researcher and the genealogist with agendas of their own… There might have been too many plots actually as it seemed a little murky. I’m sure future books will be clearer.
Series:
Harmony World
H00.5 Bridal Jitters
H01 After Dark
H02 After Glow
H03 Ghost Hunter
H04 Silver Master
H05 Dark Light
H06 Obsidian Prey
H07 Midnight Crystal
Harmony World, set on Rainshadow Island
H08 R00.5 Canyons of Night
H09 R01 The Lost Night
H10 R02 Deception Cove
H12 R04 Siren's Call
Harmony World, set in Illusion Town
H13 IT01 Illusion Town
November 4, 2016
I've only read two previous books in this series (The Hot Zone and Siren's Call) and yet this book seemed very repetitive. I was essentially bored through the whole book. Nothing really pulled me into the story.
The two MC's Hannah and Elias were good and the plot had potential but it was all underwhelming. Or perhaps both the characters and the plot were overwhelmed with the world building. Everything in this book is so focused on the "world" they live in and the "powers" of that world that character building and plot building gets lost. The plot, if pulled from the world building, would be a few very slim scenes introducing a host of undeveloped minor characters and a couple of decent suspense scenes. Definitely not enough to create a captivating story. The main character building with Hannah was her attitude towards the "MC" - marriage of convenience between her and Elias - and that became irritating not just to the groom but to this reader.
And truthfully, although the dust bunnies are a cute addition to the stories, there were definitely times when I was at the point where I was thinking, "Enough with the dust bunnies." I certainly didn't need to hear about all of them showing up in the Epilogue.
Although I had enjoyed the prior books two book that I read, I have marked this series as abandoned and won't be reading anymore books in this series.
The two MC's Hannah and Elias were good and the plot had potential but it was all underwhelming. Or perhaps both the characters and the plot were overwhelmed with the world building. Everything in this book is so focused on the "world" they live in and the "powers" of that world that character building and plot building gets lost. The plot, if pulled from the world building, would be a few very slim scenes introducing a host of undeveloped minor characters and a couple of decent suspense scenes. Definitely not enough to create a captivating story. The main character building with Hannah was her attitude towards the "MC" - marriage of convenience between her and Elias - and that became irritating not just to the groom but to this reader.
And truthfully, although the dust bunnies are a cute addition to the stories, there were definitely times when I was at the point where I was thinking, "Enough with the dust bunnies." I certainly didn't need to hear about all of them showing up in the Epilogue.
Although I had enjoyed the prior books two book that I read, I have marked this series as abandoned and won't be reading anymore books in this series.
July 29, 2016
3.5 stars
Another fun Harmony novel from Jayne Castle.
These stories all follow a familiar theme, though this tale takes us to a new locale, Illusion Town, the Harmony equivalent of Las Vegas. The hero and heroine are powerful talents whose specific profiles complement and/or enhance each other. In this case, Hannah West is a powerful dreamlight talent who has found The Midnight Carnival, an amusement park hidden deep in the alien underground, built by human ancestors and holding priceless artifacts. Elias Coppersmith is the scion of the big mining family and he contracts Hannah to help him free some trapped miner/explorers. At the beginning of the story, they wake up together in a strange hotel room, memory of the previous night lost but with evidence that they got married in a tacky Illusion Town chapel.
Well, what happens in Illusion Town kind of stays in Illusion Town (and its associated alien tunnels and town), so Hannah and Elias must retrace what happened to them and uncover who was responsible and why. In the meantime, they of course figure out that they make a good team both in and out of bed. It's all a bit predictable but enjoyable.
Rounded up to four stars because I love the dust bunnies.
Another fun Harmony novel from Jayne Castle.
These stories all follow a familiar theme, though this tale takes us to a new locale, Illusion Town, the Harmony equivalent of Las Vegas. The hero and heroine are powerful talents whose specific profiles complement and/or enhance each other. In this case, Hannah West is a powerful dreamlight talent who has found The Midnight Carnival, an amusement park hidden deep in the alien underground, built by human ancestors and holding priceless artifacts. Elias Coppersmith is the scion of the big mining family and he contracts Hannah to help him free some trapped miner/explorers. At the beginning of the story, they wake up together in a strange hotel room, memory of the previous night lost but with evidence that they got married in a tacky Illusion Town chapel.
Well, what happens in Illusion Town kind of stays in Illusion Town (and its associated alien tunnels and town), so Hannah and Elias must retrace what happened to them and uncover who was responsible and why. In the meantime, they of course figure out that they make a good team both in and out of bed. It's all a bit predictable but enjoyable.
Rounded up to four stars because I love the dust bunnies.
August 5, 2016
This was a fun read. I enjoy both of Krentz's alter egos, but Jayne Castle the most. The pnr aspect, I guess. Anyway, this is another trip to her Harmony world. This time, the action takes place in Illusion Town, sort of an another world version of Las Vegas. Illusion Town, however, is a little seedier and a lot more paranormal. We have the usual, dust bunnies, talents, para-psychs, the rainforest, and the underground tunnels built by the aliens.
This time we have Hannah and Elias, who do business online for months, then finally decide to meet over dinner. They wake up in the morning with no memory of the night before, and find they have entered a 'Marriage of Convenience'. The rest of the book is spent retracing their steps to find out what is going on, and who is after Hannah.
Good story, and it's always nice to be back in the world of Harmony. As with her JAK books, there is a certain formula to the stories; but I usually find them entertaining. If you like the 'Harmony' series; you'll enjoy this installment.
This time we have Hannah and Elias, who do business online for months, then finally decide to meet over dinner. They wake up in the morning with no memory of the night before, and find they have entered a 'Marriage of Convenience'. The rest of the book is spent retracing their steps to find out what is going on, and who is after Hannah.
Good story, and it's always nice to be back in the world of Harmony. As with her JAK books, there is a certain formula to the stories; but I usually find them entertaining. If you like the 'Harmony' series; you'll enjoy this installment.
August 6, 2016
This new novel in Jayne Castle’s futuristic romance series, set on the planet of Harmony, was as readable as all the rest. I finished the book a week ago and I already forgot the protagonists’ names and their adventures, but I enjoyed reading it all the same, as I enjoy all the other books of this author.
Underground catacombs, mysterious villains, true love, and a dust bunny combined to make this book a reading candy.
Underground catacombs, mysterious villains, true love, and a dust bunny combined to make this book a reading candy.
May 2, 2025
3.5 stars Good story, cute dust bunny, but nothing new.
On my 2nd read, I actually enjoyed the story more than I originally had. 4 stars
On my 2nd read, I actually enjoyed the story more than I originally had. 4 stars
April 6, 2023
MAN, I enjoy these ghost hunters and Harmony and all the weirdness these characters get tangled up in. While neither Elias or Hannah are ghost hunters themselves, their talents aren't run of the mill, either.
Hannah's dreamwalking talent and ability to find things has put her on the radar of a few unsavory individuals. Waking up married to Elias with no memory of how they ended up in their predicament, has her a wee bit on edge already. Throw in a few abduction attempts, an irritating doctor who doesn't know when to cut his losses, and a mysterious legacy and Hannah has a lot on her plate.
As for Elias, he's an engineer who's rather logically minded and he's kind of all in with the whole Hannah situation from the beginning. As they unravel why they got married on the fly and who's after them, his like for Hannah deepens. He admires her abilities and her bravery and isn't exactly thrilled when Hannah keeps insisting their marriage is temporary only.
A little danger, a lot of steam, a town that refuses to abandon one of its own, and a fantastic find in the catacombs. Like I said, I enjoy these ghost hunters and all the wildness they encounter in the underground of Harmony!
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
Hannah's dreamwalking talent and ability to find things has put her on the radar of a few unsavory individuals. Waking up married to Elias with no memory of how they ended up in their predicament, has her a wee bit on edge already. Throw in a few abduction attempts, an irritating doctor who doesn't know when to cut his losses, and a mysterious legacy and Hannah has a lot on her plate.
As for Elias, he's an engineer who's rather logically minded and he's kind of all in with the whole Hannah situation from the beginning. As they unravel why they got married on the fly and who's after them, his like for Hannah deepens. He admires her abilities and her bravery and isn't exactly thrilled when Hannah keeps insisting their marriage is temporary only.
A little danger, a lot of steam, a town that refuses to abandon one of its own, and a fantastic find in the catacombs. Like I said, I enjoy these ghost hunters and all the wildness they encounter in the underground of Harmony!
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
September 14, 2016
Waiting for this story was worth it. This book can be read as a standalone. Hannah is a finder of all sorts of goods ~ lost and stolen. She never mixes work with pleasure but make an exception with Elias. Elias comes from a family with wealth and power. He wears it well. He is a crystal engineer who knows about psychic powers out of the norm.
This story moves at good pace with nice pauses. The sex is too tame for my tastes. I skimmed over most of it. I understand why Ms. Krentz needs to add in sex scenes. Still, I think her books would be better without them. Her strengths lay in world building, character development and comedic timing. I love her dust bunnies in this Harmony world. It would be interesting if the dust bunnies had their own little collection.
Another interesting topic is the aliens. The more and more I learn about them, the more intrigued I become. Each story reveals just a little bit more about them. I wish there was more. Still, it is a factor in what keeps me returning to this series. This alternative reality story is recommended to reads who enjoy a mystery with a budding romance.
This story moves at good pace with nice pauses. The sex is too tame for my tastes. I skimmed over most of it. I understand why Ms. Krentz needs to add in sex scenes. Still, I think her books would be better without them. Her strengths lay in world building, character development and comedic timing. I love her dust bunnies in this Harmony world. It would be interesting if the dust bunnies had their own little collection.
Another interesting topic is the aliens. The more and more I learn about them, the more intrigued I become. Each story reveals just a little bit more about them. I wish there was more. Still, it is a factor in what keeps me returning to this series. This alternative reality story is recommended to reads who enjoy a mystery with a budding romance.
December 22, 2025
Jayne Ann Krentz is one author who is on my must buy / must read list. I love her books under all the names she has used and happily reread them when I need a pick me up. She has characters with flaws, but throughout they manage to keep searching for something - usually a connection with someone or something that is missing in their lives. They persevere and do reach a happily ever after, especially if there is a dust bunny involved. This book pulls in some Arcane history in the artifacts and the history of the Society. It helps if you've read the earlier books, but this one is easily enjoyed without the background, especially since it's our first time to be introduced to the Sin City of Harmony - Illusion Town. Thanks to Ms. Krentz for continuing to write books that can captivate the reader and allow us to escape to another world for a while.
August 15, 2016
Once again I got to visit Harmony - that great planet that got cut off from Earth when the curtain went down. This time it features Hannah West and Elias Coppersmith, another member of the family that I first met on Earth in a book that helped start this series that crosses time and space. Illusion Town is like Las Vegas with alien ruins thrown in for good measure. It starts like most in the series with a Marriage of Connivence and of course ends with a HEA Hannah and Elias. This is a very interesting story line that held my attention from start to finish. I loved both Hannah and Elias. Both are just a little bit off from others but that makes the perfect for each other. Of course there is a dust bunny that often steals the show.
January 14, 2024
Fabulous futuristic, paranormal, romantic-suspense novel!
Hannah West (AKA the Finder) has lived and worked her entire life in Illusion Town, which is the Las Vegas of the planet Harmony. She has been corresponding for months with Elias Coppersmith, a member of the enormously wealthy Coppersmith clan, who have made their fortune in crystal mining. After Hannah has located for Elias a missing family heirloom—a ring set with a unique crystal which has paranormal properties—they agree to meet in person for the first time and go on a date. Flash forward around eight hours later, and Hannah and Elias wake up in a “hot sheet” hotel in a low-rent portion of Illusion Town, both of them suffering from amnesia. The only clue available to them to figure out what in the world happened to them is a marriage certificate that informs them they got hitched earlier that night.
This novel is Book 13 in the romantic-suspense, paranormal, futuristic, Ghost Hunters (GH) series, set on the planet Harmony, which Jayne Ann Krentz has written under her pen name, Jayne Castle. Within that series, this novel, Illusion Town (IT), is Book #1 of a sub-series of the same name. This novel is also Book #15 in the Arcane Society (AS) series, by virtue of the fact that it involves a mysterious, magical, Sylvester Jones circus, which is located in the ancient, alien underworld beneath IT. Sylvester Jones is the progenitor of the Jones family, who are the founders of the AS. Members of the Coppersmith family, who are ancestors of Elias Coppersmith on Earth, appear in the JAK Dark Legacy duology, Copper Beach from 2012 and Dream Eyes from 2013. Elias’s brother, Rafe Coppersmith, is the hero of Siren's Call, GH #12. As one of JAK’s most devoted fans, I have read every book she has ever written (192, and counting), and I greatly enjoy her tendency to frequently create character and series crossovers like the ones in this book.
I was very sad when, in 2011, I heard that there would be no more books from JAK in either the AS or GH series. But then, as a wonderful surprise, JAK gave us The Hot Zone in 2014, which is connected to both the AS and GH series. Then, in 2016, she gave us this novel, which is also connected to both the AS and GH series. The next five years passed with, again, no hope for more entries in the AS or GH series. But then, suddenly, in 2021, JAK gave us Guild Boss, Book #2 in the IT series, which is both AS and GH as well. And this year, 2022, has brought Sweetwater and the Witch, Book #3 in the IT series, which is also both AS and GH.
The amnesia inciting incident of this novel lends itself naturally to a plot that is by turns humorous, sexy, and suspenseful. As a romance novel, IT is particularly satisfying, because Hannah and Elias are onstage together practically the entire book, working as a co-equal team to solve the central mystery. They are also, demonstrably, true soulmates. Over the course of the novel, we are gradually introduced to the fascinating setting of IT in this novel, and to a delightfully colorful cast of characters who form Hannah’s loving, loyal family of affiliation.
As is the case in all of her paranormal romances in the GH series (and in all of her romantic-suspense novels, for that matter), JAK creates in this novel two dynamic, highly sympathetic romantic protagonists, who have loads of sexual chemistry and engage in lots of snappy repartee. In every GH novel, JAK offers a cute and clever dust bunny, who is psychically bonded to either the heroine or the hero of the novel—in this case, the dust bunny is attached to Hannah.
I love absolutely everything about the GH books, and every couple of years I revisit the entire series. From 2000-2011, I purchased all the books in this series as mass market paperbacks, but after that, I repurchased those first books as both Kindle and audiobooks, and ever since, I have obtained every one of the GH books (as well as all of JAK’s other books, too) in both Kindle and audiobook format (which Amazon offers a deal on with their Whispersync system). This particular book is narrated by the fabulously talented actor, Barbara Rosenblat, who has also narrated multiple other novels in the GH series (see below). Ms. Rosenblat is one of my all-time-favorite narrators. Her acting ability brings the story fully to life, and she is absolutely gifted at authentically portraying both male and female characters, of all ages.
For any fellow JAK fans who might find it of interest, I have provided below a list I made for myself of all of the novels in the AS series, including all of the GH novels that are simultaneously part of that series.
I rate this novel as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Dust Bunny Plot: 5 stars
Action-Adventure Plot: 5 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook Narration: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
ARCANE SOCIETY SERIES
Second Sight by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #1 (Gabriel Jones), 2006
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #2, 2007
Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #3 (Zack Jones), 2008
The Third Circle by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #4 , 2008
Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #5, Eclipse Bay cameo, Sweetwater cameo, Fallon Jones cameo, 2008
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #6 (Caleb Jones), 2009
Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle, Ghost Hunters #6, Arcane Society #7 (Cruz Sweetwater), 2009
Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #8 (Jack Winters), Dreamlight Trilogy #1, 2009
Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #9 (Griffin Winters), Dreamlight Trilogy #2, 2010
Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #10 (Adam Winters), Dreamlight Trilogy #3, 2010
In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #11 (Fallon Jones), Looking Glass Trilogy #1, 2010
The Scargill Cove Case Files by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #11.5 (Fallon Jones), 2011
Quicksilver by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #12 (Owen Sweetwater), Looking Glass Trilogy #2, 2011
Canyons of Night by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #13 (continuation of In Too Deep & Quicksilver as Looking Glass Trilogy #3), 2011
The Hot Zone by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #14 (Cyrus Jones), 2014, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Illusion Town by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #15 (Sylvester Jones circus on Harmony), (Elias Coppersmith), Illusion Town #1, 2016, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Guild Boss by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #16 (Gabriel Jones), Illusion Town #2, 2021, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Sweetwater and the Witch by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #17 (Ethan Sweetwater), Illusion Town #3, 2022, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Hannah West (AKA the Finder) has lived and worked her entire life in Illusion Town, which is the Las Vegas of the planet Harmony. She has been corresponding for months with Elias Coppersmith, a member of the enormously wealthy Coppersmith clan, who have made their fortune in crystal mining. After Hannah has located for Elias a missing family heirloom—a ring set with a unique crystal which has paranormal properties—they agree to meet in person for the first time and go on a date. Flash forward around eight hours later, and Hannah and Elias wake up in a “hot sheet” hotel in a low-rent portion of Illusion Town, both of them suffering from amnesia. The only clue available to them to figure out what in the world happened to them is a marriage certificate that informs them they got hitched earlier that night.
This novel is Book 13 in the romantic-suspense, paranormal, futuristic, Ghost Hunters (GH) series, set on the planet Harmony, which Jayne Ann Krentz has written under her pen name, Jayne Castle. Within that series, this novel, Illusion Town (IT), is Book #1 of a sub-series of the same name. This novel is also Book #15 in the Arcane Society (AS) series, by virtue of the fact that it involves a mysterious, magical, Sylvester Jones circus, which is located in the ancient, alien underworld beneath IT. Sylvester Jones is the progenitor of the Jones family, who are the founders of the AS. Members of the Coppersmith family, who are ancestors of Elias Coppersmith on Earth, appear in the JAK Dark Legacy duology, Copper Beach from 2012 and Dream Eyes from 2013. Elias’s brother, Rafe Coppersmith, is the hero of Siren's Call, GH #12. As one of JAK’s most devoted fans, I have read every book she has ever written (192, and counting), and I greatly enjoy her tendency to frequently create character and series crossovers like the ones in this book.
I was very sad when, in 2011, I heard that there would be no more books from JAK in either the AS or GH series. But then, as a wonderful surprise, JAK gave us The Hot Zone in 2014, which is connected to both the AS and GH series. Then, in 2016, she gave us this novel, which is also connected to both the AS and GH series. The next five years passed with, again, no hope for more entries in the AS or GH series. But then, suddenly, in 2021, JAK gave us Guild Boss, Book #2 in the IT series, which is both AS and GH as well. And this year, 2022, has brought Sweetwater and the Witch, Book #3 in the IT series, which is also both AS and GH.
The amnesia inciting incident of this novel lends itself naturally to a plot that is by turns humorous, sexy, and suspenseful. As a romance novel, IT is particularly satisfying, because Hannah and Elias are onstage together practically the entire book, working as a co-equal team to solve the central mystery. They are also, demonstrably, true soulmates. Over the course of the novel, we are gradually introduced to the fascinating setting of IT in this novel, and to a delightfully colorful cast of characters who form Hannah’s loving, loyal family of affiliation.
As is the case in all of her paranormal romances in the GH series (and in all of her romantic-suspense novels, for that matter), JAK creates in this novel two dynamic, highly sympathetic romantic protagonists, who have loads of sexual chemistry and engage in lots of snappy repartee. In every GH novel, JAK offers a cute and clever dust bunny, who is psychically bonded to either the heroine or the hero of the novel—in this case, the dust bunny is attached to Hannah.
I love absolutely everything about the GH books, and every couple of years I revisit the entire series. From 2000-2011, I purchased all the books in this series as mass market paperbacks, but after that, I repurchased those first books as both Kindle and audiobooks, and ever since, I have obtained every one of the GH books (as well as all of JAK’s other books, too) in both Kindle and audiobook format (which Amazon offers a deal on with their Whispersync system). This particular book is narrated by the fabulously talented actor, Barbara Rosenblat, who has also narrated multiple other novels in the GH series (see below). Ms. Rosenblat is one of my all-time-favorite narrators. Her acting ability brings the story fully to life, and she is absolutely gifted at authentically portraying both male and female characters, of all ages.
For any fellow JAK fans who might find it of interest, I have provided below a list I made for myself of all of the novels in the AS series, including all of the GH novels that are simultaneously part of that series.
I rate this novel as follows:
Heroine: 5 stars
Hero: 5 stars
Subcharacters: 5 stars
Romance Plot: 5 stars
Dust Bunny Plot: 5 stars
Action-Adventure Plot: 5 stars
Setting: 5 stars
Writing: 5 stars
Audiobook Narration: 5 stars
Overall: 5 stars
ARCANE SOCIETY SERIES
Second Sight by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #1 (Gabriel Jones), 2006
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #2, 2007
Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #3 (Zack Jones), 2008
The Third Circle by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #4 , 2008
Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #5, Eclipse Bay cameo, Sweetwater cameo, Fallon Jones cameo, 2008
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #6 (Caleb Jones), 2009
Obsidian Prey by Jayne Castle, Ghost Hunters #6, Arcane Society #7 (Cruz Sweetwater), 2009
Fired Up by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #8 (Jack Winters), Dreamlight Trilogy #1, 2009
Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #9 (Griffin Winters), Dreamlight Trilogy #2, 2010
Midnight Crystal by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #10 (Adam Winters), Dreamlight Trilogy #3, 2010
In Too Deep by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #11 (Fallon Jones), Looking Glass Trilogy #1, 2010
The Scargill Cove Case Files by Jayne Ann Krentz, Arcane Society #11.5 (Fallon Jones), 2011
Quicksilver by Amanda Quick, Arcane Society #12 (Owen Sweetwater), Looking Glass Trilogy #2, 2011
Canyons of Night by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #13 (continuation of In Too Deep & Quicksilver as Looking Glass Trilogy #3), 2011
The Hot Zone by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #14 (Cyrus Jones), 2014, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Illusion Town by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #15 (Sylvester Jones circus on Harmony), (Elias Coppersmith), Illusion Town #1, 2016, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Guild Boss by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #16 (Gabriel Jones), Illusion Town #2, 2021, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
Sweetwater and the Witch by Jayne Castle, Arcane Society #17 (Ethan Sweetwater), Illusion Town #3, 2022, narrated by Barbara Rosenblat
May 4, 2017
This book was a bit of a let down after reading the Siren call, I was anxious to read it but alas, it wasn’t like I had expected, that sizzle was just not there, it felt like something was missing, then it hit me, that sizzling romantic deliciousness, which was evident in all the other books of the series, wasn't as forthcoming as I grew to expect from Jayne Castle, so yeah, I'm a bit disappointed but I love the storyline, just needs a bit more oomph, I’m still a great fan. Jayne Castle or Amanda Quick, or Jayne Ann Krentz which ever name she writes under is an awesome creator of great masterpieces, this one just fell a bit below the mark for me, and yes I am still in love with her works. I love her style of writing and the flexibility she has as an Author to be able to switch from different realms or eras without repetition of characters or situations, that is awesome writing right there for me. Her paranormal romances I honestly believe are just out of this world no pun intended.
April 20, 2023
I love this series and this was a really strong showing. The relationship had a slow burn quality and you get to see their trust evolve over the course of the book. The setting was new and exciting. I hope more of her future books build on what was set up. Highly recommend!
I prefer reading the books in order, but any of the books in the series could be read as a stand alone.
I prefer reading the books in order, but any of the books in the series could be read as a stand alone.
May 19, 2024
This was a very good book! Reading the books based on the Harmony series are a very good way to get your mind off the real world for a while. I love the dust bunnies. Definitely excited to continue reading the series.
December 15, 2021
Once again Ms. Castle/Ms. Krentz has written another intriguing and complex story set on Harmony. This story is set in Illusion Town which is apparently Harmony's version of Las Vegas. Hannah and Elias made a great duo as they retrace their steps after waking up married in the Shadow Zone. Their were multiple dangers both natural and bikers as they looked for clues that would solve the mystery that threatens Hannah. I love visiting Harmony and always look forward to a new book in this series.
July 30, 2016
Originally posted at SmexyBooks-http://smexybooks.com/2016/07/review-...
Set in a post apocalypse style version of Las Vegas-called Illusion Town- Castle introduces a marriage of convenience between a research scientist and a finder of lost items. A date between Elias Coppersmith and Hannah West ends up with them waking up in a motel with no memory of their date beyond a certificate of an MC and the fuzzy feeling from being psi-burned. As their memories slowly come back, we learn Elias had met Hannah months earlier when she helped him locate an heirloom ring. Intrigued by her emails, Elias convinced Hannah to break her edict about not meeting clients in person and going out on a date with him. On the date, Elias learns some of his people have been trapped behind a psi gate and he had offered Hannah a job involving her talent as a Dreamlight but someone or somebodies went to a lot of effort to stop them from going to the site. Various plotlines slowly materialize, from Hannah’s ancestral claim of an ancient artifact of immense proportions to Elias’s latest archaeological find that gives the storyline the appearance of suspense and intrigue as Castle begins to leads us down a road of discovery.
I have always had an ambivalent relationship with Castle’s Harmony series. I either love the book to death or I’m completely disappointed with it. Illusion Town falls smack dab in the middle. The storyline and characters weren’t bad per say but very low key. Solid writing and a decently plotted storyline are evident though the energy, humor, and general pizzazz *insert jazz hands* I usually associate with this series was missing. The first 40% is nothing more than Hannah and Elias “talking” their way through their memory loss and piecing things back together. Castle drops clues to help illuminate the way but I found my attention wandering on multiple occasions. The job Elias needed Hannah for showed some promise of action but again, we are “talked” through it. It’s all very cut and dry. There seemed to be a checklist of things to be accomplished and you could see it being applied with each plotline.
There were also some logistics of the story that didn’t makes sense.
SPOLIER »
There was also a fair amount of redundancy. I can’t even count how many times Elias tells Hannah or someone who “Coppersmith security is the best.” Or Hannah refers to her “inability to handle intimacy.” Yes, yes. We know. We all know.
Character wise, I found Hannah and Elias interesting as individuals in regards to their talents and jobs, but lacking in a relatable warmth and chemistry. Perhaps this is because both are logical, rational, extremely emotionally guarded individuals. Hannah’s parents were murdered and she has never been able to locate any other family. Add in her talents as a rare and powerful dreamlight which automatically labels her as unstable and a risk in intimate relationships. Oh my god, now she has me repeating her. *sigh* Elias is an engineer/researcher. He comes from a passionate, close-knit family whose emotions and dramatic scenes are well known though he is pretty even keeled. Apparently, scientists can’t be emotional or dramatic. *shrugs*
As the story progresses, we are introduced to various friends and entrepreneurs of Illusion Town while Hannah and Elias work to discover who is out to get them. It’s all very family oriented and pushes the notion that while Hannah may be an orphan, she has a very strong familial base. Once we hit the last ¼ of the book, it’s here I begin to see what I was missing. We get intimate thoughts from Elias and Hannah concerning their relationship. I began to see some sparks of passion and emotion to back up their words. The action and suspense picks up along with the energy as we race towards the finish line.
Though Illusion Town had its moments and the last part, along with Virgil the dust bunny, saved it for me, it wasn’t my favorite in the series. I found it overall too linear and circumspect for me. Not to say I won’t read the next one, I just hope it takes us back to Rainshadow Island because that is really where my love for this world seems to lie.
Grade: C-
Set in a post apocalypse style version of Las Vegas-called Illusion Town- Castle introduces a marriage of convenience between a research scientist and a finder of lost items. A date between Elias Coppersmith and Hannah West ends up with them waking up in a motel with no memory of their date beyond a certificate of an MC and the fuzzy feeling from being psi-burned. As their memories slowly come back, we learn Elias had met Hannah months earlier when she helped him locate an heirloom ring. Intrigued by her emails, Elias convinced Hannah to break her edict about not meeting clients in person and going out on a date with him. On the date, Elias learns some of his people have been trapped behind a psi gate and he had offered Hannah a job involving her talent as a Dreamlight but someone or somebodies went to a lot of effort to stop them from going to the site. Various plotlines slowly materialize, from Hannah’s ancestral claim of an ancient artifact of immense proportions to Elias’s latest archaeological find that gives the storyline the appearance of suspense and intrigue as Castle begins to leads us down a road of discovery.
I have always had an ambivalent relationship with Castle’s Harmony series. I either love the book to death or I’m completely disappointed with it. Illusion Town falls smack dab in the middle. The storyline and characters weren’t bad per say but very low key. Solid writing and a decently plotted storyline are evident though the energy, humor, and general pizzazz *insert jazz hands* I usually associate with this series was missing. The first 40% is nothing more than Hannah and Elias “talking” their way through their memory loss and piecing things back together. Castle drops clues to help illuminate the way but I found my attention wandering on multiple occasions. The job Elias needed Hannah for showed some promise of action but again, we are “talked” through it. It’s all very cut and dry. There seemed to be a checklist of things to be accomplished and you could see it being applied with each plotline.
There were also some logistics of the story that didn’t makes sense.
SPOLIER »
There was also a fair amount of redundancy. I can’t even count how many times Elias tells Hannah or someone who “Coppersmith security is the best.” Or Hannah refers to her “inability to handle intimacy.” Yes, yes. We know. We all know.
Character wise, I found Hannah and Elias interesting as individuals in regards to their talents and jobs, but lacking in a relatable warmth and chemistry. Perhaps this is because both are logical, rational, extremely emotionally guarded individuals. Hannah’s parents were murdered and she has never been able to locate any other family. Add in her talents as a rare and powerful dreamlight which automatically labels her as unstable and a risk in intimate relationships. Oh my god, now she has me repeating her. *sigh* Elias is an engineer/researcher. He comes from a passionate, close-knit family whose emotions and dramatic scenes are well known though he is pretty even keeled. Apparently, scientists can’t be emotional or dramatic. *shrugs*
As the story progresses, we are introduced to various friends and entrepreneurs of Illusion Town while Hannah and Elias work to discover who is out to get them. It’s all very family oriented and pushes the notion that while Hannah may be an orphan, she has a very strong familial base. Once we hit the last ¼ of the book, it’s here I begin to see what I was missing. We get intimate thoughts from Elias and Hannah concerning their relationship. I began to see some sparks of passion and emotion to back up their words. The action and suspense picks up along with the energy as we race towards the finish line.
Though Illusion Town had its moments and the last part, along with Virgil the dust bunny, saved it for me, it wasn’t my favorite in the series. I found it overall too linear and circumspect for me. Not to say I won’t read the next one, I just hope it takes us back to Rainshadow Island because that is really where my love for this world seems to lie.
Grade: C-
August 2, 2016
ARC REVIEW
Illusion Town is book 13 in Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) Ghost Hunters/Harmony series also which is connected to her Arcane Society series. She has said she will continue the Arcane Society series just in this world. I always have a place in my heart for books where the main characters have the name Hannah, especially when they are really good, even more so when the dust bunny shares a name of one of my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a kid. Illusion Town is the Vegas of Harmony, and so you must have a story where two people wake up married and no idea of what happened the night before. What makes this story unique from the others are the circumstances. It is funny and witty in the typical JAK style with the action and mystery that always makes these books fun to read.
Illusion Town is divided into eight sectors two of which are inhabitable due to the psi-waves. Then you have the high end down to the low end of the gambling chain. The town is run by the Illusion Club the high end casino owners. Hannah West is a dreamlight talent she can dream walk and she uses that talent to help find lost antiquities. Elias Coppersmith is the head of research and development for his family’s mining operation, he contacted the Finder to find a lost heirloom for him but stayed in contact with her afterwards and even managed to talk her into going on a date with him. But soon after he finds out he’s going to need her help in a professional capacity. Next we find them waking up in a strange hotel room with no memory of last night and a marriage of convenience license. They retrace their steps starting with the marriage and soon remember everything. But Elias isn’t about to let Hannah go on her own especially since the people who were after them last night could be targeting Hannah specifically. They married so that they would stick together after they woke up, they were both psi-burned and knew the chances of the remembering the night before was slim to none and also it would help protect Hannah with the Coppersmith last name if it is her they were after. But even though neither will say it out loud they married because they were in love with each other.
Their story takes us from the wonders of the underground alien ruins and rainforests to the pizzazz and grandeur of Illusion Town. The unraveling of both their mysteries is exciting and quite a thrill ride. As always the dust bunny steals the show. Overall, I loved it a little predictable but enjoyable none the less.
Illusion Town is book 13 in Jayne Castle (aka Jayne Ann Krentz) Ghost Hunters/Harmony series also which is connected to her Arcane Society series. She has said she will continue the Arcane Society series just in this world. I always have a place in my heart for books where the main characters have the name Hannah, especially when they are really good, even more so when the dust bunny shares a name of one of my favorite stuffed animals from when I was a kid. Illusion Town is the Vegas of Harmony, and so you must have a story where two people wake up married and no idea of what happened the night before. What makes this story unique from the others are the circumstances. It is funny and witty in the typical JAK style with the action and mystery that always makes these books fun to read.
Illusion Town is divided into eight sectors two of which are inhabitable due to the psi-waves. Then you have the high end down to the low end of the gambling chain. The town is run by the Illusion Club the high end casino owners. Hannah West is a dreamlight talent she can dream walk and she uses that talent to help find lost antiquities. Elias Coppersmith is the head of research and development for his family’s mining operation, he contacted the Finder to find a lost heirloom for him but stayed in contact with her afterwards and even managed to talk her into going on a date with him. But soon after he finds out he’s going to need her help in a professional capacity. Next we find them waking up in a strange hotel room with no memory of last night and a marriage of convenience license. They retrace their steps starting with the marriage and soon remember everything. But Elias isn’t about to let Hannah go on her own especially since the people who were after them last night could be targeting Hannah specifically. They married so that they would stick together after they woke up, they were both psi-burned and knew the chances of the remembering the night before was slim to none and also it would help protect Hannah with the Coppersmith last name if it is her they were after. But even though neither will say it out loud they married because they were in love with each other.
Their story takes us from the wonders of the underground alien ruins and rainforests to the pizzazz and grandeur of Illusion Town. The unraveling of both their mysteries is exciting and quite a thrill ride. As always the dust bunny steals the show. Overall, I loved it a little predictable but enjoyable none the less.
June 6, 2018
So long have I been reading this series. SO long. This is book 13 in the Harmony series, or like book 1 bajillion if you consider that the tie-ins from her Amanda Quick and Jayne Anne Krentz's pen names are part of the series. And I honestly can't believe I haven't written about any of those, but then I realized the last Amanda Quick and Jayne Ann Krentz ones were in 2013 (still waiting for her to finish those two out), and time really does fly doesn't it? But I bring it up because we have TIE IN! Family is a strong theme in these series and it followed the people through the curtain to Harmony.
I adore engineers, know this made me predisposed to love this book. Castle got the abrupt, highly specific and almost hyper literal communication method down pat, it reminds me so much of real life I was able to settle right in.
This was action packed, and plenty twisty, and seemed much longer than the past few books, but in a good way. Needless to say there is a lot going on. We have also branched out significantly from the guilds, so it will be interesting to see where she goes in the series from here.
It is hard to know what to say about this book, except that if you read this series, you know what you are getting. Two off the chart talents, disparate worlds, family ties, albeit often unconventional ones, a mystery or two, and DUST BUNNIES!
This one struck me as a bit more fun and charming than the last couple, but YMMV. I like the pragmatic engineer hero. It is kind of a thing for me. I also enjoyed the ridiculous retracing of steps, kind of abbreviated Hangover type scenario.
I can't quite explain what it is about this series that brings me back time and time again,. but they make me happy. And really some days that is all one can ask. You can probably read this as a stand alone. But if you haven't started this series, I'd say start at the beginning and then pace yourself. If you binge I can imagine the similarities might get to you. But, since I am not binging, all I can say is that I've enjoyed my annual trip to harmony, and this particular one will likely go back on my reread shelf for a future blah day, it isn't deep but it is broad, and it left me smiling.
https://burnsthroughherbookshelf.word...
I adore engineers, know this made me predisposed to love this book. Castle got the abrupt, highly specific and almost hyper literal communication method down pat, it reminds me so much of real life I was able to settle right in.
This was action packed, and plenty twisty, and seemed much longer than the past few books, but in a good way. Needless to say there is a lot going on. We have also branched out significantly from the guilds, so it will be interesting to see where she goes in the series from here.
It is hard to know what to say about this book, except that if you read this series, you know what you are getting. Two off the chart talents, disparate worlds, family ties, albeit often unconventional ones, a mystery or two, and DUST BUNNIES!
This one struck me as a bit more fun and charming than the last couple, but YMMV. I like the pragmatic engineer hero. It is kind of a thing for me. I also enjoyed the ridiculous retracing of steps, kind of abbreviated Hangover type scenario.
I can't quite explain what it is about this series that brings me back time and time again,. but they make me happy. And really some days that is all one can ask. You can probably read this as a stand alone. But if you haven't started this series, I'd say start at the beginning and then pace yourself. If you binge I can imagine the similarities might get to you. But, since I am not binging, all I can say is that I've enjoyed my annual trip to harmony, and this particular one will likely go back on my reread shelf for a future blah day, it isn't deep but it is broad, and it left me smiling.
https://burnsthroughherbookshelf.word...
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