Gift of Fire
3 Stars

Verity Ames and Jonas Quarrell are at a crossroads both in terms of their psychic connection and their romance. In an attempt to decide the future of their relationship one way or the other, Verity convinces Jonas to accept a job authenticating a 16th century Italian villa that has been relocated to the San Juan Islands. Once there, Verity and Jonas soon realize there is more to the job than meets the eye with murder and mayhem on the menu.

Gift of Fire continues in the same vein as the first book with Verity and Jonas's romance epitomizing the typical tropes of the 1980s bodice ripper with a domineering hero who won't take "no" for an answer, and a strong willed heroine who caves at the first sight of his manly chest. Most of the conflict between them results from a lack of communication, which gets annoying after a while.

That said, Verity and Jonas have incredible chemistry and the sex scenes are some of the most explicit I've encountered in Krentz's books. Moreover, there are definite glimpses of the heroes and heroines of Krentz's later books, particularly Lavinia Lake and Tobias March, and it is clear that she has grown and matured as a writer.

The mystery has an entertaining Agatha Christie like vibe with the discovery of a body and several suspects to choose from. The paranormal elements add an extra twist to the traditional formula.

In sum, a solid follow-up to the first book, but not as good as the later Arcane series books. ( )

Did not make it thru ( )