Crystal Gardens (A Ladies of Lantern Street Novel) [Paperback]

Crystal Gardens is a truly exceptional start to what I expect will be a fantastic new series! I was intrigued from the first chapter and the storyline only went from strength to strength. I have never read anything like Crystal Gardens before, set in Victorian London with supernatural elements really did set it apart as a novel and made it an unforgettable read! Amanda Quick writes beautifully and anyone who has the pleasure of reading this will be entranced rather quickly. You will also quickly fall in love with the quirky characters that are full of adventure and mystery.

Evangeline Ames is a professional companion and novelist who has a special supernatural talent. She was recently attacked preforming her working duties, so she takes a break to a secluded little cottage on the outskirts of Little Dixby. Little does Evangeline know that it won't be the peaceful break she intended. Someone is really out to get her and sends some knife wielding maniac to bump her off in the dead of the night. She narrowly escapes to the dangerous Crystal Gardens that lie on the outskirts of the cottage's property.

Evangeline runs right into the arms of the dark, mysterious Lucas Sebastian! They immediately sense each others psychic abilities and are instantly intrigued and drawn to each other. Lucas, never the one to ignore a damsel in distress steps in to defend Evangeline from her attacker, who has a mysterious accident while in the gardens. Lucas decides to put his skills to good work and find out who is out to get Miss Ames. They soon find out that they share a common enemy.

I loved the ending of Crystal Gardens, everything tied up beautifully and I was thrilled for everyone involved. The Gardens themselves for me was the most brilliant part of the book, they were so beautifully imagined and amazingly brought to life. I could picture the Night Garden perfectly in my head and I just would love to get lost in them for hours, as dark and dangerous as they are they have a certain beauty that begs to be explored. I also loved the blossoming romance between Lucas and Evangeline, it was raw, honest and not forced in the slightest.

This book is a real winner that I thoroughly enjoyed, I cannot wait to read the next book in The Ladies of Lantern Street series!

I was quite surprised at first to see there was no comment posted on the British Amazon yet, but it makes sense. Most reader post a review, when they are really happy or particularly disappointed with a book. No one enjoys saying something negative about a favorite author, and my guess is, that a number of fans might be disappointed by this offering.
I usually enjoy Jayne Ann Krentz historic novels, written as Amanda Quick. The plot-line always seems to belong a bit to the Gothic Horror genre, especially when the paranormal is involved. It is usually the dose of humor and common sense that the author injects in her characters, that give those books a certain sparkle and make them a really enjoyable and fun read... and sadly that's exactly what is missing here.
One of the main comments I read in other reviews is true, the story seems recycled from her other books. From the mysterious garden, the half-siblings and mistrusting step-mama, the revenge plot against the heroine to the paranormal talents, we've read it before in some form or other. But here Jayne Ann Krentz is one of the authors that I happily forgive recycled plot-lines, because what I really enjoy is her writing style and the characters she creates: Scenes that suck you in and even in the darkest moments a sentence/thought/comment by the protagonists, that can make you laugh out loud. Strong heroines, even though they are naive damsels in distress, living at times when women's rights were more of an afterthought. Strong, brooding and dark heroes, that sometimes I wanted to smack on the head for being too arrogant, but that would come through for the heroine in the end.
Now in "Crystal Gardens" we are being told about the heroine's profession and hardships, suggesting her inner strength. But seeing her interacting with her friends, the hero and his family, all she seems to do is trying to please and appease them, while harboring a melodramatic attitude towards everything. While I expect a strong and arrogant hero, this one seems to be rather unstable in his outbursts. And not the "just found love and passion and does not know how to deal with it" kind of unstable, but the "lashes out at anyone close and scares even people that know and love him" kind. You don't want to smack him on the head and tell him to snap out of it, you want to get away before the "searing rage" does not just make him yell, but gets violent. This rage is provoked by little old ladies and villains alike, so beware. Usually the characters of the feisty, eccentric aunt and the rebellious but sensible sister are perfect to inject some humor in the situation and show the hero in a more friendly, indulgent light, different from how society perceives him. The actions and conversations of the secondary characters here rather deepen the gloomy mood. So considering that one of Jayne Ann Krentz's main talents is creating likeable main and lovable side characters, it says a lot that with the bunch here, I would not have been too disappointed, if all would have been eaten by the carnivorous plants of Crystal Gardens in a "tragic" ending.
So why do I still give 3 Stars? I have to admit it is more hope for the future, than based on this book. The book is the first part of a series and in those you always have the weaker and the stronger stories. So I hope that things are going to look up in the next installment. For readers that have not read any of her books before, better start with gems like "The Perfect Poison" (Amanda Quick) for a historic/paranormal, "White Lies" (Jayne Ann Krentz) as a contemporary/paranormal or "After Dark" (Jayne Castle) as a futuristic/paranormal.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the lead female character Evie and in fact all of the women in this book were well written and strong independant women. They were a pleasant change from the women often characterised in historical romance. The main character Eve is an investigator who is being chased by a murderer. Lucas our dashing hero is a man whose powers draw him to investigate murders. This is the perfect combination and romance grows as the investigation gets underway. This book is fast paced and very enjoyable read.