Silver Master
Grade : B+

I’ve been in a bit of a rut lately. Since starting a new job that requires me to drive instead of taking public transit, I’ve lost a solid two hours a day of prime reading time. Now I’m lucky if I squeeze in 15 minutes before bed. It’s also been a really long time since I’ve been caught up enough in a book to think about it during the day and go to bed early at night to catch a few extra pages. So it makes sense that the author I cut my romance reading teeth on would be the one to provide a novel that took me back to that warm fuzzy feeling and remind me why I love romance in the first place.

To clarify: I’ve never read Jayne Castle before, but I sure as heck have read my share of Amanda Quicks. And your share. Her share too. And probably hers. And I was so pleased to find the things that I love about Amanda Quick, especially her earlier novels, present in Silver Master as well. Things like a strong hero who’s alpha, but also respects the woman he’s with. Things like quirky secondary characters and a sense of humor. Things like good old fashioned sexual tension. Things like a plot that should feel worn out and tired but instead wraps itself around you so you can settle in and enjoy.

Silver Master is the fourth in Castle’s Ghost Hunter series, but, as I mentioned above, the first I’ve read. I had no issues following the story, and Castle makes sure to explain the important aspects of the planet Harmony and how the Ghost Hunter world works. I did feel a little lost in some aspects, but the main plot was perfectly understandable.

Celinda is a professional matchmaker in a world where her services are vital to a happy marriage. Unfortunately, she lives in fear that a scandal from her past will jeopardize her present and future. She’s started a new life in Cadence, but her reputation is everything to her professionally and she really wants to fly under the radar.

When Davis Oakes, a private investigator working for a Guild, marches into her office, he brings all of Celinda’s fears simmering to the forefront. He’s searching for an alien artifact of untold power, something Celinda picked up as a curiosity. Together they begin to try and solve the mystery behind the artifact and its power, but soon find themselves embroiled in something infinitely more dangerous. Others want that artifact. And they’re not playing nice to get it.

A romantic suspense set in space, this novel is worth reading just to discover dust bunnies. Most of all, it broke my reading drought, and I can’t believe I waited so long to discover the paranormal side of my first true favorite romance author. I had the rare pleasure of speaking with Jayne Ann Krentz once, and I told her that she was my favorite comfort read. She then, to my mortification, told me she hated that phrase. I still use it, though, because nothing else defines as well the pleasure that can come with familiarity. It’s not boring. It doesn’t breed contempt. It’s comfortable and welcoming and warm and, dammit, I like it. Oh well, at least now I have a backlist to glom!

Reviewed by Kate Cuthbert
Grade : B+

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : October 10, 2007

Publication Date: 2007

Review Tags: Ghost Hunters series

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Kate Cuthbert

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