Crystal Flame (Lost Colony Trilogy)

The face of romance writing keeps shifting, as writers push the boundaries all the time. Today you see new great voices such as Robin D. Owens, C. J. Barry and Susan Grant writing "Off World" romances, but hey, Jayne Anne, with her Lost Colony series, was doing it a long time ago. They did not get the right reception because they were so new, so fresh. Reeaders had Jayne Anne/Amanda Quick pigeon-holed and were resistant to letting her stretch. Funny, so many times I see reviews quoting if you have read 3 or more JAKs you have read them all. They are great reads, but a bit of the same. Yet, she when tried the Flower series and the Lost Colony series, readers were grumpy because it was not like JAK usually was!!So maybe a few of you have missed these tales or should give them a new look. I believe had they been released in today's market they would have done much better.In this one, Kalena is the last survivor of a proud heritage, and is on a secret mission to destroy the enemy of her family - at any cost, even her life. Kalena is determined to avenge the deaths of her father and brother at the hands of Quintel, head of a rival house. One man can stop her, a soldier they call " Fire Whip ". Despite, knowing he is bound to the enemy, Kalena falls in love with Ridge. He owes his loyalty to Quintel, so will he fight for honour or love. She is the coolest of females, so trained in keeping her emotions at bay, and he is the hottest lover, the one who can melt her heart of ice.Jayne Ann crafted a wonderful "Off World" Tale, so if you have missed it and enjoy Robin Owens, CJ Barry or Susan Grant, don't give this one a miss.

I recently re-discovered an older copy (1986) of this book (has an awful romance cover completely unrelated to the book) and read it again. I think this is one of her better ones. THe characters are stong but not so stubborn they can't learn from their mistakes. Readers should note, though, that this is more like a Jayne Castle book than a Krentz one. Her SF-fantasy is a nice change from other books in the genre because she tends to focus more on the social structures of the alternate world than the technological differences. They're also (mostly) believable - except you'd never catch me getting up at dawn (every day!) to serve my husband tea.

Simply a classic, never to be over-looked, and one of Krentz's best. A time-less story of a woman wanting to be free of restriction (Kalena) finding love in the arms of a man abandoned on the streets as a boy and who can make the steel of Countervail glow red with his rage (Ridge). Together they face challenges set before them by forces seemingly older then time.

I don't know how they do it but I swear, 75% of the blurbs I read totally get the book wrong. She is not 'coolly sensual'. She is on a mission from her family to assasinate someone, and Fire Whip is in the assasinatee's employ. 'Nuff said. This book is a thoughtful look at male/female relationships and the power balance, as well as being a great fun read.

This is the first romance I ever read, and I've been hooked ever since! It's the classic man v. woman story-line. Kalena is strong, not at all wimpy like some heroines. Ridge is all man, without being too macho or controlling. Any fan of JAK must read this. If you like this one, check her books written as Jayne Castle, also.