Customer Reviews

Copper Beach (Dark Legacy Novel)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Copper Beach is the start of a new paranormal suspense series, A Dark Legacy . Abby Radwell is a bookseller working primarily with private collectors. She has the power to take psychic energy from book and use it to disable people but primarily she uses her senses to find "hot books" for her carefully vetted clients. She gets involved in the search for a lab book with tremendous energy potential and needs protection-enter Sam Coppersmith. Sam comes from a family that has a long history of paranormal work and research. Added to his background with an unnamed government agency and he is the perfect man for Abby-personally and professionally. There is a lot of chemistry between the two characters and they get involved with each other and the search for the book right from the beginning. Abby is being pressured to find the book by her family and possibly also from an unknown blackmailer. Sam's father was involved in the beginning of the experiment that created the lab book and Sam knows the consequences should it fall into the wrong hands. Floating around in the background is the mystery of how Sam's ex-fiancé ended up dead, why Abby's family needs her to find the lab book, and who the mysterious blackmailer is. The suspense of the story keeps you turning page after to page to see what will happen next. This book is a bit of a departure from her Arcane series but just as enjoyable.

Abby Radwell can unlock the paranormal secrets of books but when she starts receiving blackmail threats, she knows she needs help. Copper Beach by Jayne Ann Krentz , Abby hires Sam Coppersmith, an paranormal investigator, to help her track down her blackmailer and to help for find an ancient text known as The Key.

Sam Coppersmith, has an affinity for crystals and he is willing to help Abby but in exchange he needs Abby to help him find The Key. When dead bodies start showing up, Sam worries that he won't be able to keep Abby safe especially since his feelings for Abby have gotten stronger the more time they spend together.

When I hear the words "paranormal romance" I immediately think vampires and shape-shifters, but Copper Beach is not your normal paranormal (I grinned after I penned that phrase). Jayne Ann Krentz is the queen of physic powers in the paranormal field. The chemistry between Abby and Sam is hot but it is the character of Newton, Abby's dog, that made me smile most often. Being a devoted cat owner (translation: slave to the grumpy old man cat who is currently sitting on my lap making it so I have to bends my arm unnaturally to write this review), I love Krentz's pet characters. With as many devoted pet owners out there who read romance novels you would think that more authors would include them in their novels but beyond just including a pet in her novels, Krentz does an amazing job of having the pets in her novels play an important role to the movement of the novels without overshadowing the main characters (dust bunnies are my favorite under her pen name of Jayne Castle). Copper Beach was a fabulous read that I highly recommend and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

I have enjoyed Krentz's books for years, but have been increasingly unhappy with the direction her books have taken, with them becoming far less "romance" and far more "para-mystery." Unlike the winsome characters in "Deep Waters" and "Grand Passion" and "Absolutely, Positively," to name only a few, there wasn't a memorable character in this book. None. Instead, this is a book that goes into excruciating detail about a bunch of crystals that don't exist.

There's not even a dust bunny, and the fact I would miss a fictitious creature tells a tale. The dust bunnies are turning into the most entertaining characters in Krentz's books. Goodness knows the primary characters all run together, being indistinguishable from one another.

What really bugs me is I paid - with tax - $14 for the ebook, which I will likely never read again. Unless you are enthusiastic about the direction Krentz's recent books have taken, save your money and either skip it entirely or get it from the library.

The villain was obvious, based upon her past books. It was no surprise at all. Realized who it'd be as soon as that particular character showed up. Okay, to be strictly honest, I thought another character was involved, too. If you read the book, you'll know precisely who I mean when you get to that part.

It's a pity that an author who has, in the past, brought to life such characters as Serenity Makepeace and Elias Winters (from "Hidden Talents" and "Deep Waters," for the uninitiated), has chosen to rely heavily on creating imaginary stuff such as the crystals in "Copper Beach" rather than unique characters and situations, both of which were once her strength.

I've been reading Ms. Krentz's books, under all her pseudonyms, for more than 20 years, and I still love her work regardless of subgenre. Copper Beach starts a new series featuring the Coppersmiths, three siblings who are talented with crystals; this is Sam's and Abby's story. It doesn't appear to have an Arcane linkage, although it has a lot of those elements. The story is told with Krentz's usual charm, and the characters are very likeable. I liked Sam's attitude about Abby from the beginning (no spoiler!), and felt the romance was sweet and plausible. The book is clearly setting up the other two in the series, but not in a way that detracts from the Copper Beach story. Krentz does have a style, and "typical" types of characters, so you either like her or you don't. I like her a lot. I bought this on my Kindle, without waiting for the price to lower, because I wanted to read it right away and I KNOW I will read it again. And again. A charming, warm, entertaining and engaging story worth your time (and money), IMHO. Thanks again, Ms. Krentz! You rock!

I have read at least 37 of her novels and this one is a major disappointment. I could hardly finish it. It was boring and I found I did not care about the lead characters. I guess success eventually leads to a lack of new ideas and the desire to put out a good book.

3.5 Stars - This, unfortunately, was not one of Krentz's better books. It was long-winded and drawn out; and in places, it had the feeling that she was phoning it in from previous works. It was, however; quite readable. If you like her work, you will get some real enjoyment out of the book. It has all the aura and psychic woo-woo that her books are known for. I sure do miss the old Krentz who wrote straight RS without all the psychic woo-woo. It was a straight-forward investigation and search for an artifact book with no real highs or lows. The climax was even anti-climactic. For the second book in a row, she's trotted out the gay friend for show, and then put him right back in the closet. It's like she feels just having a gay guy in the book(s) is her way of being relevant in today's book market.

The saving grace of the entire book was the really humorous scene at the book signing. Abby was forced to show up there; and her family definitely put the fun in dysfunctional. I smiled all the way through those chapters. The reader got to see Abby's family through her eyes, and she obviously felt like they all belonged in the zoo. Krentz has a dry wit and a droll sense of humor that really showed up in this scene.

I got it at the library. If you like Krentz's books, it's worth getting at the library; but not worth paying money for. Maybe next time...

I have been a fan of Jayne Anne Krentz for years, but this book holds nothing new. Krentz is reusing storylines she's written before, and the entire book seems familiar. It was all right, but not up to her past standards. I, too, am getting tired of the characters with psychic powers finding each other and linking their auras - it's getting old! How about a story with normal people finding each other and overcoming difficulties to fall in love?? Oh, well, there's always the next book . . .

I've been reading Jayne Ann Krentz and her Amanda Quick historicals for over a decade, and she's still my go-to author when I need a comfort read. "Copper Beach" delivers just that: JAK's usual well-crafted story and extremely likeable characters. That's no small praise when the romance market is flooded with books, and not all of them can, at the least, boast solid writing. In her latest offering, JAK has moved away from the Arcane Society although this is still a paranormal romantic suspense that fits right in with those books.

Also typical with Krentz, there are no major surprises in this book. There's not much of a who-done-it since the primary villain is known from chapter one. There's the Scooby Doo ending with the villain revealing everything before the wrap-it-all-up final showdown. The main characters have extended families with some interesting dynamics, and it appears we will see some of them in future books.

Bottom line: "Copper Beach" is a light, entertaining read with all the JAK standards.

If I had not read the Ghosthunter series or Arcane series, this novel would be very confusing. The author uses the same terms in this one as she does for her futuristic series. If you love those, you will like this book. If you are familiar with JAK contemporary romance novels, this one will be disappointing to you. As another reader mentioned, this is a great para mystery, but not the best romance. I look forward to the next two books in the series.

I have only read a few books by Krentz/Quick/Castle, all of them in her new vein of paranormal. So, I am not an expert at all. With that out of the way, I have to say that this book was not bad. I like the relationship between Sam and Abby (even though she jumped between sheets with him too quickly). The dog was cool too. Now, to the plot. It was really interesting, I believed with the rare earths and crystals. She uses many terms that she used in her Arcane books, like "running hot" and "jacked," so for the uninitiated I believe that wouldn't understand it. The problem I had was the end of the book. The main bad guy was taken out too easily. I was hoping he would be around for the next book Summer Light (2013).

I'm under the conclusion that the other two books in the trilogy will be about Sam's brother and sister. So all and all it was a good book but not the best I have read by her, so far.