Early Review of Crystal Cove (Friday Harbor, #3) by Lisa Kleypas

• Title: Crystal Cove (Friday Harbor)
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre:  Contemporary Romance/Paranormal
• Format: Paperback; 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (February 5, 2013)
• ISBN-10: 1250011752
• ISBN-13: 978-1250011756
• Author's Website: http://www.lisakleypas.com/

"Are emotions like that even possible?" she asked. "I mean, even though you and Alex are in love..."--she gestured with the book---" real life can't be like this, right?

Zoe's face turned pink as she replied. "Sometimes real life is even better, but in all the little things. The way he touches your face, or covers you with a blanket when you're taking a nap, or puts a Post-it note on the fridge to remind you about your dentist appointment. I think those things glue a relationship together even more than all the great sex."

Justine Hoffman spent her childhood traveling from one place to the next. Never staying in one place long enough to establish roots or solidify a friendship. She dreamed of the day when she'd find a place to put down roots, find love, and start a family. When the opportunity popped up to own a bed-and-breakfast in Friday Harbor she jumped at the chance. But as the years went by and her friends found love and married she decided something must be wrong with her. She never seemed to be able to fall in love or maintain a long term relationship. She had even attempted to cast a spell to find her soul mate, but fate seemed to have other plans. She started to believe love was an emotion she just wasn't capable of feeling. Perhaps it wasn't in her genetic make up. That is, until the day she found out someone had put a Geas on her, a curse so she'd never find love. To break a Geas would cost her. For magic always comes at a cost. The problem is you never know what that price will be until it was too late. Dare she risk it? 

Jason Black was a self made millionaire who made his money creating cutting edge video games. He's handsome, smart, driven, and determined. He came to Friday Harbor for a reason. He came with a purpose. He always did his homework. Always did his research. He was a man who always got what he wanted and what he wanted was a spell. A very specific spell. Jason was born without a soul. Unlike those with a soul once his number was up, there would be no afterlife. He'd be no more. He wanted a spell to change things, and Justine, a natural born witch hailing from a powerful line witches was very likely to have a spell tucked away in her grimoire to do just that. What he hadn't planned for, what he couldn't have predicted, was that he'd fall for her and fall hard. But would that change his plans?

And that begs the question, can someone truly be your soul mate if they haven't got a soul?

This is the third book in the Friday Harbor Trilogy. You can jump into this one without reading the previous books in the series, and you won't feel lost. This story is about Justine, Zoӫ's best friend in Dream Lake, and Jason Black, a new character we've never been introduced to. If you've read other series by Ms. Kleypas, this one is a little different. Ms. Kleypas has added a supernatural element to this series which has a fantastical edge to it. I've always said Lisa Kleypas' books have a magical component to them, and with this series, that is true both figuratively and literally. 

As could be predicted after the recent popularity of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, we are starting to see the influence the book has had on main stream romances. In Crystal Cove, Ms. Kleypas brings Kinbaku, what is referred to in the book as  an artistic Japanese form of bondage, into her novel. I have to admit, I'm not a fan for or against the bondage trend and didn't read the Fifty Shades of Grey books, nor am I likely to, but if you wanted to get an idea of what all the hoopla is about with this trend, Lisa Kleypas is a good author to gently ease you into it. Personally, I can't imagine doing something like this with someone I'd known for only a short period of time. I'd have to be in a full blown committed relationship to even consider allowing someone to truss me up like a Christmas hen and even then probably not. I blame that on watching the movie Looking for Mr. Goodbar at an age that it permanently imprinted on me.

Another interesting aspect to the book is that Jason Black literally has no soul. A friend of mine has always had a problem with books where a person has no soul, but it's not a new concept. The term was first used in the 15th century, however, I don't think it was literally meant to refer to a person who didn't have a soul. Just a reference to someone who was cold, callous, and unfeeling. I must admit if I think about someone being soulless, it brings up all sorts of questions, some of which Ms. Kleypas addresses in her book.

Justine was a fun character who didn't deserve a lot of the things which befell her. After years of having anything but a normal life, she craves the mundane. She'd all but turned her back on her witchcraft. Being around Zoӫ and Alex makes her yearn for finding her happily ever after with someone of her own, but it just never seems to happen. When she finds out she's been cursed she can't fathom who would do such a thing or why. She's simply devastated and turns to two elderly witches who became like family to her when her mother turned her back on the daughter who abandoned the craft. She hopes they'll have some of the answers she seeks.

Jason and Justine's personalities are fairly opposite of one another. He's quite a domineering character who is used to getting his way. Justine kind of just goes with the flow, for the most part, but she doesn't let him get away with too much. When he starts ordering her around, she makes a point of calling him on it and that surprises him. Not many people question what he says. I was surprised, however, that she seemed to not mind his domination in the boudoir. I mean this was a total and utter surrender.

Overall, I gave this one a 4 out of 5 roses. I enjoyed the relationship with all its complications. I liked how the issues were wrapped up. I've always felt a master story teller can seemingly write themselves into a corner and with a stroke of their magical pen, not unlike a magical wand, write themselves right out again. I liked the way she did with this one. While I figured out what the cost would probably be, I didn't predict everything and was pleasantly surprised. The only thing I would have changed would have been the length of the book. I wish it had expanded to give us a better idea of how the events at the end affected Jason. I was more than a little curious. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one scored a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed. While not something I'd do, I love living vicariously through Ms. Kleypas' characters.

Order of the Series:

PS. Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor is the prequel to the trilogy.

Early Review of Dream Lake (Friday Harbor #3) by Lisa Kleypas

• Title: Dream Lake (Friday Harbor)
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Contemporary Romance/Paranormal
• Format: Paperback, 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (August 7, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1250008298
• ISBN-13: 978-1250008299
• Author's Website:  http://www.lisakleypas.com/

Just about everyone comes to a crossroads at some point in their lives. For some it might be which job to take. For others it might be which college to choose. Still others might have to choose between doing the right thing or the wrong. But for some, the biggest crossroad they will ever face is whether or not to entrust someone with their heart and take a chance on love. If they make the wrong choice the 'What ifs" can haunt them for life and sometimes beyond...

Before Mark and Maggie met, before there was a vineyard, the old Victorian house at the end of Rainshadow Road, which Sam would come to own, was haunted by a ghost.  He knew not how he'd gotten there, why he was there, or who he had been.  He just knew he'd been waiting for something or someone. The house had been abandoned and fallen into disrepair. He began to wonder if it was truly his final resting spot--his dead end, and then it happened....

Sam Nolan bought the house, and the ghost was no longer in limbo by himself. It would be some time, however, before he would finally break free from the house whose walls he'd been confined to. Not until the day he found himself able to follow Alex Nolan home. The only person who'd been able to see him since he'd died. Unbeknownst to either of them, their fates would be intertwined.

__________________

This was such a great book. In Dream Lake we get not only Alex and Zoe's love story, but another as well. The second reminded me a touch of the 1990 movie Ghost starring Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. Who didn't love that?

Alex is a bit of a broken soul. He craves a relationship but doesn't feel he's capable of the depth such a relationship would require to thrive. He doesn't think he has it in him. While Alex had brothers and a sister, he was the last to leave his parent's home, and so for the last part of his childhood he'd had to deal with his parents who cared more about what their next drink would be then about their children. That was probably when he first erected a barrier around his heart. He sees himself as someone who hurts others and tells Zoe from the start he's not what she needs. That being with him would ruin her, change her into someone other than the loving and caring person that she is, but she understands him better than he thinks.

Zoe's past in many ways is similar to Alex's. Her relationship with her parents wasn't ideal either. While his parents abandoned him for the love of liquor, hers literally abandoned her. First her mother than later her father. She was raised by her grandmother and perhaps it was the loving relationship she shared with her grandmother that kept her from being like Alex. It was fun seeing Zoe slowly chisel away the hardness around Alex's heart and break through the barriers he raised.

As the story progresses, we learn the ghost and Zoe's grandmother, Emma, were once a couple. We'll slowly learn who he was, what happened to him and what happened between him and Emma. One hint as to why the ghost may have stuck around is a promise made so many years ago:
     "I can't bear the idea of being separated from you for a lifetime or a year or even a day. So you mustn't go to heaven without me."
     "Of course not, " he had whispered. "It wouldn't be heaven without you."

Why is the book called Dream Lake? Well, Zoe's grandmother, Emma, owns a cottage on Dream Lake Road and it's during it's renovation that Zoe and Alex fall in love.

As I mentioned in my synopsis, sometimes the biggest crossroad a person faces is whether or not to give someone their hearts and expose themselves emotionally to another person. Such are the crossroad the characters of the Friday Harbor series seem to face, and Ms. Kleypas cleverly chose the name of roads for her first two books of the trilogy. It'll be interesting to find out if Crystal Cove might be another name of a road because it would seem fitting. So far we only have a hint as to what the next book will hold as there was mention of a group called 'The Circle of the Crystal Cove'. Looks like Justine might be the main character of the next book.

Overall I gave this one 5 out of 5 roses. I just adore Ms. Kleypas' books. I've always said they have a magical quality about them and this series proves it both figuratively and literally. A wonderful mixture of mystery and romance set in a hauntingly beautiful tale. I enjoyed how this book's time span encompassed the other books of the series and I will need to drag out my other books so I can compare scenes. I loved how the ghost played an intricate part in setting Alex on the right path, er, road and how each had to come to terms with their own feelings. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

Order of the Series:

1) Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor (Prequel)

2) Rainshadow Road 

3) Crystal Cove 

4) Dream Lake (Coming February 13.2013)

Disclaimer: I am one of Lisa's Divas and receive benefits such as this ARC to read and swag. For more information on what being one of Lisa's Divas entails, see my disclaimer page or visit Lisa Kleypas' webesite at http://www.lisakleypas.com/.

Early Review of Rainshadow Road (Friday Harbor, #2) by Lisa Kleypas

• Title: Rainshadow Road (Friday Harbor)
• Classification: Adult Fiction
• Genre: Contemporary Romance/Fantasy
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (February 28, 2012)
• ISBN-10: 0312605889
• ISBN-13: 978-0312605889
• Author's website: http://www.lisakleypas.com/
• Excerpt: http://us.macmillan.com /BookCustomPage.aspx?isbn=9780312605889#Excerpt
• Notes: I received an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) or this book. Some of the quotes I used may change by the final version. 

'She'd lost her home, her boyfriend, and her sister in one afternoon.'

They say that how you handle yourself in your darkest moments defines you. Lucy had just had her boyfriend, make that former boyfriend, tell her things were over. He had a lovely speech all ready, and then at the end, he oh so delicately (Not!), told her things might get a little awkward because he'd been seeing her sister, and she'd be moving to Friday Harbor and into their house to live with him.

Perhaps her sister fancied herself Alice from Wonderland and thought to step through the looking glass and into her sister's life? Heck, her name was Alice, but as most people know, Wonderland might be a nice place to visit, but it's not some place you want to stay. Plus, a relationship whose beginnings are based on lies and deceit usually doesn't last.

As Lucy contemplated the information that had just been divulged to her, she found herself taking her bike and mindlessly riding a trail by the ocean until she could go no farther and her thoughts caught up with her.

"Closing her hand around the piece of sea glass, she looked out at the water lapping against the shore in rough frothy blankets. The ocean was a bruised gray, the color of regret and resentment and the deepest kind of loneliness. The worst part about having been deceived the way she had been was it made you lose faith in yourself. When your judgement was that wrong about something, you could never be fully certain of anything ever again. 

Her fist was burning, a knot of fire. Feeling an odd squirming tickle against her palm, she opened her fingers reflexively. The sea glass was gone. In its place a butterfly rested on her palm, unfolding iridescent blue wings."

Do you believe in magic?

'Rainshadow Road' takes place approximately 4 months after 'Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor'. Ms. Kleypas has once again created a beautiful and touching love story. This one, however, has a magical twist--the main character has a magical affinity with glass. Lucy is the older sister, by two years, to Alice. When her sister was 5 she contracted meningitis. After she recovered, her parents spoiled Alice giving her free range and pretty much anything she wanted. So close to 20 years later it wasn't a total surprise, as shocking as it was, that she'd think she was entitled to her sister's boyfriend. It was during that same year that Alice had taken ill that Lucy discovered her magical affinity to glass. When her sister had broken Lucy's glass sculpture, the pieces turned into lightening bugs as her emotions rose.

One of the things I love about this story is the symbolism associated with each creature Lucy magically creates, whether it is stated or not. In the first chapter (which may end up becoming a prologue), Lucy's father profoundly states that a lightening bug is an ordinary looking creature, but "the darkness brings out its most beautiful gift." I think a lightening bug would definitely represent Lucy and her abilities and would probably be her totem animal. Likewise, a butterfly symbolizes "acceptance of each new phase in life. To keep faith as everything around you changes." That is definitely what Lucy needed to know when she found herself on the beach shortly after Kevin dropped his bomb.

As I stated in my 'teaser' book description, the way you handle yourself in your darkest moments is said to define you. Lucy handled herself much better than I would have. She didn't attempt revenge verbally or physically by destroying something of either her former boyfriend's of 3 years or her sister's. While she let her sister know she was not okay with her steeling her boyfriend, she did use a touch of colorful language to make her point, but who could blame her?

I loved how Lisa wove into the story little bits of information about the island's history. I had never heard of the Pig War prior to reading about it in this book. Plus, I wonder if the story she included about the woman who married the sea was her own invention or truly a bit of island lore? I'm a sucker for  a good folklore story and even took a class on it when I was in College. I have to admit the tale reminded me a little of the lore about Selkies.

Sam, what can I say except I just love the man? We learn more about how bad the family life was for the young Nolan children and how it effected all three Nolan brothers. He grew up in an environment where the primary person he could rely on was himself. One of the things that makes Lisa's stories so special is you know she has to have some knowledge of whatever subject matter she writes. In this case, it's about children who grow up after being raised by parents who suffer from alcoholism. I don't know where she gets her knowledge--if she does extensive research via psychology related material or if she studied psychology while in college. Whatever means she uses to get into the mindset of the characters she portrays, she magically transforms them from a one dimensional piece of paper with writing on it into a full blown three dimensional character you swear could be your next door neighbor. In the instance of 'Rainshadow Road', Sam denies how he feels about Lucy because it's not something he's ever pictured himself feeling for another individual. I liked how he had to overcome his fear of becoming attached to anyone. His trust issues stemming from what happened with his parents.

The relationship between Lucy and Sam starts out in a fun way. Moments after the scene where the sea glass transforms into a butterfly, Sam and Lucy meet. At first she worried he was a stalker, but gradually realizes they are just two people going the same direction at the same time. I liked how the two don't immediately become a couple but become one gradually, with a little nudge from a couple of friends. I thought it was a nice touch that Lucy was just as relationship shy as Sam due to her break up with Kevin and some experiences she'd had with some of her previous boyfriends. If Lucy had handled things differently, I think it would have taken a lot longer for Sam to realize his feelings for her. I loved how sparks ignited every time the two got close to each other and were not easily tamed. At the beginning interruptions seemed to be the norm and it was fun to see how the two handled things.

The book had two songs alternately dancing through my head as I read. The first being 'Magic' by Pilot, "Oh, oh, oh it's magic you know. Never believe it's not so." The second being 'Do You Believe in Magic' by Lovin' Spoonfuls, "Do you believe in magic in a young girls heart..." Of course if I had to pick a theme song for Kevin it would be 'Cold Hearted Snake' by Paula Abdul. Need I say more?

Some of my favorite quotes:
-"The problem with chasing after happiness was that it wasn't a destination you could reach. It was something that happened along the way."
-"Past experience had taught her that when you loved a man, you had to take him "as is," knowing that although you might be able to influence some of his habits or his taste in neckties, you would never be able to change who he really was deep down."

On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one gets a STEAM rating - too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed and are grinning from ear to ear. Overall, this one get 5 out 5 roses. I thought it was a great combination of romance, drama, and whimsy.

Notes to keep you in the know:
- "The very savvy Native Americans approached the realm of animals from a position of honor - knowing that all things are connected. They understood that seeing the bat with fear in the heart would be the same as being terrified of their own children. Ridiculous.
The Native American animal symbolism of the bat comes from a keen observation of this magnificent animal. These people recognized that the bat was highly sensitive to their surroundings and so therefore was considered a symbol of intuition, dreaming and vision. This made the bat a powerful symbol for Native American shamans and medicine people. Often the spirit of the bat would be invoked when special energy was needed, like "night-sight" which is the ability to see through illusion or ambiguity and dive straight to the truth of matters." (Gotten from http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-bat.html)

-"Hummingbird is the creature that opens the heart. When the hurt that caused us to close our hearts gets a chance to heal, our hearts are free to open again." (Gotten from http://mara-gamiel.blogspot.com/2009/09/hummingbird-symbolism.html)
-"In ANIMAL SPEAK, Ted Andrews says hummingbirds teach us how to draw the life essence from flowers. "They can teach us how to use flowers to heal and win hearts in love." Hummingbirds teach us fierce independence. They teach us to fight in a way where no one really gets hurt. They teach us simple courage. Andrews says the twittering, vibrating sounds of the hummingbirds bring us an internal masage that restores health and balance." (Gotten from http://hummingbirdworld.com/h/totem.htm)

The following images of Friday Harbor that I found on Photobucket. After seeing these pictures I can see why Lisa was inspired to write about this place. It does seem like a place anything could happen even something magical.

Order of Series:

1) Christmas Eve at Friday Harbor

2) Rainshadow Road (Friday Harbor) (Coming February 28, 2012)

3) Crystal Cove (Coming tentatively August 7, 2012)

4) Dream Lake (Coming tentatively February 13.2013)

Disclaimer: I am one of Lisa's Divas and receive benefits such as this ARC to read and swag. For more information on what being one of Lisa's Divas entails, see my disclaimer page or visit Lisa Kleypas' webesite at  http://www.lisakleypas.com/.