Sharp Edges

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but not Krentz's best
Review: Deep Waters and Absolutely, Positively converted me into a Jayne Ann Krentz fan and I went on to read her earlier work after those two books, including her Regency romances under the pseudonym Amanda Quick. Her trademarks are intelligent, independent heroines and brooding heroes with dark histories. They usually have names that you don't normally tag to romantic heroes and heroines, like Gideon, Molly and Harry.

In this story, it's Cyrus, a private detective, and Eugenia, a Museum Director. The death of a glass collector on Frog Cove Island bring the two together on official missions that hide their real motives: Eugenia to investigate the death of her artist friend (who was also one of the collector's many girlfriends) and Cyrus to hunt down an ancient artifact that was stolen under his security watch three years ago. Their initial suspicion of each other plays against strong physical attraction, but while there is heat and sexual tension, there's no sense of inevitability that these two characters deserve each other and should fall headlong into each other's arms. The main characters are disappointingly flat and the love scenes seem contrived. Krentz tries too hard to make the characters outwardly different that they end up as stereotypes - the sleek, sophisticated Museum Director and the strong, silent detective with the too-colorful shirts. The novel's redeeming features are the snappy dialogue and the quirky secondary characters.

If you want to start on a Krentz romance, I'd strongly recommend Absolutely, Positively, Grand Passion or Deep Waters. While Sharp Edges is still a good read, it won't warm you up on cold nights.

Rating:
Summary: Good, but still missing something
Review: I was excited about this book, because the beginning of it (published behind Deep Waters) seems to be a return to JAK's (and AQ's) normal style, which I think is great. (I do vastly prefer the Quick stories). But I was sad to discover that although this is a pretty good book, it still seems that you are watching the story through a dark, cloudly glass. Her earlier stories made you feel right in the thick of things. I don't care about the "formula" angle of these plots, the formula works great for me. I do want to care more about the characters, however. Ms. Krentz is still about the best Romance writer around. The sad part is that she could be (and has been) so much better! Please slow down. I would pay double for book I wanted to read many times over. None of the recent ones have qualified.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of my favorites
Review: This book could have been better, tighter, but it wasn't. The ending was especially disappointing.The main characters, Eugenia and Cyrus were too different and I never believed their relationship was more than sexual companionship and a limited business partnership. For a director, she seemed way too impulsive and irrational. For an owner of a multi-office investigation company Cyrus seemed too much on a one-man unit. I liked the idea of them living together in the end, giving themselves more time, but I did not need a marriage to tie up the story. I wanted the relationship to simmer a bit longer before they made a lifelong commitment.
I love art and antiquities which is one of the reasons I like Krentz as she often uses art and antiquities in her plots. I have seen ancient Roman glass. I was very upset that Krentz did not share Eugenia's reaction when she saw the actual Hades cup. Where was that moment of excitement when she saw the real thing and knew what Cyrus has said about its beauty was true? What about the sparks when Eugenia and Cyrus looked at the cup together? We do not even know how the cup got from the condo to the museum? And what was Tabitha's initial reaction when she learned of the cup? When she learned of their romance? And who was Damien really? Honestly, Krentz could have cut out Rhonda and Joshua (who cares about them anyway?) and spent more time developing Eugenia and Cyrus. This book seemed to be rushed at the end, I agree with another reviewer who suggested Ms. Krentz slow down and give us a complete and satisfying story.