Rating: 
Summary: After Dark
Review: A real disappointment. The only thing going for it was it wasn't the same story again ( like Amaryllis, Orchid, and Zinnia were the same story with new characters). The beginning was slow, slow and hard to follow. It picked up as it progressed, but never was particularly interesting, and the ending left you somewhere near the beginning - ie nowhere. She still had the same job, she never got paid, and the romance had no commitment. Don't waste your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Expect Something Along the Lines of Orchid & co.
Review: Castle's futuristic romances are what turned me into a J.A.K. fan, so naturally, I was excited to see this book on the shelves. However, AFTER DARK does not follow in the tradition of previous Castle books -- it has a more "mature" (re: less fun) story line, and whereas Orchid, Zinnia, etc., were romances with a mystery/suspense subplot, After Dark is really a murder mystery with a romantic subplot. Gone also is the theme of finding one's "soulmate" for the main characters.I liked the heroine, however, and the book was interesting enough to keep me reading until the end (which unfortunately was a major disappointment). The biggest let-down of all in After Dark is that, by the end of the book, I wound up thinking that the relationship between the two main characters would be nothing more than another transient affair for both of them. Krentz apparently went for a more "realistic" feel in a fantasy romance, and wound up writing something wholly unconvincing on the most basic of levels. After Dark was entertaining to a certain extent, but also depressing, which is why I can only give it three stars.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: JAK cant write bad book. But.... After creating a complex futuristic world in the earlier books, why abandon it now? Why change tha basis of technology? Why change the basis of relationships between mature people. The love story hardly gets started and the book fizzles out with no natural conclusion. Sorry Jayne, I will keep buying your books for now, but stop testing me!
Rating: 
Summary: Big disappointment
Review: I have read all of Jayne Castle and Jayne Ann Krentz's books and was eagerly anticipating the new book in this series. I almost stopped reading this 1/3 of the way, but kept thinking the action or romance might pick up. NOT!!!The plot was boring and very hard to follow with the futuristic lingo and concepts. Skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money
Review: Lately I have been very disappointed with Jayne Anne Krantz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle and sadly this book is continuing that trend. The science fiction aspect of it was neither smart nor believeable. The characters were flat and uninteresting. The love affair was practically non-existant. (After 270 pages they FINALLY come together, in a boring love-scene that is less than a page and a half long.) It makes me wonder if someone else is writing some of these more recent books, with the publishing house using Jayne's name to sell them. If so, they are ruining her good name!! If not, shame on you Jayne! As an equally annoyed friend of mine remarked to me: Maybe Jayne should stop churning out these formula books every six months and take a whole year to write one good one!
Rating: 
Summary: After Dark
Review: Being an avid reader of this genre and a great fan of Jayne Castle (JAC), I found the characters intriguing and the plot very original. Lydia is a Para Rez recovering after a nightmare brush with an alien trap in the catacombs of the Dead City of Old Cadence. Working at Shrimpton's House of Ancient Horrors and trying to get her private sector consulting business up and running, she meets Emmett London, an ex-guild boss who hires her to find a missing family heirloom. After finding a dead body in a sarcophagus and dealing with a nasty ghost that scorches her bedroom wall and learning that her new client is one of the most dangerous people in the city is just the beginning of this off world adventure. Jayne Castle has a new hit; I read it cover to cover in one night.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I was so looking forward to reading the new SciFi/Supernatural book by Jayne Castle. However, I must admit that I was very disappointed with this novel. The convoluted and, frankly, boring details of the story overwhelmed any of the interesting character traits. The ending left so many details unanswered; the set up for the sequel was very obvious. As a reader, who generally purchases all my books, I am quite frustrated by this tactic and not very inclined to buy the next effort. If this story had been written by any other author, would it have been published? And to be fair, if this story had been written by any other author, would I be so disappointed? Probably not.
Rating: 
Summary: A completely absorbing romance
Review: After Dark is an antidote for all the things you may find tiresome in romance -- There are no "Big Misunderstandings" to frustrate and baffle you, no idiotically contrived plots and problems, no virgins, or cowboys, or babies. Yippie! As always, JAK has crafted a heroine we can like and admire, unreservedly. She should get an award for always presenting heroines that are neither too stupid to live, nor too perfect to believe. Lydia is a fully realized character you will enjoy getting to know. Her hero is appropriately Alpha without being a jerk or requiring a doormat for a mate. The sci-fi/paranormal elements are just right, they are neither too elusive to grasp, nor too overwhelmingly scientific to understand. If you need a break from denser romances with tortured heroes and heroines, this is the book for you. Instead of angst and sorrow we get a wonderfully imaginative and believeable alternative world that should set your synapses firing away. This is not a "hot" book. If you are looking for a graphic sexual romp, go elsewhere. It's a book about two wonderful people building a relationship and solving a mystery along the way. The hero and heroine are in virtually every scene together. And they talk. They don't rant or rave or believe stupid things about each other. They don't hate each other because of past relationships and they don't mistake lust for love. Thanks, Jayne, for another great book.
Rating:
Summary: No Matter What - Gotta love JAK
Review: I will admit I am biased, for lazy day reading I adore Jayne Ann Krentz in all her personas. In this book we meet Lydia and Emmett who are from worlds similar to those in the Orchid, Amaryllis, etc. series. Lydia is out to prove she hasn't lost her psychic trap-springing touch after a para-archeology accident she calls "the Lost Weekend". Having been given an unwanted respite from her university job she is attempting to rebuild her career through private consultant jobs. Emmett London appears on the scene as her newest client, just in time to discover the body of a thief acquaintance of Lydia's. Much to her surprise he still hires her to search for a supposedly stolen family heirloom. In true JAK fashion things begin to spin out of control both personally and professionally for the two characters and it becomes impossible to tell friend from foe. I enjoyed this book although the characters seemed to lack the depth and breadth of some of her other futuristic couples (hence the four stars instead of five). All in all it's good to see Jayne Castle back and for established fans I strongly recommend this book. For those who are new to this author try one of her older ones first, then definitely come back to sample this one.
Rating:
Summary: DIVERTING PASTIME, BUT LEFT ME WANTING MORE
Review: Lydia Smith is a Para-archaeologist who is trying to rebuild her career after suffering an incident in an alien tomb where she "lost" two days -- causing to lose her job at the University and her friends. Her first client is her start-up consulting firm is Emmett London, a wealthy business man, ghost-hunter and former CEO of a guild. They both are involved in trying to find a murderer of an acquaintance of Lydia's, a missing nephew of Emmett, and the discoverer of an extremely rare dreamstone vase. All incidents are related and actually are part of a not-bad plot. I had little satisfaction at the character development of Lydia and Emmett -- definitely not like Orchid and Rafe of Castle's "Orchid". There was little sexual tension, I couldn't fully understand why Emmett was drawn to Lydia, and definitely couldn't fathom why Lydia was attracted to Emmett. There was little chemistry and, to my great disappointment, no exchanges of vows of love or affection between the two. Add to the pot that Lydia is one of the most dislikable lead female characters written by Castle/Krentz/Quick. I like the strong women (I am a high-level manager who happens to enjoy romance fiction) but there comes a point when I say "enough" and want to the woman to stop being so stubborn and unreasonable, and give the guy a break. And thinking of it, I might have missed it, but I couldn't fully figure out what HAD happened to Lydia in the tomb. I actually thought at first that she had been set up, but it was never really made clear (or I might have just skipped that part when I began to skim). The only truly interesting character Castle developed here was Fuzz, a dust-bunny pet with two sets of eyes -- one for daytime and one for hunting. A pet that sits on the shoulder, purrs, and climbs up the counter with its six feet to munch on pretzels is one that I want to own!! I will reluctantly put this book in my "keeper" group, as I will regret getting rid of a Castle book, no matter how disappointed I am. Besides, I will want to read about Fuzz. Ms. Castle, I look forward eagerly to your next book in this genre, but hope that you can return to the snap of your other works, including your story in "Charmed" (which I liked very much and shows what can be done with a tangler and a ghost-hunter!
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