Crystal Gardens

Ladies of Lantern Street, Book 1

By: Amanda Quick

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Novelist and professional companion Evangeline Ames has rented a cottage in the outskirts of Little Dixby, far from the London streets where she was recently attacked. Fascinated by the paranormal energy of nearby Crystal Gardens, she finds some pleasurable diversion in sneaking past the wall to explore the grounds. And when her life is threatened again, she instinctively goes to the gardens for safety.

Lucas Sebastian has never been one to ignore a lady in danger, even if she is trespassing on his property. Quickly disposing of her would-be assassin, he insists they keep the matter private. There is plenty of whispering about him already, with rumors of treasure buried under his garden, and occult botanical experiments performed by his uncle - who died of mysterious causes.

Immediately sensing each other’s psychic talents, as well as their mutual desire, Lucas and Evangeline find themselves with an even more pressing concern. Whoever tried to have her killed will try again. But who would want her dead?

With Evangeline’s skill for detection, and Lucas’s sense of the criminal mind, they soon discover that they share a common enemy. And as the dangerous energy emanating from Crystal Gardens grows stronger, they realize that to survive they must unearth what has been buried for too long.

©2012 Jayne Ann Krentz (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

My favorite Amanda Quick book yet

I could listen to it again and again. Miss Eyre does a good job with all the voices.

Another good one

I like the Quick paranormal romances and was happy to find this one after finishing up the arcane series regency entries — don’t like the modern ones. Typical story but fund as usual.

Good, but….

It took literally 1/2 of the book to get to any story. There were two issues brought up… the attempted murder of Evangeline, and the reason Lucas was there. But other than setting the premise for those two plots, the entire first half was just on and on and on about psychical this and psychical that. At the halfway mark I just wanted to get on with it and sped it up to 1.25. At that point, however, it picked up and the story was decent. Narration was fine. Typical Justine Eyre performance.

I got this book in a 2 for 1 sale and I’m disappointed that I wasted my half credit on this one. Wish I’d have picked a different one. Not enough to return it.

Another great hit for Amanda Quick

What made the experience of listening to Crystal Gardens the most enjoyable?

Listen to it anywhere

What was one of the most memorable moments of Crystal Gardens?

When Evangeline and Lucas first meet

Which scene was your favorite?

When Lucas and Evangeline was forced into the gardens at night

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end whenLucas and Evangeline married

Please reproduce this with a different reader.

The reader's voice is excruciatingly la-di-dah. Also distracting is the fact that for male voices she pushes her range far below what is comfortable for her, so that every male character sounds unnatural. Disappointing, because I liked the print version enough to read it twice.

Enjoyable mystery

It was a easy read and ok story line It took a bit to get going. Was not sure where it was headed

would not listen to again

The story was ok, definitely not Amanda Quick's best work. The narration was not very good.

Great story

I enjoyed the story and kept up with the characters. The performance almost put me to sleep.

Another winner!

If you could sum up Crystal Gardens in three words, what would they be?

Great story with excellent voice acting! Another winner! Moved at a quick place and I enjoyed every minute of it. All the characters were intresting

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved them all. It was nice to have strong secondary charters.

Have you listened to any of Justine Eyre’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Ms Eyre's narrating was excellent, i look forward to more of her work.

Any additional comments?

Looks like she got another winning series on her hand!

Wonderful Fun Paranormal romance book,

You can say that I Like Amanda Quick's books, it has been some time sense i have purchased one, Crystal Gardens was very fun, I found myself not wanting to put this book down, in some parts of this book i had to go back and see if I had missed something due to the book-not feeling complete, Like I had skipped a part. this did not take away from my feelings of this being a wonderful I pod read though, very entertaining,
So If you like Amanda Quick's books on the paranormal I think you will like this love story - mystery,
Happy Reading,