I loved this book, it was really good; lots of crazy villans, very exciting, I really wanted to know who the murderer was, but it was a bit lacking as a love story. I liked both Raine and Zack, but I can't say their romance was very interesting. Four and a half stars. ( )

The Arcane Society series just keeps getting better. In this installment, Raine Tallentyre finds a kidnapped woman in the basement of her deceased aunt’s house. Raine’s unique talent is she hears voices when feeling extreme emotional energy like rage, hate, and misery, which is usually left behind from murderers and their victims. After she finds the woman alive, the killer sets his sights on her.
A deadly group called Nightshade also wants Raine, believing she has information they need. It’s up to Zack Jones to find the man who betrayed the Arcane Society for Nightshade and to keep Raine alive.
Zack works for Jones and Jones as a paranormal investigator. His secret talent is he can feel the dark, possibly murderous history off anything he touches. Even though the death may have taken place hundreds of years ago, he can “see” it in his mind as though he really witnessed the event and even did the murder himself.
Raine and Zack are incredible, and one of my favorite couples in the series. They’re both considered exotic, level-ten talents on the J&J scale.
There are a few loose ends not tied up (nothing major), but I hope they’ll be explained in the next book. I loved Zack’s connection to Gabriel from book 1 since I really like family sagas. I’m dying to learn more about Fallon and Calvin, the J&J boss and a J&J agent, respectively. One of my favorite parts in this book is at the end when Raine rails down on Fallon for being an insensitive jerk. Just priceless!
The books set in the contemporary era don’t seem to be as wordy as the ones set in the historical era, and I’m grateful for that. Though I found it annoying that the characters kept referring to the killer as a “freak” (it just sounded weird to me), the book is fast-paced and it kept my attention. This is a really great story and I definitely recommend it.
5 Stars

Note -- Even though this book is considered number 3 in the Arcane Society series, it’s technically number 5 if you read the books in chronological order (not publication date). Personally, I read all of the Amanda Quick (historical) books first, then the Jayne Anne Krentz (contemporary) books, and lastly the (futuristic) ones by Jayne Castle. For readers who don’t know, these three authors are the same author, and she uses different names for each time period.

Disclaimer – I bought this book for my own enjoyment. I am not paid or compensated in any way, shape, or form for this honest review. I will not change or alter this review for any reason unless at my discretion.
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It was a great read. Did not want to put it down many times. Interesting and exciting throughout. Im glad I read this and will try more books by this author and in this genre. ( )

Zack is dreamy, Raine is suitably complex and mature, their relationship has a beautiful back and forth, the mystery is compelling, the backstory is suitably tragic, and the ending has a delicious twist. Love, love, love this book! ( )

A woman who hears voices. A man who sees visions. A killer who may elude them both.
A paranormal romance, mystery, thriller and a criminal cabal. Combining all these elements into one story provided for lots of action. ( )

Sizzle and Burn
4 Stars

Synopsis:
Raine Tallentyre and J&J agent, Zack Jones, have one thing in common - their paranormal abilities. Raine can hear voices while Zack has visions. With Raine in the sights of a deranged serial killer and a secret cabal of psychic criminals intent on obtaining the Tallentyre family secrets, Raine and Zack must rely both on their abilities and on each other in order to survive.

Review:
The most entertaining in the series so far. The romance is wonderful even if the plot is lacking in suspense.

Once again, Krentz excels with her dialogue and characterization. Raine uses wit and sarcasm to conceal her insecurities but is, nevertheless, a self-sufficient woman with a powerful sense of justice. Zack is absolutely gorgeous, and I really enjoyed the way in which he helps Raine come to terms with her abilities. Their chemistry definitely sizzles and burns and it was interesting to see their relationship develop from extremely hot and sensual to intensely emotional. I also liked the fact that their romance is not plagued by any contrived misunderstandings or trust issues.

My only real problem with the story is that the serial killer plot is so minor as to be almost non-existent and has very little relevance to the main storyline. As a fan of serial killer books, I was hoping for more details on the victims and the murderer but this is not forthcoming and is ultimately resolved very quickly and almost as an afterthought. The psychic cabal plot is more complex and better developed with additional details provided about the Nightshade organization introduced in the previous book. There is also a nifty plot twist and cliffhanger at the end to keep the reader guessing.

It should be noted that it is not necessary to read the series in order. There is no direct connection between the plots of the individual books perhaps because some are contemporary while others are historical. The only common thread is the Jones family and the Arcane society, and it is fairly easy to grasp their significance in the series arc. On the whole, I prefer Krentz’s historical romances written under her pseudonym, Amanda Quick, but the Arcane series is very entertaining and enjoyable. I look forward to reading the next installment. ( )

I love this series about the Arcane Society. It's very cool that it moves back and forth in history depending on which author name she is using. ( )

I love this series about the Arcane Society. It's very cool that it moves back and forth in history depending on which author name she is using. ( )

This was my first "Arcane Society Novel" and I enjoyed it very much so the title can definitely be read as an 'independent story'. A portion of the Library Journal review stated, "Krentz continues her action-packed psychic paranormal series." Let's also share that the leading characters of Raine Tallentyre and Zackary Gabriel Jones definitely 'sizzle' and with just the right amount of unexpected twists and turns, and suspenseful moments. ( )

Spent a lazy Saturday morning reading this, but I think I'll take a bit of break before continuing on with the series. I wouldn't want to get tired of it since I'm really enjoying it right now. ( )

Another copy/paste review from Amazon. Enjoyable read, but I kept forgetting to post reviews before I started another book:

When Raine Tallentyre made the mistake of revealing her paranormal abilities, her most recent romantic relationship came to a hasty end. Her Aunt Vella, a gifted but troubled soul, had told her years ago to keep her talents a secret. And now that poor Aunt Vella-her last blood relative-has died, Raine has resigned herself to a lonely life.

But when she journeys to Shelbyville, Washington, to clear out Aunt Vella's house, Raine's highly developed sensitivity leads her to a horrifying discovery: a young woman bound and terrified in a basement storage locker. The victim has survived, but the culprit is still on the loose. Without warning, a new man enters Raine's life-investigator Zack Jones. Surprisingly, Zack isn't repelled by her powers: in fact, he has them himself. While Raine hears voices, Zack sees visions and within hours of their meeting, Raine experiences an intense, thrilling intimacy-mental, emotional, and physical-she never dared to expect.

There's one complication, however: Zack Jones is working for the Arcane Society. This secret organization, dedicated to the study of paranormal phenomena, shattered Raine's family with an act of betrayal long ago, and she's not about to trust them now. But as a killer makes her his _target, and a cabal of psychic criminals known as Nightshade operates in the shadows surrounding them, Raine and Zack must rely not only on their powerful abilities but on each other ( )

This was a good mix of suspense and romance. The plot did run out a bit before the book actually did, but I enjoyed it. ( )

Not my favorite Arcane Society novel, but worth reading if you already a fan. ( )

Weak....... ( )

A great book. Again the suspence and romance is mixed with a remarkable outcome. I love it. ( )

The fourth book about the Arcane Society and the second that is a contemporary romantic suspense. While I enjoyed the book it didn't seem quite as good as some of her other contemporaries.

This is another book that I put on my queue at the library because so many people had asked for it. I figure it's part of my job as a librarian to keep up with the trends, you know? Plus, the brief notes in the record indicated that this was a novel about psychic detectives. That sounded pretty cool. I also spoke to a patron about the series - she said that she read the second one before the first, and she wasn't lost at all. I decided to give reading them out of order a chance.

It certainly wasn't a BAD book. It moved along at a decent pace, there was a mystery to be solved, and the whole psychic society thing was pretty interesting. Raine is a psychic (one who hears voices when she touches objects, to be exact). Her aunt was also psychic, and spent the last year of her life in an asylum. After her death, Raine goes to her house in Washington to wrap up loose ends. There, she encounters a man from the Arcane Society - an organization that is dedicated to the study of the paranormal - and also the society responsible for her father's death. Raine and Jack, the operative, have to work together to unravel the mystery surrounding her aunt's death.

So, sounds interesting, right? I liked it...but there were enough little things that bothered me to give it an overall thumbs-down.

For starters, the main female characters were named Raine, Pandora, and Cassidy. With the possible exception of Cassidy, the names sounded like what an eighth-grade goth girl might daydream about naming her children someday. Cassidy is part of a sub-plot that doesn't mesh well with the rest of the book - that of an author who wants to write a book about Raine.

Jayne Ann Krentz is also Amanda Quick - a pretty well-known romance novelist. That became apparent when we periodically had to take a break from the action...so that the main characters could get some action. It's a very romance novel-lish device that didn't really mesh with the rest of the book.

The Arcane Society itself sounded pretty neat. We learn about it in the first few chapters, but then nothing more. I was a bit peeved at the lack of information, but I knew that if I'd wanted an in-depth book on a society dedicated to the study of the paranormal, I would probably have to look elsewhere.

Raine (and the other folks in this book) continuously and invariably refer to murderers as "freaks". This is apparently the strongest term that Jayne Ann Krentz could come up with? I know this is personal preference, but I have never considered "freak" to be a particularly bad word. Hell, I would probably describe psychic voice-hearing Raine and drama queen Pandora as "freaks" before a cold-blooded killer. It just got old. Every time the term was used, I pulled back a bit more.

Anyway, Sizzle and Burn. Kind of fizzled. I probably won't pick up another one of her books...but I won't say never. It was a quick, entertaining read. Something light, like a snack between meals. I didn't have any dreams about it, and I'll probably forget about it when I find something more interesting upon which to spend my reading time. ( )

I am a die-hard Jayne Ann Krentz-Amanda Quick-Jayne Castle-Stephanie James fan and own over 130 books by the author. It all started when I picked up one of Quick’s “S” books (Seduction, Scandal, Surrender) while in University and then discovered Quick was a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz and that she wrote books under other pseudonyms too (Jayne Castle, Amanda Glass, Jayne Taylor, Jayne Bentley, Stephanie James). I am very familiar with her writing style and therefore I endeavor to judge each new book somewhat less harshly than I would normally because having read so many of her books, at times dialogue, details, scenes etc. can seem repetitive to me…but a reader picking up one of her books for the first time would have a much different experience.

The last book of hers that I read before Sizzle and Burn was White Lies released way back in February of last year. I have been a bit confused by the progression of the Arcane Society novels… skipping back and forth from historical to contemporary and between her different pseudonyms. Sizzle and Burn is the third book in the Arcane Society series…a society that to the outside world is nothing more than an investigative agency…but to its members the Arcane Society is a secret organization who’s true purpose is to investigate paranormal talent.

I enjoyed Sizzle and Burn and thought the shorter chapters enhanced the fast-paced plot. Krentz’s novels are usually characterized by snappy dialogue, strong-willed women and hard-edged men…no exception in Sizzle and Burn. Raine and Zack have a great connection that is enhanced by their paranormal talents. Only a few details are revealed about the ruthless Nightshade organization that is developing the potentially lethal drug to enhance paranormal abilities…and I am curious as to where Krentz will take this storyline. I was intrigued by the Fallon Jones character and was hoping for his story next but her next novel, Running Hot, is the story of Luther Malone and Grace Renquist.

http://myobsessionwithbooks.blogspot.com/ ( )

Once you get used to the fact that almost all of Krentz's heroes and heroines are cut from the same mold, with a few differing identifying characteristics, e.g., glasses or a different talent, you can enjoy her books. She writes zippy dialog, the book moves along speedily, and sometimes the plots are interesting. This one was enjoyable and I do want to to read the next one in the series. But I'm resigned to the sameness in the overall characters of the heroes and heroines. ( )

good ( )

Normally I include my thoughts with a rating, but I read this book prior to joining LT. I just remember I really enjoyed it. ( )

I didn't think I would like the Arcane Society series, but books 2 and 3 were really fun to read. A bit of psychic hocus pocus mixed with mystery and romance. I'll try the "Amanda Quick" book 1, but I'm not holding my breath. I usually don't like the "Amanda Quick" titles.

The descriptions of what the main female character was wearing really intruiged me, and that's rare. I really loved the designs and style of her outfits, and couldn't wait to read what else she was wearing. As for the storyline itself, I thought the two rather rushed into a relationship very quickly after having just met, but the rest of it was great. ( )

Writing could have been better. Easy read. Good story, but not engaging enough. It took too long to end.
Would not recommend. ( )

PACING: fast paced; dialogue dominates; revealed over time; CHARACTERIZATION: most imporant element; intertwined lives; character identification; memorable secondary characters; omnipotent narrator; eccentric; quirky; sympathetic; emotional involvement; STORYLINE: character-centered; multiple plot lines; predictable framework with interesting details; multiple plot lines; resolved ending; fairly sexually explicit; some violence; episodic; community-centered; FRAME: heartwarming; humorous; melodramtic; menacing; suspenseful; romanticized reality; upbeat tone; contemporary setting; conversational style; some series specific jargon ( )