People in Glass Houses

 

People in Glass Houses (Harmony #16)- Jayne Castle

Berkeley

Release Date: May 7, 2024

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: His name is Joshua Knight. Once a respected explorer, the press now calls him the Tarnished Knight. He took the fall for a disaster in the Underworld that destroyed his career. The devastating event occurred in the newly discovered sector known as Glass House—a maze of crystal that is rumored to conceal powerful Alien antiquities. The rest of the Hollister Expedition team disappeared and are presumed dead.

Whatever happened down in the tunnels scrambled Josh’s psychic senses and his memories, but he’s determined to uncover the truth. Labeled delusional and paranoid, he retreats to an abandoned mansion in the desert, a house filled with mirrors. Now a recluse, Josh spends his days trying to discover the secrets in the looking glasses that cover the walls. He knows he is running out of time.

Talented, ambitious crystal artist Molly Griffin is shocked to learn that the Tarnished Knight has been located. She drops everything and heads for the mansion to find Josh, confident she can help him regain control of his shattered senses. She has no choice—he is the key to finding her sister, Leona, a member of the vanished expedition team. Josh reluctantly allows her to stay one night but there are two rules: she must not go down into the basement, and she must not uncover the mirrors that have been draped.

But her only hope for finding her sister is to break the rules…

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When Molly's sister Leona goes missing during an Underworld expedition, Molly and her adoptive moms refuse to accept the official decision that the team is dead. When the team's navigator, Joshua Knight, returns they are sure he has the answers they need to find Leona- despite the fact that he came back psi-burned and with no memory of what happened. Dropping her new business days before the biggest wedding of the year (Guild Boss cameos!) to head into the middle of nowhere and meeting a man who doesn't seem to want anything to do with her might not be the best plan, but it's what you do for family. And it helpfully allows her to forget about the dead body that turned up in her shop the night before.

Molly may be stubborn and determined to walk through green hell to save her sister, but Joshua has a stubborn streak of his own. He's also pretty sure he's not entirely sane anymore. Between whatever happened in the Underworld, his shattered senses, and now living in a murderous house full of mirrors, the only thing he does know is that his home is no safe place for Molly and her dust bunny friend. But of course they do stay, and things get complicated.

Molly is a delightful main character. She knows what she can handle and what can go wrong in the world, but she's determined to have a positive outlook on life anyway. Her talent for crystal art lets her bring positivity and beauty to others but she doesn't ignore life's other aspects. Her moms have made sure that she and her sister Leona can handle themselves and there's nothing flighty about this artistic free spirit! She may have a para-profile that has her thinking she isn't a candidate for a traditional long-term relationship, but as we've seen in other Harmony books, where's the fun in 'normal' anyway?

Joshua isn't really sure what to do with Molly and her approach to things, but to give him credit, he's had a rough month by the time we meet him. He's in full survival mode. But even he can't say no to a Zing chip addicted dust bunny like Newton, so he falls in with Molly's plans and (of course!) it ends up being exactly the right thing to do. I enjoyed Joshua's practical approach to things and the entertaining banter between Joshua and Molly.

If you've read any of Jayne Castle's books before you pretty much know how things will go, and Castle delivers delightfully. Newton, as the new dust bunny on the block, is entertaining and gets his moments to shine. If you're new to the series this is an ok place to start, you can pretty much jump into the world anywhere, and you'll have fun catching up on the rest of the series once you're hooked.

 A fast and fun read for Harmony fans that will leave you ready and waiting for the next one!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review