Jessica Lauryn

Suspense, Turmoil, and Change of Hearts Make For an Exciting Read

I’ve quite enjoyed living in the world of theater. Lauryn’s descriptive ability puts me in dark theaters, and places few knew existed within the walls of the building. With her canny ability to weave together complicated main-character histories and its effect on the actors/actresses and a once lost-love affair beginning to re-simmer, makes an intriguing and worthy read.

If you didn’t read book one of the series, you’ll still be able to enjoy this story, but I’m glad I read the first one, because it helps set up the stage of creepiness which surrounds Hannah, the daughter of the previous owner of Rabourn Theater. Her father died suddenly on a night at the theater—a night she has a hard time remembering. Bits and pieces of the event slip in and out of her mind. Her memories of her father would come back to her while sitting in the stillness of the theater, alone with her thoughts, but that night was shrouded in a mist.

Actors and actresses have huge egos, I suspect they wouldn’t be very good at what they do if they hadn’t. Hannah’s self-esteem is low. She thought she was a good actress. She was told so, but the part she craved to have when eighteen, she didn’t get. It’s unusual since she was the daughter of the decision-maker. The play is to be performed again, reigniting old memories. This puts her even more on edge.

At eighteen she had another incident which crushed her—a man she loved just walked away from her, Evan Masters. Being her father’s daughter she took it stoically after a bout of tears. It changed Hannah. She became hard and finds it hard to trust anyone.

Yes, Evan Masters had once had Hannah’s heart. Now, with several accidents within the theater he appears to want to keep her safe, and Hannah soon realizes her heart is softening towards him. But could he be behind all the problems? She believes he is and can’t quite trust him.

Hannah hadn’t realized how vulnerable she was while alone in the theater until there appears to be several attempts on her life. Who in the theater would be behind these attacks?

Dissension runs rampant in the theater, people not pleased with its artistic focus. Hannah has just about decided to sell it. The problem wouldn’t be hers then.

Lauryn writes a suspenseful plot, not showing her hand, with twists and surprises along the way, with several possible candidates for the villain, always keeping me guessing. She keeps the suspense coiling ever so slowly, until you can’t possible put the story down.

I hope you try Lauryn’s work. This series is a good place to start.… (mais)

This is a story about a young, talented singer, Alicia Coleman, who sings exclusively for Raybourn Theater. She is driven to reach the top and has succeeded. Forces around her, people from the theater who have their own agenda and other unbalanced souls, come crashing down on Alicia with a crack on the head, giving her amnesia.

Her agent, and on-again-off-again boyfriend rescues her from the attacker. Would he have stopped with hitting her over the head and done worse? Nick Lancaster is a wary guy, he trusts no one at this point. He more or less abducts Alicia, running off to someplace secluded to protect her. When he finds she has amnesia, he uses it to his advantage. This must be a guy thing!

Alicia didn’t know who to trust when she becomes conscious. Was Nick the bad guy? Should she escape or trust him? Why won't he tell her of her past, not even her name? As she slowly regains her memories, she only has more questions.

If I had paid more attention to the prologue, I probably would have started weaving pieces of the unfolding story together more quickly. As it was, it took me a while to figure it all out, which isn’t necessarily bad. As it was, chapter one is quite the hook. From its textured writing, the scene of pain and terror felt very real as well as creating a bit of an edge to what transpires.

The tale tells of two people who are terribly attracted to each other, but leery of each other for different reasons. I enjoyed the complexity of both personalities--their arguments, and bantering in dialog. As the story unfolds the suspense that the attacker could come calling again, that the situation would end bad put a nice spin on Alicia’s recovery. Will she regain her memory in time to be able to identify her attacker?

After the storm, comes the sun. This rocky, suspenseful romance ends in a very satisfying way.… (mais)

This is a great romantic suspense with just the right amount of romance and suspense. At first, I was a little disappointed that the characters were so young. (College and Graduate age.) I tend to read books with characters closer to my own age. This disappointment soon disappeared as I was drawn into the story and I found that I could identify with these younger characters and their experiences.
Best friends Abigail and Julia have summer jobs as desk clerks at the Washington Valley Hotel. Their boss is a handsome medical student, Ryan Newberry. Although dating is against the rules for co-workers, Abigail and Ryan manage to become involved. Abigail is haunted by the murder of her father when she was a young teen. Her father was a hotel manager and Abigails's new summer position, brings the memories flooding back. Her father's murder was never solved and Abigail is determined to solve the mystery. When several people at the hotel are murdered, Abigail links the new murders to her father's murder. She also links her new love interest, Ryan, to all the murders. Abigail puts herself in danger as she uncovers more and more of the truth.
I enjoyed this book very much. I wasn't familiar with the writing of Jessica Lauryn. Since this book is a prequel to her Pinnacles of Power series, I will definitely be reading more books by Ms. Lauryn. (There are four books in the series including this prequel.)
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Rating: 4.5
Heat Rating: Hot
Reviewed by: Molly Waters
Courtesy of My Book Addiction and More… (mais)

DANGEROUS PROPOSAL begins with a very sexy meeting between Alec and Lena but from the first moment misconceptions abound. The plot is very unique. Through the entire book Alec and Lena don’t trust each other and their suspicions are their excuses for keeping each other close. Spending time together is something they both enjoy though and long before they realize it, they are in love. Alec is quite shocked to find he really wants Lena for his wife after asking her to marry him as a ruse to get her to confess her nefarious intent. Lena realizes she loves Alex but doesn’t believe they can safely be together. Lauryn writes very well and creates a magnetism between her characters that draws the reader in but the plot at times, despite a clever premise and several truly creative scenes, was a bit week. This said, I still really enjoyed the book.
Received by the publisher for an honest review.

Rating: 4.0

Heat Rating: Mild: Mild detailed scenes of intimacy, mild violence or profanity.

Reviewed By: Jeanne M Stone-Hunter… (mais)