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Photographer Venetia Milton is a spinster by Victorian standards. Economically strapped, she's also the sole support of her aunt and younger siblings. Things start to look up when she is chosen to photograph a collection of artifacts belonging to the Arcane Society, a 200-year-old clandestine organization founded by an alchemist. The collection is housed in an isolated gothic mansion, and Venetia finds herself there in the company of handsome and mysterious Gabriel Jones. Deciding that it's now or never for love, Venetia seduces him, only to lose the man of her dreams in a fire set by a nefarious enemy. Venetia resourcefully moves on, opening a portrait shop and assuming the persona of Gabriel's grieving widow. The talented Mrs. Jones becomes the toast of London, a surprising turnaround, but not nearly as astonishing as Gabriel's reappearance, and the danger she finds herself in. *** Quick has always written clever and entertaining stories, either as JAKrentz or whatever persona she dons, and I’ve always enjoyed them but since she’s created the ARCANE society books - I’ve been mesmerized. I truly love the concept of the parasensitve elements she’s imbibed her characters with whether they’re the good guys or the bad! Having a deep regard for historical eras, the setting of this book in the Victorian era and creating such a wonderful heroine who was way ahead of her time as a feminist and independent woman taking care of business was just brilliant. Venetia used the circumstances of Gabriel’s reported demise to alleviate and circumvent Victorian standards where an unmarried woman could never hold the position as one of the most sought after photographers of her day. The author created a believable scenario where Venetia took her only chance to know intimacy when she was hired to photograph the Arcane treasures. I don’t believe she planned it but the enigmatic and thoroughly desireable Gabriel Jones was too good to be true and the more she got to know him, the more she decided to seduce. Venetia knew that this would be a one-time deal because she also knew she would be the sole support of her siblings and maiden aunt so she grabbed this one opportunity for herself. I loved that! Quicks multi-dimensional characters are all well thought out and played off one another to create a strong family bond that hid secrets of Venetia’s bigamist parent, which if revealed could ruin any chances of Venetia’s success. Additionally, Venetia’s talent of reading auras was a wonderful touch and when you couple that with outstanding sensuality; Gabriel’s hunter parasensitivities; clever plotting and delightfully humorous dialogs between Venetia and Gabriel then all the ingredients are there for a terrific read. Additionally, when Gabriel and Venetia join forces to track down the demented murderer/blackmailer the sparks really fly both in their sensual response to one another, parasensitivity heightened and in non-stop action which in my mind made for a fabulous combination. Ultimately, this is well-written and beautifully read and performed audio by the very talented Anne Flosnik.
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THE ARCANE SOCIETY BOOK 1:
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