Guild Boss by Jayne Castle [Review]

Guild Boss (Ghost Hunters #14) by Jayne Castle
Format: paperback
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: July 26, 2022

Ghost Hunters
0.5. Bridal Jitters
1. After Dark
2. After Glow
3. Ghost Hunter
4. Silver Master
5. Dark Light
6. Obsidian Prey
7. Midnight Crystal
8. Canyons of Night
9. The Lost Night
10. Deception Cove
11. The Hot Zone
12. Siren's Call
13. Illusion Town
14. Guild Boss - Paperback | Kindle
15. Sweetwater and the Witch

Jayne Castle (AKA Jayne Ann Krentz)
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Welcome to Illusion Town on the colony world of Harmony—like Las Vegas on Earth, but way more weird.

Living in this new, alien world doesn’t stop the settlers from trying to re-create what they’ve left behind. Case in point—weddings are still the highlight of any social calendar. But it’s the after-party that turns disastrous for Lucy Bell. Kidnapped and drugged as she leaves the party, she manages to escape—only to find herself lost in the mysterious, alien underground maze of glowing green tunnels beneath Illusion Town. She’s been surviving on determination and cold pizza, scavenged for her by a special dust bunny, when help finally shows up.

Gabriel Jones is the Guild Hunter sent to rescue her, but escaping the underground ruins isn’t the end of her troubles—it’s only the beginning. With no rational reason for her abduction, and her sole witness gone on another assignment for the Guild, whispers start circulating that Lucy made it all up. Soon her life unravels until she has nothing left but her pride. The last thing she expects is for Gabriel Jones to come back to town for her.

The Lucy that Gabriel finds is not the same woman he rescued, the one who looked at him as if he were her hero. This Lucy is sharp, angry, and more than a little cynical—instead of awe, she treats him with extreme caution. But a killer is still hunting her, and there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to heroes. Despite her wariness, Gabriel is also the one person who believes Lucy—after all, he was there. He’s determined to help clear her reputation, no matter what it takes. And as the new Guild Boss, his word is law, even in the lawlessness of Illusion Town.

Thoughts on Guild Boss: DANG, Lucy had a rough couple of months. Kidnapped, rescued, kidnapped again under the guise of dealing with the fallout of the first kidnapping, rescues herself, and then nobody believes her version of events (including the person who saved her the first time). To say she's not all that thrilled to see Gabriel when he pops into her life again would be an understatement.

To be fair, Gabriel did have a reason for disappearing after her first rescue and he didn't know about the other things going on until he returned. Also to be fair, seeing as there didn't seem to be a reason anyone would target Lucy, he believed the thing that made the most sense at the time. It wasn't until he got back to Illusion Town and things started happening that he begin to believe her version of events.

While Lucy and Gabriel are working together and getting to know one another as more than a rescuer and rescuee, THINGS ARE HAPPENING. Bad things. Or, well, bad people doing bad things. Also, bad people trying to resurrect an old adversary and dabble in things they shouldn't.

A fair amount of danger, a storm or two, a heroic (and photogenic) dust bunny, and two people who had a little baggage to get past before they could be a couple. I do enjoy spending time on Harmony and all the wild adventures in the underground.