I stopped reading Quick’s books a few years back. When she started focusing on paranormal and then noir books I just lost interest. I absolutely love her historical romance novels though although some are unintentionally funny to me now. Crystal Gardens is the first book in a trilogy focusing on paranormal romance. I wish I could say that this book was wonderful. But honestly it dragged and hearing/reading about people talking about their physic abilities kept making me snicker. I was very interested in the ladies of lantern street, but was less interested in the supernatural aspects of this book. And this is coming from someone who loves magical realism books. I just think that nothing made a lot of sense and I never really did like the romance between Evangeline and Lucas.
“Crystal Gardens” follows Evangeline Ames who has rented a cottage on the grounds of the Crystal Gardens. Evangeline likes the physic energy she feels around the place (look this book talks about that a lot, fair warning). When she is awoken by someone breaking into her cottage and threatening her, she runs for the gardens and runs into the new owner of the estate, Lucas Sebastian. Though she is reluctant, Evangeline eventually takes Lucas into her confidence about what caused her to leave London and what she and her two friends do in London.
I really did like the character of Evangeline. I did have to sigh about her and her two “bluestocking” friends thinking that having an affair would just be fine and dandy. I don’t know. Back then if someone had found out about it, a woman could be ruined. I always read historical romances where the heroine is all, yes an affair, to just feel a bit of sync of things. But usually the hero uses this to engage himself to the heroine cause he’s decided only she will do for him. Eh. It works sometimes.
The mystery of who is trying to harm Evangeline takes a weird backseat though. Instead this book focuses on the mystery of the garden, magical pools, another killing, etc. It just had too much in it. And there was a total letdown when the person behind wanting Evangeline murdered is found out and done away with in like 5 seconds.
I usually judge the romance on the two main leads, I liked Evangeline fine, but Lucas was ehh throughout the book. I just didn’t like him or really get into him at all.
The ending wraps up like three storylines in minutes.