Gun Brooke’s storytelling never fails to draw me into a book, no matter what genre she is writing. Her current novel, The Amaranthine Law, had me hooked before I got to the end of the first page in the prologue.
This is a paranormal romance and mystery about a woman named Tristan Kelly. At least, that is her name in the present day. Back in 1769, when she was eight years old and immigrating to North America with her parents, she was known as Sarah. She, along with many others on the ship came down with a mysterious illness, one that took the lives of many of her shipmates. There were six young girls that did survive though, and Sarah was one of them. As the years passed, the girls realized that they began to age very slowly. After 250+ years Sarah, now Tristan, looks barely 40. In the present day Tristan owns and runs an art restoration company, and at the start of this tale she hires a young intern named Olivia Bryce. It doesn’t take long for an attraction between the two to flare, but Tristan refuses to allow it to grow, especially since she suddenly has a stalker that seems to know exactly who she really is, and the stalker wants her dead.
I became quite invested in Tristan and Olivia’s story. Both characters are well-developed. Olivia is in her early twenties and Tristan is passing for somewhere in her forties, so no matter how you look at it, this is definitely an age gap romance. Tristan and Olivia end up traveling from North America to several places in Europe and back, so the tale also has an international setting. The mystery of the stalker is exciting, and the “who done it” has a twist I was not expecting.
I really enjoyed reading The Amaranthine Law. I recommend it to all who love their mysteries mixed with a paranormal romance.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections 