Zinnia [Large Print] (Hardcover)

When sexy Nick Chastain, owner of a Casino, hires her things really heat up for both. Nick and Zinnia, like all the off-worlders, have a little something extra to their make up. In the Earth Colony of St. Helens on Harmony, people evolved with two supernatural talents: they were either a prism or a psychic. The prisms serve to increase the power of the psychics by channeling their powers through them, amplifying it and keeping it stable. Even the strongest of psychics needs a prism, for without them they cannot control and maintain their powers for long periods.

Though he has hired Zinnia for her decorating ability, he needs something more from her. He wants his respectability. He is an off the chart top psychic, but he needs the perfectly matched prism - and that is Zinnia. Nick's father was Bartholomew Chastain, a member of the elite of St. Helens, and a respected explorer. However, Nick's father died, leaving the legitimacy of Nick's birth unclear. Nick maintains his father married his mother just before his last expedition, but the family disputes this. Nick craves finding his father's journal and proving he is his heir. He craves that respectability.

As Zinnia falls in love with Nick, she views her Scarlet Lady as nothing more than a passing affair for Nick. How can a man, who desires respectability above all else, want the Scarlet Lady for his wife?

This is ONE super read for Jayne Anne Krentz Fan. Don't miss the first in the series Amaryllis and then Orchid. Jayne Anne, whatever name she is using, is at the peak of her prose with this book. I compliment her deft use of Multi-POV (Point of View) so missing from many of today's new writers. It makes the story richer and gives you a full sense of the story and characters instead of limits the writer and reader.

the background:
In the distant Earth colony of St. Helens, the pioneer people from Earth that settled in the colony were stranded after the connection warp between Earth and the colony(also called "the curtain") disappeared almost 200 years ago. St. Helens was habitable but the materials from Earth quickly disintegrated. Earth's technology were also of no use. The settlers were forced to learn about the colony's natural materials and how to use them to produce everyday necessities...

the characters

Nick Chastain:
His father Bartholomew Chastain was a member of the high class. The Chastains owns some sort of company and is a respectable bunch. However, Nick's father died on an expedition without marrying Nick's mother before Nick was born. Therefore, Nick was born...and was frowned upon by the Chastains...

Zinnia Spring:
She is born from a high class family. However, her life started to come apart four years ago...

how they met:
Zinnia's client was missing. He is a rare book seller and was in the process of settling a deal with Nick. The book was supposed to be the journal of Nick's father recorded during his expedition and may have clues about his death...

overall comments:
I was a little disappointed with this book after the good experience with Amaryllis. The characters were not as well developed as Lucas and Amaryllis. I couldn't really feel their emotions and thinking while reading this book. The ending was a quick wrap up. The mystery was not explained clearly. The villain was revealed suddenly and was not very convincing. It was also so quick that Nick's relatives accepted him at the end. I really hope Orchid, the third of the St. Helen series, will be better.

Zinnia Spring (don't you love JAK's names!!) was called the Scarlet Lady by the press when she was mistakenly caught in a tacky tabloid triangle. She is an interior designer and instead of trying to live that down, she plays it for all its worth, creating a real Lady in Red. She dresses red, she drives red...

But when she is hired by Nick Chastain, owner of a Casino, things really heat up!! For both Nick and Zinnia, like all the off-worlders, have a little something extra to their make up. In this off world, a colony of old earth, people are either psychics or prisms. The prisms server to increase the power of the psychics by channelling their powers through them and amplifying it. Even the strongest of psychics needs a prism, for without them they cannot control and maintain their powers.

Though he has hired Zinnia for her decorating ability, he needs something more from her. He wants his respectability. He is an over the top psychic, but he needs the perfect prism - and that is Zinnia. For years, because of Nick's father's lost journal, he had been labelled a ..., the black sheep. He hopes with the journal to prove his parents were married and gain that respectability - and all trails end and begin with the Scarlet Lady.

This is ONE super read for Jayne Anne Krentz Fan.

Don't Miss it! Or Orchid or Amaryllis!!!