ARC Review: Guild Boss by Jayne Castle

Guild Boss
Author: Jayne Castle
Series: Harmony (Book 9)
Publication: Berkley (November 16, 2021)

Description: 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.

My Thoughts: Gabriel Jones rescues Lucy Bell after she was kidnapped, drugged, stripped of her amber, and left underground. Then he goes off to his next job leaving Lucy to deal with the fallout: rumors fly saying she was drunk and took drugs. She's lost her reputation and her career and is now driving a tour bus to make ends meet.

When Gabriel returns, Lucy is angry with him, but he needs her skills with managing psychic storms in the underground and also wants a chance to get to know her better. An arcane object brought from Earth has been stolen and he has the skills to track it down - with Lucy's help.

Meanwhile, other plots are unfolding and Lucy is needed for all of them. When a second kidnapping attempt is made and attempts are made on Gabriel's life since he's the new, and first, Guild Boss in Illusion Town, the two begin investigating to protect themselves and restore Lucy's reputation.

The dust bunny in this one is Otis. He finds Lucy when she is lost underground and brings her pizza to live on. Later he leads Gabriel to her. 

I liked the relationship between Lucy and Gabriel. The plot was twisty enough to keep me reading late into the night. There were also a number of Easter Eggs that brought reminders of earlier books in the Arcane series for readers who have read them. 

All in all, this was a fun addition to both the Arcane series and the Harmony series. 

Favorite Quote:

"Things were going well until you gallantly came to my rescue."

"Sorry about that."

"I was trying to make a joke."

"Fail."

Gabriel nodded. "I get that a lot."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.