Amber Affairs: Crystal Magic, #6

By Patricia Rice

She sees the future; he lives in the past. Danger shadows the present. . .

Once a childhood TV star, now a tarot reader in the town of Hillvale—home of 325 people and countless ghosts—Amber Abercrombie is content now that she's escaped the horror of her stage mother and the constant pressure to kill herself with dieting. Then her former teen-idol lover crashes into her tranquility, bringing with him the Death card.

Now a Hollywood director, Josh Gabriel is on the brink of a marriage of convenience when his wealthy bride-to-be, the producer of his next film, is murdered. Finding Amber—the woman who deserted him once, leaving him devastated—is both blessing and curse now that his whole world is crumbling again.

With corrupt power brokers from their past and an angry poltergeist from the present threatening to tear apart their lives, Josh and Amber must set aside their differences and rely on each other to find a killer. This time, they must trust their abilities enough to find justice—and risk a second chance of love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book View Cafe
• Release date: May 14, 2019
• ISBN: 9781611387841

Reviews for Amber Affairs

[barbararogers-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What an enticingly lovely second-chance romance! This exhilarating addition to the Crystal Magic series has it all – romance, murder, mayhem, angry ghosts, possessions, and perverted Hollywood moguls. What more could you ask for in the small town of Hillvale, California? I am thinking this might be my favorite book in the series – but, I think I say that with each new release. What can I say – I love the series.As we’ve read each new addition to the series, we’ve seen Amber. She was always there, but sort of in the background and to me, she seemed to be the most ineffectual of the Hillvale Lucy’s. As if she didn’t have a lot to contribute at all. Well, not anymore. Amber Abercrombie has come into her own – and what a formidable person she turns out to be!Amber keeps many, many secrets and she is terrified that someone from the outside will discover her real identity and she’ll be exposed. She has spent years putting herself back together from her traumatic childhood and she is still not in a good place mentally to deal with the exposure. She’s found a measure of peace in Hillvale – she’s eating better, she’s sleeping better, she’s come to terms with her large body (well, sort of). Yes, she’s poor as a church mouse, but she’s calm.Well, she’s calm until Josh Gabriel strolls into town. Josh was her co-star in a long-running adolescent TV series (Jack and Ginger) – and the love of her life. Here he is – on the eve of his wedding – and he’s just walked into her shop. Maybe he won’t recognize her. But he does. He’s shocked to find her here because he has spent years and years and all the money he could muster to find her. She had just run off – leaving him no word, no explanation, nothing – and now by gosh – he’d have one – because she was the love of his life too.Josh invites Amber to the lodge to have dinner with him and his bride-to-be (Willa), but Willa had to go back to Hollywood on urgent business. Amber has dinner with Josh and they swim in the pool together and begin to rekindle their friendship. The next morning, Willa is found murdered – near Hillvale – and all eyes begin to turn to Josh and Amber.If seeing Josh and a murder isn’t stressful enough, Amber gets a call from her nephew Zeke who is living with his grandmother since his mother died. This is the same woman who abused and let others abuse Amber – and now, she’s putting Zeke in the same situation. Zeke runs away and takes a bus as close as he can to Hillvale and calls Amber, who doesn’t drive, to come to get him. She panics but finds a way to get him to Hillvale, now she has to spend resources she doesn’t have to get custody away from her treacherous mother.Add another murder, an angry spirit possessing the town’s medium, and Hillvale is in an uproar. Josh is the main murder suspect with the sheriff, but Amber and her friends know he isn’t guilty – they just have to prove it by catching the real murderer(s).This is a wonderful, fast-paced, exciting read with two lead characters who deserve their HEA more than any I’ve read in a very long time.I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[cathygeha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amber Affairs by Patricia RiceCrystal Magic #6I do love Hillvale, California and wish I could go visit sometime! This town has great characters, a small town feel, friends that are there for one another and...MAGIC. Amber Abercrombie runs a shop in town that sells crystals, tarot cards and other new age items. She reads the Tarot for clients and has a good life filled with friend. When Josh Garbriel walks into her shop it is a blast to the past when he recognizes her as the child star he worked beside, became friends and then lovers with over a decade ago. With Josh engaged and having his wedding soon in Hillvale there is no chance for more than catching up but when Fiance Willa ends up dead...well the story really heats up. Josh can’t rest till he knows who killed Willa and though their marriage was more one of convenience and PR than true love there was affection and he wants to KNOW who the murderer is and why Willa was murdered. Josh and Amber begin to fall into their old friendship patterns – although – as adults there might be more...maybe? Throw in Amber’s nephew, Zeke, who wants to come stay with her for the summer, the Lucy contingent with their special abilities, evil from more than one person and the potential for romance and the story had me flipping pages rapidly to find out if Josh and Amber would get their happily ever after...and who the murderer was.Did I enjoy this book? YesWould I read more in this series? DefinitelyThank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review. 5 Stars