Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gift of Gold | 1988 | Jayne Castle | Buy |
| 2 | Gift of Fire | 1989 | Jayne Castle | Buy |
The Gifts Duology is a pair of paranormal romances by Jayne Castle, published in 1988 and 1989. These are early works in the author’s career, written before she fully developed the elaborate paranormal worlds that would define her later Arcane Society and Harmony series. The books feature heroines with psychic abilities connected to rare and dangerous antiquities.
Gift of Gold (1988) follows a woman whose touch can read the history of objects, drawing her into a mystery involving a powerful artifact. Gift of Fire (1989) continues with related characters and a similar blend of romance, psychic suspense, and antiquities hunting. Both novels combine the romantic suspense structure Krentz is known for with paranormal elements that were less common in romance at the time.
These books are of particular interest to longtime fans of Jayne Ann Krentz who want to see where her paranormal romance writing started. The psychic abilities, the connection between talent and dangerous objects, and the strong-willed heroines all show up here in early form. Readers coming to Krentz through her newer work may want to start with her more recent series, but the Gifts Duology has its own appeal as a look at the roots of her paranormal fiction.