A to Z April: P Reviews - Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen/The Pride of the Peacock by Victoria Holt

For the last post this week I've got an old romance novel and a YA paranormal story.  Both are books I really enjoyed, and remember well.

The first book I want to talk about is one that I did actually review on my blog. But it is a series that I don't think gets enough attention.  So I want to bring it back by linking you to my reviews of the first two books in the Past Midnight series by Mara Purnhagen HERE.  And then I'll share the blurb from Goodreads below.  I just loved the ghost story, the characters, the mystery, such a great story!
Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

The second book is one that I happened upon by chance.  I had been hanging out with my aunt and cousins for the day because my parents were busy for something I can't remember now. We'd gone over to her grandmother-in-law's house.  I was bored, it was before I always remembered to bring a book with me.  So I saw a book sitting on a table and asked if I could read it.  Or maybe I picked it up and started reading, and the lady who it belonged to actually told me I could take it with me when we left. I'd always thought peacocks were cool, so that is one thing that got my attention. The other thing is that opals were my birthstone, and in this book I first learned about black opals, and probably became really obsessed with all types of opals.   Here is the blurb for it from Goodreads:
Victoria Holt demonstrates her mastery once again in her most exciting novel set in turn-of-the-century England where a young woman grows up in the shadow of the great estate - and privileged way of life - that was once her family's birthright. But a unique inheritance compels Jessica Clavering to marry the owner of a fabled opal mine and leads her to faraway Australia. There she will discover the mysteries - and evil - surrounding the greatest opal ever found. There she must confront the danger that lust for the stone has aroused even in her own husband - and there she must find love.

Actually both books I've chosen today have ghosts in them!  Or seem to maybe have ghosts.  And romance. Have you read either of these?  I am friends with the author of the first one, Mara Purnhagen, on Facebook.  And I've asked her what book is next. Nothing so far.  But I enjoy her writing so hope there will be more soon.  I've tried other books from the 2nd author, but haven't found any I loved as much as this one.

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The Pride of the Peacock by Victoria Holt

This isn't a new book. In fact, this is a book I've owned for a long time, and read over, and over, and over. I got it one time when my Aunt Nancy was watching me for the day, and we went over to her in-laws for some reason or another. Anyone who knew me as a kid, knows that I was always looking for something to read. I picked up this book off a table or bookshelf or something while my aunt was doing whatever it was we were there for. And I was sucked in immediately. When we went to leave, I think it was my aunt's grandmother in law told me I was welcome to take the book with me and keep it. So I did.

Not sure if this is when my fascination with peacocks began, but peacocks are a big part of the story. And opals. Opal is my birthstone, so of course I've liked it for a long time. But this book introduced me to black opals, and made me search to find them. The main character is Jessica Clavering, or Opal Jessica Clavering which is her full name, although she is never called by Opal. She lives with her family in England in the Dower House of her family's estate that her father lost long ago when gambling. No one will really talk much about the time before. One day Jessica notices what looks like an unmarked grave and finds that it has her name on it. But still, no one will tell her anything about this. Soon the new owner of the former family estate, Ben Henniker is back. And while Jessica is out at her place she likes to sit, his wheelchair comes racing down hill out of control. When Jessica goes to save him, they soon become friends. And she begins sneaking over to visit him. This is where she learns about opals. Ben made his fortune hunting opals in Australia. This may be where I also began my fascination with Australia as well.

I won't go on to spoil much more, just know that Jessica ends up going to Australia and getting to work with opals, and falling in love, all with a mysterious, magnificent opal that is thought to be cursed, called the Green Flash at Sunset, in the background of all the drama. I don't know if you can even find this book anymore. I've looked in the catalog at my bookstore, thinking that one day I'll need a new copy of this when I wear this one out, but haven't been able to find it. And I do love the cover of it that I have, so I wouldn't want one of the others I saw that is really dorky looking in my opinion. While this is probably considered a romance novel, it isn't a trashy one. There is no sex in it. It is quite a bit of a mystery at the end as well. But it is romance, and again, one reason I love it is because of how I also have the insecurities dealing with how no one could possibly like/love me just like Jessica does when we get into the last half of the book where she is with Joss in Australia.