I picked this up in hardcover for maybe $1 at a Goodwill store in BR. Now, I have 3 shelves and more of books to read, and why I decided to choose this one this week, I dunno. I think I've read 2 other Amanda Quick books (looking... yes), months ago.
It was, in a short word, OK. There was some funny stuff, and the hero and heroine were slightly outside the norm of romance protagonists. Not much, but slightly. She (Elenora) was the daughter of some titled fellow who died, then the uncle raising her gambled away her worldly goods. So she ended up needing to find work, and what do gently raised but now impoverished women do? Become Paid Companions, generally to elderly women.
He (Arthur) was a titled fellow albeit eccentric-leaning whose young just-out-of-the-schoolroom fiancee had run away with another fellow. As it turns out, Arthur arranged for it, being pretty much bored with the idea of sharing his life with this particular naif. When his great-uncle is murdered, he must go to London to solve the murder. But how does one keep all the marriage-minded mamas at bay without a fiancee? One hires a Paid Companion to pretend to be the fiancee so everyone will leave him alone while he sleuths.
He heads to a Paid Companion Agency where Elenora is searching for her second employer, they meet and ... Both of them being logical to a fault, they agree to terms and go about their business arrangement. And in the acts of pretending and of solving the murder, they fall in love and live Happily Ever After.
Really.
This is why it only gets 3 stars. The premise seems interesting enough - I'm happy to buy almost any premise as long as the journey the author takes me on is well done. OK, the writing was fine. The editing was transparent - I didn't notice any misspellings, any historical inaccuracies, any major grammatical no-nos. But the journey itself was just... OK. The almost-ending plot device of "no, I don't want him to offer marriage just because he's ruined me" really ended it for me. That device needs excellent well-placed motives and writing to work, and this story didn't have those.
The murderer wasn't that hard to figure out. The madman's POV wasn't compelling. The H/H relationship was fun, and I saw the growth, but it wasn't enough to sway me into another star.
3 stars.
Showing posts with label Amanda Quick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amanda Quick. Show all posts
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Reckless by Amanda Quick ****
Reckless was picked up at the local library sale, which this year I realized is mostly the dregs and leftovers of donated books, probably donated back every year, and not the overstock of the actual library. When I chose it, I had only read one other Amanda Quick - since then I read the AAR Top 100 of 2007 pick, Ravished, and enjoyed it quite a lot.
I enjoyed this one as well. Phoebe Layton, youngest daughter of an earl, is an imaginative and daring young woman who harbors a strong Arthurian-legend streak - she likes to believe there are indeed knights-errant out there to help damsels in distress. Of course, she manages to put herself in distress so often, she should have realized the lack of available knights.
Her last suitor, Neil Braxton, was apparently searching the South Seas for enough treasure to win her hand when he was murdered by a pirate. The token she gave him before he left, a book of medieval romance, has returned to England, possibly in the possession of that very pirate - and Phoebe sets off on a quest to find the book and unmask the murderer. It's not that she actually loved Neil - indeed, she was glad he was gone, because she didn't love him and has no intention of marrying until she finds true love.
She cloaks herself in disguise as The Veiled Lady and spends 2 months attempting to hire the services of Gabriel as the knight-errant to help her on the quest for the pirate. Gabriel has just returned from an 8-year odyssey to the South Seas himself, having gone after being financially ruined by Phoebe's father when Gabriel attempted to rescue Phoebe's older sister from an arranged marriage she dreaded. It seems Gabriel, like Phoebe, once harbored that same romantic Arthurian streak, which was squashed and ended forever after this ill-advised event. Meredith, as it turns out, was just having pre-wedding jitters, married the arranged fellow and is now happy as a clam with him and their 3 children - no one else in the family actually has Phoebe's romantic, reckless streak.
Gabriel wants revenge against the family for forcing him to leave the country, and when he realizes it's the younger daughter who is seeking his services, decides to ruin her. Of course, he's also drawn to her because of her daring and courage. And he does not reveal to her that he is the owner of the book of her quest - he took it from Neil's cabin after forcing the fellow to walk the plank.
It seems the two are each keeping lots of secrets from the other: Gabriel is also the anonymous author of a popular new book. Phoebe knows this because she is secretly the publisher and editor of the book - she has become the silent but controlling financial partner of a publisher because it's too risky for a woman, especially of Society, to be in trade.
All of Gabriel's attempts to manage Phoebe end in disaster as Phoebe will not be managed or dictated to (Isn't that just like a man! Will he never learn?), and no one has ever been able to do so. When her father and brother approach him in a club - first to challenge him, then to merely warn him - he starts to understand their motivation: they love her and want to protect her, mostly from herself! And then he begins to realize he is also falling in love with her, which will negate all efforts to affect revenge.
It's a fun tale, and Phoebe's daring and outrageous actions never seem to come across as Too Stupid To Live - mostly they're hare-brained schemes or Lucy Ricardo-esque situations. When she ties the sheets together to escape her Night In Hell, she is actually rescuing herself from a dangerous situation. And her knight-errant, Gabriel, through clever story-telling, always manages to be there to rescue his lady in distress.
4 stars
I enjoyed this one as well. Phoebe Layton, youngest daughter of an earl, is an imaginative and daring young woman who harbors a strong Arthurian-legend streak - she likes to believe there are indeed knights-errant out there to help damsels in distress. Of course, she manages to put herself in distress so often, she should have realized the lack of available knights.
Her last suitor, Neil Braxton, was apparently searching the South Seas for enough treasure to win her hand when he was murdered by a pirate. The token she gave him before he left, a book of medieval romance, has returned to England, possibly in the possession of that very pirate - and Phoebe sets off on a quest to find the book and unmask the murderer. It's not that she actually loved Neil - indeed, she was glad he was gone, because she didn't love him and has no intention of marrying until she finds true love.
She cloaks herself in disguise as The Veiled Lady and spends 2 months attempting to hire the services of Gabriel as the knight-errant to help her on the quest for the pirate. Gabriel has just returned from an 8-year odyssey to the South Seas himself, having gone after being financially ruined by Phoebe's father when Gabriel attempted to rescue Phoebe's older sister from an arranged marriage she dreaded. It seems Gabriel, like Phoebe, once harbored that same romantic Arthurian streak, which was squashed and ended forever after this ill-advised event. Meredith, as it turns out, was just having pre-wedding jitters, married the arranged fellow and is now happy as a clam with him and their 3 children - no one else in the family actually has Phoebe's romantic, reckless streak.
Gabriel wants revenge against the family for forcing him to leave the country, and when he realizes it's the younger daughter who is seeking his services, decides to ruin her. Of course, he's also drawn to her because of her daring and courage. And he does not reveal to her that he is the owner of the book of her quest - he took it from Neil's cabin after forcing the fellow to walk the plank.
It seems the two are each keeping lots of secrets from the other: Gabriel is also the anonymous author of a popular new book. Phoebe knows this because she is secretly the publisher and editor of the book - she has become the silent but controlling financial partner of a publisher because it's too risky for a woman, especially of Society, to be in trade.
All of Gabriel's attempts to manage Phoebe end in disaster as Phoebe will not be managed or dictated to (Isn't that just like a man! Will he never learn?), and no one has ever been able to do so. When her father and brother approach him in a club - first to challenge him, then to merely warn him - he starts to understand their motivation: they love her and want to protect her, mostly from herself! And then he begins to realize he is also falling in love with her, which will negate all efforts to affect revenge.
It's a fun tale, and Phoebe's daring and outrageous actions never seem to come across as Too Stupid To Live - mostly they're hare-brained schemes or Lucy Ricardo-esque situations. When she ties the sheets together to escape her Night In Hell, she is actually rescuing herself from a dangerous situation. And her knight-errant, Gabriel, through clever story-telling, always manages to be there to rescue his lady in distress.
4 stars
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ravished by Amanda Quick *****
Another one bites the dust! This is #42 on the AAR Top 100 Romance Novels of 2007, so I am one book closer to my Quest. And I enjoyed it as well!
Amanda Quick is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, and this is my second Quick book. I have not read any under Krentz's name at all. The first Quick book, Thee I Wed, only garnered 3 stars for me, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to it. However - I've found that most authors have books I love and others not so much, so I shouldn't be surprised.
The heroine Harriet is a bluestocking - she's practically off-the-shelf at nearly-25 (oh, how I laugh at this description!) and she's a dedicated paleontologist as well. She spends her days hunting for fossils and studying them and journaling them. She also discovers hidden loot in one of "her" caves, and summons the landowner to assist her in nabbing the thieves so she can safely fossil-hunt alone.
The landowner is our hero, The Beast of Blackthorne Hall, Gideon. In addition to his massive size, he bears a hideous scar on his face from swordplay with a friend many years before. He also bears a hideous scar on his psyche: 6 years earlier, while betrothed to the rector's daughter, the woman killed herself and the unborn child she was carrying. As rumor would have it, he ravished her, and when told she was pregnant, he broke the engagement, causing her grief enough to shoot herself. As this happened shortly after his older brother died in an accident, rumor further embellished the story that he was instrumental in both deaths. Because of the grief his parents felt, they also bought the story of his ravishing and leaving his betrothed.
Harriet cares nothing for rumor; she only wants the thieves caught so she can go on rock-hunting. Gideon forms a plan but neglects to share it with her, so in her curiosity she watches over the caves from the cliffs above to see if he catches the thieves. He does, but she is also caught by one of them, who drags her into the caves right as the tide is rising, threatening to trap them both for several hours. The thief tries to escape, and Gideon comes to the rescue. But, lo, what does that mean? That Gideon and Harriet are now trapped for the rest of the night, alone just the 2 of them (since the thief did get away) in the cave while the tide is in... Hmmmm...
Well, it's not exactly a spoiler to say she was ravished. After all, that is the name of the book. But since she's actually attracted to him, and actually participates fully, she feels the next day there is no need for him to jump to any wild conclusions like he must marry her. (ah, that almost had me ditching the book - lucky for me, the witty prose had already engaged me so I hung on...) Of course, society being what it is, he had to marry her or she would suffer the ruination of her reputation - indeed, she would suffer what he has been suffering for the past 6 years, and he could not bear it.
The story is one of intrigue and indeed murder - and there was more than one villain to keep track of. After the betrothal, Harriet goes to London for the Season and some well-meaning buddies from the paleontology society kidnap her and try to marry her off to someone else to prevent her marriage to The Beast. No one can believe she goes willingly to him, even Gideon himself. Over the course of the book, while mysteries and murders are being solved, and fossils uncovered, Harriet is instrumental in helping The Beast learn to love again - and it's a wonderful, touching journey.
The ending brought this up from a wonderful book to keeper status. 5 stars!
Amanda Quick is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz, and this is my second Quick book. I have not read any under Krentz's name at all. The first Quick book, Thee I Wed, only garnered 3 stars for me, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to it. However - I've found that most authors have books I love and others not so much, so I shouldn't be surprised.
The heroine Harriet is a bluestocking - she's practically off-the-shelf at nearly-25 (oh, how I laugh at this description!) and she's a dedicated paleontologist as well. She spends her days hunting for fossils and studying them and journaling them. She also discovers hidden loot in one of "her" caves, and summons the landowner to assist her in nabbing the thieves so she can safely fossil-hunt alone.
The landowner is our hero, The Beast of Blackthorne Hall, Gideon. In addition to his massive size, he bears a hideous scar on his face from swordplay with a friend many years before. He also bears a hideous scar on his psyche: 6 years earlier, while betrothed to the rector's daughter, the woman killed herself and the unborn child she was carrying. As rumor would have it, he ravished her, and when told she was pregnant, he broke the engagement, causing her grief enough to shoot herself. As this happened shortly after his older brother died in an accident, rumor further embellished the story that he was instrumental in both deaths. Because of the grief his parents felt, they also bought the story of his ravishing and leaving his betrothed.
Harriet cares nothing for rumor; she only wants the thieves caught so she can go on rock-hunting. Gideon forms a plan but neglects to share it with her, so in her curiosity she watches over the caves from the cliffs above to see if he catches the thieves. He does, but she is also caught by one of them, who drags her into the caves right as the tide is rising, threatening to trap them both for several hours. The thief tries to escape, and Gideon comes to the rescue. But, lo, what does that mean? That Gideon and Harriet are now trapped for the rest of the night, alone just the 2 of them (since the thief did get away) in the cave while the tide is in... Hmmmm...
Well, it's not exactly a spoiler to say she was ravished. After all, that is the name of the book. But since she's actually attracted to him, and actually participates fully, she feels the next day there is no need for him to jump to any wild conclusions like he must marry her. (ah, that almost had me ditching the book - lucky for me, the witty prose had already engaged me so I hung on...) Of course, society being what it is, he had to marry her or she would suffer the ruination of her reputation - indeed, she would suffer what he has been suffering for the past 6 years, and he could not bear it.
The story is one of intrigue and indeed murder - and there was more than one villain to keep track of. After the betrothal, Harriet goes to London for the Season and some well-meaning buddies from the paleontology society kidnap her and try to marry her off to someone else to prevent her marriage to The Beast. No one can believe she goes willingly to him, even Gideon himself. Over the course of the book, while mysteries and murders are being solved, and fossils uncovered, Harriet is instrumental in helping The Beast learn to love again - and it's a wonderful, touching journey.
The ending brought this up from a wonderful book to keeper status. 5 stars!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)