The Mystery Woman

The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars just because Ms. Quick dialed back her over-use of her most formulaic words and phrases (i.e. heat, heated, jacked up, raised senses, running hot, psychical, para-senses, etc.) and for a change included a hero who didn't believe in the paranormal at all, despite his own talent for finding things. While the sex scenes (I hesitate to call them love scenes because there still isn't a lot of foundation for the romance) remain eye-rollingly silly, at least there was no stock description of mind-blowing aura merging and whatnot. Hooray for small favors!

In book two of the "Ladies of Lantern Street" series, we follow Flint & Marsh agent Beatrice Lockwood as she masquerades in her role as a virtually invisible paid companion to wealthy ladies in need of assistance foiling dastardly plots. Beatrice came to the agency some months earlier when her previous employer was murdered by someone seeking to kidnap her. She manages to create a new life for herself in a new career, until during the course of an investigation she is located by Joshua Gage, former spy for the Crown, who needs her assistance in trapping the man blackmailing his sister, a client from Beatrice's old life. The blackmail scheme turns out to be just the tip of the iceberg, so Joshua and Beatrice team up to stop a madman before they become the next victims.

My favorite thing about this novel is that Beatrice is so strong and well-prepared. She carries a small pistol strapped to her thigh, she has a vial of specially-prepared smelling salts to ward off unwanted sexual advances, and she thinks quickly in emergency situations. She is no wilting wallflower. I appreciated that very much.

For readers' advisors: story and setting doorways (i.e. Victorian England). A couple of sex scenes.

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Crystal Gardens

Crystal Gardens by Amanda Quick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Miss Evangeline Ames awakens with the realization that an intruder is in her rental cottage, the only place to which she can flee is her landlord's dangerous Crystal Gardens. Inside the Gardens, the plants themselves glow with an eerie paranormal light, and her murderous prowler does not survive the encounter. The attempt on Evangeline's life gives Lucas Sebastian an excuse to indulge his attraction to his intriguing tenant, but he does not foresee how inviting her into his home will permanently overturn his bachelor existence. Evangeline not only isn't afraid of his dark talents, she is counting on them to keep her safe. Suddenly instead of two solitary men virtually camping out in a couple of the rooms, there are servants and family members filling a whole wing of the house, cleaning everything in sight.

This was a fun, quick read, full of the usual silliness about "heated eyes" and "raised [paranormal] senses" that substitutes for the solid foundation of a romantic relationship in Quick/Krentz/Castle's books. It follows her usual formula: strong, independent (...and yet somehow vapid) woman is irresistibly drawn to the dark, tormented, but honorable (and rich) gorgeous hunk of a man whose powerful attraction to her leads him to protect her from the Great Danger threatening her life, and through their teamwork they solve the puzzle, thwart the bad guy(s), and discover how her unique talents will heal the particular damage jeopardizing his psyche.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, setting (late 1800s England) is secondary. Several semi-explicit sex scenes. (Ooh! Alliteration!)

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Quicksilver

Quicksilver by Amanda Quick

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz writes quite formulaic stories, but the upside is that they are entertaining, quick reads. This latest one is set in London in the late 1800s. Virginia Dean and Owen Sweetwater team up to figure out who is murdering glasslight readers before the killer succeeds in killing Virginia. The paranormal artifacts from In Too Deep reappear in this installment of the Arcane Society series, but this time they are brand new.

The romance in this novel felt forced, but the suspense kept me turning pages.

For readers' advisors: story doorway



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Burning Lamp

Burning Lamp by Amanda Quick

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This latest addition to the fictional world of the Arcane Society is both #8 in the Arcane Society series, as well as #2 in the Dreamlight Trilogy. Nothing groundbreaking here, but it is a solid, entertaining read.

The Winters family has a "curse"--every once in a while, one of the men will inherit a tendency to develop paranormal talent at the age of 36 that goes beyond his original talent. He must locate both a dreamlight reader (a woman) as well as the Burning Lamp his ancestor created, and persuade the woman to use her talent and the lamp to prevent him from going mad. Enter Griffin Winters, late-19th-century London crime lord, and Adelaide Pyne, social reformer.

I had a hard time believing Griffin was really a crime lord--he was too honorable and, well, nice. Not brutal or unscrupulous enough. But otherwise it was a fun read. I enjoyed the appearances of other characters from earlier novels, despite wishing I had the previous books at hand to help jog my memory.

For reader's advisors: story doorway.

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The Perfect Poison

The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick


My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Stolen plants from Lucinda Bromley's conservatory kick off this installment in the Arcane Society series. She calls in Caleb Jones, founder of the Jones (investigative) agency, to help her find the thief and prove she did not poison Lord Fairburn. This leads to the discovery of a new attempt to create the infamous "Founder's Formula" that is rumored to enhance psychic abilities but in reality causes addiction, madness, and death.

The seduction/sex scenes often caused me to roll my eyes or wince (they are remarkably similar to most all the other ones in this series), but the overall story was entertaining. I definitely enjoyed getting to piece together more details of the overarching mystery of the "Circles" and the sinister shadow conspiracy tying them all together. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series.

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Amanda Quick's "The Third Circle"

The Third Circle by Amanda Quick

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Another installment in the Arcane Society series--this one set later in the reign of Queen Victoria. It was pretty standard Amanda Quick for the most part. A little better on plot than some (there were actually a couple of minor plot twists I didn't see coming), a little weaker on romance than others (seemed rushed & almost forced--not as believable as is her usual style). Not her best work, by any means, but an interesting addition to the series--made me want to go back and brush up on the details from previous installments. I won't bother to buy it, but I'm not sorry I read a library copy.

It does have mention of some sexual content as well as paranormal abilities (crystal energy, para-hypnotism, etc.), so if you're recommending it to someone else, you should be aware of that. I think Quick overuses the word "psychical"--which doesn't even seem like a real word to me--but at least it wasn't quite as noticeable & irritating in this books as in some of her earlier works.

I'd give it 2 1/2 stars if I could. But since I have to choose, I'd say it's closer to 3 than to 2.


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