Amanda Quick is one of those authors you feel as though you wait ages for despite the fact she publishes one to two books a year! Her books are always a treat and Garden of Lies, though not a perfect rating from me, is a very solid 4 boxes of love. Amanda normally writes continuations in the many series she has going - not just as author Amanda Quick but also as author Jayne Anne Krentz. The Krentz books are futuristic but I always prefer the Quick series because...
I have always loved Amanada Quick's historical fiction romance/suspense novels and yet, this one felt tired to me. A few old tricks have resurfaced such as a 'fake engagement' wherein the male hero proposes for the sake of society but his real intention is to sway the female heroine to marry him. I've been there, done that perhaps one too many times with previous novels by Amanda. My second disappointment surrounds...
This book is a silky time out from life that demonstrates all the aspects I love about Historical Romances - especially those by famed author Amanda Quick. Beatrice is the strong, independent and intelligent female heroine who approaches all things with equal intuition and reasoning logic. She is no young miss at 34 and in the time period of the late 1800's she is a mature, bonafide spinster, which means we don't get hysterical, swooning debutants...
This book is the glory of fiction at its best. Adventure, normal people with slightly enhanced abilities not quite turning them into super heros, but something that makes them special nonetheless, a bit of romance and the element of mystery. Amanda weaves us into a well thought out and expertly written tale full of twists and unexpected turns. I love the strong, intelligent...
The one thing I always enjoy about Amanda Quick’s style of writing is her female characters. They are strong-headed, intelligent and as quick as they can take the reins on any disaster, they can banter sarcastic barbs with the best of men. This book has romance, action, a bit of mystery and a lot of wonderful character development. Mystique is both the meal and the sweet dessert – I very much enjoyed this book. However...
Honestly, I debated on the rating for this book. I first put a rating of 4 – very good, but....in letting the aftertaste of the book sit with me for a day, I downgraded it to a 3 – not great, not bad, only so/so. The reason being, despite the wonderful chemistry between the two main characters, despite the great suspense and tension that builds beautifully throughout the novel, the ending was blah. Instead of a BANG! it ended with a paltry fizz. To my thinking, when you expend the energy to build up a bad guy so well it doesn’t make sense if he just rolls over...
Amanda is one of my favorite authors – especially her historical series, and yet, as tantalizing as this novel begins, I found myself feeling rather ho hum about it by the midway point. Trust me when I say that has never happened with her historical novels! I puzzled over this review for a few days after I’d finished reading the book to see if how it sat with me improved at all. Result: only marginally I’m afraid so let’s break it down piece by piece...
