The Paid Companion

Rating:
Summary: This book paid up!!!!!
Review: A most amusing book from beginning to end. Two individuals who are singular and strong personalities, hitting heads and falling in love. Arthur was most amusing and Elenora was a match for him!

This is a first Amanda Quick for me, I believe. Found it in the New Book section of the library. Finished it in two days. Fast reading, interesting mystery and lovely romance. Even tho you know how it will end, getting there was a good thing.

Very enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: More Romance, less mystery
Review: Amanda Quick has come into the realm of Historical Mysteries as of late. I didn't like her last set of novels featuring Tobias and Lavinia but was pleased to see that this was out of that series so I gave "The Paid Companion" a shot.

Now, this book was better than "Don't Look Back" or the rest of the aforementioned series, but it didn't have the sparkle of Quick's earier novels (those characterized by one word titles). I always did feel like her books always (as the quintessential idea of romance novels) were where the lovely virgin meets the "rakish roque" and he wants to ravish her so he marries her. Quick's trademark has always been that one of them is flawed in some way (a scar or a limp or glasses, etc). Later some figure from one of their past comes back to haunt them (usually from her past) and someone is obliged to come in and save the day (sometimes she even saved herself). In this book I can tell that Quick stayed with the typical formula but tried to add more mystery. Her female characters are getting more and more assertive which is a plus. I still, somehow, like the old books better. This sems strange because they were somewhat cookie-cutter, but I still really liked them and re-read them occasionally when I am waiting for her to come out with a new novel.

I cannot put my finger on what exactly abotu this book is lesser than some others, but it is better than her more recent efforts and I did read it in one day - and did enjoy it. It just didn't have the sparkle or chemistry of some of my Quick favorites such as Seduction, Reckless, and Rendezvous. If you really like mystery with your romance you will probably like this book. A warning to romance readers - the romance comes late. If you are a Quick fan you will like this book I think!

Rating:
Summary: A Solid and Intreguing Historical Mystery
Review: Arthur Lancaster is the Earl of St. Merryn and he has a problem. His fiancee has run off. The next time he has a go at it, he say, he'll just hire a paid companion, which he does and it keeps society at bay while he does his business. The woman he hired, Elenora Lodge, got into the paid companion biz, because her step-father wasted away her inheritance. She plays her part so well that nobody suspects she is anything but his real fiancee.

While all this is going on, Arthur is secretly investigating the murder of his great uncle and he believes an ancient alchemist's discovery was behind it. However as his investigation progresses, the killer get bolder and all of a sudden Elenora's life may be in danger and now Arthur must examine the feelings he has for his pretend fiancee and she her feelings toward him.

Everybody knows, well maybe they don't but they should, that Amanda Quick is really Romance Writer Jayne Ann Krentz and that she writes her historical mysteries under the Quick pseudonym. So if you like Jayne Ann's books, you're bound to like Amanda's, in fact even if you don't like Romance there is still a very good chance that you'll like an Amanda Quick book, especially this one. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: her best in a while
Review: Elenora has lost her home and her inheritance due to her stepfather and his bad investment. She also looses her fortune hunting fiance. Instead of depressing her too greatly, she sees this as a sort of freedom. She has no one to take care of but herself. So she sets out to make some money as a paid companion.
Arthur Lancaster, Earl of St. Merryn has several problems. One is that he needs to go about society without the hassel of mothers trying to push their daughters into marriage with him. With this in mind he hires a companion to pose as his fiance.
She needs the money and in the end genuinely wants to help him as he has a mystery to solve. And though he comes off somewhat cool to begin with - I really loved the lead character's sense of humor.
The secondary characters were good - though this author has written better - Bad guys were all bad, friends were all good - no real suspense to it. A simple romance story with strong leads.
A good summer read.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Amanda Quick!!
Review: I absolutely loved this title!! It was a classic Amanda Quick that led me to tears of joy to this storyline. The characters are rich, detailed and memorable. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical romance, amanda quick or to someone who is thinking of trying Amanda quick!!

Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: I came across this book and thought it sounded interesting. As I was reading the book however, I noticed that the main premise and some of the details seemed to have been borrowed from the movie "Pretty Woman". While it is not completely the same there are several similar elements. The heroine, Eleanora. is a paid companion hired to pose as the hero's fiance while he investigates his uncles murder.
This book is an absorbing read and holds the attention easily. The book would have been better with less description of their romance and more attention to the narrative. Much is skimmed over that the reader is curious to know more about. While the book is a romance, it should appeal to even those who do not like romance fiction. The author could easily write mainstream fiction and be a success at it. This is the first novel by this author that I have read, as I generally avoid romance fiction. In summary, a good read and an enjoyable plot.

Rating:
Summary: No matter what name she writes under ...
Review: I Like This Writer! Her characters are very easy to relate to and the plots are as a rule...STEAMY! Give her a try if you haven't read any of her books...You Won't Be Disappointed!

Rating:
Summary: questionable science, but Heyeresque characters
Review: I really liked this book and almost rated it 5 stars. I tossed away the scientific portions because they felt awkward to me. Fortunately, I also found them unimportant overall. The murder mystery was interesting; Quick certainly kept the suspense up.

But the most enjoyable thing for me was the romance. Granted the book was at least 1/2 mystery, but I didn't really expect anything else. Perhaps my lack of expectations caused me to rate it higher than other readers. Certainly expectations have caused me to rate books lower.

Anyway, I really liked Elenora and Arthur. I found them to be well-developed and somewhat unusual characters. Arthur reminded me of Georgette Heyer's heroes. Somehow the book had an older feel to it despite the more modern language. I found it a very compelling combination. Arthur's growing admiration for Elenora is utterly convincing, and her dreams she hesitates to dream are very real, speaking vividly to a woman's heart, as does her determination to be practical.

I liked it so well, I'm headed off to find another Amanda Quick book to read.

Rating:
Summary: Quick and Easy Read!
Review: I was surprised by how quickly I was able to read this one. It was light and entertaining, with strong, well written characters, but I give it only three stars because it's not very original. This is just "Affair","With this Ring", and "I Thee Wed" all over again, only with different characters. Ms. Quick needs to find a new subject matter. I found her "Don't Look Back" and "Late for the Wedding" series better and more refreshing. I look forward to more installments from that series.

One great thing about Amanda Quick is the names she gives her protaganists. A hero can have a name like Arthur and still be handsome, strong, intelligent and get the beautiful girl and not be just some wimp who ends up as a background character.

Rating:
Summary: Historical-"Lite"
Review: Jayne Ann Krentz AKA Amanda Quick returns for another round of historical romance in Paid Companion, the story of Elenora Lodge, a down-on-her-luck heiress who is forced to sell her services as a 'paid companion' to avoid a life of poverty and degradation.

I liked the premise and I liked Elenora at first. But I found myself quickly growing tired of her anachronistic PC behavior. (Elenora loves the servants, treats them like friends), her attitude (which was downright pushy at times), and the rather predictable plot line. The villain was yet another silly mad scientist (sigh). Boy, I grew tired of that about half way through. The Hero, St. Merrin was alright, but a little crabby, and he comes off as a bit of a know-it-all sometimes, which makes him seem a trifle insecure. The secondary romance was only so much filler because the couple, after being introduced was rarely seen and did not play much of a roll.

This was an entertaining read, but by no means brain science. I didn't care for the heroine/hero's anachronistic behaviors, and the silly "I'm sooo evilll villain," was boring rather than mysterious.

This novel WAS well narrated, however, and entertaining enough to listen to while I commute, especially since it required less than my full attention.