Rating: 
Summary: an excellent mystery but romance wise...
Review: "Slightly Shady" by Amanda Quick is quite a good mystery novel -- in fact I was so engrossed with the mystery plot that I skimmed the bits of the novel which dealt with the supposed romantic tension between the principal characters, Lavinia Lake and Tobias March.From the very first moment Lavinia Lake meets Tobias March, sparks fly -- sparks of anger and frustration that is. He completely destroys her antiques shop in Rome, and more or less forces her and her niece, Emeline, to leave Italy for England, because he claims that the two women have somehow innocently gotten themselves mixed up with a ruthless gang of criminals, and are now in danger. And while Lavinia does not entirely believe him, she nonetheless can find no way to gainsay him and so finds herself, much to her chagrin and dismay, bound for England. Once in England however Lavinia soon finds herself on a rather inept blackmailer's list: Holton Felix a gambler has come into the possession of the diary of the valet of the the leader of the criminal gang that had used Lavinia. And being a man who could do with a quick influx of cash, he decides to use the secrets in the diary to blackmail a few people, Lavinia included. Outraged at being blackmailed by Felix, Lavinia decides to confront him. However upon reaching his rooms, she finds him dead, and ...Tobias March. It would seem that Tobias March is also on the hunt for the diary. March decides that they should team up and try to find the diary together. And while Lavinia does not quite trust him, she agrees to work with him. But the duo soon realise that they are not just looking for a diary, but rather are on the trail of a very cunning and deranged homicidal maniac as they start to strip over a trail of corpses... The trouble with "Slightly Shady," eventhough it is a good mystery novel, is that you don't quite take to the principal characters, much less buy their romance. And I'll admit to being rather surprised by this as ordinarily I would have loved a character like Lavinia Lake. Here's a strong woman who has faced many adversities but who has always managed to come out on top. She's quick tempered, stubborn, and very straight forward, but I also found her to be singularly lacking in charm. As for Tobias March, I think he was supposed to be one of those mysterious, strong and taciturn types, but came across as being a little bit of a cardboard hero instead. In fact it was the secondary characters, Emeline, Anthony (Tobias's young brother-in-law), and the mysterious Jane Dove (one of the blackmail victims) that proved to be more interesting, and left me wishing for more -- I think Emeline's and Anthony's budding romance was a lot more believable and interesting as well! It's a pity that "Slightly Shady" was marketed as a romace novel because it makes a very good mystery novel instead. In fact the ending is one that if it were a mystery novel, have pointed to future investigations by Tobias and Lavinia. So here's the warning: if you are a mystery lover, be in for a treat because romance wise, this novel is not very credible or interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Best, Nor the Worst
Review: Lavinia Lake needs Tobias March likes she needs bad luck. Not only did Tobias destroy her shop in Rome (trying to save her life, or so he claims), now he continues to plague her back in England. Someone is trying to blackmail Lavinia by claiming he has a journal with details about her shop in Rome-that it was a place of criminal activity. This won't do because Lavinia is trying to give her niece a season to find a rich husband and can't possibly afford to have any hint of scandal attached to her name. When she arrives to confront the blackmailer and claim the journal she finds him dead. Frantically searching the blackmailer's quarters she soon discovers she can't find the journal but unexpectedly find Tobias March. Together they form an uneasy partnership and set out to find the journal. As stated by other reviewers, the characters were never fully developed in this story. I don't think I ever knew Lavinia. The character of Tobias was better developed and I could picture him as a confirmed bachelor with little time for society and its pretentious manners. Both characters spent a lot of time bickering back and forth. While others found this irritating, I thought it was funny. This may have been due to the fact I didn't have time to read the book straight through and read it over a two week period. Ms. Quick did introduce a different type of plot development that captured my interest. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like it before. I don't know where Ms. Quick intends to go with these two characters. It's my understanding they will appear in her next two books, sort of like a series. All I can say is I'll give the next one a try in hopes they are more fully developed and have Ms. Quick's trademark dialogue and plot.
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: Amanda Quick has always been my favorite romance writer. I have a copy of all of her books and have read all of them at least 2-3 times. I was totally disappointed by this one! The characters were poorly developed and not very interesting. I bought this book expecting a romance and got a mystery novel! For fans of Amanda Quick, don't waste your money.....You won't get what you were expecting. I have advance ordered the last four books published by this author and have found each to be weaker than the one before. I won't be buying any further books by this author in hard cover.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Boring
Review: I loved Ms. Quick's earlier works and reread them regularly. I have found her more recent efforts vague and disappointing. Unfortunately, Slightly Shady continues this tradition. I hate to say, this book isn't quite as offensive as some of her other efforts, but in this book, her characters aren't romantic and her plot is bland. I found it difficult to latch on to any redeeming quality in the characters. I saw no reason for the main characters to find any attraction to one another. What doe Tobias March and Mrs. Lavinia Lake see in one another. Whatever it was, it wasn't worth reading this book. The plot wasn't very well- developed, suspenseful, or even interesting. Maybe Ms. Quick needs to drop this line of writing until her enthusiasm for her work returns.
Rating:
Summary: Not romance-it's a mystery
Review: I think this book is a continuing trend by Krentz to make her books mystery rather than romance. Maybe, from now on, one should not expect her former style. It is a pity on one level, her romance books were the ones that got me originally hooked to the genre, they are a joy to read but I respect her need to get out and do something different. The plot is excellent and didn't just leave you guessing it had you wondering just how many people could be involved in the crime. And then the end left you guessing about whether one of the characters were as innocent as they seemed. What all her fans will miss is the lack of loveplay, what was written seemed rather clinical and lacked any build up or follow through. Expect no sparks or even commitment from the main characters. It was not the point of the book so it was not made a feature. Maybe we are being set up for more books about these two, it seems to be written that way. It would explain the feeling of incompleteness Enjoy this book as a mystery, don't count on it being a romance.
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly Boring
Review: Sorry Amanda Quick but this one was disappointing. The storyline was OK but I really never liked Lavinia. I liked the niece Emeline better. It never really made any sense when Tobias got shot in the leg. He just wasn't able to move as quickly. I guess that was to make him a flawed hero. AQ earlier books are so much better. I am going to wait before purchasing another hardback by AQ because I have been disappointed by this one and the Wicked Widow.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I have always enjoyed Amanda Quick's books but this last one, Slightly Shady, was a big disappointment. Is it just me or does anyone else think this was slightly altered and poor copy of her earlier book "Affair"? I have always preordered her books in the past but will wait to read the reviews of the next one before I spent this much money again.
Rating:
Summary: Not at her best...disappointed
Review: I rate "Slightly Shady" at a mere 2 stars as it simply doesn't measure up to Ms. Quick's usual work...for the past several years I have been devouring her novels, and Tobias and Lavinia just don't have the same spark that those such as Harriet and Gideon ("Ravished") and Emily and Simon ("Scandal") possessed. I didn't feel that there was adequet background information on the couple, and I generally like to be able to have a clear visual image of the characters...all I could figure out was that Lavinia had red hair and was somewhat short. Also, the secondary characters, Emeline and Anthony, seem too closely related to those of Ariel and Hamilton in "Affair," but were probably more interesting than the main characters. All in all, the book was frustrating as I know what real masterpieces she is capable of. I wouldn't say NOT to read this book...but maybe wait for it to come out in paperback and spend $7 instead of $25..use the money to purchase a few other of her earlier books (I suggest the one word titled ones, not to mention those she has written under Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle) and get to know what a wonderful author she really is..don't let this be the first of her books you read.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Unfinished
Review: As one of Amanda Quick's biggest fans, I preordered my copy of her newest book months ago. When my order arrived, I dove into it anticipating the magic of Scandal, or Mistress (my two favorite books by this usually wonderful author). Unfortunately, this book fails to satisfy in many ways. The heroe, Tobias (hasn't she already used this name once a few books back?)couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag. I know her heroes are usually flawed in some manner, but they usually ooze stregnth and power. He is sort of an amalgam of her previous leading men, with all the flaws and none of the stregnths. The only real physical description we have of him is that "he couldn't be described as handsome". Not someone I would swoon over. Instead of falling in love with Tobias, I felt sorry for him. Lavinia also lacked the originality of the usual Quick characters. She is described as possibly short, and later we learn she has red hair. Other than that, the modiste sees it as a challange to make her look good. Even worse she is weak and has poor judgement- I like a smart heroine. The plot tredged along complete with lots of snippets and scenes stolen from her previous and better written books.Loose plot ends abound as you make your way to the end- almost as if she planned a sequel, or had to meet a deadline. I would recommend any of her other books over this uninspiring tale of two unattractive, poverty stricken characters who can't seem to fathom why they can't forget about each other. Unfortunately, I will forget them all too quickly. This wouldn't have been such a dissappointment if it had been a five dollar paperback by a fledgling author, but in a hardback romance by one of the best you have great expectations. I just couldn't lose myself in this one.
Rating:
Summary: definatly shady
Review: I am an Amanda Quick fan, but the last few books have not been up to par with her earlier work. Slightly Shady was a gray pale compaired to the sparkling stories and characters of a few years ago. There was no character description, who were we reading about? I felt no connection to the people and was unimpressed with the story line. I normally buy an Amanda Quick book right away, sight unseen, I may just wait to get the next one.
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