Mischief

Rating:
Summary: Idiotic Heroine
Review: I imagine it must be immensely difficult to create a silly yet endearing heroine. Jill Barnett manages to do so beautifully in Dreaming, and Julia Quinn's, How to Catch an Heiress has only one or two "I'm just going to pretend she never said that," moments.
Unfortunately, most authors can't seem to keep from slipping over that thin but immensely important line that separates silliness from stupidity.
In this particular book, our heroine positively leaps over the barrier.
One example (and sadly, there are many) - her absolute insistence on viewing her husband as a man of weak sensibilities despite the overwhelming, undeniable, so painfully obvious a three year old would recognize it, evidence proving otherwise.
It's hard to like a heroine you can't respect and it's hard to respect a hero who likes his women stupid.


Rating:
Summary: it is soooooo funny...
Review: cold blooded colchester's heart warmed when he met headstrong immodest imogen.and you would never guess what the suprise is in the ending...and the fact that imogen thought that the cold hearted hero had problems with his weak nerves kept me laughing all night, my neighbours were starting to doubt my sanity!this book is the most humourous book ever...you have got to read it

Rating:
Summary: Good, but not as good
Review: I am a serious Amanda Quick fan, and the bindings have worn out of my copies of Ravished, Dangerous, Deception, and Scandal. These are the best Romance novels ever written, in my opinion. The story in Mischief is definetly good and entertaining. The problem is, however, that Ms. Quick is sacrificing the details that made her older books so engaging. I am worried that she may never again write characters as loveable as Harriet, Prudence and Olympia. Or as desirable as the Beast of Blackthorn hall, Mr. Chillhurst and the Fallen Angel. What is missing is the insight into the new characters. Since this author writes under 3 names, she turns out a LOT of books. Unfortunately, they are all suffering from the speed. This book needed another 50 pages to flesh it out. The depth was missing. I will be very sad if there are no new Amanda Quick books that I want to read over and over. Please, Amanda, let us know your characters again and care about them. No one creates as fun and sexy a story as you can. Don't make them over so soon.

Rating:
Summary: Best Amanda Quick I've read so far
Review: I am new to this genre but have been really enjoying it! Out of the four Amanda Quick that I have read (the others were Affair, Mistress and With This Ring), this has been the best. It is excellent in terms of romance, character development and the whodunnit factor as well as having many humorous moments. I also thought it touched upon some very real truths about why people are drawn to each other--rare for this type of book.

I also like how Amanda Quick's heroines are never fooled by the sometimes dubious reputations of the heros. Even though the villains of the novels try to feed them lies about the heros her heroines never believe it--they are smart cookies!

Rating:
Summary: I just had to read it again!
Review: I am so hooked on Amanda Quick books now, after reading just one...Mischief...and oh what a book! I never had a desire to read books twice but this book was so intensely rich that I just had to have a second helping. I totally fell in love with the characters and loved to see the sparks fly! This book is hot!!!

Rating:
Summary: I failed to see the 'Mystique.'
Review: I believe some of Amanda Quick's older works rank among the best in the genre. This selection, however, was tortuously dull. While I admire the attempt to give the story thematic symbolism, the constant references to 'lost Zamar' were only repetative. It was a mantra that inspired no emotional investment in this reader, but rather made finishing the book a chore. Turning each page was a duty, not entertainment. One of the strengths of previous stories has been the unorthodox nature of the heroines, but I found Imogen Waterstone to be distinctly unlikeable, thereby killing the sense of romance for me. I certainly didn't care whether such a rude, senseless character achieved a happy-ever-after. I intend to hold onto my copies of 'Rendezvous' and 'Surrender,' but 'Mystique' felt too much like my very own 'Rutledge Curse.'

Rating:
Summary: This Book Made Me A Convert
Review: I don't think I had read a true romance novel ever in my life until I picked up this book. I make a habit of putting bestselling books on hold at the library and reading them as they become available. Picking up this book, I was surprised to find a romance. I figured I'd give it a shot, but was sure that I would not finish the first chapter before I pronounced it trash. I think I read this book in one day. I literally could not put it down, and I'm sure I got about 3 hours of sleep that night to finish it. Amanda Quick took me to another world, a great escape that made my stomach flip during the romance scenes. I have no qualms recommending this book as a good place to start for all you "book snobs" who think you won't enjoy anything that doesn't make you struggle intellectually. Live a little! I'm still trying to get my hands on her other books as we speak...

Rating:
Summary: Skip the love scenes.. (unless you want to giggle)
Review: I first discovered Amanda Quick some years back, well before I discovered Signet Regencies and most other Regency historicals. I enjoyed some of her early books, but was under no illusions that her books were particularly representative of Regency society or the typical Regency woman. In some senses, a new author Julia Quinn reminds me of Amanda Quick, except that Quinn's writing and plotting has been improving slowly in a relatively career. It is hard to say whether Quick has peaked as a writer, since I do not read her works under other names. Among her books, I most enjoyed SCANDAL (not a typical Quick), DESIRE (not typical either, being a raucously funny ahistorical medieval), and SURRENDER (where the story certainly takes an untypical turn). I picked up the audio tape of MISCHIEF, partly as a way to get through this book and to try audio book versions of authors while I walked or did errands about the house.

Warning: Firstly, romances can sound very different when read aloud than when a reader reads a print version. In the audio version, the skill of the narrator is all-important. My version (not the one available at Amazon) was narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who is excellent at rendering voices and accents. No problems there. The set consisted of 9 tapes, and was unabridged.

Now the problems begin. Firstly, since I listen slower (and more inattentively) than I read, it did not take much time before I spotted the villain, or the principal villain anyway. What I could not figure out is why this was not obvious to Imogen and Matthias. Secondly, Imogen sounds pretty irritating, and her breathiness comes through all too unfortunately. By comparison, Clare (DESIRE), Emily (SCANDAL) and Victoria (SURRENDER) were definitely not irritating, even though Emily also used swear words liberally. Thirdly, I was hard put not to laugh through the lovemaking scenes. I had never previously thought of Quick writing purple prose, but those descriptions certainly fitted that description. Let me say that I did not linger over *those* scenes.

Now about the plot. The hero is an enthusiast of ancient Zamar (a civilization constructed by Quick) and an amateur archaeologist who is estranged from his father and the rest of his family. He meets the heroine, because of a promise made to her late uncle. The heroine, it turns out, is not only enthusiastic about ancient Zamar, but she is, well, enthusiastic about almost everything else, including investigation of a friend's mysterious death. In the process, she acts somewhat recklessly. Furthermore, the heroine (Imogen) thinks of the hero (Matthias) as a person with "weak nerves", and persists in this self-delusion although everyone else clearly knows differently. It is a mystery how Imogen and her aunt have the kind of access to high society that permits them to be suitable chaperone for Patricia (Matthias's half-sister) who is an earl's daughter - especially considering that they reside in a house that has been rented in the past by shady characters, to say the least. But Quick is not known for internal consistency within plots.

Patricia is another breathless young woman, whose rudeness to her erstwhile chaperones and general credulity took my breath away. Her relations with Matthias are sketched lightly, in part because the story concentrates on the romance between Imogen and Matthias.

The most interesting part of the story was ancient Zamar, and Matthias and Imogen's involvement with that long-vanished civilization, not to mention the society fad with all things Zamarian. The rest of the story was weak, with the murder mystery being ho-hum. One of the weak points was the credulity of high society regarding a certain titled person; one would assume that society had neither heard of peerage reference works or of the House of Lords. The involvement of this person in the story rather strained my belief in the solution of the murders.

For the story as a whole
Heroine = 2 stars (very irritating)
Hero = 4.5 stars (rather interesting childhood and youth; unorthodox interests and attitudes)
Secondary characters = 3.8 stars (some interesting characters; irritating sister and housekeeper)
Romance = 3.5 stars (competent, but not engrossing)
Mystery = 3.1 stars (villain guessed almost at outset; motives and methods made little sense)
Bedroom scenes = 2 stars (irritating, and made me want to laugh)

Overall rating = 3.2 stars.
This is not a Quick I would recommend to most people; even Quick devotees will be somewhat disappointed. I would advise them, instead to read SURRENDER or one of the other Quick novels written before 1995.

Rating:
Summary: Skip the love scenes.. (unless you want to giggle)
Review: I first discovered Amanda Quick some years back, well before I discovered Signet Regencies and most other Regency historicals. I enjoyed some of her early books, but was under no illusions that her books were particularly representative of Regency society or the typical Regency woman. In some senses, a new author Julia Quinn reminds me of Amanda Quick, except that Quinn's writing and plotting has been improving slowly in a relatively career. It is hard to say whether Quick has peaked as a writer, since I do not read her works under other names. Among her books, I most enjoyed SCANDAL (not a typical Quick), DESIRE (not typical either, being a raucously funny ahistorical medieval), and SURRENDER (where the story certainly takes an untypical turn). I picked up the audio tape of MISCHIEF, partly as a way to get through this book and to try audio book versions of authors while I walked or did errands about the house.

Warning: Firstly, romances can sound very different when read aloud than when a reader reads a print version. In the audio version, the skill of the narrator is all-important. My version (not the one available at Amazon) was narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who is excellent at rendering voices and accents. No problems there. The set consisted of 9 tapes, and was unabridged.

Now the problems begin. Firstly, since I listen slower (and more inattentively) than I read, it did not take much time before I spotted the villain, or the principal villain anyway. What I could not figure out is why this was not obvious to Imogen and Matthias. Secondly, Imogen sounds pretty irritating, and her breathiness comes through all too unfortunately. By comparison, Clare (DESIRE), Emily (SCANDAL) and Victoria (SURRENDER) were definitely not irritating, even though Emily also used swear words liberally. Thirdly, I was hard put not to laugh through the lovemaking scenes. I had never previously thought of Quick writing purple prose, but those descriptions certainly fitted that description. Let me say that I did not linger over *those* scenes.

Now about the plot. The hero is an enthusiast of ancient Zamar (a civilization constructed by Quick) and an amateur archaeologist who is estranged from his father and the rest of his family. He meets the heroine, because of a promise made to her late uncle. The heroine, it turns out, is not only enthusiastic about ancient Zamar, but she is, well, enthusiastic about almost everything else, including investigation of a friend's mysterious death. In the process, she acts somewhat recklessly. Furthermore, the heroine (Imogen) thinks of the hero (Matthias) as a person with "weak nerves", and persists in this self-delusion although everyone else clearly knows differently. It is a mystery how Imogen and her aunt have the kind of access to high society that permits them to be suitable chaperone for Patricia (Matthias's half-sister) who is an earl's daughter - especially considering that they reside in a house that has been rented in the past by shady characters, to say the least. But Quick is not known for internal consistency within plots.

Patricia is another breathless young woman, whose rudeness to her erstwhile chaperones and general credulity took my breath away. Her relations with Matthias are sketched lightly, in part because the story concentrates on the romance between Imogen and Matthias.

The most interesting part of the story was ancient Zamar, and Matthias and Imogen's involvement with that long-vanished civilization, not to mention the society fad with all things Zamarian. The rest of the story was weak, with the murder mystery being ho-hum. One of the weak points was the credulity of high society regarding a certain titled person; one would assume that society had neither heard of peerage reference works or of the House of Lords. The involvement of this person in the story rather strained my belief in the solution of the murders.

For the story as a whole
Heroine = 2 stars (very irritating)
Hero = 4.5 stars (rather interesting childhood and youth; unorthodox interests and attitudes)
Secondary characters = 3.8 stars (some interesting characters; irritating sister and housekeeper)
Romance = 3.5 stars (competent, but not engrossing)
Mystery = 3.1 stars (villain guessed almost at outset; motives and methods made little sense)
Bedroom scenes = 2 stars (irritating, and made me want to laugh)

Overall rating = 3.2 stars.
This is not a Quick I would recommend to most people; even Quick devotees will be somewhat disappointed. I would advise them, instead to read SURRENDER or one of the other Quick novels written before 1995.

Rating:
Summary: Mischief versus Deceptions
Review: I had read one Amanda Quick story which was Deceptions and I enjoyed it so I thought I would get another to read.I might have been unfortunate to find the only other book in her collection which was almost the same story.
The heroines had the same*blue stocking* personalities,both raised by unconventional people.Both had written articles on antiquities and did not care for their reputations.Cold blooded Colchester is almost the same character as the the hero in Deceptions who lacks the Flamecrest fire.Both heroines talk about emotion and passion with logic and not feeling.
Both books have ancient languages that need to be translated.Plus a focus on ancient matriomonial customs ,,,,,,,I started to really wonder if this was the same book.There are also a pair of lesbian lovers thrown in to the equation which has turned up yet again in a third book by the same author, (Seduction).By now I was wondering if I was reading the same story.The heroes both have mortal enemies who can be persuaded to become amenable.The heroine is being pursued for her ancient treasure in both books.Overall I found 25 similarities between the two books,by that point I gave up counting.Reading Mischief on it's own would be best.