With This Ring (Abridged)

Rating:
Summary: A sad fall from the glory of her previous novels
Review: Being an avid Amanda Quick fan, I pick up each book as soon as they are released, find a quiet moment when I can read the book, then proceed to devour it. This book, once completed, was a sore disappointment. Though I like a mystery mixed in with the romance, this book focused so much on mystery it left very little to romance and practically nothing to character development. You wonder who these two characters are, and how could they possibly fall in love when there are so few sparks flying. I feel this book also echoed too many of her previous books, almost completely lacking an original story. However, since I do love her books so much, I eagerly await her next novel, hoping it will return her to her earlier glory.

Rating:
Summary: Quick does it again!
Review: Don't be fooled by bland reviews, _With This Ring_ is classic Amanda Quick. Teeming with the usual mystery, romance, adventure and passion readers have grown to love, _With This Ring_ is right on par with all of Ms. Quick's earlier works. I'd even go so far as to say it has become one of my favorites by her.

In Beatrice and Leo Ms. Quick has created two strong minded, mature and well rounded characters. Beatrice is lively, funny and intelligent. I really enjoyed reading about a heroine who was nearing thirty years old and who'd been wed and bed before. It was a nice, refreshing change of pace to see an older heroine who had a sensible head on her shoulders be swept away by desire. So many times romance authors inundate you with simpering beauties whose only attribute worth mentioning is their looks. Ms. Quick continually sets forth heroines who make you proud to be a woman and Beatrice does just that. Leo is exciting, sensual and has a magnetism that the reader feels right along with Beatrice. Watching him fall in love with Beatrice is a beautiful experience and when he gave her the legendary 'Mad Monk' token of love I cried.

As always, the plot was engaging and full of twists and turns that kept me absorbed right from the first. Another thing I really enjoyed about _With This Ring_ is the fact that Ms. Quick alludes to a character from one of her previous books. It was nice to see a name I recognized and be able to recall another extraordinary book of her's that I'd read.

Anyone who has read this book and didn't like it should give it a second read through, surely you must have missed something the first time! Anyone who hasn't read this book -- what are you waiting for? Buy it now and be prepared for a marvelous read courtesy of Amanda Quick.

Rating:
Summary: WITTY AND ENTERTAINING
Review: I really adored this book. Leo and Beatrice were so perfectly suited. They were both more mature than the typical ead characters because they were older (about 30 and 40) and had both come from previous marriages. I loved how Beatrice helped prostitutes become maids by teaching them bad Frech accents. It was just a unique quirck that made her more intriguing. Elf was also another funny animal, a dog, that got a few laughs. All together the lead characters were refreshingly different from the normal characters and this bok is just great.

Rating:
Summary: Boring read... expected better...
Review: I was bored beyond words with this tale of dark suspense set in shadowy England in the 1700's. I thought I was in for some real suspense and good romance, but I was shocked to find myself wishing it would end. the suspense is mediocre and the romance is cliche at best.

~Beatrice Poole, a 30 year old widow and a vicar's daughter writes 'horrid novels' under a different pen name and is fasinated with the darker side of passion. She is very successful and wishes she too could experience something as exciting as what she writes. When her beloved uncle is found dead, she gets her wish, so to speak. She is now on the run to find her uncle's killer and what he was hiding.

Beatrice calls on the 'mad monk' of Monkcrest, Leo Drake. He would know how to help her since he was known for his dabbling of the 'dark life'. Leo soon realizes they aren't simply looking for a killer, but they are being hunted down and the reason is an ancient artifact that everyone seems to be after.

I wish it hadn't been so boring, but it did get good reviews in general, so I might have missed what everyone else saw.

Tracy Talley~@

Rating:
Summary: Talent tells.
Review: Mrs. Beatrice Poole needs help in recovering the small inheritance promised to a young lady in her family as a dowry. Since the inheritance is a legendary treasure, she turns to expert collector Leo Drake, Earl of Monkcrest. Monkcrest, also known as the Mad Monk of Monkcrest Abbey, is fascinated by the forthright, headstrong widow. Little does he know that Beatrice is also know as horrids writer, Mrs. Amelia York, and that she helps prostitutes get off the streets by training them as French ladies' maids.

Thrilling passions, mysterious treasure, brooding heroes, what more could one want? Well, how about strong heroines, witty repartee, and unusual supporting characters? Quick's novels have it all and this one is no exception.

Rating:
Summary: Loved It!
Review: This is one of my favorite by Amanda Quick. Her stories are always original. You don't read that many romances with a 29 year old woman and a 40+ male. Beatrice is one of my favorite Quick heroines. She is no young, naive girl. She's strong, confident, stubborn, practical and intelligent. Leo is also one of my favorites. He is a recluse with no use for society, but Beatrice drags him out of his self-imposed seclusion and takes him on a wild ride that changes his life.

There was nothing dull about With This Ring. It takes off from the first page and doesn't drag. Beatrice and Leo are both strong characters, and I got a few good laughs reading about them locking horns. They also both deserve happiness and it was great to read about how they find it with each other. If you are a fan of Amanda Quick, you should definitely read this one.

Rating:
Summary: A GREAT SUMMER READ
Review: This is the first Amanda Quick book I've ever read and I have to say it will not be my last! The herione and the hero of the story blance well together, its to perfect. This is a great read for anyone who loves a good romance and a good mystery.

Rating:
Summary: Amusing and Intresting
Review: This is the first regency novel I've encounted with the hero being --gasp!!-- nearly 40. I was glad that the heroine wasn't some little baby of 16 as I hate those kind of books. But this book, my second Amanda Quick, was good. The 'murder' plot wasn't really that intresting but the situations that Beatrice got herself into were funny. I borrowed the book from my library and I'm not so in love with it that I'll buy it but it does make a good read for a rainy afternoon.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery, Intrigue, and Romance....
Review: This is the second book I've read of Ms. Quick's. I truly injoyed it. I loved the fact that Beatrice is nearly 30 and not a raving beauty. I agree with other readers when they say it's nice to see a heroine that has a good head on her shoulders and is very intelligent and self-sufficient. Both characters are strong and that's makes for interesting dialogue. I loved Beatrice's "horrid novels". It was clever the way Ms. Quick had a passage for each chapter of "With This Ring" from Beatrice's book "The Ruin". Well worth reading.