Rating: 
Summary: No chemistry! Previous books better!
Review: This book just doesn't cut it. Usually you get the feel for the romance, chemistry, mystery right away. I kept waiting for it to happen, and it didn't. Go back to the beginning with books like Reckless to see the real connection. Not worth purchasing in hardback.
Rating: 
Summary: On a bad day, Quick is still better...
Review: On a bad day, Amanda Quick's romance novels are still better than most other writers on a good day. While I am obviously a fan, it is fair to say that both the plot and characters in this book are very derivative. I really had a strong sense of deja vu while I was reading Wicked Widow. If Quick is going to rewrite one of her books, I suggest Rendezvous! While I didn't burn up the pages reading Widow, I'm glad I stuck with it. The ending is absolutely charming. So, borrow it from the public library or wait for the paperback if you must, but don't ignore it altogether.
Rating:
Summary: A little too expensive!
Review: Vanza was interesting when I first read about it. It was a bit overdone in this book. It seems that anyone can go and learn Vanza (or even stay at home to study) and there is no screening of the applicants. I truly hate to agree with the others, but I would definitely recommend waiting until this book is out in paperback or at the library before buying it. The chemistry was weak and the magic missing.
Rating:
Summary: "Quick" Read?
Review: For the first time ever, I scanned a Quick book. I usually like her writing but this book never developed. She just hammered on Artemis being "Vanza"...and never let the characters develop. She flirted with the possibilities, toyed with the reader, but in the end...I find that I just can't recommend this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Might be time for a sabbatical
Review: The book contained many elements previous visited by the author. The only thing wrong with this is that her fans know for a fact that the author has the potential to do a much better job with all of them than she has in her recent works.Heroine has undeserved reputation: This was fairly well developed in Zinnia (Jayne Castle), but I never felt like the 'the wicked widow' suffered from her reputation, juicy as it was. Hero plots long and complicated revenge: In this book I felt like the revenge was too long in coming, yet not very complicated. Surely it didn't take him 5 years to come up with a phony-investment con job? Not to mention the way he loses interest before following through. It disturbed me to find him calmly interviewing one of his dead lover's rapists because his new lover's problems have become his priority. Heroine has prejudices that cause relationship conflict: While the heroine plays lip service to not trusting Vanza types, I never felt like this was truly a barrier between her and the hero. This was much better done in the Gift of Gold/Fire books (Jayne Ann Krentz), and much more humerously done in Zinnia. I can only assume that the author's getting tired of the same ol' thing. I hope the she finds material that she can be passsionate about again.
Rating:
Summary: Better than her last few, but...
Review: I've been a fan of Krentz/Quick/Castle, et al., for years, but have found her books becoming more and more formulaic and stiff in the last few years. As I have often found her characters rather formal and serious, something in the plot must spark to liven up things; saddly, for me, that spark has been missing. I enjoyed this Quick more than the last two or three, but must agree with previous reviewers that the books have become too repetitive. I plan to bypass hardbacks in the future. (Of course, I said that about Wicked Widow and the title before that, too.) Bottom line, I have high expectations of this author and will continue to hope she regains her spontaneity.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: Boring and weak is the best way to descibe this book. A rip off because this book could have very easily been sold in the paperbook mode and not the very expensive hardback. No need to review the book because if you have read her last two you will know the plot and the characters and of course the bad guy. Oh well, now I know that I will wait to purchase her next one after it becomes available in the paperback release. Better yet hit the library and save myself my hard earned cash.
Rating:
Summary: An afternoon of pleasure
Review: While this book is not as strong as some of Amanda Quick's earliest novels, it was a great read. Amanda Quick novels are always a guilty pleasure... As characters, I found Madeline and Artemis to be more interesting than the protaganists of the last two novels, but the plot was not as carefully crafted nor the characters as well fleshed out as those in earlier Quick novels such as Surrender (my personal favorite). In particular, I found that the relationship between Madeline and Artemis, while plausible, was not as compelling as those of other novels. Madeline's reluctance to trust anyone who has a Vanza past did not quite ring true. After the first 30 pages, I began to think, "Methinks the lady doth protest too much." Still, overall, this is an Amanda Quick novel - great fun - and as always an experience to be savored.
Rating:
Summary: She Needs a Vacation
Review: Ms. Krentz, aka Amanda Quick, needs a vacation. She is trying to capitalize on her popularity as both Jayne Krentz and Amanda Quick and the novels are suffering---badly. The last three Quick novels, including this one, were not memorable AT ALL. Don't waste your money on the hardcover--wait for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Quick burnout?
Review: Wait for the paperback or get it from the library. It shows her usual witty repartee in places but not enough to carry the story along. Too much of the same. Not enough detail. Again, enough with Vanza, try a new twist!
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