The Paid Companion

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.

Rating:
Summary: A READING DELIVERED WITH VERVE AND PANACHE
Review: Regency romance listeners rejoice - Amanda Quick, aka Jayne Ann Krentz, has served up a tasty dish thick with suspense, ripe with coupling, and bubbling with humor. Voice performer Michael Page delivers this appetizing mix with verve and panache.

Of course, there's a handsome hero with a few dark secrets. He's the Earl of St. Merryn who needs a stand-in fiancé to keep all the lusty London ladies at bay while he avenges the murder of his uncle.

Meet Elenora Lodge. Recently impoverished she finds the Earl's offer impossible to turn down. Elenora, of course, is not just any down on your luck lady, she's intelligent, beautiful, and full of life.

What's a Regency romance without a villain? This one is a certifiable madman bent on wrecking havoc in his wake. The setting is rife with the dalliances of the upper classes, parties, and a tantalizing mystery.

Highly listenable!

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: Amanda Quick back on top
Review: The Paid Companion is one of the best Amanda Quick's I've read for a while. The pace is fast, the plot compelling, and the characters likeable.
Elenora loses her home and is forced to take up a position as a paid companion, but there is more to her employer, Arthur, than meets the eye. I'm always a sucker for this kind of plot - I loved Amanda Grange's Marriage at the Manor, which is an Edwardian along similar lines - and Amanda Quick does it justice. There's plenty of wit, humor and adventure, as Arthur tries to track down a killer, and of course there's romance.
I've not been all that keen on her last few books but this definitely has the old sparkle. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: She's back!
Review: This book has got the old Krantz/Castle/Quick sprit back but even better if that is possible. I've been a long time fan of her's but have been a bit dissapointed is some of her later books. But this one hits the spot. Compelling, believable characters, good plot line and a bit of fun along with the suspense, romance, and action.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the money
Review: This is a typical Amanda Quick novel. Only a few of her books did I not throughly enjoy. The Paid Companion was an excellent and enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Good read. Too much formulaic plot.
Review: This novel was the typical female meets male and they join forces to solve a crime mystery. Amanda Quick did put some steamy sex scenes and told a pretty good plot of a story. However it was too much a formula for five stars. Still recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Encore,Encore
Review: This was a wonderful read. With all elements a book should have. Great plot and excellent characters and very suspenseful. This was so good that I read it in one night. I would recommend this book to anyone. Anyone disappointed with Quick books in the past. Will be overjoyed with this novel.

Rating:
Summary: "Slow at first"
Review: This was my first Amanda Quick book. The beginning was a little slow. But it does pick up. It did keep my interest. But have read better. It will keep you entertained.

Amanda Quick is not an author I will go looking for to read. OK if nothing else to read.

Rating:
Summary: Unlikable characters, weak mystery
Review: To help distract the 'ton' while he traces his uncle's killer, Earl Arthur St. Merryn decides he needs a fiancee. Since he's already had one fiancee--who fled down a ladder to avoid the marriage, St. Merryn decides to be more logical and hire a fiance through a service that provides paid companions. Elenora Lodge, recently disposessed of her home and most of her property, turns up at the agency just in time. St. Merryn decides that her spirit and enthusiasm would be a perfect match--and that Elenora could be just the actress to persuade society that she was St. Merryn's next fiancee.

Although St. Merryn initially intends to keep Elenora at the outskirts of his plans, she quickly asserts herself, forcing herself into his confidence and, soon enough, into his arms. Neither is particularly good at hiding the attraction they feel for one another although Elenora is convinced that, once the mystery is solved, St. Merryn will get on with her life and that Elenora will be forced to move on with her life. Tracking down the killer is a bit complicated, though, and the interval gives them plenty of time to explore the attraction--and for Elenora to dazzle polite society in Regency England.

Author Amanda Quick always writes a fast-paced and entertaining read and THE PAID COMPANION is no exception. That said, I found Elenora to be quite annoying with her complete lack of respect for St. Merryn's finances, her willingness to simply run over whatever ideas he proposed, and her constant jumping to conclusions when a simple conversation would have avoided the misunderstanding. By constantly giving in to Elenora, St. Merryn comes off as a bit of a wimp. The mystery portion of the book is really a non-starter as we are introduced to no suspects and no clues.

I wanted to like THE PAID COMPANION and Quick's writing is strong enough to keep me reading, but the unlikable characters and weak mystery plot definitely detracted.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect *Fun*
Review: Upper class romance and murder in nineteenth century London.

I *loved* this book.

As I was reading it, and having so much fun, I thought, I really should be reading this under the bed sheets with a flashlight. It was that kind of book -- the kind that, when you were a little kid, you couldn't stop reading even though it was well past your bedtime.

This isn't deathless literature and no great problems are solved within these pages. So what? It isn't easy creating characters that are sexy and likable and yet utterly believable as real, and situations that are daring and fun and provide a wonderful escape from real life but that still reflect on real life, and dialogue that's inviting but also every bit as smart as what you'd find in literature that gets taken more seriously.

I'll bet that there are plenty of "great" novelists who would give their eyeteeth to be able to do what Amanda Quick can do, and even more who would never admit it but who could definitely learn a thing or two from her.

What amazed me most about this book was how real I experienced the main characters, and how much I liked them. I've tried to read other popular genre novels in the past and just couldn't because I could never take the characters seriously; they always come across as such cliches of masculinity or femininity.

I really believed "Paid Companion"'s Arthur and Elenora, though; they reminded me of people I know in real life.

And I greatly appreciated Quick's amazingly deft and clever dialogue.

I do have a few quibbles with the book, but they are minor, and did not interfere with my enjoyment.

I do wish the writing were just a tad richer. While I appreciate a fast read, I like descriptive detail. I wanted to know more about the smells and sights of this book's world.

A bit more verisimilitude in terms of language would have been appreciated -- characters often sounded, to me, to be twenty-first century speakers, rather than nineteenth.

While I enjoyed them, I did have a few problems with the book's detailed sex scenes. Readers are very familiar with British novels from that era, including those by the Brontes and Austen. Those books do not contain such graphic scenes, and, so, when you read the sex scenes here, you are very much taken out of the nineteenth-century feel of the narrative.

Too, there's something to be said for restraint. If a poet remarks on the expanse and the mystery of the night sky, we all can share in that evocation of our own reaction to the night sky. If a poet starts cataloguing constellations, he stops being a poet and becomes an astronomer.

If a writer tells me that a character is swept away by a sensation that erases place and time, I know exactly what the writer is talking about. If a writer, as Quick does here, inventories every caress, I feel I've switched from reading a novel to reading a manual.

Also, it always, ultimately, disappoints. I really liked these two characters and wanted them to experience everything. After reading these detailed scenes, I couldn't help but think, "Oh, so they didn't do this, this, and this?" with some disappointment.

These are minor quibbles, though. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a virtuoso writer to provide them with a ticket to romance and adventure whose price is no greater than the price of a book.