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.
Rating: 
Summary: Nearly a five-star effort
Review: If you read the amazon.com synopsis you might get the idea that this is a contemporary story. No, it's the usual Amanda Quick, and that means another excellent Regency. The other reviewers are right, though, in that character development is left wanting, and I felt that the ending should have said: "TO BE CONTINUED." Even so, it's a lightning-quick read and a lot of fun.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly....Disappointing
Review: As a devout Amanda Quick fan, I was excited to get hold of her latest novel. But I must confess that it was not as vintage a Quick book as I had hoped. The relationship between Lavinia and Tobias lacked the sparkle and passion of her earlier lovers and the denoument lacked closure. I agree with other reviewers that her Regencies of late have become plot driven - I miss the sigh-appeal of earlier heroes and the delightful eccentricities of previous heroines. It was almost as if Jayne owed her contract a book at this time - although well thought-out and crafted as always, the sparkle wasn't there. I would not recommend this as a starter Quick book to anybody - "With this Ring" or "Mistress" would top my list of passion at its best. I shall continue to buy anything by Amanda Quick but with lower expectations. She still writes a great book when compared to some other authors on the market.
Rating:
Summary: A suprising lack of character development.
Review: As a faithful reader of Amanda Quick, I eagerly went to my nearest bookstore to purchase her latest novel Slightly Shady. I curled up on the sofa and prepared to indulge myself in an evening of uninterrupted reading. I finished this book in one night but glanced back through it the next day to see if perhaps I missed something. I did not. The characters in this novel, Mrs. Lake and Tobias March are the most poorly developed of any Quick novel. There is very little physical description of either character - certainly not enough of the male character to make one swoon over. Additionally, unlike earlier novels which allowed the reader to develop an understanding of the inner workings of the characters - the reasons why they are angry, or frightened, or wary of relationships, this novel shows us little of that psychological depth. These are not characters who are "passionate" in any sense of the word. They engage in much verbal banter but they do not burn for each other. It is a pity; for the verbal banter is good and the characters do have potential to be great characters. I was left with the overwhelming sense that Amanda Quick spent much more time writing and researching her earlier novels and is now resting on her laurels. I will not be so "quick" to buy her next book.
Rating:
Summary: A slight disappointment
Review: In her last few books, Krentz (Quick) has been moving away from character and relationship development and into a more plot-driven type of story. While I think it worked well in "Wicked Widow" and "Lost and Found," I found myself disappointed with "Slightly Shady." The characters squabbled constantly, and it was difficult to see why they'd have any attraction at all for one another. There was little character or relationship development. While the squabbling was occasionally humorous, it made it difficult for me to believe the attraction between them. The "mystery" was indeed interesting, although it tied together a number of coincidences that I viewed with a little disbelief. All in all, it wasn't quite what I wanted in a Quick book. On the other hand, it was entertaining, and I read through it fairly quickly. It simply wasn't up to the standard of "With This Ring" and "I Thee Wed," which I believe are the best of Quick.
Rating: 
Summary: Quoick at her delightful best
Review: After being stranded with her niece in Rome by her employer, Lavinia Lake opens up an antique shop. However, private investigator Tobias March destroys her merchandise and tells Lavinia to return to London or else. He says nasty villains have used her shop to pass messages. He explains that a criminal named Carlisle killed Bernard Ruckland and will murder again if necessary. In London, Lavinia visits Holton Felix, an odious person trying to blackmail her. Instead of a confrontation, Lavinia finds Holton dead. Tobias enters the room a few minutes later. They search for a missing diary with incriminating evidence of treason and other crimes, but fail to find it. Thus starts the teaming of the reluctant professional detective Tobias with obstinate amateur sleuth Lavinia. Although each one insists to a beloved relative that they find the other despicable, they begin to fall in love. However, Tobias' investigation is dangerous and Lavinia has a tendency to place them in deadly situations. New York Times best-selling author Amanda Quick furnishes her myriad of fans with an exciting non-stop historical romantic mystery with numerous twists and turns. The story line equally provides justice to the romance and the sleuthing, which, in turn, both historical sub-genre audiences will relish the tale. The lead characters are a fun pair either squabbling or loving while the secondary "good guys" enhance understanding of them. Hopefully, the writer will quickly return with more stories from this dynamic detective duo. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I have read nearly all of Amanda Quick's novels and to be sure, "Slightly Shady" is a disappointment. Usually her characters, both hero & heroine, are endearing and memorable, but these lacked spunk! Tobias, the "hero" was rather dull and Lavinia, the heroine, was a complainer. Both were characters I wouldn't care to know. Also, Quick tried to write a deep mystery but forgot the romance! Where do the characters stand at the end of the book! I miss the characters of "Mistress" and "Reckless", my two favorite of Quick's novels. Where is your old style?
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Shady
Review: I have been an avid fan of Amanda Quick every since I picked up my first historical romance and it was her Ravished. She hooked me with that book. I had never read one before and though they were all silly books. Harriet and Gideon are such great characters. Reading Ravished made me want to go out in search of anything else she had written. After scouring used book shops, books stores, etc. I have most of them and still reread them on a regular basis. When I need a really good read I pull out an Amanda Quick. Unfortunately, all of her books since Slightly Shady cannot compare to those older books - Surrender, Desire, Seduction, etc.... I hope she can find in her writing more characters with that fire, humour, etc... that make you want to keep on reading, keep you cheering for the heroine or hero. If you want a really good book - pick up anything Amanda Quick before Slightly Shady. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Slightly Shady
Review: It started so well. It was funny. The characters were likeable. Tobias and Lavinia are displaying some attraction for one another. Then . . . there's the painfully predictable "carriage" scene. The murder plot became so convoluted in its solution, I feared I'd be confessing next. By the time the second short, choppy, terribly unromantic love scene rolled around, I'd literally forgotten I was reading a romance. Tobias, likeable fellow, came off as a rather inept detective. I'm glad I checked this out of the library instead of buying it.
| 
