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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Where was the editor for this book? It was actualy a very decent story, but I felt as though I were reading the rough draft rather than the final copy. From the title and description, expected more lighthearted fun, but it was actually quite dark. Main complaint is that it needed a major re-write.
One if the best books I've read from her. I loved the interactions between the two main characters. It was a fun read all through out.
I like the characters quirky but for half the book it seemed like characters were making fun of Imogen too often or that silly things happened around her and that bothered me. In the second half of the book it seems like Imogen is really more in touch with things than everyone else is. I also thought that some of the side characters acted in odd ways sometimes from what we knew of them. All in all it was still an enjoyable book.
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
It took me about 4 tries to finally get into this book farther than the first few pages. I had such a mixed feeling while reading this...I wanted to continue but also found myself constantly rolling my eyes. The basic plot involves Imogen - a klutzy, uncouth young woman, and Matthias Colchester - the "mystery" man that is haunted by his past. However the themes of her being clumsy and apathetic to societal norms and him being haunted by his (really not-so-bad) past are repetitive and honestly very boring. Their basic characters are generally flat, with his being the more interesting of the two. Imogen enlists Matthias in a revenge plot gone wrong, leading to a weirder "mystery" later in the novel. I read another Goodreads review prior to starting this book, and it mentioned how annoying the use of the lost world of Zamar as a plot point is. Zamar is a fictional lost world, similar to the wonders of Egypt. Imogen and Matthias are both scholars of the language, ways, and artifacts of the Zamarian people. I don't know if I was predisposed to bias after reading that other review, or if I would have naturally thought this anyways, but the use of Zamar was overdone. If you wanted to make this a major connection for our leading characters...then why not write a novel about their budding romance during the exploration of Zamar and tie in a mystery. In fact, Imogen is secretly Matthias's field rival (she writes oppositional articles under an alias), but instead of revealing this in a way that adds tension and drama to their relationship, it's thrown out their relatively soon into the novel. I guess I feel like I can see parts of the plot that I would have liked to explore more that were instead employed in very shallow ways. The major downfalls of this novel are its repetitiveness in character traits (clumsiness, disregard for societal norms, etc), the shallow "Zamar" theme, language and dialogue (i.e. the CONSTANT conversations regarding "delicate sensibilities" and "anxious nerves," and general delivery of the main mystery/conflict.
*Spoiler below*
Also, I may have missed something but how did Matthias and Imogen suddenly know that Drake and Selena were siblings? When the tenant/housekeeper very randomly brought this up earlier in the novel I figured it would play into everything at some point, so it didn't take long for me to figure out they were related, however Drake and Imogen seem to figure it out within the turn of a few pages with no discussion of how they've come to that conclusion. I don't think it's a far reach, as they know both are acting shady and up to something, but it still seems random and sudden for them to know that they're related...especially when they don't tie it into the Demon Twins story until the very end. Again, maybe I missed something but it just seemed sloppy and random.
*Spoiler below*
Also, I may have missed something but how did Matthias and Imogen suddenly know that Drake and Selena were siblings? When the tenant/housekeeper very randomly brought this up earlier in the novel I figured it would play into everything at some point, so it didn't take long for me to figure out they were related, however Drake and Imogen seem to figure it out within the turn of a few pages with no discussion of how they've come to that conclusion. I don't think it's a far reach, as they know both are acting shady and up to something, but it still seems random and sudden for them to know that they're related...especially when they don't tie it into the Demon Twins story until the very end. Again, maybe I missed something but it just seemed sloppy and random.
Wow. This is the kind of romance novel that fuels the genre's bad reputation. The plot was utterly ridiculous with some smut thrown in for good measure. I don't know if I can finish it- I have four hours left in my audiobook, and I feel like it could have ended a few hours ago. I thought this might be a murder mystery/romance kind of like Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily series. This book falls seriously short. Imogen assumes she knows who killed her friend, and proceeds with a harebrained plan to ruin him. I found it hard to believe that Imogen was such an incredible scholar when she was constantly making stupid decisions and assumptions. Also, why did Amanda Quick need to make up an ancient civilization? This time period was the birth of archaeology- surely she could have modeled that part of the plot after a real society? Maybe she was too lazy to do the research... I've enjoyed a few of her books as Jane Anne Krentz, but I don't think I'll be reading any more of hers as Amanda Quick.
I want to say this is more of a 3.5 stars book. I oscillated between "meh," and "this is pretty good," at different parts of the book but the balance was fairly even.
This book was entertaining but it did fall short of the mark in some aspects. I will say that I did not see the ending coming, so thumbs up there, although that may be because it was such a long time in doing so. I feel the author wrote several good scenes and then tried to fit them all in, and while several wound up tying in quite well at the end others were unnecessary and could have been cut to keep the pacing up.
I actually enjoyed the main story far more than the romance aspect. I feel like the author did a pretty good job capturing the vague unease of an old thriller novel. In fact, had the romance been played down and the novel focused more on the main plot this could easily have been a 4 star book! The sex scenes seemed shoehorned in and while they weren't poorly written (no "love juices" or "weeping flower" crap here, thank god,) I still found myself almost skimming them to get to the next part of the story.
The characters were fun at first but didn't really develop through the novel. That said, it's a romance novel, so I didn't go into it expecting an epic tale. It was fun, and the characters escaped many of the same writing and characterization pitfalls that make me so reluctant to read this genre.
I can't say I adored this novel but I also didn't find myself rolling my eyes and exclaiming, "Really?" which I usually do with this sort of book. Overall, this was a fun read and while it had its flaws I did enjoy reading it. I think I'd read another book by Ms. Quick if I came across it in a similar fashion to this one.
This book was entertaining but it did fall short of the mark in some aspects. I will say that I did not see the ending coming, so thumbs up there, although that may be because it was such a long time in doing so. I feel the author wrote several good scenes and then tried to fit them all in, and while several wound up tying in quite well at the end others were unnecessary and could have been cut to keep the pacing up.
I actually enjoyed the main story far more than the romance aspect. I feel like the author did a pretty good job capturing the vague unease of an old thriller novel. In fact, had the romance been played down and the novel focused more on the main plot this could easily have been a 4 star book! The sex scenes seemed shoehorned in and while they weren't poorly written (no "love juices" or "weeping flower" crap here, thank god,) I still found myself almost skimming them to get to the next part of the story.
The characters were fun at first but didn't really develop through the novel. That said, it's a romance novel, so I didn't go into it expecting an epic tale. It was fun, and the characters escaped many of the same writing and characterization pitfalls that make me so reluctant to read this genre.
I can't say I adored this novel but I also didn't find myself rolling my eyes and exclaiming, "Really?" which I usually do with this sort of book. Overall, this was a fun read and while it had its flaws I did enjoy reading it. I think I'd read another book by Ms. Quick if I came across it in a similar fashion to this one.
While a fun installment in her slightly alternative universe with the finding of a mysterious island called Zamar, which has captivated the historical period (which feels more victorian than regency), this somehow just didn't quite do it for me. I think that the pacing was a little off for me and I really didn't feel a sense of menace from the major bad character.
Imogen Waterstone has a plan to get her revenge on Vanneck, a man who married a friend and then broke her heart. Who also was involved in getting Imogen in disgrace. She turns to Matthias Marshall the Earl of Colchester for help and finds herself more involved than maybe she should.
It's fun, light and interesting but the characters never really came to life for me. Still it's a good one to borrow.
Imogen Waterstone has a plan to get her revenge on Vanneck, a man who married a friend and then broke her heart. Who also was involved in getting Imogen in disgrace. She turns to Matthias Marshall the Earl of Colchester for help and finds herself more involved than maybe she should.
It's fun, light and interesting but the characters never really came to life for me. Still it's a good one to borrow.