Deception

Deception is the Quick novel that deceived me. I have been on a streak of good Quick novels, and this one had pirates, so it promised to be just as entertaining as the others. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to expectations. Normally, Quick includes a mystery in her novels that must be solved by a tenacious heroine and a brusque, intelligent, and loving hero. Unfortunately, the hero is ridiculous, the heroine an idiot, and the mystery pointless.

The heroine Olympia cares about only one thing: her "research". This research is supposedly about treasure and customs from different cultures around the world. Of course, the implications of this research being based on racist suppositions goes without saying. While this research of hers isn't show more really explored (thankfully), it was still painful to contemplate. Beyond this, Olympia is completely insipid. She can't tell she is on the verge of being assaulted, and she says multiple times that she cannot be bothered with anything beyond her research, so when Jared starts organizing her household and the education of the three boys she is in charge of, she starts to protest, but really. The woman forgot to pay her own servants. I swear she'd forget to get dressed. She was neither clever nor charming, neither insightful nor sweet. A very uninspiring heroine and the typical "book smart" heroine who has absolutely no common sense and no conversational skills whatsoever.

So, it's a complete shock when Jared just immediately falls in love with her on sight. Aside from his eyepatch, he wasn't a particularly memorable character. He had a propensity to order Olympia around, which annoyed me, and while she would protest, the protest would be swept away in the next chapter. He's a very typical hero for Quick, but usually her heroines will challenge his bossiness and put him in his place, but Olympia seemed like a mockery of a heroine. Her protests held no weight, and so Jared's demands seemed completely reasonable because she was just so flighty.

They mystery is what kept me hanging on, and the promise that they would travel to a remote island to unearth a treasure. I'm sorry to say that the mystery is essentially a red herring, and the story was a whole lot of nothing. I know I'm mostly being hard on the heroine, but I honestly do find the trope of a woman who is book smart but lacks all common sense to be insulting and sexist. The heroine can't be too perfect or readers won't relate to her, but Olympia wasn't really book smart or street smart. She was just stupid, but the universe of Deception really wanted to convince us she was an intelligent and accomplished woman. As a result, this book was really quite dreadful, I'm sorry to say. show less

I love Amanda Quick because I know exactly what to expect going in. A quirky bluestocking of acceptable though undistinguished station, a strong and titled man of whom everyone is frightened except said bluestocking, a mystery that needs solving, and an unlikely love. Quick (Jane Ann Krentz) always delivers and I am always charmed, 20 years or so into our author/reader relationship. This is like the frozen Milky Way of literature, overprocessed, too sweet, and unspeakably satisfying. Totally worth checking one's intellectual cred at the door.

reread, snarky, humor, pirate-treasure, historical-romance, cartography
Read from January 01, 2013 to July 10, 2016

This is one of my *go to* books that I finally had to get in audio. Whenever real life needs to go away for a while, I need one of my *go to* books.
Sure, it's a kind of formula novel, in the same way as a video game, but the author is the one with the imagination, and no quick reflexes needed.
Olympia is a single guardian to three boys who, like her, have been orphaned and passed around to distant family members. Her heart is definitely in the right place, but her brain is into research in books.
In walks a one-eyed man who looks like a pirate, makes his money legally, and has a family crazier than mine.
Let the romance show more begin.
A fine tale with lots of twists, snarks, and situational guffaws.
I still think that Anne Flosnik would make an old time radio player blush. Or silent film star. show less

Deception
2 Stars

Amanda Quick is one of my absolute favorite historical romance authors. Unfortunately, this is not a stellar example of her work; in fact, it is exactly the opposite.

While many of Quick's heroines are eccentric bluestockings, Olympia Wingfield is the first whose naiveté reaches a completely new level of idiocy as she has one TSTL moment after another.

The hero, Jared Ryder, has incredible potential as a disfigured and lonely soul in desperate need of love and companionship. Sadly, his lust at first sight obsession with Olympia is incomprehensible given his characterization as a sensible and logical man as opposed to her scatter-brained nature.

The mystery surrounding the diary that contains clues to a missing treasure show more is intriguing; however, like the romance, it is underdeveloped and there is little to no tension or suspense involved in the Da Vinci Code like search.

In sum, definitely not one of Quick's better efforts. The romance is downright odd with an ill-suited couple, ridiculously worded sex scenes and a convoluted mystery that is resolved easily and unsatisfactorily. Skip this one and read Ravished instead. show less

On audio, narrated by Anne Flosnik who did a creditable job, except her voice for the one-eyed pirate-like hero sounded too gravelly. It was as if she was trying to give it this smoldering, passion infused inflection. But to my ears, it just made him sound older than he was really supposed to be. He did not sound romantic, but maybe it's just me.

Olympia, the heroine is another of Quick's learned, bluestocking types who is clueless when it comes to the required social niceties in Regency England because she's so wrapped up in her studies. No shy wilting lily, once she makes up her mind she wants to bed Jared, she has no fears or compunctions about it. She could care less what it might do to her reputation if anyone finds out. Other than show more this unrealistic lack of discretion, I liked her and her three young nephews. I found the storyline amusing at times, albeit convoluted with the lost map, treasure and Jared's irascible father and uncle. It was an easy listen, though it lacked any real depth. Still, I enjoyed it overall. show less

Immensely wealthy viscount falls in love with scholarly, absent-minded lady, poses as the tutor of her 3 unruly nephews, and has sex with her, all in the first fifty pages. The rest of the book is a slap-dash whirl of euphemistic sex scenes, non-sensical schemes, and laughable dialog and characterization. The one point in this book's favor is that it has not one, but two lesbian couples, both of whom live perfectly nice lives and are perfectly ordinary, nice people. But don't be drawn in by the promise of a Sapphic regency, as I was! This book is a paint-by-the-numbers job, and not worth opening the front cover.

This book had all of the things that should have interested me: an absent-minded, naive, intellectual heroine and a dashing Earl pirate. And I wanted to like this Regency romance. The earl was amusing as he masqueraded as a tutor. The romance parts felt contrived somehow, even the "steamy" parts. I expect better of Amanda Quick's novels.

Recommended for the completist.