The Paid Companion [Mass Market Paperback]

Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle --- three wonderful series and styles from one single author. I particularly loved this book and have read it many times since it first came out. Now I have it for my Kindle and re-read it last night. It still makes me smile, squirm with the steamy scenes and ponder how Ms Quick makes a woman from that place and time period so clever, yet affable and likable to the reader.

Elenora Lodge has just lost everything she owns to her step-fathers creditors. But Elenora has a conscience and worries what may come of the people working on the farm. That is just the type of person she is. Nice, trustworthy, clever. Why is she clever? Because she isn't supposed to leave with anything other than her clothes, but she had a plan and it worked. Now she just needs to find a job so she can save money to buy and stock a book store.

Arthur Lancaster, Earl of St. Merryn needs a paid companion and while he can't find one that will suit his purposes, in flounces Elenora in a tizzy because she can't find the perfect employer! Arthur hires her to do a little more than be a companion, he wants her to pretend to be his fiance. You see he needs to investigate a murder, some odd alchemy, and to have her keep the young chits and their Mama's off of his back. The only problem is, is that he has been heard to say that when he got married he was going to marry a paid companion, so it would be like a business deal. It all seems to be working well for Elenora and Arthur, at least until the butler eavesdrops on them. Now soon there are several more murders to look into and someone may be after Elenora.

This was richly written with smoothly drawn and highly believable characters. Even the Alchemy part makes sense. And leave it to Amanda to write such lovely and funny love scenes!

If you love late Regency/early Victorian as much as I do I think you will appreciate this novel for exactly what it is...a fun good read.

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.

Amanda Quick has come into the realm of Historical Mysteries as of late. I didn't like her last set of novels featuring Tobias and Lavinia but was pleased to see that this was out of that series so I gave "The Paid Companion" a shot.

Now, this book was better than "Don't Look Back" or the rest of the aforementioned series, but it didn't have the sparkle of Quick's earier novels (those characterized by one word titles). I always did feel like her books always (as the quintessential idea of romance novels) were where the lovely virgin meets the "rakish roque" and he wants to ravish her so he marries her. Quick's trademark has always been that one of them is flawed in some way (a scar or a limp or glasses, etc). Later some figure from one of their past comes back to haunt them (usually from her past) and someone is obliged to come in and save the day (sometimes she even saved herself). In this book I can tell that Quick stayed with the typical formula but tried to add more mystery. Her female characters are getting more and more assertive which is a plus. I still, somehow, like the old books better. This sems strange because they were somewhat cookie-cutter, but I still really liked them and re-read them occasionally when I am waiting for her to come out with a new novel.

I cannot put my finger on what exactly abotu this book is lesser than some others, but it is better than her more recent efforts and I did read it in one day - and did enjoy it. It just didn't have the sparkle or chemistry of some of my Quick favorites such as Seduction, Reckless, and Rendezvous. If you really like mystery with your romance you will probably like this book. A warning to romance readers - the romance comes late. If you are a Quick fan you will like this book I think!