Historical romances rock, and Amanda Quick wrote several of my favorites. A northwest author who also writes as Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle, she's written dozens of romances--historical, contemporary, paranormal, suspense--you name it. But the best of them remain the thirteen with single word titles originally published in the 1990s. Affair, Dangerous, Deception, Desire, Mischief, Mistress, Mystique, Ravished, Reckless, Rendezvous, Scandal, Seduction, and Surrender. Each of them is populated with a unique heroine and a flawed hero, marked by witty dialogue, and enhanced with a dose of adventure. None of which ultimately prevent the requisite "happily ever after."
Surrender's Victoria Huntington is an heiress soured by relentless pursuit from fortune hunters. Lucas Colebrook, Earl of Stonevale, has inherited a crumbling estate and bankrupt title. Victoria has a taste for adventure that is unsatisfied by her position as an unmarried young lady of good breeding. Lucas offers to assist her in her pursuit of adventure, protecting her reputation while showing her the parts of London not open to her. Of course circumstances conspire to have them caught and compromised and forced into marriage, at which time the true adventures begin.
Deception's Olympia Wingfield is a bluestocking raising her three nephews. Jared Ryder, Viscount Chillhurst, arrives on her doorstep with a velvet eye patch posing as a tutor, and proceeds to bring the boys into line and impress Olympia with his intellect. All the while he is seeking to find a treasure outlined in a secret diary Olympia is translating. Their attraction grows as they vanquish villains and pursue the treasure.
Affair's Charlotte Arkendale is orphaned with little means to support her younger sister, so she embarks on a career discreetly investigating the suitors of her clients. Baxter St. Ives is the illegitimate son of an earl and a scientist, with little interest in society. One of Charlotte's clients, a friend of Baxter's sister, is murdered. Their paths cross when they both begin to search for the murderer, Baxter initially suspecting Charlotte.
All three of these are enjoyable romps, and if you like them, there are ten more! Mostly set in the Regency period in London, humorous, sexy, and fun, they're a lovely way to while away a dark winter's evening. I've read them all at least three times, and it's about time to go back for another round!
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