17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly....Disappointing, April 5, 2001
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.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A suprising lack of character development., April 4, 2001
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.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A slight disappointment, April 4, 2001
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.
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