Mistress

By: Amanda Quick

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

When a blackmailer threatens her Aunt Zoe, Iphiginia knows she can ferret out the villain. A 26-year-old vixen with the intellect to match her beauty, Iphiginia descends on London society as the dazzling mistress of the missing Earl of Masters—another supposed victim of the blackmailer. But when the missing earl suddenly reappears at a ball, Iphiginia is caught in her own clever lie.

©1994 Jayne A. Krentz (P)1994 Recorded Books, LLC

Great characters, weak story

Loved the two main characters. Marcus, in particular, is wonderful. He has a set of rules that he never breaks and although it insures a tidy life, it keeps him from living fully. Enter our heroin who shows him how to love. The author gives them great chemistry with witty dialogue and moments of great insight. The storyline, however, was far fetched and tedious. The ending was short and unfulfilling. After all the discussion of marriage, the wedding is hardly even mentioned and the wedding night is glossed over- no great love scene. It was worth the read for the relationship that develops between the main characters (and side characters) however.

Steady Amanda Quick, Never goes wrong

I love the charming historical novels of Amanda Quick. Her female leads are always strong and self sufficient yet not afraid to get a little cuddly with a man. They are intelligent and it's fun to how they go about solving a problem. I first listened to her "Paid Companion" and haven't been disappointed yet. Talent like Amanda Quick's is a rare find!

Loved it

This one was absolutely terrific. I was completely engaged from the beginning. It was a smart, fun had a heroine who was charming and innocent at the same time. I don’t know how Quick managed it. I thought the hero was great — little rough but still had plenty of charm. The chemistry between the hero and heroine was tremendous and the side characters were fairly cute although not quite as well developed. The story took enough turns and twists and was very fun so it kept my interest all the way through. I would highly recommend it. I spent a credit and I’m perfectly happy to have done so. I’m going to look for another Amanda Quick right now. One or two of her others and I like them a lot but I think I like this one the best.

Fun, original, clever story and characters!

Ms. Quick succeeded again in creating a delightful, interesting mystery and romance. This is my favorite book by AQ and I have read and listened to it quite a few times over the years. It is lots of fun to imagine the character's facial expressions in the comical scenes. Thank you Amanda for lots of smiles and lifted spirits!

Disappointed

Based on the reviews, I was expecting to be riveted, but at no point did the story grip me. The female lead was supposedly written as highly intelligent, witty, strong willed and funny, but she often came across as ditsy, obsessed, and a little annoying with all the "running into his arms". A good book captivates and this one didn't with the very predictable plot at certain points. I knew who the villain was at least 5 chapters early. I fully expected the female lead to gladly give up all aspirations and her business plans just for the love of her man. That is the direction the story seemed to go in. Barf.

10/10!

A+ for the story, A++ for the narration! Now, I can't decide if I'm going to read another Amanda Quick book or a Barbara Rosenblat narration next! What a wonderful problem to be faced with!

Pleasant, though it isn't my fave Amanda Quick

The book: Good interesting leads, plus the side characters were given some fleshing-out, not mere two-dimensional nothings.

The narration: Typically, I love Barbara Rosenblat audio but this book had a couple of jarring notes, and repeatedly!
The city of Reading (one assumes that's what Reading Library is named for) is not pronounced reed-ing.
No, it's pronounced as redding; it's the same for the city in Pennsylvania and the UK one in Berkshire. Mispronounced it as if, "I was reading a novel," instead of as REDD-ing.

Secondly, the female lead's name, Iphigenia. I may be uncommon, but it is a real name.
Several pronunciations have been used in various real-life times and places, but Rosenblat annoyingly kept skipping around from one to another!
No, she should've picked one pronunciation and STUCK WITH IT!

Maybe what annoyed me so often might not bother other readers.
Try it for yourself and see.

Well done

I have not listened to a book by Amanda before but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Well done 👍🏻.
Barbara, I also do not believe I have had the pleasure of listening to you before either; another well done 👍🏻.

Great story, as are most of Amanda Quick's during this decade.

When reading for Marcus, the lady reading occasionally slips Marcus's voice from an English accent into what sounds like a Scottish accent. Very distracting.

Not my favorite

I have never cared for this narrator. The characters are so unbelievable or maybe it is the presentation.