Second Sight: Arcane Society, Book 1

Yes, Amanda Quick gives us a few really steamy scenes, but what impressed me most was the storyline. (You could almost cut out the steamy parts, but they are really fun!)

I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say that the characters are well-written, the heroine is a strong individual (not just waiting to be rescued), the period details are great, and there is a real puzzle/mystery to keep you guessing.

As for the narrator, Anne Flosnick has a delightful voice. She is able to do men's voices quite well, and her vocal variety for all the characters seems to me to be spot on.

Enjoy!!

This story was fun. The story moves along at a nice pace, the characters are well developed, and the plot is interesting. I found the narrator did a very good job creating a voice that lent an "image" to each character. I was a little disappointed at the start, thinking she had erred with one character, but as the story unfolded I found she had used precisely the right voice. I'll be listening to the subsequent titles in this group, and if they are similar to this one, I'm sure I won't be disappointed. Enjoy!

This is the first book I've read by this author. The story line looked interesting and I'm always looking for a new series. For me, the characters were too predictable, a little shallow and the whole story was pretty cliche through out. I wanted to fast forward a number of times whenever I lost patience with the writing style.

I enjoyed this story. I listened to it on audio and it was highly entertaining. The romance between Venetia Milton and Gabriel Jones is charming and the story very original. I am a sucker for a Victorian Era spinster that is outspoken and strong willed. That is why I am a Amanda Quick fan. She never disappoints me and her heroines always end up with dreamy men.

An engaging enough historical romance (first in the Arcane Society series) if it had been read by someone more talented. Minimal character development would have been an acceptable trade for the racy sex, but to have someone who sounds like my 8th grade catholic school principal (Sister Dorothy) read what is supposed to be red hot lovemaking is not my cup of tea. I tried to cope by imagining the words on the page, and then reading them again to myself, to no avail. Skip this one and buy the book. I'll be buying or borrowing the next in the series, because they're fun sexy 'thrillers' -- but the narration here makes escape impossible. Want something comparable (though less racy), but extremely well-read and compelling? Try one of these two historical romance/detective series: Amanda Peabody mysteries or Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia series. Excellent character development, plot and compelling romances, read by first rate narrators.

This series was recommended to me by a friend, based on my enjoyment of other supernatural romance series. (The fact that this particular book in the series is also a period romance is just icing on the cake for me, personally.) I found the characters and story-lines to be interesting and suspenseful, and as another reviewer wrote, the heroine is of the headstrong, independent variety that contributes to an interesting story (even if you occasionally sigh at her bull-headed-ness). The male lead character speaks in an intelligent, witty manner and has all the desirable traits of the hero of a romance novel. The narrator is excellent; you can distinguish which character is which, and she handles men's voices as well as she does those of female characters. I enjoyed this first Arcane Society novel so much that I plan to begin reading the next in the series as soon as possible.

I don't normally like historical romances but I love all of her Jayne castle series so i thought to give the Arcane Society a try I have to say That I loved the story and have all ready got the 2nd in the series... bravo to Amanda Quick

As someone who enjoys science fiction and the supernatural, this book sounded promising. However, I found it to be just another predictable romance novel. The supernatural elements of the storyline were secondary and a weak attempt at putting a unique twist on a formula storyline. I was disappointed and will not invest anymore time or money into this series.

The narration is so terrible that I quite honestly can not tell if the book is any good, thus the average rating for the story.

I can't put my finger on it exactly but I think it's a combination of her voice, accent, and her portrayal of the characters. She makes every character, including the male characters sound like a prissy school teacher.

Boring. Couldn't finish it, in spite of the great narration. Should be listed as a novel, not a romance.

What's up Amanda??