Quick, Amanda. Mystique. Bantam Books, 1995.
Reason read: March is Quick’s birth month. read in her honor.
Written in 1995 as a historical romance, Mystique features Sir Hugh the Relentless, a knight destined to tangle with a sharp-tongued and beautiful redhead named Lady Alice. Sir Hugh is a dark, brooding, physically perfect legend. Alice is a green-eyed and headstrong twenty-three year old stuck living with an uncle who has stolen her family fortune. Together, Hugh and Alice search for a missing dull green crystal. It’s an ugly and misshapen stone, but somehow everyone wants it. Beyond the ugly green crystal lies a deeper curse – the rivalry between the manors of Rivenhall and Scarcliffe. Independently, both parties want something from the other. Each has an ulterior motive. So do Alice and Hugh. Alice wants she and her brother to be free of a tyrannical uncle and Hugh wants a wife. Readers are frequently reminded that Hugh is your typical black-haired, black-clothed, dangerously intelligent knight while Alice maintains a witty, feisty and independent air. She prefers science over romance. She wants to join a convent to study natural philosophy.
In the beginning of Mystique I was not sure if I liked Alice. While she was funny (calling her first sexual encounter with Sir Hugh the Relentless as “instructive”), she was also annoying in her pursuits. I begrudgingly admired her determination to not let anyone rule her.
Maybe it was just me, but I thought Mystique ended abruptly.
As an aside, what is it about the color Kelly green? Amber, the main character in Forever Amber, also wore a great deal of green.
Line I liked, “He made it a rule to hire the most adept individuals and then he gave those individuals the authority to carry out their duties” (p 152).
Author fact: Amanda Quick is the penname of Jayne Ann Krentz. If you are holding a book by Amanda Quick, you are reading a historical romance-suspense. Although I am not reading any, if you are holding a book by Jane Castle, you are reading a futuristic paranormal. To learn more about Quick visit her website here.
Book trivia: Mystique is not the only Amanda Quick book I am reading for the Challenge. Also on my list is Scandal, Mistress, Wicked Window, and Slightly Shady. Mystique is quick’s eleventh romance.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the cute chapter called “Romance Novels: Our Love is Here to Stay” (p 203).
~*LunaSea*~ 