Rendezvous by Amanda Quick - Project A-Team

November 11, 2014
I'm loving my Project A-Team project! So far only one dud.

http://www.krentz-quick.com/
It's been a long time since I've read any Amanda Quick books. I started to lose interest with her Arcane Society series and finally she just dropped off of my auto-buy list.  However, I

have a number of her older books and there are a couple of them that I have rated with an A. The one I chose to reread has one of those scenes in it that for some reason I always remember...the carriage ride. I'm not sure why the memory of that scene stayed with me all of this time, it's been used often enough in the passing years, however at the time I think it was fresh. And, when I finally read the scene again it was as I remember it...sometimes one’s mind doesn't remember things exactly as they happen. But fear not, my memory didn't desert me in this case. Although, this time I did wonder if their unclothed gyrations in a carriage would have been possible or even comfortable, but that's old age creeping up I fear.

Now to the rest of the book, Rendezvous was written in 1991 and as far as I know there wasn't a sequel, although there is a secondary romance going on. This secondary romance would have been better if it had been a sequel because we really don't know what's happening behind the scenes and I'm thinking that would have been quite fun.

If I remember correctly I could always depend on Quick's heroes to make up their mind pretty much in the first chapter that the heroine was for them. And, this is the case with our hero, Harry. Even though he a pretty uptight, stuffy olive and even though he's made a list and the heroine, Augusta, doesn't match any of the qualities on that list he makes up his mind almost right away that she's the one. The rest of the story is trying to convince her of that.

This is a fun read with just an occasional serious undertone wandering through. Mainly, it's a fantastic read as Augusta and Harry try to outmaneuver each other. In the beginning these two appear to be totally different than each other, he's judgmental, uptight, scholarly who doesn't want anyone flighty, volatile, impulsive - which is what Augusta is. She's also such a vivid, alive person it would be hard for anyone, let alone Mr. Stuffy, to resist her. One of the reasons I liked this couple so much, especially Harry, was that he doesn't try very hard to change her. It's like watching someone riding a wave - the wave is so powerful the surfer can't do anything but go with it. It was pure pleasure watching Harry get swept away. It was also a pleasure reading a book which was a little longer than ones that are currently released. It's sad that books seem so short now, and that authors aren't allowed to play with their story. Something else besides the length of this story is a winner, the written word. I could tell that I was reading a book that was written in the 90s, there was a lovely cadence to their flow - and they were fun! The banter between Augusta and Harry was a delight.

If there was any disappointment with the story it would be with Augusta's "I'm a Northumberland Ballinger" routine. I don't blame Harry being irritated with her, she announces it every time he turns around, I found it a tad wearing myself. The other thing that bothered me was her blind acceptance that her brother wasn't a traitor without even questioning whether he may have been. In the end both Augusta and Harry make some concession - however, Augusta makes the least amount and for some reason that made me happy.

I do recommend this book! It was a fun read and I smiled almost all the way through it. Augusta and Harry are a wonderful couple and it would be great to visit them again when they are older. If you've never read this book by Amanda Quick, you really should and hey it's in electronic format!

Time/Place: Regency England
Sensuality: Hot