The Third Circle

The Third Circle (Arcane Society Book 4) by Amanda Quick (2008)

Description: Leona Hewitt, disguised in men's formal evening clothes, has secretly made her way into Lord Delbridge's private museum to recover a relic stolen from her family years ago. But someone else is there in the dimly lite gallery, on the same errand: a tall, black-cloaked man whose very voice is enough to put her in a trance.

Thaddeus Ware, a mesmerist with powerful psychic energy, is accustomed to fearful reactions from others - women in particular. After all, a man who can control the minds and actions of others could rob a lady of her virtue - without her ever knowing! But Leona shows to trace of hysteria in his presence. A force to be reckoned with as both a gifted crystal worker and a a woman, she exerts a rather hypnotic power over the hypnotist himself. And she is determined to keep the crystal they recovered, by giving him the skip and a run-down London inn.

Thaddeus, on assignment for the secretive Arcane Society, knows the menace Leona is courting by absconding with the crystal. It is a source of remarkable energy, and it holds the potential for great destruction. Lord Delbridge has already killed two men to acquire it, for it is his key to membership in the elite, shadowy group known as the Third Circle. And with the help of a seductive hunter of preternatural kill, dubbed "The Midnight Monster" by the press, Delbridge intends to find her. With the stolen crystal in their possession, the danger is only beginning.

Review: We are reunited with some familiar faces in this next installment of the Arcane Society books. This time, we learn a bit more about Thaddeus, a cousin to the master of the Arcane Society (who we met in Second Sight). I really did enjoy this read, I just wish we got to learn more about our characters. Unfortunately, there was not much character development and we had to take a few things on faith. The mystery about the theft of the crystal was interesting, but the end left me somewhat unsatisfied. Not one of Quick's best, but still enjoyable.

Score: 3 out of 5

Hellsing Volume 5

Hellsing Volume 5 by Kohta Hirano (2004)

Description: Intense and full of psychotic action, Hellsing continues its fevered pitch into a dark chaos that defies human logic. Human? Well, there are only a few left in the story line, as the emerging Millennium Project, an army of Nazi undead, is unleashed upon the world. What will surely ensue is a war of blood and nostalgia, with a coolly Gothic style and increasingly frenetic pace. Envision the Hindenburg, old sharpshooter rifles, and throwback uniforms, mixed with new jet technology and incredibly bold vampires. Hellsing is piled to the sky with radical mysticism and scary apocalypse... and it's fun as Hell!

Review: Another interesting installment to the Hellsing tale. The story gets more bizarre as time goes on. I am intrigued to see where the rest of the story will go. The artwork is interesting, but sometimes difficult to follow. All in all, a most different tale that you should read.

Score: 3 out of 5

Wait Until Midnight

Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick (2005)

Description: It could have been a scene from one of my novels. A s a rule, respectable ladies do not accept calls from Mysterious Gentlemen on business of the most grave importance - but I confess that I was possessed of a lively curiosity. The past three years had been so determinedly dull, I hoped Mr. Adam Hardesty would offer a tiny respite from it. Indeed, upon first glance, Mr. Hardesty had such a formidable, thrilling presence, he quickly became the model or the villain in the sensation novel I was currently writing.

Imagine my shock and distress then, when Mr. Hardesty accused me of being party to a plot of murder, blackmail, and general villainy! I knew nothing of such occurrences, and proclaimed by innocence. Unfortunately, Mr. Hardesty left unconvinced, and I had an uneasy feeling over what his search would uncover. You see, Gentle Reader, though I have a most uneventful life now, my past contained a Great Scandal that would be ruinous if resurrected. To protect my secrets from Mr. Hrdesty's investigation, I concluded that I would need to conduct an inquiry of my own, and if that meant sharing my findings with Mr. Hardesty, so be it. And my course of action had nothing whatsoever to do with the illicit, passionate feelings that he aroused in me - feelings that propriety would definitely from upon...

Review: Another story about a woman with a dark secret in her past and a dark stranger on her door. I have to admit this book really made me laugh. Poor Mr. Hardesty being so concerned by being turned in the villain of Caroline Fordyce's sensation novel. Although, not one of Quick's best work, it was fun to read.

Score: 2.5 out of 5

Second Sight

Second Sight: An Arcane Society Novel by Amanda Quick (2006)

Description: In financial straits and on a sure path to spinsterhood, Venetia Milton thought her stay at the remote, ramshackle Arcane House, far from society's prying eyes, would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to engineer her own ravishment. She was there to photograph the relics and artifacts collected by a highly secretive organization, founded two centuries earlier by an eccentric alchemist. And the alchemist's descendant - her employer, Mr. Gabriel Jones - had the eyes of a sorcerer...

After a night to remember, Venetia is prepared to cherish the memories of her romantic encounter and move on, but she is shattered when, shortly after their night together, she reads of Jone's death in the paper. As a private tribute to her one-time lover, she adopts the name "Mrs. Jones" and the guise of a respectable widow, and embarks on an new career as a fashionable photographer in London, where her unique ability to "see" beyond her subjects and capture that quality in her photography makes her photographs highly prized.

But her romantic whim causes unexpected trouble. For one thing, Mr. Jones is about to stride, living and breathing, back into her life. And the bonds that tie them together include more than just the memory of passion; Venetia's special "double vision" has caught the attention of someone Mr. Jones is tracking - someone who will go to any lengths even to murder, to possess an ancient, extraordinary secret that has been lost for centuries. Someone who believes that as the "wife" of Mr. Jones, Venetia is the key.

Now, as she introduces Gabriel about town as her miraculously back-from-the-dead "husband," Venetia must join him in a perilous quest to track down a dangerous opponent who manages to stay one step ahead. As they explore the darker, wilder underbelly of the modern, scientific Victorian world, they must see through society's illusions - or this time, Gabriel Jones may not be rising from the dead, and neither may Mrs. Jones.

Review: Another fun read from Quick. It was most interesting to see the heroine of the story do the seducing for a change. Another interesting aspect of the story was the extra ability of some of the characters. They were not the standard paranormal abilities, which was refreshing. It was also interesting to read about the photography references. Once again, Quick has done her homework and it shows.

Score: 3.5 out of 5