historical

Elenora has lost her home and her inheritance due to her stepfather and his bad investment. She also looses her fortune hunting fiance. Instead of depressing her too greatly, she sees this as a sort of freedom. She has no one to take care of but herself. So she sets out to make some money as a paid companion.
Arthur Lancaster, Earl of St. Merryn has several problems. One is that he needs to go about society without the hassel of mothers trying to push their daughters into marriage with him. With this in mind he hires a companion to pose as his fiance.
She needs the money and in the end genuinely wants to help him as he has a mystery to solve. And though he comes off somewhat cool to begin with - I really loved the lead character's sense of humor.
The secondary characters were good - though this author has written better - Bad guys were all bad, friends were all good - no real suspense to it. A simple romance story with strong leads.
A good summer read.

The Paid Companion is one of the best Amanda Quick's I've read for a while. The pace is fast, the plot compelling, and the characters likeable.
Elenora loses her home and is forced to take up a position as a paid companion, but there is more to her employer, Arthur, than meets the eye. I'm always a sucker for this kind of plot - I loved Amanda Grange's Marriage at the Manor, which is an Edwardian along similar lines - and Amanda Quick does it justice. There's plenty of wit, humor and adventure, as Arthur tries to track down a killer, and of course there's romance.
I've not been all that keen on her last few books but this definitely has the old sparkle. Recommended.

To help distract the 'ton' while he traces his uncle's killer, Earl Arthur St. Merryn decides he needs a fiancee. Since he's already had one fiancee--who fled down a ladder to avoid the marriage, St. Merryn decides to be more logical and hire a fiance through a service that provides paid companions. Elenora Lodge, recently disposessed of her home and most of her property, turns up at the agency just in time. St. Merryn decides that her spirit and enthusiasm would be a perfect match--and that Elenora could be just the actress to persuade society that she was St. Merryn's next fiancee.

Although St. Merryn initially intends to keep Elenora at the outskirts of his plans, she quickly asserts herself, forcing herself into his confidence and, soon enough, into his arms. Neither is particularly good at hiding the attraction they feel for one another although Elenora is convinced that, once the mystery is solved, St. Merryn will get on with her life and that Elenora will be forced to move on with her life. Tracking down the killer is a bit complicated, though, and the interval gives them plenty of time to explore the attraction--and for Elenora to dazzle polite society in Regency England.

Author Amanda Quick always writes a fast-paced and entertaining read and THE PAID COMPANION is no exception. That said, I found Elenora to be quite annoying with her complete lack of respect for St. Merryn's finances, her willingness to simply run over whatever ideas he proposed, and her constant jumping to conclusions when a simple conversation would have avoided the misunderstanding. By constantly giving in to Elenora, St. Merryn comes off as a bit of a wimp. The mystery portion of the book is really a non-starter as we are introduced to no suspects and no clues.

I wanted to like THE PAID COMPANION and Quick's writing is strong enough to keep me reading, but the unlikable characters and weak mystery plot definitely detracted.