Grand Passion

January 31, 1994
In her first hardcover under her own name (she published Deception under the Amanda Quick name last year), bestselling romancer Krentz spins a glib, breezy tale about dashing art collector Max Fortune and earnest, fey innkeeper Cleopatra Robbins, secret author of an erotic book. Max comes to the Robbins' Nest Inn searching for five valuable paintings his dying employer claimed to have left there for him. Confused and charmed by open, nurturing Cleo, who denies any knowledge of the artworks, Max decides to stay and investigate further. He is soon part of the inn's eccentric family--cooks from a nearby women's commune, a lonely, fatherless little boy, a young couple struggling with an unplanned pregnancy--and he begins to act out with Cleo the fantasies in her book. When someone makes a death threat against the love-smitten innkeeper, Max hires a detective friend to find the culprit. After a dramatic crisis and pursuit of the villain, the expected romance ending arrives. Much of the humor here seems arch or forced, but overall this frothy fare will please Krentz's readers. Literary Guild alternate; Doubleday Book Club main selection.

This contemporary romance, which takes place on the coast of Washington State, involves a rich and handsome art connoisseur, Max Fortune, and an earthy innkeeper, the beautiful Cleopatra Robbins. Cleo, an overachiever if there ever was one, has written a novel of passion, which some think of as pornography, but which Max thinks of as a path to seduction. There's much more to this tale since Cleo's parents have died under mysterious circumstances, and there are five valuable paintings to be hunted down as Max's legacy from his mentor. Richard Ferrone's deep, gravelly voice interprets all without a slip. Even the delightfully feminine Cleo comes alive with no discomfort. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

January 1, 1994
The author of four paperback best sellers seeks similar success with her hardcover debut. Krentz, who also writes under the name Amanda Quick, here combines all the elements of a popular contemporary romance: a trendy setting (Pacific Northwest), a dashing heroine (beautiful Cleopatra Robbins), and a wealthy suitor (art collector Max Fortune).

November 15, 1993
Max Fortune arrives at Cleo Robbins' inn on a quest for five priceless paintings left to him in his employer's will. Cleo has never seen the paintings, and as Max continues to stay at Robbins' Nest Inn to search for his inheritance, he becomes part of Cleo's eccentric family and grows increasingly closer to Cleo herself. When Cleo is threatened by a mysterious stalker who objects to an erotic novel she wrote, Max steps in to protect her and to discover who is threatening her life.Krentz is better known to Regency fans as Amanda Quick; she has consistently delivered high-quality writing to her fans, and it's past time her books be published in hardback. "Grand Passion" is a necessity for any fiction collection. ((Reviewed Nov. 15, 1993))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1993, American Library Association.)