Rating: 
Summary: Stephanie Laurens Is Back
Review: "A Gentleman's Honor" is the 2nd Book in the Bastion Series. Though I enjoyed the 1st book in the series, A LADY CHOOSEN there was alot of background needed to get the reader up to speed. I feel with the second book, this book, that SL was able to focus on the story line and the hero and heroine more.
As always Alicia is a strong and independent SL Heroine and is not likely to let our hero Tony come in and just save the day, not with out her knowing what is going on. We get to know more of the members of the Bastion club, sort of wetting our appitites for the books to come.
SL also brings back characters from her Cynster series, nice to see characters we love before they are married, as well as the hero and heroine from her book "Captain Jacks Woman" Though its nice if you have read CJW it is not nessesary to enjoy "A Gentleman Honor." If you like SL you will more then like enjoy this book too.
Rating: 
Summary: Same 'ol, same 'ol...
Review: As a fan of Lauren's early Cynster novels, I had hopes that the Bastion club books would recapture some of this brilliant author's earlier spark and chemistry -- which she seemed to be losing at the end of the Cynster series. Sadly, both A Gentleman's Honor and the first novel in this series, The Lady Chosen, are more evidence that Lauren's seems to be running out of creative steam. While the writing is solid (as long as you can forgive a lot of repitition of adjectives and verbs), the plots are essentially the same and are both dead boring. On a positive note, the men are intriguing and the women are strong and practical, which I appreciate. Also the sex is, as usual, smoking (which I also appreciate). I just wish there had been more plot and more use of some fascinating side characters to give the plots more punch.
Rating: 
Summary: Rubbish, far-fetched and the same old stuff
Review: DO NOT READ!!! Unless you enjoy dumb romances with silly women and the all-powerful but unimaginative male. The story-line is utterly Cinderella complexed it's pathetic. Insipid. Farfetched. Unintelligent- that doesn't mean to say romances are supposed to be high-brow literature, however, some intelligent lines ought to present. And the English language spoken is a farce, the English lower, lower middle class speak even better. The author hasn't researched anything in English aristocratic history. She ought to read Georgette Heyer. I don't think the author understands that lords do not, however, pleasent engage to marry absolutely anyone regardless of how strong minded they may be. And the more strong minded the aristocrate the more respectable the match. It's so far-fetched it's a joke. One begins to wonder whether the author not know that you cannot hide oh-so-small details such as widowhood from the ton for long and even if you do important people will know and that leaves a stigma, with whispered conversation, which would cut all contacts with Almack's and eventually the ton. American's always misunderstand aristocrates, however much they persist in writing about them. The whole reason ehay they are exalted were because of the company they kept in public including their wives. Only a handful ever married beneath them and were usually 2nd wives.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much Purple Prose
Review: Frankly this book is better than the last several that Laurens has written. I would recommend it that you read it. That having been said, it is filled to the brim with very wordy purple prose. This book could stand a liberal dose of cut and edit. I doubt that a new author would have been allowed to get away with as much. It wasn't aweful by any means, but with a bit of nip and tuck the book would have been sleek. Instead is tends toward cumbersome and I found myself skimming-a lot.
Rating:
Summary: the mystery is lacking, but the romance is not
Review: I enjoy Laurens' new series, though I seem to be one of few. In the second installment of the Bastion Club series, she continues in the vein of the first. Again, she isn't able to pull off the mystery element as well as she did in the Cynster series and that's a shame. They mystery plot just never seems to catch your attention, and it is (for me anyway) easily solved long before the official "unmasking". However, the characters of Alicia and Tony are compelling and well-written and I enjoyed reading their story. I didn't find the book hard to get through, but I am a fast reader. I did start skipping over long paragraphs of text when I got to the (seemingly) 100th time they kissed for 4 pages, but the sex scenes themselves were, as always, delicious. I hope in the next installment of this series that Laurens can sharpen the plot and give her well-written characters an equally well-written structure in which to fall in love.
Rating:
Summary: Not So Much About Honor...
Review: I have conflicting feelings about this book. The subplot takes up too many pages and throws the main plot of discovering and building a love match between the main characters off balance. For about the first 100 pgs SL establishes the main characters personal backgrounds and details their thoughts, hopes and dreams - she spends too much time setting multiple stages for the reader. The seductive and intimate sex scenes are deeply personal, express heart rendering intimacy between a man and woman falling in love. SL's descriptive love scenes are rich and stir the imagination; drawing you yearningly into the lover's bedroom.
However, I found the subplot filled with a lot of wordy discussions and lacking true who-done-it mystery suspense. It was too easy to figure out; which was why I had difficulty believing honored retired veteran spies to the Crown had such difficulty identifying who the murderer was.
I felt a big hooray for the haut of the ton uniting against being manipulated by unsubstantiated rumors against Alicia and scandalous encounters with the "police" that could have crushed her family. Although I don't condone deceiving people, I did feel compassion for Alicia and her orphaned family and was grateful for the support Tony provided through his social status, name and connections at the Bastion Club and its members. I felt this was more of a case of Tony's use of his nobility and manipulation of his peers' respect and love for his godmother and mother vs "honor" as a gentleman to do the right thing and marry Alicia. I didn't really mind Tony appointing himself Alicia's and her family's protector, because he was not rude, pushy or demeaning towards Alicia, however Tony was definitely domineering in and out the bedroom. Also, two thumbs up for Alicia on her frugality in supporting and managing her family affairs and their appearance in the eyes of the public. No one knew just how penniless they really were.
Overall I did not feel "romantic" about the characters of this book; however it sizzles with foreplay and is dripping with sex. Tony and Alicia did not do a lot of talking to learn about each other, trust or understand one another beyond the bedroom or ballrooms. Yet what they did learn about each in the bedroom and ballroom was "Mmm, mmm, good."
Rating:
Summary: SIZZLING SENSUALITY
Review: I have read all Stephanie Laurens' books. Some have been hits, some have been misses. This one is a hit!
Book One of this new Bastion Club series was a good story and a good heroine. Book Two combines a great heroine and a sensuality that begins in chapter one and doesn't miss a beat throughout the entire novel.
The series revolves around seven English spies, now off-duty, who bond over finding their own wives instead a letting society matrons manipulate their choices. Naturally, each book will be about one of the men, his wife search, and a mystery he solves using his spy skills. It works for me!
The only three drawbacks of this novel are characteristic Laurens' style: the "mirror sex," the heroine's "teach me" excuse to have sex, and a mystery that takes a little too long to resolve. With that said, however, the mirror sex in this novel does not seem contrived as in some Laurens' novels, and the heroine's confidence and ability to defend herself against the villian is inspiring. I liked Alicia's spunk, resourcefulness, determination, self-preservation, leadership, and tenderness -- a great character!
This book even brings back Jack and Kit from "Captain Jack's Woman" -- a book that causes second-degree hand burns while reading it! Laurens gives "A Gentleman's Honor" the same sizzle treatment...minus "Jack's" table sex!
Rating:
Summary: Passionate, yet long winded
Review: I just got done reading "A Gentleman's Honor." I love the characters, Stephanie Laurens did a great job with Alicia and Tony. Alicia longs to follow her dreams to be married to a man who loves her in return. But she puts that aside for the sake of her 3 young brothers and her sister who are left improverish. They made it to the balls by luck and wit, dressing to the next fasion and a false pretense of Alicia being a widow. Only Tony seem to get close to her emotionally and physically. Tony, who assume Alicia is a widow, sets his mind to seducing her into passion. Alicia finally accepts herself as a mistress for Tony. Along the way they are very attatched to each other emotionally. From the first time Tony sees her, he protects her from start to end. There are several scenes of sex, just to give a little warning. The only thing that I really don't like is the story behind it, it seems her new series is more into mystery than romance. The book is so longwinded that it takes forever to finish a paragraph and so long to finish the book. It's a good thing she made the characters very likable else I wouldn't have finish the book. I believe the next book will be about Charles St. Austell who goes out to find out the second traiter who is worse than A.C
Rating:
Summary: Passionate, yet long winded
Review: I just got done reading "A Gentleman's Honor." I love the characters, Stephanie Laurens did a great job with Alicia and Tony. Alicia longs to follow her dreams to be married to a man who loves her in return. But she puts that aside for the sake of her 3 young brothers and her sister who are left improverish. They made it to the balls by luck and wit, dressing to the next fasion and a false pretense of Alicia being a widow. Only Tony seem to get close to her emotionally and physically. Tony, who assume Alicia is a widow, sets his mind to seducing her into passion. Alicia finally accepts herself as a mistress for Tony. Along the way they are very attatched to each other emotionally. From the first time Tony sees her, he protects her from start to end. There are several scenes of sex, just to give a little warning. The only thing that I really don't like is the story behind it, it seems her new series is more into mystery than romance. The book is so longwinded that it takes forever to finish a paragraph and so long to finish the book. It's a good thing she made the characters very likable else I wouldn't have finish the book. I believe the next book will be about Charles St. Austell who goes out to find out the second traiter who is worse than A.C
Rating:
Summary: not good
Review: I love this author and would buy anything with her name on it. But this was just a bad book. It was difficult to get into, stay into, and finish. I am sorry to say, but it looks like she need s to slow down a bit.
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