Rating: 
Summary: Another Satisfying Cynster
Review: As noted in other reviews, this is the 5th in Laurens' successful "Bar Cynster" series. You'd think I'd get tired of reading about these perfect (even their individual imperfections are really perfections in disguise) men - but no! As with most of the series, Our Man Cynster (in this case, Rubert aka Gabriel) is bored with the life he's been living (lots of money, lots of women, lots of fun) and is just ripe for the picking - in this case, it's a mysterious countess that needs his help to save her family from financial ruin. Although this plot device works on some levels, it doesn't on other levels - thus 4 stars vs. 5. I mean this is a Cynster male! They all have that second sense, can read women, detect danger before it happens, etc, etc. - and I'm supposed to believe Gabriel doesn't figure out who the "countess" is, even when he's making love to her? I don't think so! But the book redeems itself by painting two of the best characters yet, especially Gabriel - he's supposedly the most detached of all of them, in the end he seems the sweetest (so far). Alathea is the usual strong willed, smart, self-reliant herione, but she's not written as too much of a stereotype. For those of you who didn't care for the steamier scenes in "A Rogue's Proposal" (I didn't mind them, but it appears many did), "A Secret Love" is a notch or two tamer than RP (or "Scandal's Bride"). It's fun to have some of the old characters pop up - I understand that Laurens' is planning Chillingsworth's romantic "downfall" in the future. And I'm quite sure we'll find out some day how the twins meet their matches! Final verdict on "A Secret Love" - buy it! And I'm waiting anxiously to find out how Lucifer goes out in glory!
Rating:
Summary: Keep the Cynsters coming! Four stars PLUS...
Review: Another fine Stephanie Laurens read -- not your typical Regency and absolutely fine characters, especially Gabriel (how COULD she "really" name him RUPERT?) The plot twists are deft and well-done, the supporting cast as fine as ever, and my only wish is for a fast release of the next, regarding Lucifer's and (hopefully) Chillingsworth's romances...C. may not be a Cynster but she's done a great job of developing him already. This is much finer in love scenes than Scandal's volume, and while Gabriel may not be as sensitive as Vane (he's making love to Alathea disguised as the Countess and doesn't put two and two together? Oh, puh-leeze!), he's just FINE...as are all the Bar Cynster men! Alathea is a smart, strong, savvy woman, better developed than Patience, certainly, another plus for this volume, and even better than Catriona -- who somehow slipped past me on the pages (still don't quite know why...) My recommendation? READ -- ENJOY -- BUY THEM ALL and WAIT ANXIOUSLY FOR THE NEXT ONE(s)!!!! (And hope she keeps 'em steamy!)
Rating:
Summary: One of her better books
Review: I find it amusing that most of the readers including the Amazon.com review call the female protagonist Althea as opposed to Alathea her real name. I guess this mistake indicates how carelessly people read the book and what pulp it truly is.Having said that, it is good for its genre. I agree with another reviewer who is also relieved that the lead characters are adults (29 & 30) another correction - guess no one is really paying that much attention to the details of this book. I also find it amusing that Alathea is really so imbecilic and continues to have sex with 'Gabriel' and not think about the possibility of scandal through pregnancy. She refuses to marry him after his proposal but somehow you don't get the impression that she is going to stop sleeping with him having already done so many times. It was one of Laurens' more mature books and I like that. I liked the Alathea's psychosis - she is older, taller and does not think of herself as particularly attractive. She seems a more well-rounded individual than most of Lauren's female lead characters. Rupert/Gabriel falls into the Alpha-male/hero role and so is not as interesting a character. We are told that he has difficulty in trusting but we don't know why but at least we are spared from the usual line that he is a 'tortured soul'. I think the sensuality rating is a bit harsh - this is not one of Laurens' truly raunchy reads - it is really quite tame when compared to The Promise In a Kiss or On A Wicked Dawn. Enjoy it - it's great pulp fiction but careful not to overdose on Laurens as most of her books seem to have the same plotlines.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I am a fan of Stephanie Laurens' other novels in the Bar Cynster series, but A Secret Love is her best to date. The love story of Gabriel and Alathea is touching, funny and downright steamy. A Secret Love hearkens back to another of Laurens' better novels, Devil's Bride. The reappearance of old favorites and a closer look at the secondary characters makes this novel a must read in the Cynster series and is a fine example of the magic that has made Laurens a favorite in the historical romance genre. I highly recommend this novel to Stephanie Laurens fans and to those readers that are looking for a touching romance filled with humor and sizzling sensuality.
Rating:
Summary: Another good Cynster read
Review: Stephanie Laurens is a pretty reliable author for me, and Gabriel and Alathea's story is a good solid addition to the Cynster series. As far as romance heroes go, the Cynsters are the stuff the dreams are made of: strong, reliable, they do not hate women, they believe in marriage and family and aren't ashamed of what they are. (And let's not forget sexy.) The heroine Alathea needs someone to investigate a suspicious business investment that threatens to ruin her family's economy. Gabriel Cynster is just the man for the job. They've known each other for a long time but their relationship is somewhat strained. Alathea doesn't want to reveal her family's financial difficulties to Gabriel so she makes up a secret identity and goes to him in disguise. They have a sensuous love affair and Gabriel determines to marry her. THEN he figures out who this mysterious woman really is. A Secret Love didn't work quite as well as Devil's Bride or Vane and Patience's story because I just couldn't buy the way Alathea's disguise fooled Gabriel for so long. This man is an intelligent, sensitive, perceptive Cynster male, for heaven's sake, not some half-blind ninnyhammer. Even if the the greatest makeup artists of Hollywood can produce wonders usually nothing can disguise a person's voice and demeanor so much that she becomes fully unrecognizable. Despite this plotting problem, A Secret Love was an enjoyable read and I'm already waiting in line for Lucifer's story.
Rating:
Summary: Keep the Cynsters coming! Four stars PLUS...
Review: Another fine Stephanie Laurens read -- not your typical Regency and absolutely fine characters, especially Gabriel (how COULD she "really" name him RUPERT?) The plot twists are deft and well-done, the supporting cast as fine as ever, and my only wish is for a fast release of the next, regarding Lucifer's and (hopefully) Chillingsworth's romances...C. may not be a Cynster but she's done a great job of developing him already. This is much finer in love scenes than Scandal's volume, and while Gabriel may not be as sensitive as Vane (he's making love to Alathea disguised as the Countess and doesn't put two and two together? Oh, puh-leeze!), he's just FINE...as are all the Bar Cynster men! Alathea is a smart, strong, savvy woman, better developed than Patience, certainly, another plus for this volume, and even better than Catriona -- who somehow slipped past me on the pages (still don't quite know why...) My recommendation? READ -- ENJOY -- BUY THEM ALL and WAIT ANXIOUSLY FOR THE NEXT ONE(s)!!!! (And hope she keeps 'em steamy!)
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Cynster novel so far !!!
Review: I've already read all the Cynster novels, and this one is still the best so far (and the others are quite good!!!). The main characters are Althea Morwellan and Gabriel Cynster. None of them would have looked at the other as a potential lover. But circumstances and a little help from destiny will change that. Althea, a resourceful lady, will pretend to be somebody else so she can get Gabriel's help without him knowing who she is. But does she know what she is getting into? On the whole this was a great book, worth buying, reading, keeping and rereading. You'll love Althea and Gabriel, and will end up wishing "A secret love" didn't have to end.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Immaculate Contraception' strikes yet again
Review: Another Cynster novel, and yet another domineering alpha male paired with an independent-minded female. Now, I *like* independent-minded women, but somehow whenever Laurens writes them, the heroine seems to lose all of her independence and common sense whenever the hero comes into view. Falling in love's one thing, but this is ridiculous! Okay, so we have, this time, Rupert Cynster, yet another cousin, and this one goes by the nickname Gabriel. Gabriel's big interest is money: investments of the stocks and shares variety. So when he is approached by a woman dressed in black and fully veiled, who introduces herself to him only as The Countess, recently widowed, it's not only his sense of chivalry which is piqued by her request to him to help her family from becoming destitute as the result of a scam. Under the Countess's disguise is Lady Alathea Morwellan, who is neither a widow nor a countess; she is the daughter of the earl who made the unwise investment. Apparently, she has known Gabriel from childhood, but she chose not to approach him as herself for two reasons. First, she was embarrassed at the thought of revealing the full extent of her family's misfortune to him, and second, she wasn't convinced that he would help if he knew it was her. This is one aspect of the story which was poorly done. Alathea, Gabriel and his brother Alasdair grew up together, but yet we only discover this a few chapters in; it almost felt as if Laurens had decided to add this element as an afterthought. Gabriel and Alathea's awkwardness around each other felt similarly unconvincing. I can understand buried attraction making them prickly, but this wasn't two people secretly attracted to each other striking sparks whenever they met. This was two people who seemed genuinely to hate each other. And I can't believe that Gabriel, highly experienced lover, doesn't recognise sexual attraction when he encounters it. He's over thirty, for heaven's sake, and he doesn't realise that's why he and Alathea are prickly around each other? Nope, that didn't work for me. Anyway, Gabriel begins to find out information for the Countess, but insists on claiming a reward for every discovery: a kiss. And so it's not long before things go far beyond kissing. Again, two things strike me as extremely unbelievable here. First, why would Alathea let things go that far? I can't buy the 'carried away by passion' explanation - not even the first time, let alone on subsequent occasions. It didn't make sense for the character as established. And second, yet again, how is it that Laurens' female characters never seem to suffer the consequences of their actions? No precautions are taken, and yet Alathea is supremely blithe in her conviction that nothing will happen. Another difficulty for me was caused by Laurens' apparent lack of understanding of what 'step-siblings' are; Alathea keeps referring to her step-sisters and brothers, so I assumed - since the Earl was her father - that these were all the children of her stepmother's previous marriage. But no; her 'step-brother' was apparently the Earl's heir. In other words, they were her *half*-siblings. Talk about unnecessary confusion! And why on earth didn't her editor spot this? Oh, and the discovery of Alathea's identity, when it happened, was just so predictable - Laurens, couldn't you at least have *tried* to make it less obvious to the reader? I felt that I was being bashed over the head with what was about to happen; it was as obvious as those seventies detective series where ominous music plays as the camera pans on a particular scene or item. The discovery would actually have been enjoyable had it come as a surprise, but as it was I was just counting pages until it happened. There is, as ever, a dramatic plot to the story; it holds the attention for a while but, like most of Laurens' mystery/detective plots, it does tend to take over and get tedious. It's a good means of getting the protagonists to work together, but it did mean that I was flicking quickly through several pages from time to time. I'm marking time through the rest of the series now, since I already have the books, but have already decided not to bother buying the newest Cynster release. After book after book of repetitive plots, I want some better-written, more varied reading!
Rating:
Summary: Another Cynster!!
Review: This is the 5th in the Cynster series, and they just keep getting better and better. This book focuses on Gabriel Cynster and Alathea Morwellan. Gabriel and Alathea have known each other all their lives, but they find that they can't be in each other's company without arguing, especially about Alathea's cap. However, Alathea's family has stumbled upon hard times, and she must turn to someone for help, and who better than Gabriel. But she disguises herself so that he won't recognise her. It was enjoyable watching these two grow closer and realise that the reason they were always arguing was not because they didn't like each other, but for quite the opposite reason. I liked seeing Gabriel fall in love with the mysterious 'Countess', his struggle not to try to find who she really was, his decision to marry her even when he didn't know who she was and then what he experienced when he realised that the woman he had fallen in love with was none other than Alathea herself. This series just keeps getting better and better. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: 1/2* Misleading reviews!
Review: I thought this one was going to be an ultra steamy read...at least that's what I gathered from the reviews!!
The storyline was good, and the Ms Laurens has a wonderful style of writing, but I like my books HOT and this one was not. So, I guess I won't be reading her novels anymore.
|
