Rating: 
Summary: All About Love
Review: The name Stephanie Laurens is enough reason for me to buy her books without hesitation. So far this is the only book by Stephanie Laurens , that did not keep me engrossed. It definitely did not have the impact as most of her novels do, the passionate coupling and the sparks that fly between her characters was somehow missing.......
Rating: 
Summary: Laurens Shills Out yet another Masterpiece
Review: The sixth book in the Bar Cynster series, All About Love is yet another book that is well worth reading, as are all other books by Laurens.At the end of A Secret Love, Alisdair "Lucifer" Cynster flees from Gabriel and Alathea's wedding breakfast to visit an old friend about a colloction piece. (Lucifer is involved in collecting, mosly jewlery and silver). When Lucifer arrives, he finds his friend recently killed, and is then hit on the head and loses consciousness... Phyllida Tallent, daughter of the local magistrate is determined to help Lucifer recover and to help him find the murderer. However, when Phyllida's life is threatened, Lucifer's Cynster instinct takes over, and he realizes that he must protect and possess... This novel has everything that is desireable in a truly excellent and memorable book. Phyllida is a sensible, intelligent, and generous person who is perfect to tame the wild Cynster. Lucifer, like all of his cousins who were doomed before him, resists the pull of love at first. Once he realizes that his fall is inevitable, he seizes and conquers like a typical Cynster male, but is loving and tender while retaining his possessive nature. The mystery also keeps the reader on their toes and is not predictable. Of course, we also get a peek at our other beloved Cynsters which is a joy, and the epilogue is a treat that is worth reading the whole book for in and of itself. All About Love is a perfect ending to the adventures of the Bar Cynster, and sets up the perfect beginning to a new set of novels that are sure to be pleasures. Chillingworth is elected an honorary Cynster at the end of this novel, and his plunge into love will be out next, which I am really looking forward to. I recommend this book highly and wish you Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: Laurens Shills Out yet another Masterpiece
Review: The sixth book in the Bar Cynster series, All About Love is yet another book that is well worth reading, as are all other books by Laurens. At the end of A Secret Love, Alisdair "Lucifer" Cynster flees from Gabriel and Alathea's wedding breakfast to visit an old friend about a colloction piece. (Lucifer is involved in collecting, mosly jewlery and silver). When Lucifer arrives, he finds his friend recently killed, and is then hit on the head and loses consciousness... Phyllida Tallent, daughter of the local magistrate is determined to help Lucifer recover and to help him find the murderer. However, when Phyllida's life is threatened, Lucifer's Cynster instinct takes over, and he realizes that he must protect and possess... This novel has everything that is desireable in a truly excellent and memorable book. Phyllida is a sensible, intelligent, and generous person who is perfect to tame the wild Cynster. Lucifer, like all of his cousins who were doomed before him, resists the pull of love at first. Once he realizes that his fall is inevitable, he seizes and conquers like a typical Cynster male, but is loving and tender while retaining his possessive nature. The mystery also keeps the reader on their toes and is not predictable. Of course, we also get a peek at our other beloved Cynsters which is a joy, and the epilogue is a treat that is worth reading the whole book for in and of itself. All About Love is a perfect ending to the adventures of the Bar Cynster, and sets up the perfect beginning to a new set of novels that are sure to be pleasures. Chillingworth is elected an honorary Cynster at the end of this novel, and his plunge into love will be out next, which I am really looking forward to. I recommend this book highly and wish you Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: It was ok
Review: There was too much plot outside of the relationship between the two main characters. There was little tension and a lack of a real connection between the two. More time should have been spent on exploring the relationship and less time running around solving mysteries.
Rating: 
Summary: Dried out formula
Review: Think back to your first car. Mine was six years old, 75,000 miles, cherry-red; it had a long scratch at the trunk, badly painted over with a darker shade of red that did not quite match, and no matter how much I vacuumed, the carpet seemed to grow little bits of brown grass overnight. I had to jiggle the wheel before the key would turn in the ignition, and I was afraid to open the windows because I thought they would fall out. But no car since then has quite matched the anticipation, the exuberance I felt; no car since then gave me such a thrill simply because it was completely and so very mine. Devil's Bride was like that-- inventive and not without its imperfections (the arrogance, the title, the back cover)-- but the horsepower that had launched Devil and Honoria into the romance stratosphere coughed and choked about three books ago, and ever since the Cynstermobile has been puttering along on the shell and the grace of the winds. All About Love contains more than one handicap-- it's not even the second car, but the sixth, and the Cynster name is a glaring discontentment. Lucifer is a perfectly amiable man-- he is handsome and wealthy and sometimes arrogant--but imagine this repeated five times previously, and all these carbon copies had had their own perfectly amiable wives, who were all beautiful and intelligent and sometimes stubborn. The characters are a notch below fair, the mystery is less than exciting, and as a much-hyped book in a much-hyped series it falls somewhere below disappointment. I think this is the part where I politely state that quaint "frankly, my dear" platitude and demand the last few hours of my life back. But hey! For those that read this and wanted me stoned, the Cynster books are not ending. There's still three more left, including Chillingsworth, the twins, and some other Cynster cousin left on the branch. I think I am going to take my car for a spin and drive it over the first cliff I see.
Rating:
Summary: BORING!!!
Review: This book was so boring that I couldn't even finish it. The plot was not interesting and the characters were blah! This is the last book I'll be reading by this author for a while. I have read a couple of her other books that were better than ok, but this one was definitely not hitting it.
Rating:
Summary: buy it
Review: This is my favorite of Bar Cynster series and the first one I read. The characters are engaging, the mystery is enough to keep the plot moving and the whole thing is beautifully written. Wonderfully balanced and intelligent.
Rating:
Summary: Very Tedious
Review: This is my first Stephanie Laurens book. I picked it up after reading the reviews here. I found the book difficult to finish and tedious in some parts. However, I haven't given up on Stephanie Laurens books. I already have Scandal's Bride with me and plan to start on it soon.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad ending for the Bar Cynster series
Review: This is the 6th and final novel in the Bar Cynster series.
As typical of the previous four books, Lucifer is on the run after finding himself the only unmarried Bar Cynster. He decides to visit a friend, but ends up finding him murdered. After being struck on the head by Phyllida, he ends up in her family's care. They make a pact to try and find out who killed his friend and the romance begins. Lucifer decides that Phyllida is the wife that he wants, while Phyllida is of course not keen at first on the idea, although she's not against fooling around with him. Hey, this is Stephanie Laurens, what else can we expect?
Phyllida reminds me of Demon's wife, Felicity. They are so much alike that we see an instant rapport between them when they first meet, when Demon and Felicity come for a visit and stay to help them with the murder case. Lucifer is, of course, sexy and confident (no surprise there). One of my favorite scenes in this book is when Phyllida sneaks into the Manor and Lucifer catches her. Lucifer does this Zorro-thing with her clothes and then tells her "I've always wanted to do that". I thought it was hilarious. The other highlight of the book is Lucifer's proposal in the garden. The first time a Bar Cynster does the proper thing - priceless!
Although the spark between the two is not as electrifying as that of Devil and Honoria, they still make for a good story. Besides, I have to tell myself that nobody compares to the Duke and Duchess. Oh, and let me mention that I love how Laurens' finished the book with the gathering of the Cynster clan, with a highlight on Devil and Honoria. It's great to see their romance still sizzles! A very good ending to the Bar Cynster.
Rating:
Summary: Charming story about learning to love.
Review: This is the first full-length novel by Stephanie Laurens that I've read, and it certainly won't be the last. "All About Love" is the story of "Lucifer" Cynster, a supposed rake who has retired to the country to visit an old friend. He is shocked to find that his friend has very recently been murdered when he arrives in the charming village of Colyton. He also immediately meets Phyllida, a beautiful young woman who is also the town busybody and clearly knows more that she's telling about the murder. Despite their mutual mistrust, the two are surprised by their attraction to one another and begin to work together to solve the murder. Before he met Phyllida, Lucifer had no intention of ever falling in love and marrying. Likewise, Phyllida was quite content with her life in the village and was certain that she will never marry. Most of the story is about how the two become comfortable with one another and the idea of falling in love and making a lifetime commitment. Despite a couple of nitpicks - I really hate it when heroines insist upon putting themselves in danger just to prove their "independence" and the suspects were all so similar that I had a hard time telling them apart - this was one of the best books I've read recently. Even though the plot was not terribly complicated or original (in my opinion, not really a flaw in a good romance), Laurens kept me interested all the way through. The growing relationship between the two leads was particularly well written and even surprisingly realistic. These two people didn't lay eyes on one another and immediately fall in love. They met, were attracted to one another, and let the attraction develop into something deeper. Laurens also writes great love scenes - hot but still sweet. This is the 6th novel in a series about the Bar Cynster, but don't worry if you haven't read the previous books. I haven't and it didn't make one bit of difference. You can bet I'll read the other 5 and when I'm done, I'll really enjoy picking this book back up and reading the epilogue where the whole family meets at a summer gathering.
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