Framing her jaw, Devil lifted her face, looked down on pale cheeks, at eyes awash with tears, then he bent his head and kissed her set lips. "You'll never lose me," he whispered. "I'll never leave you."One of my favorite historicals This is the introduction to the Cynster family (and what a family it is ). I was actually re-reading this one, so it was kind of funny to see all those men and women who'll get their own books :) Most of the time, I was like: Oh look, that's Vane, I love his book! OMG Scandal! He's so awesome! Amanda and Amelia - love them! And then Demon! My favorite So by the time I finished this book, I knew I simply HAD to re-read all of them The story - Rushing home to avoid a thunderstorm, Honoria stumbles upon a dying young man. While trying to help him, she hears a rider approaching. A mysterious (absolutely gorgeous ) man helps her take care of the wounded fellow, carrying him to the nearest woodsman cottage. They soon discover the young man was shot, and that he's a cousin to her mysterious (absolutely gorgeous) guy. They spend the night in the cottage. "Trapped in her nightmare, she shuddered. She gulped down a sob, only to have another rise in its place.Watching her, Devil felt a sharp ache twist through his chest. The tears welled from beneath her lids, gathered, then rolled slowly, steadily, down her cheeks.His gut clenched. Hard. Gently, he tipped up her face. She didn't wake; the tears continued to fall.He couldn't stand it. Devil bent his head and set his lips to hers." The next morning, they are found in a compromising position by the local neighbours (and by compromising I mean just the fact that they spent the night in the same room, nothing actually happened :D ) so the logical thing is to announce their engagement . Honoria only then discovers that her companion was non other than Sylvester Sebastian Cynster, the sixth Duke of St. Ives, known by others as Devil Devil is intent on making Honoria his duchess, but she constantly refuses, she doesn't want to marry anyone, especially not a piratical autocrat (her words XD) like Devil.So basically, they work together to find Tolly's (the dead guy) murderer, the rest of the time Devil tries to convince Honoria she should marry him, and Honoria tries to seduce Devil and find out more about passion Devil "You, my lord, are the most arrogant, overbearing, high-handed, tyrannical, dictatorial despot it has ever been my misfortune to meet."Devil raised a brow. "You forgot autocratic."Enough said XDXD Devil is a duke, the head of his family, and used to issuing orders. His view of the world is basically: Me man, you woman. Me does everything, you stays home and embroiders. Too bad for him, he's found a woman he can't control, and maybe that's a part of her appeal :) From the first they meet, he knows she'll be his duchess, the only point left was for her to accept, and he does everything he can to make it happen And now that I think of it, Devil's the only Cynster who wants to get married right from the start. I think all the others pretty much ran like hell from marriage XDXD Anyway, I ADORE him, he's one of my favorite characters "On the beast's back sat a man to match the horse, black-clad shoulders blocking out the twilight, dark mane wild, features harsh—satanic.Her heart in her throat, Honoria lifted her gaze to the rider's face—and met his eyes. Even in the dimness, she was sure of their color. Pale, lucent green, they seemed ancient, all-seeing. Large, set deep under strongly arched black brows, they were the dominant feature in an impressively strong face. Their glance was penetrating, mesmerizing—unearthly. In that instant, Honoria was sure that the devil had come to claim one of his own. And her, too." Honoria She is very adventurous, not afraid to do what was needed to make her point, or discover something that would lead to their murderer. Not even Devil can make her bow down to his will. She doesn't want to get married, to anyone, and has to constantly remind Devil of that fact BUT, he can be very persuasive, and Honoria soon discovers passion and desire through Devil's kisses, and she wants more ( ) I just have to say that I loved her when she stood up to Devil, after the debacle with the tavern. She had a strong f-ing reason, and she wouldn't let it go, no matter how angry and strong-willed Devil was. YAY to her There were just two things I didn't like in this book The bad guy is obvious. Too obvious. So obvious, you know who it is even before he appears. And when he appears it's just cemented that he's the bad guy. Honoria's surname. So help me God, I don't want to hear/see that name ever again in my life. I don't know how many times it was repeated in the book, but it was just too damn much. BTW, it's Honoria Prudence Anstruther-WetherbyOh, and one more thing, here's for Stephanie Laurens and her writing, especially the love scenes (oh she knows how to write pantie-melters)
I love the alpha/gamma hero who’s all Mr I’m in Charge with his swagger and hotness, his nothing-stands-in-my-wayness, basically his total babe-ness BUT he has to have some depth to him unlike the hero of this novel, Sylvester “Devil” Cynster. The guy is as flat as brown cardboard and never really develops into anything else. This story just didn’t work for me because I didn’t like the jerk alpha who needed a good shaking for a wakeup call.The story grabs your attention relatively well from the start with the heroine Honoria (what a horrible name,) the drab governess, and Devil crossing paths where a crime has been committed. They stay together in the same house unchaperoned and of course that could get the ton’s tongues wagging so he decides he’s going to marry her –she decides otherwise. His pursuit of her is more of a I’m going to wear you down kind of thing and she does the cat and mouse thing on her end. She waivers too much –can’t say much more without giving spoilers here. So it sounds good and it could’ve been what with the hot sex (despite the fact that the first real scene was sooooo loooonng it became tedious), tension building and generally good romance but there’s the arrogance of the hero that just never lets up and the stupid crime that needs to be solved by the Cynster clan –seemed like the regency version of the mafia which could work but just didn’t here. Devil reminds me of Brad Pitt in the way that he looks good but he has very limited dialog scenes so his character is never really fleshed out. I hate when the hero barely says anything apart from a few monosyllabic quips, barking out orders, acting like he’s so hot that the sun couldn’t possibly shine without him or is way too cocky in bed. A hero should have some weak spot or uncertainty in him that only the heroine knows about otherwise he’s just irritating (sort of like some of Lora Leigh's contemporary heroes --**shudder shudder look of horror on the face**). The writing style could’ve used some editing in places. Laurens is comma/semi-colon happy which makes reading awkward and overdramatizes scenes. It's similar to those authors that go crazy with the exclamation mark. It just takes away from the story when it’s not a smooth read because the punctuation is messed. It’s also very heavy on the narration in some parts bogging down the pages and inciting the reader to skim. Lots of telling here and not much showing unfortunately. The heroine is always, always, always described as “regal” –yeah okay we got it after the 206th time :-/ Towards the end of the book she comes across as a stuck up snob looking down her nose at everyone –sort of like the rest of the Cynster clan really –(*eye rolling time*) get a grip people. The epilogue was good which was what saved the book a bit for me but overall it’s not a novel I’d recommend.What a relief that I didn’t care for this one much, the series is huge ;) 3.5 stars and my shelves are creaking out a “thank you!”
What do You think about Devil's Bride (1998)?
Miss Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby has plans, plans for adventure and excitement, so what she doesn't need is the unwanted attention of a Duke. Especially when that Duke is a Cynster, the head of a family notorious for being wild, but Devil Cynster, Duke of St. Ives is determined to have Honoria as his bride and the more she stubbornly denies him, despite the attraction and passion between them, the more he wants her. But, he must also keep her safe, there is a murderer intent on doing harm to his family and most especially him, putting Honoria right in his sights. I can't believe this book has been published since 1998 and yet this is the first time I have read it; the first time but I highly doubt it will be the last. After feeling like I have been fighting my way through a field of 'meh' with my reads lately, Laurens has cleared the way, showing that although Devil's Bride is an oldie, it's a goodie. This book was well polished, full of intriguing characters, many of whom are of the bad boy variety, and packed full or passion and romance. A great start to a series.If you like your heroes intense, arrogant and gorgeous, then Devil will charm you immediately. But despite his name I hesitate to call him a bad boy, as the Duke of St Ives and the head of the Cynster family Devil has a lot of responsibility on his broad shoulders and he takes them very seriously; nothing is more important to him than his family. Nothing maybe, except perhaps Honoria. Honoria is proud, intelligent and stubborn and I loved seeing her match wits with Devil, one of them always seemed to end up speechless either with rage, passion or incredulity- sometimes all three. However, Honoria seemed oblivious that the more of a challenge she was, the more eager Devil was to stalk her and bring her down...right to the marriage bed.“You are riding for a fall, Your Grace,""I'll be riding you before Christmas.This is the start of a long series, fifteen full length novels so far, and in Devil's Bride we meet a few of the likely heroes of the future books. I cannot wait to see each of the handsome and arrogant Cynster men fall in love. The quote below perfectly describes the Cynster males. They were also invincibly arrogant, a characteristic fueled by the fact that they were, by and large, as talented as they thought themselves, a situation which engendered in less-favored mortals a certain reluctant respect. Not that Cynsters demanded respect - they simply took it as their dueAlthough I enjoyed this book and it is one of the best books I have read this year, the reason it didn't get full marks was because of the intrigue plot. Laurens makes it very clear from almost the beginning of the book, exactly who the culprit is, and yet the mystery stretches on till almost the end of the book. It did mean that Honoria and Devil were put through intense emotions and situations that they wouldn't normally, leading to some very emotional scenes and revelations. But, I did find myself getting bored when they were discussing it...it just seemed so obvious. This was a fantastic read and I can't wait to get started on the next book in the series, Laurens has created a romantic and passionate book, with a couple that fit together perfectly, if you are looking for a quality historical romance read, not a short bit of fluff, then give this book a try.
—Suzanne the Mighty (Under the Covers Book blog)
Historical romance. 4 stars.Some books inspires you to write amazing reviews and some books just leaves you with nothing to say. This book falls for me in the latter category. I liked it and I could see all the qualities, I just did not connect to it. Let me sum it up.What I loved:1. Devil. Handsome, reckless, fiercely loyal to his family. How can you not love a hero named Devil?2. The writing. It was beautiful and at times I really felt inside the story. I can see it so clearly even now - and especially the dance in the orangeries. 3. The family. I can't wait to read the other books.4. The first 15% of the book.What I did not like:1. The heroine. In the first part of the book I thought I would scream if she said that she was not marrying him one more time. She reminded me too much of Amelia in Mine Till Midnight and while I'm sure she will be an excellent character in the next books about the family I could not like her enough to route for her. 2. It was obvious from the first mention of him that he was the villain. I mean, you usually know but at least there is a hint of "maybe it's someone else".Verdict: Good book, awesome hero, wonderful second cast, did not like the heroine, I will continue this series and pray for a sweeter heroine in the next book.
—Susanne
I wanted to like this book. I really did. But while it was good enough from a technical standpoint, it was not the most wonderful read. The mystery, from the beginning, is painfully obvious. Horrifyingly obvious. It is as though the author is beating you over the head with a brick, telling you who the killer is. It was so painfully obvious, in fact, that I actually managed to convince myself that the obvious answer could not have been the killer - that this kind of painful lack of subtlety could only mean that the author was trying to throw her audience off the scent.I was wrong. The eventual revelation of the killer was anticlimactic and not at all satisfying.The character development was dreadful. I found myself liking the Cynster family, but I can't imagine why. Stephanie Laurens is terrible at giving men nicknames, that much is certain. I likely only found myself liking them because they were cliches that I had already fallen in love with before - which is not a ringing endorsement.By the end of the book, Honoria (another terrible name, in my opinion) barely resembles who she was in the beginning of the book. The fact that she was a governess is thoroughly discarded. Her various hopes and dreams for her life, which she had clung to as an excuse to refuse Devil's proposal (presumably for some kind of sexual tension - it doesn't work) are completely cast aside. It is one thing to have her dreams cast aside - it's at least realistic from a historical standpoint - but it's quite another that she should give up on those dreams so easily and suddenly become thoroughly content with life as a baby factory.And let's be honest - I do not read romance novels for the character development or the original plots. I read it for the hot and sweaty smutty bits. These? These were terrible. For the first time in my life, I found myself skimming past the dirty bits to get to something interesting. As a highly smut-minded female, this is something of note.There is a very small chance that I will read the next in the series, with some kind of faint hope that it will be better. This is not the most utterly terrible thing I have ever read, but I was nonetheless gravely disappointed.
—Katie
