Helpful Score: 9
I don't remember what made me decide to select this series to read, someone mentioned it on PBS I think. So in true me style. I collected all 15 books published in the Cynster series, before reading the first one. And I can say another GREAT choice of mine. This book is wonderfully written. Taking you through a colorful mystery of a family murder, as well as throwing that lovely Regency romance at you. Honoria is a wonderfully strong minded, stubborn female. And she's put up against the Duke of St Ives Devil Cynster. And what a DEVIL he truly is. He will set any ladies spine a tingling. If you like romance, and you like action. Give this book a read. You will meet the strong clan of Cynster men, their Women, and help solve a murder Mystery.
Helpful Score: 2
I really liked this story. The alpha hero is one of my favorites ever. He never actually says "I love you", but throughout the story the phrase "actions speak louder than words" really ring true. There is a murder mystery involved, but the growing relationship between hero/heroine really is front and center all the time.
Helpful Score: 2
Can I just say how BORING Stephanie Laurens books are! I tried to read Devil's Bride but it literally took me weeks to finish it since each time I tried reading it, I lose focus. Also, I noticed almost all of her books have the same storyline.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first book of the Cynster family books. Devil, who has earned this name, is found in a compromising situation with Honoria Wetherby, a woman who does the "finishing" year for debutantes trying to find husbands. However, it is not either one's fault that Honoria has found a man who has been shot and that the nearest shelter from a storm is a caretaker's cottage where the three must spend the night.
Devil does the 'honorable' thing and announces his plan to wed Honoria. Honoria, however, does not want any part of this plan, but we all know how Devil's plan will end! Getting to the plan's end is the major part of the book with the intrigue being secondary to the story.
If I had a major complaint about this book it would be that I grew weary of the constant manipulation by the main male character of the main female character. It was stated many times that Honoria was her own person and could not be persuaded to change her mind once it was made up, yet she was constantly being maneuvered or simply bullied one way or another by Devil. The strength of her character would start to glimmer only to be weakened, usually within the same page or two!
I am not going to judge the series based on this book alone; I will read the next one.
Devil does the 'honorable' thing and announces his plan to wed Honoria. Honoria, however, does not want any part of this plan, but we all know how Devil's plan will end! Getting to the plan's end is the major part of the book with the intrigue being secondary to the story.
If I had a major complaint about this book it would be that I grew weary of the constant manipulation by the main male character of the main female character. It was stated many times that Honoria was her own person and could not be persuaded to change her mind once it was made up, yet she was constantly being maneuvered or simply bullied one way or another by Devil. The strength of her character would start to glimmer only to be weakened, usually within the same page or two!
I am not going to judge the series based on this book alone; I will read the next one.
Helpful Score: 1
I know I'm in the minority, but this went into my DNF pile (did not finish). Her writing style was driving me nuts - all the incomplete sentences, the phrases and clauses related to and coming from the sentence before, but separated by a period and often also by a paragraph. I just couldn't keep reading it, not because it was grammatically incorrect but because it jarred me out of the story. I felt like I was missing something and had to go back and re-read the sentence before to follow the line of thought. Some authors can make this type of rule-breaking in writing work to increase tension or make a point, but for me it was a deal breaker. There are too many other books to read to feel the need to keep plowing through one I'm not enjoying.
Helpful Score: 1
Good Synster clan-book one. Too much sex.
Helpful Score: 1
This was one of my all time favorite books!
Helpful Score: 1
Loved it! The best of the Cynster novels!
Helpful Score: 1
I have the whole series(all 16)Wish had gotten them in hard back so they won't wear out so fast. This is a series I will read over and over again.
Helpful Score: 1
Devil Cynster has more than met his match in a governess. This is a fun family to read about.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book. The start of an even better series. On my keeper shelf.
fantastic read
This was I believe the first book I read by Stephanie Laurens.. and what a GREAT choice!! This book made me laugh and I love the fact that Honoria was not a simpering miss but has a mind and spirit! Ms. Laurens wrote this extremely well and I don't think I skipped ahead at all. Fantastic book, it's on my keeper shelf!
I really liked this book. Great romance, great series.
Great author! Awesome to read about historial London!
Overall, the book was very interesting. It was a nice place to start to learn more about the Cynsters and their beginnings. I have to admit to being a little disappointed by the cover art. Devil Cynster does not look all that impressive but I did not get distracted by that. If you are interested in the Cynsters, this is a great place to begin!
Romance novels of any sort are not my thing but I did enjoy it. Once a year I read one as part of my book club for our romance month and this was pretty good = not just romance. The murder mystery was ok and my favorite part of the book.
Great book and great series. I will never let go of this book.
The 1st and, in my opinion, one of the best books in the Cynster Series!
Read the 1st in the Cynster Series! The matriarch "Devil" meets is match in Honoria! Watch the feathers fly!
Love in romance in the 1800"s
The first of the Cynster novels, this is Devil Cynster himself. Book is in very good shape, covers brand new, some wavy page edges in the middle.
The first of the Bar Cynster stores, and the best one in my opinion. I love Honoroa. She's strong without being stupidly fiesty. And I thought Devel was the best Alpha hero I've read, because he's a guy that knows what he wants, and it isn't just a roll in the hay. Right from the start he wanted to marry the heroine.
This is a classic Laurens book and the start of her famous Cynster series. If you love the Cynsters or have read any of the other books in the series, you must have this one. Honoria is the best heroine out of the entire bunch.
Fun Book.
excellent series...Devil's story
Love the Cynster Novels. First in the series
A delightful plot and a must read as the first Cynster novel.
My favorite Cynster novel!!!!
This is the book that got me hooked on romance. In my opinion,that Devil Cynster is the benchmark of sexy.
Loved this story.
When Devil Cynster is caught in a compromising position with governess Honoria Wetherby, he astonishes the town by offering her his hand in marriage. But Honoria wasn't about to marry a man "just" because they'd been caught together unchaperoned. She craved adventure, and while solving the murder of a young Cynster cousin fit the bill for a while, she decided that once the crime was solved she'd go off to see the world. But the heat of her desire for Devil soon had Honoria craving a very different sort of excitement
Good book if you like the genre
1st of series
Good Book
When Devil, the most infamous member of the Cynster family, is caught in a compromising position with plucky governess Honoria Wetherby, he astonishes the entire town by offering his hand in marriage. No one dreamed this scandalous rake would ever take a bride. And as society mamas swooned at the loss of England's most eligible bachelor, Devil's infamous Cynster cousins began to place wagers on the wedding date.
But Honoria wasn't about to bend society's demands and marry a man "just" because they'd been found together virtually unchaperoned. No, she craved adventure, and while solving the murder of a young Cynster cousin fit the bill for a while, she decided that once the crime was solved she'd go off to see the world. But the scalding heat of her unsated desire for Devil soon had Honoria craving a very different sort of excitement. Could her passion for Devil cause her to embrace the enchanting peril of a lifelong adventure of the heart?
But Honoria wasn't about to bend society's demands and marry a man "just" because they'd been found together virtually unchaperoned. No, she craved adventure, and while solving the murder of a young Cynster cousin fit the bill for a while, she decided that once the crime was solved she'd go off to see the world. But the scalding heat of her unsated desire for Devil soon had Honoria craving a very different sort of excitement. Could her passion for Devil cause her to embrace the enchanting peril of a lifelong adventure of the heart?
