26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Same plot as Devils Bride..., February 15, 2003
Vane Cynster, Devil's cousin and closest friend, has his turn at meeting his match in this book. An enforced stay at his godmother's house brings him into contact with her niece, Patience Debbington, and a mystery: who is the magpie thief stealing all and sundry, and who is the Spectre who appears at night, in shadow, and appears to haunt the place? The primary suspect is Patience's young brother Gerrard, but Vane doesn't believe that for an instant. His godmother begs him to stay and sort it out, and as he is already very intrigued by Patience he agrees.
Patience is alarmed by Vane and does her best to avoid him; she's also worried about the effect he's having on Gerrard. ...
The plot of this book follows exactly the same direction as Devil's Bride. Vane - determined not to marry - encounters a woman and knows that he's met his fate. He wants to marry her. He proposes; she refuses him. He determines to persuade her through sensuality and at the same time find out why she won't marry him. And in the background there is a (not very interesting and pretty transparent) mystery plot - again, I'd worked out who was behind it pretty early on; ... Maybe Laurens wanted him to be seen as an idiot?
I found Vane's approach to Patience unconvincing; in one scene - when he'd just met her - he was aware that she had the power to attract him in a way no woman had before. And he was determined to resist that: he didn't *want* to marry. And yet barely a half-dozen pages later, with nothing having happened in the meantime, he was suddenly reconciled to his fate and determined to marry her. ...
And Patience's antipathy to Vane in the beginning was simply not explained until some way in the book. I can accept her stereotyping him as a certain type of man - and not being told what she meant by an `elegant gentleman' until almost halfway through the book did not help! - but we need to know *what* stereotype she's using, and why it bothers her. That took some time to convey.
Again, a lot of detailed sex scenes, which is fine if you like that kind of thing; they're too numerous and technical - as well as lengthy - for my preference. I prefer my lovemaking scenes to focus on the emotions rather than descriptions of sex organs. Of course the extent and locations of Vane and Patience's amorous encounters are all wrong for the period, and I'm not sure why Laurens seems to assume that engaged, or near-engaged, couples of the - quite Puritanic, remember! - Regency period would naturally have sex. This has come across in three of her books now; her heroes seem to make an automatic assumption that an engagement means free sex. ...
I do have the rest of the Cynster series and will keep reading - Laurens has a readable style, even if I do skim some scenes - but I do hope that she varies her plots for later books.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Keep introducing me to the Cynster men!!!, May 9, 1999
By A Customer
This was the first book I read of Stepjanie's Lauren's or the Cynster series. I am hooked!! Vane was so refreshing, and so real in his reactions. I thought Patience was wonderful!! I was surprised to read that the majority of the other reader reveiws found her boring. I have a very busy day with work and family, and found this book to be fun, engrosiing, a wonderful story, and not at all insulting of my intelligence. I loved this book, the story line, the characters, Vane, and the incredible love scenes. Maybe because this was the first of the Ms. Lauren's books, I was not set up for diappointment. I have since purchased "Scandals' Bride" and LOVED it am now ordering Devil's Bride. These Cynster Men are awe-inspiring!! Let me say that I would like to thank Ms. Lauren's for doing more for the lovelife in my 11 year marriage than anything else - Stephanie Lauren's writing is the most wonderful aphrodesiac!!
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Real Drag, June 26, 2005
Okay, for those of you who are Bar Cynster fans, here me out, not that I need to defend my opinion in anyway.
I believe Stephanie Laurens has exceptional writing skills, especially when it comes to her love scenes. I really believe that in that particular case, she's at the top of her class in this area.
But what I find typical of her stories is that her love scenes usual sizzles while her surrounding story/mystery-line fizzles.
The characers and mainly the plot surrounding the love story appears either uninspired, half-hearted and lagging. In fact, the only sure-fire thing you can look foward to (and never be disappointed in)is the love scenes themselves.
Unfortunately, I find it to be the very case with "A Rake's Vow". For one, she tries to convince us that Vane is this alpha-male, ladies' man that does as he pleases. He, just like all the Cynster males, vow that they shall never marry.
I don't know if its just me, but I truly would like know why they were so against the martial state in the first place. This was never made clear, so you never knew the real motives behind the "Bar Cynster" get-togeter to begin with....
Anyway, Vane then suddenly meets his match -all of a sudden- when he meets this 26 year old spinster who has nothing to claim to her name but an annoying younger brother and a cat.
For all we hear of how dashing these Cynster males are, Vane's love interest, with the way she was described as this spinster who never really got out much, doesn't really suit his tastes, in my opinion. I just feel that Patience (the herione's name)could have had a lot more going on for her than was described in her side of the story. Compared to all the other heriones in the Bar Cynster series, she's the most boring!
Besides the characters not being overly consistent with their viewpoints, the mystery just plain as hell, sucked. After reading 4 of her books, I am convinced more than ever that S. Laurens lacks the talent to write a decent plot/mystery line to hold together the romance that helps build her characters and push the story along.
I find that it is not so much the characters that lack depth so much, but the plot itself and with this book - like most of her books- I get bored easily after reading only 10 pages or less, despite the well-detailed, page-scorching sex scenes.
I am one of those people who appreciate a well-thought out, engaging mystery, if there is to BE one, along with the tittilating sex..... But if I had to choose ONE aspect over another, I'd choose a good plot/mystery over steamy love scenes all the time.
A "Rake's Vow" could do no justice for me, I am sorry to say...
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