Customer Reviews

Scandal's Bride (Cynster Novels)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Of the hundreds of books I've read, I very rarely give a 5 star rating...I think I would prefer to give this a 9 out of 10, but since that's not an option, I'm giving it five stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and got some belly laughs when the Cynaster family visits Scandal and Catriona en mas. The poor only child gets inundated with family. I like the story, and although I can commiserate with Mrs. Giggles that the Cynaster males have no obvious flaws, I think that's part of the charm. As escapest reading, once and a while its nice to read about strong males who are "perfect", that's part of the escape. Now, I wouldn't want that to be a trend and read it in every new book, but Mrs. Laurens does such a good job with these males that I think that's their appeal. No one believes that anyone like that exists, though we wish they did. I have but two small objections to the book, which might seem petty in the extreme. The first is the excessive usage of the word "humph". I think everyone "humphed", and a page was not complete without it. The other small critisism was the amount of times Scandal appreciated the "swing of" our heroine's "hips". I loved the romance scenes and the quality which gave Scandal pause as to whether this was reality or a dream. I also like the fact that they don't get caught up in the "misunderstanding" plot. They seem to, but work through it and get on with the story. Do not pass go, do not collect $200...go out and BUY THIS BOOK!!!

Stephanie Laurens is truly an incomparable author of lusty romance and vibrant characters. This is the third Cynster story, devoted to Richard Cynster and his pursuit of the fiery Catriona Hennesey. We are lured into a tale of passion, magic and age-old lore, filled with wonderful characters, interesting stories and settings, and overlying all an amazing romance between the two protagonists. Richard is everything a woman could possibly desire, and Catriona is a strong-willed woman who will find a way to achieve her goals no matter what the cost. I loved this book (yes the sensuality level is "R" on this one) and have reread it several times. The Cynster saga is almost perfect - start with "Devil's Bride" if you have not yet discovered them!!

My favorite of Ms. Laurens Bar Cynster series, this book contains both the sensual love story and the sweet partnership that develop between the lead characters. After Richard and Catriona marry because of the stipulations of a will, they struggle to create a relationship that will satisfy both her responsibilities and his need to be needed. Using the theme of a "hero without a cause", this book is more thoughtful than some of Stephanie Laurens' other novels. It's a satisfying very satifying, gentle book to read on a rainy day.

This book disgusted me on so many levels. My largest objection may have predisposed me not to like this book but I doubt it. First off, I read PROMISE IN A KISS which was Sebastian and Helena's story. I absolutely loved that book. Helena's desire not to marry a powerful man was so believable and made Sebastian have to work so hard for his pleasure it was delicious. Then I am to believe that five short years into their marriage Sebastian goes off to Scotland and CHEATS on his beloved Helena simply because he felt sorry for the unhappily married woman he meets there? That was offensive enough and then we are to believe that Helena simply accepts his infidelity and says "aren't you clever to give me another son." Give me a break. What an insult to a lovely couple.

Onto Scandal's story. I found it so offensive that Catriona drugs Richard and thinks the Lady wants her to STEAL a child from him while he is sleeping. If a man did that to a woman it would be called rape and as far as I'm concerned she raped Richard. What a love story. As if that wasn't a sick enough "religion" then her fellow believer thinks the Lady wants her to poison Richard once he's filled the bill. And then they were going to keep her around to raise the kiddies? What nut hatch did Richard fall into?

I think the Cynster family should have carted him off home for reprogramming and left them all to rot in their little vale of crazies.

Better yet Richard should never have been created.

I lIked the Bar Cynsters when I first met them in DEVIL'S BRIDE, with their love of family and their belief in marital fidelity. And the author gives them and the family heroines to match them. The only drawback I find, especially in A RAKE'S VOW, is that the hero and heroine get together too soon. I like the suspense and sexual tension generated before the consummation. I'm sure many readers enjoy long and frequent love scenes, but, for me, they get in the way of the story, no matter how well done. Still, I plan to buy, read and keep the whole series.

Love the characters and the development; plot a bit farfetched; I prefer a plot that doesn't depend on the mystical. I very much enjoy this series and how all the various members of the family keep appearing - it is one of the elements that makes this series so appealing. I do have one caveat about this in "Scandal's Bride" however. There is NO WAY that a message could get from Catriona to Devil and get Devil and Honaria to Scotland in the time frame the plot demands - even express couriers and fast carriages didn't travel THAT fast - in winter, too! Regardless, a good read.

I found "Devil's Bride" in a grocery store purely my accident when it was first released. I had never heard of Laurens. But I have become hooked! I found "Captain Jack's Woman" in a used book store later and I wait (impatiently) now for every book in her series. "Scandal's Bride" certainly did not disappoint, although I had some trouble with the heroine drugging the hero and sleeping with him to get pregnant. She was a bit too coldhearted for my taste. But the flavor of Laurens strong characterizations, plot and sensual content( are almost breathtaking)more than make up for it. I also liked how Laurens lets us glimpse characters from the previous two books in the series. I really hope Catriona has a boy. That should take her down a notch or two. Laurens has definitely become one of my top authors. I can't wait for the next installment. Demon's lady might prove to be the one heroine in the series who does not do needlepoint and who wears breechs. Great!

I can't believe how many negative reviews that I've read that focus on the "magic" and "crazies", etc. (disgustingly likening it to a "cult"), of this book. If you think that christianity is the only religion that's acceptable to read about, then don't bother with this one! If you're like me, however, and enjoy reading about different beliefs and those who are accepting of them, then you should be able to enjoy this story. Just to clarify: this is NOT a "paranormal" story. It's a book that has a practitioner of an Earth/Goddess based religion, and isn't quiet and unassuming about it. I also must clarify the erroneous claims that she boasts about this to all and sundry people. Who has she spoken to? Her family (who are all of Scottish descent and are aware of her religion) and Scandal/Richard, whom she is trying to warn off from marrying her. Then, later, when Devil et al arrive, they are accepting of Scandal's choice in wife and the beliefs that she has. Oh the horror!! She would clearly have been burnt at the stake! Sheesh. She had used those claims to frighten off suitors in the past, but that doesn't mean they necessarily believed her or cared -- only those that knew but were trying to force her hand because of it. However it was explained that while Seamus was her guardian, he took care to protect her.

I began reading this series in order, so I didn't encounter some of the irritation that other reviewers had. Namely that I had not read Helena and Sebastian's story first (it's a prequel, not the first in the series). Even when I DID read "The Promise in a Kiss", while I felt saddened about Sebastian's infidelity, by then the story was old hat. If you're going to enjoy one with the other, then you need to just separate the two, otherwise you will be saddened by one of them, one way or another. Or you can just accept that Sebastian wasn't perfect, made a very big mistake, and that Helena forgave him (and maybe he spent the rest of his life making up for it). Whatever makes you happiest. I mean, isn't it a testament to their love that they could overcome a(n)... hiccup... without destroying their happiness over it? As is mentioned in the book, when Richard asked Sebastian if he had loved Richard's mother: "She was very lovely and very lonely -- she deserved more than she got from her marriage." He'd paused, then added: "I felt sorry for her." He'd looked at him, and his slow smile had creased his face. "But I love you. I regret her death, but I can't regret your birth." What a testament to a remorseful man and the woman who loved him. Who was also able to get the one thing from it that she desperately wanted -- another child. In fact, the one thing that bothered ME was that Richard occasionally referred to Helena as his "stepmother" -- when he'd always known her as "Maman". It somehow lessened the genuine love that Helena seemed to feel for her beloved husband's son.

I won't even address the sheer absurdity of trying to attach 20th and 21st century ideas of feminism to a 19th century book. The unique part of the story was in Scandal's willingness to accept Catriona's "dominance" in the spiritual realm. If he was the stereotypical alpha hero, he would flex his alpha muscles and try to change her. The tension, the "conflict", stemmed from Scandal's attempts to give Catriona the freedom she needed to run the Vale (as she had for YEARS on her own, people!), and Catriona's attempts to allow Scandal the freedom she believes that he needs/wants. If that's too subtle, if you like your conflict more cut and dry, then you won't like the book, either.

And really, it's not exactly a big deal if people do or do not like this particular book. For some of us it's one of our favorites by this author. For others, it's their least favorite. It's not like this author doesn't have two dozen other books to choose from. Even though all of the plots are (at the very least) similar, they are all well-written. And you will NEVER find a more in-depth sex scene outside of erotica. There is straight erotica and then there's Stephanie Laurens. No one else can make a kiss last 4 pages and a sex scene last 10 pages.

As for the "mystery"... There IS no mystery -- we know instantly who the villain is and why for Scandal's poisoning, and we know nearly instantly who is to blame for the fire. The interest is in the story itself. Again, that's not to everyone's taste. I was happy to read a book without the regular plot devices of kidnapping and routing of the villain, usually resulting in the villain's death. I enjoyed the story, didn't find it "boring" -- but it's not the type of plot that will keep you guessing. I personally prefer stories that have more "meat" to them (literally AND figuratively *raising eyebrows suggestively*), and this is one of my favorites. Mainly because these are probably the hottest sex scenes in any book. (I will only do a cursory address of the claim that there was "rape" involved -- I will say only that Scandal was MORE than willing, and being a little out of it isn't quite the same as being unconcious or unwilling. Again, if that thought is troubling, then this book is not for you.)

On a whole, I enjoyed this book more than most of Stephanie Laurens' works. They tend to be predictable and have re-hashed plots. But if you want an eloquent author, she definitely fits the bill. She's not the best by far, but when you know what to expect (and I can see, from the back-lash, why she rarely ventures out of the accepted "comfort zone"), there's little to be dissapointed in.

Edited to add a couple of things I forgot.

It may seem that I've written enough, but I really do have to address one other terribly innaccurate comment that has been made.

Okay, since this is apparently a huge deal for some people, especially those who don't really pay that much attention to what they're reading... Yes, Scandal is illegitimate. BUT... While his mother's husband may LEGALLY be his father, Seamus McEnery wasn't a peer. His estate and fortune was not bound to anyone, and could thus be left to whomever he chose to leave it to. In this case, HIS eldest son, Jamie. Only if Seamus's estate was entailed would the dispersal of his estate become the concern of anyone but the solicitors. If Scandal wanted to claim any of it, perhaps he could fight for it, but that wasn't the case, and Seamus knew that. As was mentioned, he'd made an extensive study of the Cynsters. Also in Devil's Bride it was well established that, though he was accepted due to the fact that NO ONE would dare cross the Cynsters, Scandal was NOT Devil's heir -- his illegitimacy was legallly understood. At least by the author and the characters in the book. Perhaps not so much by some readers.

Finally, as is my usual way, I must include an amusing tidbit. This author may be eloquent, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't throw some flat-out flubs in there for our consumption.

"The only thing they'll care about," he murmured, juggling her, "is that I've chosen you."

REALLY? He was JUGGLING her? I'm wondering how one juggles a person -- or at least just one person.

This is my favorite of the Bar-Cynster series. I loved Devil's Bride as well as A Rake's Vow, however Richard and Catriona in Scandal are mezmerizing. Richard has all the same perfect qualities as all the other Cynster men except to me he is sexier due to his vulnerability. He has no real place to call his own. Catriona being a witch also adds spice to the story. I fell in love with Richard and wanted to be Catroina. If you like a good story, sizzling,hot,lingering sex scenes then this book is a must read or if you are just a fan of those oh sooooooooo sexy Cynsters, then read this book.

I am not claiming that everyone will feel as I do but I really didn't like the heroine in this. I appreciate a strong female in any book. But I don't appreciate this one. Catriona's heritage of "the Vale" was loosely justified. And maybe I am stepping on the toes of the feminists but I don't appreciate her dominance in this book. Richard's character was way to strong to capitulate to a female. I didn't think their relationship was a result of compromise as in the first two Cynster books. The hero didn't stay true to his character. I struggled to hang on to this story. It took me almost three weeks to read it. I chose to read two books in the midst of this one. I was just disappointed with this one. But that doesn't mean I won't finish the series because I like the story line of the Bar Cynster. And I have already read the last three in the series. I came across them first and loved "On a Wicked Dawn" and "All About Passion." I will keep reading.