Temptation and Surrender: A Cynster Novel (Hardcover)

by Stephanie Laurens (Author)
Key Phrases: new innkeeper, tight breath, Miss Beauregard, Jonas Tallent, Red Bells (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Handsome, wealthy, and well-born, Jonas Tallent has everything a gentleman needs to enjoy London society to the fullest—and he has. He's played cards until dawn, flirted with eligible young ladies, and made love to some ineligible ones.

But now he's restless and bored with the mindless frivolity and careless pleasure, so it's with a sense of relief that he takes up the reins of his family's estate in rural Devon. His most pressing need is to hire a new manager for the inn—the center of village life. Such a small task, yet he discovers few decent applicants are willing to live in a quiet country backwater.

Then genteel but impoverished Miss Emily Beauregard applies for the position. Jonas's initial response is an emphatic "no!" Ladies, especially one as attractive as Emily, belong in the ballroom or the bedroom, not running an inn. But with no alternatives, he grudgingly allows Emily to try, and she rapidly proves herself worthy, resurrecting the inn with tact and skill.

But Emily has a secret. It's not only the need to provide for herself and her orphaned siblings that has brought her to Devon. She's surreptitiously searching for a family treasure hidden in the village, the only clues to its location a cryptic rhyme handed down through the generations. Emily is determined to solve the puzzle, find the treasure, and reinstate her family to its rightful place in society.

But Em hasn't bargained on Jonas. His experience is temptation, his attentions irresistible, and he's determined to aid her in her quest. He eventually persuades her to trust him, and together they unravel the clues. But someone else is watching, waiting, and once the family legacy is unearthed, the villain strikes, threatening Em, her family, and the love she and Jonas have discovered in each other's arms.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career. Her novels set in Regency England have captivated readers around the globe, making her one of the romance world's most beloved and popular authors. Laurens lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband and two daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1 edition (February 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006124340X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061243400
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,506 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 17 in The Cynster Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I really wanted to love this book......, March 15, 2009

By	C. Gross - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm so glad I borrowed this from our library and didn't pay purchase price. I love(d) Stephanie Laurens and couldn't wait for this Cynster novel to come out.

What I found was a main character believable for a heroine in this century, not 18th century, nor was there good character development. And by the end of the book, I think I would have screamed if I read about her "Colyton spirit" once more.

Gratuitous sex scenes, pages and pages, over and over, which I just wound up skipping over....several seemed identical (or extremely similar) to previous works. We got the picture. The more you run over a dead cat the flatter it gets. The scenes should enhance, not detract, from the story line.

The treasure "hunt" was somewhat entertaining, but also somewhat predictable.

I did finish it and will probably continue to check her books out of the library as published...for now. I think for me the Cynsters may be reaching the end of the line, though. It just felt that this was written to succumb to publisher pressure. I didn't feel the great writing that I have come to expect, and I was very disappointed. And saddened.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Did not finish, March 11, 2009

By	romance reader (N.Y., N.Y.) - See all my reviews

I agree with the reviewer who gave this book one star. Had I never read Stephanie Laurens, I might have thought differently. I have read every one of her books, and they are now very predictable, and the sex scenes are interchangeable. These scenes go on forever and could have been written for any one of her more recent titles.

Midway through, I decided it was not worth my time, and I did not finish the book.

I am disappointed because I use to relish the Cynster novels.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An innkeeper and a treasure hunt, March 10, 2009

By	Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

'Temptation and Surrender' is another in Stephanie Laurens' Cynster series, although the hero, Jonas Tallent, is related to the Cynster clan through marriage and they play a fairly minimal part in the story. Jonas is living back out in the country near the village of Colyton and trying to get to grips with being a landowner - including finding a decent innkeeper.

When a young lady, Emily Beauregard, comes to apply for the job of innkeeper, Jonas accepts her for the position. He is immediately attracted to her and realises very early on that something doesn't quite add up about her story and her references for the job. As he gets to know Emily more he realises there is a very special spark between them, one they both feel.

But Emily and her brother and sisters have secrets that they dare not entrust to anyone else. Their arrival in Colyton isn't accidental and they hope to reverse their fortunes by finding the Colyton treasure. Only where should they look? And can Emily keep her younger siblings safe from their nasty uncle?

The romance side of this book was a very gentle falling-in-love story without the usual misunderstandings and fallings out that are so often found in this sort of story. Both hero and heroine were appealing characters and it was a gentle read. The 'baddie' wasn't at all difficult to spot and the treasure hunt felt, at times, a little half-hearted, but it was an enjoyable read and will no doubt appeal to Laurens' fans and new readers alike.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009