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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Review of the eReader version, May 28, 2008
This review is from: Where the Heart Leads: From the Casebook of Barnaby Adair (Cynster Novels) (Hardcover)
I've read all of Stephanie Lauren's novels, and I'm getting... a bit disappointed. Perhaps I've just come to expect more from her. This wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't her best or even close. I have liked Barnaby's character throughout the other novels he's appeared in, and was really looking forward to his story.
Things I liked: As others have mentioned, the mystery was a bit better than most of the others. The writing, as always is well done (although the "patience of Jove" still annoys me lol). I liked that although Barnaby felt protective, he wasn't constantly demanding that she obey him, or trying to force her to do things as he wished. He appeared to respect her opinion and listen to her comments (at least as the book got farther in).
Things I disliked: How many times do we have to hear about her "wits" and "senses"? Her "arguments" weren't really all that convincing. The near constant references to "men" being of inferior intellect. That, as another reviewer mentioned, her whole reason for pursuing a "relationship" with him was out of curiosity. That is a common theme in many of Ms. Laurens' novels, but in this case there seemed to be little else at that point.
As I said, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. I happily bought the book (electronic version), and am looking forward to more of her works (especially the Bastian Club series), but I'm pretty glad I didn't spend $25 on it.
I appreciate very much that Ms. Laurens is one of the best, most eloquent writers in the genre, and also that she has some of the steamiest sex scenes of any author. I just wasn't thrilled with this story, and would like to see more emphasis placed on "romance". I would happily read a longer novel if the quality of the mystery was equaled by the quality of the love story.
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24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fans will approve, February 8, 2008
This review is from: Where the Heart Leads: From the Casebook of Barnaby Adair (Cynster Novels) (Hardcover)
Here's the thing about Stephanie Laurens....like most other long-time romance writers, she recycles plots (or at least plot points), but so what? In her case, she has created such wonderful characters amongst all her books in print (especially, for me, the Cynsters and their cohorts), that I don't much care about the repetition. I like her people, like spending time with them, and let's get honest here...Ms. Laurens does one important thing really well (actually she does several, but we'll focus on the obvious for a moment). She writes great sex scenes, and isn't that what we're looking for, ladies? Can we not be more honest than the men who claim to buy Playboy magazine for the articles?
She leaves little to the imagination, however she never makes me cringe. And compared to what's come from the pens (make that computers) of some of my other favorite authors lately (Garwood, McGregor, Kleypas, et al), this book is a bloody masterpiece.
I loved the character of Penelope in earlier books and always wondered how she would turn out as an adult. And Barnaby has also made some memorable appearances in earlier books. So seeing the two of them brought together, in a plausible and interesting way, while enlarging and enhancing them as characters (both individually and as a couple) has made for a darn good read. Plus the plot was different, interesting and believable vis a vis the characters. Not another "met one night at a masked ball, never forgot", or "forced into marriage of convenience, then fall in love", or whatever seems to be the favorite this past year.
Anyway, I enjoyed this, more so I believe for having read the earlier books. It can stand on its own, but why let it when reading the earlier Cynster stuff is well worth the trip? Thanks Stephanie.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Upstairs/Downstairs" through Regency London, February 6, 2008
This review is from: Where the Heart Leads: From the Casebook of Barnaby Adair (Cynster Novels) (Hardcover)
This was a really enjoyable story with two major threads, a major and a minor romance and a murder/kidnapping mystery with an unusual mix of characters from different social levels in society. More time in the book is actually given to the murder/kidnapping story where various young orphan boys are kidnapped before being taken to a Foundling Home in order to be trained as Burglar's Boys. Penelope Ashford, the administrator of the Foundling Home and the daughter of a Viscount, takes upon herself to investigate the disappearance of the boys. She knows she doesn't have the skills herself, although she has plenty of courage and energy, but she knows that Barnaby Adair, third son of an Earl, is known for investigating crimes and having links with the Police. She goes to Barnaby and persuades him to help her to find the boys, and thus starts this enjoyable plot.
Barnaby assumes that he can 'handle' Penelope but she soon confounds his ideas and expectations and he ends up working alongside her, sometimes following in her wake. Their attraction to each other becomes apparent but Penelope is dead set against marriage and so Barnaby has to use all his guile and his understanding of her nature to try to change her mind. There's a secondary romance between a policeman and his informant which is also sweet and well-written and an interesting insight into life for the middle classes and working classes in Regency London.
All the characters in this story are well drawn, ranging from the main characters to the dying mother of a young boy, and Laurens' pacing is always excellent. The point of view sometimes changes unexpectedly mid-text which can be a bit confusing and the historical detail is a bit suspect in that our heroine seems to be able to gad about all over the place without anyone noticing she's unchaperoned. However the story wouldn't work well if she was constantly under the surveillance of her parents so it's an acceptable fudge of historicity to further the plot. All in all this was a really enjoyable read with the kidnapping plot adding spice to the story.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008
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