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Cynster #5
A Secret Love
All of Regency London knows that no Cynster male would ever walk away from a lady in distress...but their protection can come at a tantalizingly high price. And now, Stephanie Laurens has created her boldest Cynster yet--Gabriel--a man who has known the pleasure of many women, but who has given his heart to no one.
She was desperate for his help...When a mysterious lady, her face hidden by a black veil, begs Gabriel Cynster for his help, he cannot refuse her plea. For despite her disguise, Gabriel finds the woman alluring and he is powerless to deny her. But he exacts payment as only a Cynster would demand: with each piece of information he uncovers, she must pay him--in the form of a kiss.
He was powerless to resist...
Lady Alathea Morwellan knows Gabriel is intrigued, but despite the sparks that fly between them, they have never passed a civil moment together. Yet as the stakes get higher, so does Gabriel's desire for payment. And with each overpowering kiss, each passionate embrace, Alathea knows that she will not be able to resist his ultimate seduction...but what will happen when she reveals the truth?
She was desperate for his help...When a mysterious lady, her face hidden by a black veil, begs Gabriel Cynster for his help, he cannot refuse her plea. For despite her disguise, Gabriel finds the woman alluring and he is powerless to deny her. But he exacts payment as only a Cynster would demand: with each piece of information he uncovers, she must pay him--in the form of a kiss.
He was powerless to resist...
Lady Alathea Morwellan knows Gabriel is intrigued, but despite the sparks that fly between them, they have never passed a civil moment together. Yet as the stakes get higher, so does Gabriel's desire for payment. And with each overpowering kiss, each passionate embrace, Alathea knows that she will not be able to resist his ultimate seduction...but what will happen when she reveals the truth?
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 3, 2000
368 people are currently reading
3451 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Laurens
206 books5,589 followersStephanie Laurens was born in Sri Lanka, which was at the time the British colony of Ceylon. When she was 5, her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she was raised. After continuing through school and earning a Ph.D. in Biochemistry in Australia, Stephanie and her husband moved to Great Britain, taking one of the last true overland journeys from Katmandu to London.
Once in London, Stephanie and her husband both began work as research scientists in Kent. They lived in an area surrounded by history. Their own cottage was built in the 16th century, while next door were the protected ruins of an early Roman villa, and nearby was a 14th century castle.
After four years in England, Stephanie and her husband returned to Australia, where she continued to work in cancer research, eventually heading her own research laboratory. One evening Stephanie realized that she did not have any more of her favorite romance novels to read. After years of thinking about writing her own novel, during nights and weekends for the next several months, she began crafting her own story. That manuscript, Tangled Reins, was the first of her books to be published. After achieving a level of success with her novels, Stephanie "retired" from scientific research and became a full-time novelist. Her novels are primarily historical romances set in the Regency time period.
Stephanie and her husband live on peaceful acreage on the outskirts of Melbourne. If she isn't writing, she's reading, and if she's not reading, she's tending her garden.
Once in London, Stephanie and her husband both began work as research scientists in Kent. They lived in an area surrounded by history. Their own cottage was built in the 16th century, while next door were the protected ruins of an early Roman villa, and nearby was a 14th century castle.
After four years in England, Stephanie and her husband returned to Australia, where she continued to work in cancer research, eventually heading her own research laboratory. One evening Stephanie realized that she did not have any more of her favorite romance novels to read. After years of thinking about writing her own novel, during nights and weekends for the next several months, she began crafting her own story. That manuscript, Tangled Reins, was the first of her books to be published. After achieving a level of success with her novels, Stephanie "retired" from scientific research and became a full-time novelist. Her novels are primarily historical romances set in the Regency time period.
Stephanie and her husband live on peaceful acreage on the outskirts of Melbourne. If she isn't writing, she's reading, and if she's not reading, she's tending her garden.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 344 reviews
January 30, 2019
Book 5 in the Cynster series focuses on Alathea and Gabriel Cynster. I gave this a 2 star rating which may be a harsh rating but I was so disappointed with this book! I'm disappointed with myself for being disappointed!! I just didn't connect with the story at all! Which is such a shame as I really enjoyed book 4 and was looking forward to the rest of the series, I thought "finally I am looking forward to what comes next" and then I read this.
I think the whole reason I didn't connect with this story is that I found it so ridiculous. Alathea is a lovely character, she had so much potential but as the story went on I just thought how silly she was? Gabriel was no better, he is supposed to be this alpha male protector and described as a 'knight', seems to me to be a bit dense. How can you not realise who you are kissing, let alone being intimate with and not know it is your childhood friend? Urgh also, only in a romance novel would someone have sex and not know there identity, anyone could be under there?! Here is another question, why do all the men in this series have a problem admitting they love the girl. After asking them to marry and give themselves to the man would it be too much to ask just for them to say from the off they love her?
I was so put off by the first half of this book the ending could not even revive the story. Now the ending was good, some I did not expect, but by that point the damage was done. One thing I could not comprehend was why it took Chillingworth so long to step in. I won't say much more as I do not want to spoil it but those that have read it will know what I mean. I do feel bad giving this 2 stars but come on, can we have a romance story that isn't so fancy pancy and so predictable? Stephanie writes a good sex scene I will give her that, she encapsulates the passion so well, but the fluffyness around it needs to step up to match the raunchy bits. Maybe Lucifer will be bring more to the plate, I shall keep you posted.
I think the whole reason I didn't connect with this story is that I found it so ridiculous. Alathea is a lovely character, she had so much potential but as the story went on I just thought how silly she was? Gabriel was no better, he is supposed to be this alpha male protector and described as a 'knight', seems to me to be a bit dense. How can you not realise who you are kissing, let alone being intimate with and not know it is your childhood friend? Urgh also, only in a romance novel would someone have sex and not know there identity, anyone could be under there?! Here is another question, why do all the men in this series have a problem admitting they love the girl. After asking them to marry and give themselves to the man would it be too much to ask just for them to say from the off they love her?
I was so put off by the first half of this book the ending could not even revive the story. Now the ending was good, some I did not expect, but by that point the damage was done. One thing I could not comprehend was why it took Chillingworth so long to step in. I won't say much more as I do not want to spoil it but those that have read it will know what I mean. I do feel bad giving this 2 stars but come on, can we have a romance story that isn't so fancy pancy and so predictable? Stephanie writes a good sex scene I will give her that, she encapsulates the passion so well, but the fluffyness around it needs to step up to match the raunchy bits. Maybe Lucifer will be bring more to the plate, I shall keep you posted.
November 8, 2018
Gabriel's sexy widow has him all hot and bothered!!
Lady Alathea
This book had great promise and the first 50% was wonderful as Lady Alathea disguised as a widower seeks the help of Gabriel. Gabriel was immediately intrigued and determined to seduce the sexy widow.
The story loses steam and passion once Gabriel discovers the identity of the widow.
Gabriel turned out to be one of my least favorite Cynsters. He admits to himself that he is a coward for demanding that Alathea tell him she loves him, yet he's afraid to confess his feelings for her. He cops out by writing her a note. Gabriel doesn't match up to the other Cynsteys that have stolen my heart with heartfelt declarations of love. He goes on to tell his heroine that he may never say the words, but that he will feel them forever! WTH?? I. Just. Can't. Not very mature!!!
This one gets 3.0 "Grow the F*ck up" stars!!
Lady Alathea
This book had great promise and the first 50% was wonderful as Lady Alathea disguised as a widower seeks the help of Gabriel. Gabriel was immediately intrigued and determined to seduce the sexy widow.
The story loses steam and passion once Gabriel discovers the identity of the widow.
Gabriel turned out to be one of my least favorite Cynsters. He admits to himself that he is a coward for demanding that Alathea tell him she loves him, yet he's afraid to confess his feelings for her. He cops out by writing her a note. Gabriel doesn't match up to the other Cynsteys that have stolen my heart with heartfelt declarations of love. He goes on to tell his heroine that he may never say the words, but that he will feel them forever! WTH?? I. Just. Can't. Not very mature!!!
This one gets 3.0 "Grow the F*ck up" stars!!
February 10, 2017
Wow! I loved it so much!!! I knew I was going to love this one and I was right.
Contrary to its predecessors, Gabriel's book started off differently. Rather than the usual Cynster male meeting his mate and holding onto her, the heroine was the one who summoned the hero. Gabriel did not know that the veiled countess who asked for his help was his childhood friend, Alathea. Of course, Gabriel being a Cynster male, we all knew where a midnight encounter with a veiled widow would eventually lead.
Like her servants, I could not understand why Alathea did not go to Gabriel personally for help. Her family pride prevented her from divulging her family's financial problems to Gabriel, but he was still a trusted childhood friend. However, unlike her easy sisterly companionship with Lucifer, she always crossed swords with Gabriel because the latter is always tensed around her (it was especially cute to see him flustered, blushing and awkward around her after the horses incident). Despite her unwillingness to ask Gabriel for help as herself, I allowed myself to believe in Alathea's motives and let the story unfold as Gabriel and the countess's consequent meetings got more and more heated.
One of my favourite tropes is the love/hate trope and Ms. Laurens used this trope uniquely in this novel by introducing the veiled countess into the equation. I was hoping for Gabriel to find out about Alathea sooner, but the moment of reveal and the romance that bloomed afterwards was so well-written that it made up for my moment of disappointment.
"I didn't know what the feeling was until after that night at the Burlington, but it isn't something that only recently evolved. It's been there, between us, growing stronger for over twenty years. If our parents hadn't set us up as brother and sister, that feeling would long since have resolved itself in marriage. As it is, your masquerade has opened our eyes and given us a chance to rescript our relationship into what it ought to be."
This quote essentially covers what I suspected ever since Gabriel saw Alathea in London. He was always so tensed around her and it reminded me so much of his cousins' reactions to their wives. I initially thought that the reason Gabriel had not acted on his instincts was because he is aloof and distanced, like his mother said. But as I kept reading, I found myself surprised at the fact that Gabriel's mom never considered matching Alathea with either of her sons. Lucifer's surprise over Gabriel and Alathea only confirmed the fact that they were brought up as "siblings". I also really enjoyed the tidbits from their childhood, which showed that both Alathea and Gabriel were aware of each other when puberty hit them. This only strengthened Gabriel's point and emphasized the importance of the veiled countess, which prompted them to break that barrier separating them.
Gabriel's book did not suffer from the middle slump that the previous books suffered from. I was engaged from beginning to end, my attention always on the story and the characters. This was the most romantic book in the series so far. I loved the way Gabriel realized his feelings and the way he expressed them. He was as stubborn as his cousins, but Alathea was even more stubborn than him. Their love blossomed beautifully after the unveiling of the countess and while the search for the three magic words is part of the Laurens formula, I find that it did not bother me in this book because ultimately, Gabriel's declaration was done so beautifully that it moved me. .
I think Gabriel seized Devil's position as my favourite Cynster hero. I also loved Alathea: she was strong and caring and she managed to get Gabriel and Lucifer off of the twins' backs lol. More importantly, her response to Gabriel's declaration was so beautiful. Just...everything about Gabriel and Alathea was so well done.
My review might be biased because I love the love/hate and childhood friends tropes. Personally, I think Ms. Laurens added her own twist to these tropes, and that twist is eponymous to the title of the book. A secret love, indeed, in more than one way, all thanks to the veiled countess.
P.S: As usual, Chillingworth's appearance was noteworthy. I am simply dying to read his story. But I must get through Lucifer's first. Lucifer's book sounds dreadfully similar to Demon's. I hope I end up liking Lucifer's book more than Demon's.
Contrary to its predecessors, Gabriel's book started off differently. Rather than the usual Cynster male meeting his mate and holding onto her, the heroine was the one who summoned the hero. Gabriel did not know that the veiled countess who asked for his help was his childhood friend, Alathea. Of course, Gabriel being a Cynster male, we all knew where a midnight encounter with a veiled widow would eventually lead.
Like her servants, I could not understand why Alathea did not go to Gabriel personally for help. Her family pride prevented her from divulging her family's financial problems to Gabriel, but he was still a trusted childhood friend. However, unlike her easy sisterly companionship with Lucifer, she always crossed swords with Gabriel because the latter is always tensed around her (it was especially cute to see him flustered, blushing and awkward around her after the horses incident). Despite her unwillingness to ask Gabriel for help as herself, I allowed myself to believe in Alathea's motives and let the story unfold as Gabriel and the countess's consequent meetings got more and more heated.
One of my favourite tropes is the love/hate trope and Ms. Laurens used this trope uniquely in this novel by introducing the veiled countess into the equation. I was hoping for Gabriel to find out about Alathea sooner, but the moment of reveal and the romance that bloomed afterwards was so well-written that it made up for my moment of disappointment.
"I didn't know what the feeling was until after that night at the Burlington, but it isn't something that only recently evolved. It's been there, between us, growing stronger for over twenty years. If our parents hadn't set us up as brother and sister, that feeling would long since have resolved itself in marriage. As it is, your masquerade has opened our eyes and given us a chance to rescript our relationship into what it ought to be."
This quote essentially covers what I suspected ever since Gabriel saw Alathea in London. He was always so tensed around her and it reminded me so much of his cousins' reactions to their wives. I initially thought that the reason Gabriel had not acted on his instincts was because he is aloof and distanced, like his mother said. But as I kept reading, I found myself surprised at the fact that Gabriel's mom never considered matching Alathea with either of her sons. Lucifer's surprise over Gabriel and Alathea only confirmed the fact that they were brought up as "siblings". I also really enjoyed the tidbits from their childhood, which showed that both Alathea and Gabriel were aware of each other when puberty hit them. This only strengthened Gabriel's point and emphasized the importance of the veiled countess, which prompted them to break that barrier separating them.
Gabriel's book did not suffer from the middle slump that the previous books suffered from. I was engaged from beginning to end, my attention always on the story and the characters. This was the most romantic book in the series so far. I loved the way Gabriel realized his feelings and the way he expressed them. He was as stubborn as his cousins, but Alathea was even more stubborn than him. Their love blossomed beautifully after the unveiling of the countess and while the search for the three magic words is part of the Laurens formula, I find that it did not bother me in this book because ultimately, Gabriel's declaration was done so beautifully that it moved me. .
I think Gabriel seized Devil's position as my favourite Cynster hero. I also loved Alathea: she was strong and caring and she managed to get Gabriel and Lucifer off of the twins' backs lol. More importantly, her response to Gabriel's declaration was so beautiful. Just...everything about Gabriel and Alathea was so well done.
My review might be biased because I love the love/hate and childhood friends tropes. Personally, I think Ms. Laurens added her own twist to these tropes, and that twist is eponymous to the title of the book. A secret love, indeed, in more than one way, all thanks to the veiled countess.
P.S: As usual, Chillingworth's appearance was noteworthy. I am simply dying to read his story. But I must get through Lucifer's first. Lucifer's book sounds dreadfully similar to Demon's. I hope I end up liking Lucifer's book more than Demon's.
June 27, 2016
LORD I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!
Alathea, the ideal daughter, has given up her dreams and become a spinster to help her family. When she finds them in financial ruin, she decides to pretend to be a widow countess and take help from her childhood friend turned nemesis, Gabriel under a disguise, and what follows is a beautiful love story.
I loved the chemistry, the deception, the strength of the characters, and ofcourse their very hot lovemaking scenes. I especially enjoyed once Gabriel realizes his feelings for her *le sigh*
I was trying to find the spark I had felt in Honoria and Devil's book- and I FINALLY did!
Safe read.
5/5
Alathea, the ideal daughter, has given up her dreams and become a spinster to help her family. When she finds them in financial ruin, she decides to pretend to be a widow countess and take help from her childhood friend turned nemesis, Gabriel under a disguise, and what follows is a beautiful love story.
I loved the chemistry, the deception, the strength of the characters, and ofcourse their very hot lovemaking scenes. I especially enjoyed once Gabriel realizes his feelings for her *le sigh*
I was trying to find the spark I had felt in Honoria and Devil's book- and I FINALLY did!
Safe read.
5/5
November 6, 2012
A three-star rating for a book I didn't finish? Really?
Well, the thing is that this book was pretty darn good for the first 3/4 or so. Then it was done, but the author didn't seem aware of the fact. I tried to stay with her throughout all the tedious questing for the three magic words, but there were only so many times and so many ways the heroine could say (or think), "He's honorable, passionate, sexy, a great friend, and I love him but he hasn't said he loved me so I can't marry him" before I decided it was best to stop reading before my fond memories of the first part of the book were overrun with the obnoxiousness of the final chapters. I figure at some point the bad guy will threaten her, Gabriel will rescue her, the fact that he almost lost her will show him as nothing else apparently could that she really is the love of his life, and they'll live HEA. At least, that's how Laurens's books usually end. :)
In the meantime, I recommend the first 3/4 of this book to romance readers, especially Stephanie Laurens fans.
Well, the thing is that this book was pretty darn good for the first 3/4 or so. Then it was done, but the author didn't seem aware of the fact. I tried to stay with her throughout all the tedious questing for the three magic words, but there were only so many times and so many ways the heroine could say (or think), "He's honorable, passionate, sexy, a great friend, and I love him but he hasn't said he loved me so I can't marry him" before I decided it was best to stop reading before my fond memories of the first part of the book were overrun with the obnoxiousness of the final chapters. I figure at some point the bad guy will threaten her, Gabriel will rescue her, the fact that he almost lost her will show him as nothing else apparently could that she really is the love of his life, and they'll live HEA. At least, that's how Laurens's books usually end. :)
In the meantime, I recommend the first 3/4 of this book to romance readers, especially Stephanie Laurens fans.
January 3, 2021
4.5 stars
there's something about this book that makes me reread it every couple of months. i can't pinpoint exactly what it is because most of the cynster books are mildly irritating to read and have mostly the exact same formula, but gabriel and alathea have a really fascinating dynamic and i love their backstory.
i had this rated as 3 stars before, but a book that i've reread and enjoyed at least 3x deserves a higher rating from me. it's definitely one of my comfort HR books that i can always go back to.
tropes: childhood friends, family friends, estranged relationship, secret identity
↬ the main reason i can't give it 5 stars is because i wish their childhood bond had been explored more as the small flashbacks we got were amazing. also, i wish there was more elaboration on their relationship from teens to late 20s because they were growing apart during this time. less focus on the secret identity aspect and more focus on their earlier relationship!
there's something about this book that makes me reread it every couple of months. i can't pinpoint exactly what it is because most of the cynster books are mildly irritating to read and have mostly the exact same formula, but gabriel and alathea have a really fascinating dynamic and i love their backstory.
i had this rated as 3 stars before, but a book that i've reread and enjoyed at least 3x deserves a higher rating from me. it's definitely one of my comfort HR books that i can always go back to.
tropes: childhood friends, family friends, estranged relationship, secret identity
↬ the main reason i can't give it 5 stars is because i wish their childhood bond had been explored more as the small flashbacks we got were amazing. also, i wish there was more elaboration on their relationship from teens to late 20s because they were growing apart during this time. less focus on the secret identity aspect and more focus on their earlier relationship!
March 11, 2021
Another great entry to this series.
Gabriel had my heart beating so fast a few times.
This friends to lovers story had me squealing and sighing as any good romance does.
The ruse that brings them together in a new way was clever and sexy as hell.
But it was even better when it exploded and all the truth comes out.
5 stars
Gabriel had my heart beating so fast a few times.
This friends to lovers story had me squealing and sighing as any good romance does.
The ruse that brings them together in a new way was clever and sexy as hell.
But it was even better when it exploded and all the truth comes out.
5 stars
January 28, 2022
A bit stupid, a convoluted middle and an anti-climactic end. Typical Cynster's book.
She writes pages long steamy interactions but they are so weirdly located. The passages about the ton and all their parties were awfully dull. Don't also buy H's love after he shows no interest in her for 11 years despite meeting her all the time.
She writes pages long steamy interactions but they are so weirdly located. The passages about the ton and all their parties were awfully dull. Don't also buy H's love after he shows no interest in her for 11 years despite meeting her all the time.
May 30, 2019
REREAD: May 2019
Just as fabulous as the first time. Swoony friends to lovers with mystery and intrigue. All the stars.
Just as fabulous as the first time. Swoony friends to lovers with mystery and intrigue. All the stars.
February 7, 2015
3.5 stars
October 24, 2012
Once again continuing on with the Cynster family with some friends in Romance Lovers for the Challenge-Impaired. We're talking about it over here. I was again hoping to be impressed, but Gabriel was really just another Cynster like the others before him. Same type. Sure, I imagined him as all sexy and stuff, but as far as his high-handedness and controlling ways, yep, he's a Cynster. Not necessarily a bad thing, the whole family has these similar traits, but Gabriel wasn't my favorite. Alathea wasn't a favorite either. I think Flick still holds that place right now in this series. But Alathea was a good person, and she was nice. I didn't not like her. She was just a little vanilla. The love scenes in this one too were kinda vanilla, not as exciting as in #4 to me. Maybe that's because the book I read right before this one was more on the erotic side. I can't say for sure. But it just wasn't as exciting. I did really like the mystery bit, trying to figure out what the truth was behind this bogus investing in fake gold mines in Africa, and get the proof to bring them down before they could ruin Alathea's family. That was nice, learning a little of the explorers and stuff back then. But only a very, very little, like when Alathea was speaking to Captain Struthers and researching in the library. Really, I could've went for more info there. But there was some of stuff that was unbelievable too, like the fact that Alathea's father would just hand over the family's financial reins to his 18 year-old daughter, and that she'd run the books ever after that, and that the other men, the steward/solicitor/agent type people that she had to deal with in that course would just all be ok with it too. But I could set that aside. Another thing that bugged me (and this is probably just something that maybe missed the editor's attention or something) but all throughout the book, Alathea's siblings are referred to as her step-siblings, even though in more than one place in the book, the children are described as having inherited looks and personality traits of both Alathea's father, and her step-mother. So wouldn't that make them her half-siblings? That bugged me! The fact that Alathea was older was all right though, it was nice that she didn't have to be kept all watched over like a young miss, she had a little more freedom. And the way she cared for her family was nice. In that way, she was a perfect mate for a Cynster, what with their focus on family and everything. But the whole disguise of being 'the countess'. I dunno. It was interesting, but I had a hard time believing he wouldn't recognize her sooner. I mean, a veil isn't totally obscuring, at least not that type of veil... but they did meet usually in the dark, so I guess that was acceptable. I was a little shocked when they made love the first time without him knowing or finding out who she was. When he did find out it was her, he was mad, but not really as mad as I thought he'd be. Then he all demands she marry him, and when she pushes for a declaration of love, he says, 'We've wasted enough time.' Jerk. Then after that they find themselves in bed, after she's agreed to marry him and he demands that she tell him that she loves him. He makes her say it. I was about to climb in there and smack him in the mouth. But then he said it to her, at long last, and it wasn't super-romantic, but it was kinda cute, and I liked it. But I liked his notes. First, with her flowers, when he simply said 'You have my heart, don't break it.' And then the note he sent her on the day of her wedding that simply said 'I love you.' (After the time he said it in bed lol). But it was sweet. Like it was tough for him to say it, but he did, for her. And that was great. Of course everything turned out for the Alathea's family in the end (despite Alathea losing her brains for a moment there and going off alone with some sailors to the docks to go into the hold of a ship... geez, just when I was thinking she was the smart one), they saved the fortune, her two sisters got married to two nice guys who were best friends, and other people who would've been hurt by the villains were saved too. All in a day's work huh. I was sad that poor Captain Struthers didn't make it, he was interesting in the wee little bit I got to see him, only to be killed off so soon. But ah, Chillingworth. Chillingworth! He played a bit in this book, and it was excellent, especially towards the end. I so freakin' totally cannot wait until we get to his book. It'd better be good! Lucifer's up next. He thinks he's gonna escape his destiny to be the next wedded Cynster, but he's foolish, he should know running away isn't going to save him. It didn't save Vane or Demon, it ain't gonna save him. I'm not sure what to think of Lucifer yet. I'm hoping he'll be fascinating, but I just don't know yet. We'll see next month :)
July 5, 2012
Oh My Books!
I believe this is my first book from Stephanie Laurens, pero now I know why she's one of the favorite historical romance writers.
Alathea Morwellan has a huge problem. Her family's fortune is on danger. She's the only one who can save her family, like always, but she knows she need help from her friend, Gabriel Cynster.
Gabriel Cynster is, like every Cynster, looking for adventure. When a sexy woman asks for his help, he's is glad to help receiving kisses for payment. He doesn't know who she is, doesn't even think she's the same boring Alathea, but between kisses and an special perfume, he's going to get the surprise of his life.
I liked Alathea and Gabriel together. They were a hot couple, although I wanted them to realize they were made for each other sooner. I liked Gabriel's protectiveness and Alathea's character, but I got tired of the business they were trying to discover together to maintain Alathea's fortune. They concentrated to much on it and I wanted more acting between them, but in the end I liked how their relationship developed.
Although I felt it was a little bit longer than necessary, I enjoyed A Secret Love and Stephanie Laurens is on my good list of historical romance authors. I'm new to the Cynster series, but I'd like to read all the books. What do you think? Have you read the Cynster series?
I believe this is my first book from Stephanie Laurens, pero now I know why she's one of the favorite historical romance writers.
Alathea Morwellan has a huge problem. Her family's fortune is on danger. She's the only one who can save her family, like always, but she knows she need help from her friend, Gabriel Cynster.
Gabriel Cynster is, like every Cynster, looking for adventure. When a sexy woman asks for his help, he's is glad to help receiving kisses for payment. He doesn't know who she is, doesn't even think she's the same boring Alathea, but between kisses and an special perfume, he's going to get the surprise of his life.
I liked Alathea and Gabriel together. They were a hot couple, although I wanted them to realize they were made for each other sooner. I liked Gabriel's protectiveness and Alathea's character, but I got tired of the business they were trying to discover together to maintain Alathea's fortune. They concentrated to much on it and I wanted more acting between them, but in the end I liked how their relationship developed.
Although I felt it was a little bit longer than necessary, I enjoyed A Secret Love and Stephanie Laurens is on my good list of historical romance authors. I'm new to the Cynster series, but I'd like to read all the books. What do you think? Have you read the Cynster series?
September 12, 2009
Loved it!!! Definitely 5 stars ++!!! Devil may be my favorite Cynster, but so far this is my favorite story. I've always liked childhood friends turning to sweethearts because in those old relationships, new things could be discovered. I don't mean offense to the author but this heroine has the most beautiful name, and I loved her character too. Gabriel, in terms of nicknames, has the most angelic one as it does not concern anything evil unlike the other Bar Cynsters (Devil, Scandal, Demon, Lucifer), Vane is just neutral-sounding. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series and delight on how one by one they fall in love and get married, especially those who tried to run away from it but ended up facing it. The side story in here gets suspenseful in the end. I liked how Gabriel and Alathea's relationship blossomed not just because of a certain circumstance; both are headstrong and they're only a year apart in age and that gives them the understanding of each one's thoughts. Both of them have fears on commitment but how Gabriel risked being vulnerable was really touching. Cynsters really show their love, rather than say it and I find that endearing. Their relationship really took time, nothing was rushed and the way their feelings were described was heartfelt and vivid. No need to mention that Stephanie Laurens is one of my favorite authors in this genre.
February 3, 2018
It took me a while to get into the story. The truth is it was boring as hell for the first few chapters and the plot wasn't really making that much sense to me.
Then, it started to get a bit better. I started to enjoy the interaction between the characters and the weird relationship they had. It somewhat began to make a little sense and everything went well for a part of the book... UNTIL it all went downhill once more...
-*Spoiler alert*-
As soon as Gabriel finds out who the Countess really is, their relationship completely changes... but not in a good way. Lets just say that whatever made them an interesting couple isn't there anymore. The story just moves on to the typical discussion of marriage. You guessed it! He insists they get married, but of course won't admit that he loves her, and she won't have him until he says he loves her... and that keeps going on and on through pages and pages...
And we all know how that's going to end, don't we?
Conclusion? I wouldn't waste my time with this book a second time.
UPDATE: Btw, this is my first book by Stephanie Laurens and I own quite a lot from her, so I really hope this isn't one of her best works.
Then, it started to get a bit better. I started to enjoy the interaction between the characters and the weird relationship they had. It somewhat began to make a little sense and everything went well for a part of the book... UNTIL it all went downhill once more...
-*Spoiler alert*-
As soon as Gabriel finds out who the Countess really is, their relationship completely changes... but not in a good way. Lets just say that whatever made them an interesting couple isn't there anymore. The story just moves on to the typical discussion of marriage. You guessed it! He insists they get married, but of course won't admit that he loves her, and she won't have him until he says he loves her... and that keeps going on and on through pages and pages...
And we all know how that's going to end, don't we?
Conclusion? I wouldn't waste my time with this book a second time.
UPDATE: Btw, this is my first book by Stephanie Laurens and I own quite a lot from her, so I really hope this isn't one of her best works.
November 8, 2014
Dammnit I really wanted to like this...but it is missing that romance and that spark, and that magic that draws me in and makes me care for the characters. It feels like I am reading a poorly scripted soap opera - and people are going through the motions but there is little to anchor them emotionally. I can see where I am supposed to feel the passion - but I don't - I just want to get it over with.
September 29, 2014
Author: Stephanie Laurens
First published: 2000
Length: 374 pages
Setting: London, 1820 (Regency).
Sex: Explicit. Reasonably frequent. Appropriate for the storyline.
Hero:
Heroine:
Ah, that's better. This is what a good regency romance should be.
A good story with hot sex that's appropriate to the (more mature) characters. A believable romance with an HEA we know will last. Two strong individuals who, together, are more.
Back to the quality of Devil's Bride.
Cynster Family Saga Series, Bar Cynster:
Book 1 Devil's Bride (1998) - Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby and Sylvester "Devil" Cynster, Duke of St. Ives, Aug 1818.
Book 2 A Rake's Vow (1998) - Spencer "Vane" Cynster and Patience Debbington, Oct 1819
Book 3 Scandal's Bride (1999) - Catriona Hennessy and Richard "Scandal" Cynster, Dec 1819
Book 4 A Rogue's Proposal (1999) - Harold "Demon" Cynster and Felicity "Flick" Parteger, Mar 1820
Book 5 A Secret Love (2000) - Rupert "Gabriel" Cynster and Alathea Morwellan, Apr 1820
Book 6 All About Love (2001) - Alasdair "Lucifer" Cynster and Phyllida Tallent, Jun 1820
References:
Author's website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/
(ISBN 978-0-380-80570-9)
-CR-
First published: 2000
Length: 374 pages
Setting: London, 1820 (Regency).
Sex: Explicit. Reasonably frequent. Appropriate for the storyline.
Hero:
Heroine:
Ah, that's better. This is what a good regency romance should be.
A good story with hot sex that's appropriate to the (more mature) characters. A believable romance with an HEA we know will last. Two strong individuals who, together, are more.
Back to the quality of Devil's Bride.
Cynster Family Saga Series, Bar Cynster:
Book 1 Devil's Bride (1998) - Honoria Anstruther-Wetherby and Sylvester "Devil" Cynster, Duke of St. Ives, Aug 1818.
Book 2 A Rake's Vow (1998) - Spencer "Vane" Cynster and Patience Debbington, Oct 1819
Book 3 Scandal's Bride (1999) - Catriona Hennessy and Richard "Scandal" Cynster, Dec 1819
Book 4 A Rogue's Proposal (1999) - Harold "Demon" Cynster and Felicity "Flick" Parteger, Mar 1820
Book 5 A Secret Love (2000) - Rupert "Gabriel" Cynster and Alathea Morwellan, Apr 1820
Book 6 All About Love (2001) - Alasdair "Lucifer" Cynster and Phyllida Tallent, Jun 1820
References:
Author's website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/
(ISBN 978-0-380-80570-9)
-CR-
November 12, 2025
2,5.
Es que ya me canso las protagonistas,que no se quieren casar. Y en este caso se conocían de chicos,es decir no eran desconocidos.
Es que ya me canso las protagonistas,que no se quieren casar. Y en este caso se conocían de chicos,es decir no eran desconocidos.
July 22, 2025
20 April 2015: Ah re-read time. I've just read through my previous review (please see below) and most of my points still hold valid. However, I am moved this time round to point out that Gabriel (bless him) must be incredibly stupid. You meet a mysterious "countess", you are fairly sure she is lying about a lot of things but for some reason you take her word she is a widowed countess and don't question it. OK. But then you realise she looks really familiar. She is very tall, unusually so, and you know her from your circle of friends/acquaintances. Why not look and go - so the countess and Alathea are around the same height and build. The countess has stepdaughters called Maria and Alicia and Alathea has stepsisters called Mary and Alice. Why it took him so long to figure out is beyond me.
That said I enjoyed this book just as much today as I did two years ago. And I will probably enjoy it again on the next re-read. Her heroes might not always be the brightest but Stephanie Laurens does write plots, and romances that hold my interest.
8 December 2013: Definitely one of my favourites of the series so far. Its impossible to choose one favourite because they are all so good.
Alathea was a decidedly different heroine from the normal ones. Apart from her determination to marry for love, and her unwillingness to do as she was told. Unlike the other Cynster wives, she was well acquainted with the Cynsters- particularly Gabriel. And it was that level of knowledge that initially prevented them getting to know each other in a romantic sense. However, once they got to the point things heated up pretty fast.
Cynster men are incredibly quick to surrender to love. They run away from it, they announce they will never marry, and then one storm, one compromising situation, one lady in a veil and they are done for. They give in so very easily. Which does make them slightly predictable. I hate to say it but I am looking forward to the books moving on to men of different families. Such as Chillingworth who, despite being an honorary Cynster, is also quite clearly different to them.
The adventure side of this book was, as always, excellent. I really admire the way Stephanie Laurens adds that excitement side to her books so that they are not just romance. In this one there were a lot of things that probably wouldn't make much sense today. The promissory notes would, I think, be more easily overturned today than then when proof of the company being fake was needed. Now I think it would be more likely that proof of the company existing would be needed to uphold the IOU and without it the IOU would be invalid. Which makes so much more sense to me.
The romance element of this book was also very good. Gabriel and Alathea were very comfortable with each other and I loved how well they knew each other. And yet how they admitted they had a lot to learn about each other due to their prejudging each other based on childhood acquaintance.
One thing I will say- can someone please find a better word for "bottom". Because it just sounds so silly and everytime it is used I am reduced to one of the minions from Despicable Me. Which destroys my image of myself as a reasonably mature person.
That said I enjoyed this book just as much today as I did two years ago. And I will probably enjoy it again on the next re-read. Her heroes might not always be the brightest but Stephanie Laurens does write plots, and romances that hold my interest.
8 December 2013: Definitely one of my favourites of the series so far. Its impossible to choose one favourite because they are all so good.
Alathea was a decidedly different heroine from the normal ones. Apart from her determination to marry for love, and her unwillingness to do as she was told. Unlike the other Cynster wives, she was well acquainted with the Cynsters- particularly Gabriel. And it was that level of knowledge that initially prevented them getting to know each other in a romantic sense. However, once they got to the point things heated up pretty fast.
Cynster men are incredibly quick to surrender to love. They run away from it, they announce they will never marry, and then one storm, one compromising situation, one lady in a veil and they are done for. They give in so very easily. Which does make them slightly predictable. I hate to say it but I am looking forward to the books moving on to men of different families. Such as Chillingworth who, despite being an honorary Cynster, is also quite clearly different to them.
The adventure side of this book was, as always, excellent. I really admire the way Stephanie Laurens adds that excitement side to her books so that they are not just romance. In this one there were a lot of things that probably wouldn't make much sense today. The promissory notes would, I think, be more easily overturned today than then when proof of the company being fake was needed. Now I think it would be more likely that proof of the company existing would be needed to uphold the IOU and without it the IOU would be invalid. Which makes so much more sense to me.
The romance element of this book was also very good. Gabriel and Alathea were very comfortable with each other and I loved how well they knew each other. And yet how they admitted they had a lot to learn about each other due to their prejudging each other based on childhood acquaintance.
One thing I will say- can someone please find a better word for "bottom". Because it just sounds so silly and everytime it is used I am reduced to one of the minions from Despicable Me. Which destroys my image of myself as a reasonably mature person.
January 8, 2020
Teska srca dajem 4 zvezdice, doduse jake, jer iako mi se prica svidela, kao i glavni junaci, sve vreme citanja sam imala utisak da Stephanie Laurens treba podhitno da nadje novog urednika koji ce njenih 415 strana da svede na 350 i znacajno ubrza roman. Trebalo joj je vise od 150 strana da se prica "zagreje" i da krene akcija. Ima puno suvisnih opisa i ponavljanja nekih cinjenica sve u cilju dodatnog pojasnjenja, kao da nismo u stanju da shvatimo i prvi put spomenuto. Mislim da je to generalno njen problem u serijalu, izuzimajuci prvi deo "Djavolova nevesta". On je i glavni "krivac" sto ima jos puno kredita kod mene, s obzirom da obozavam taj roman, da sam ga citala vise puta i da sam se tu i zaljubila u Cynsterove. Jer kada se vezem u prvom romanu za sve likove, onda sam radoznala da saznam sta se dalje desavalo sa svakim od njih. Ovde sam potpuno zadovoljna sa pricom o Gabrielu Cynsteru i Lady Alathei i ono sto mogu da kazem da je savrseno u knjizi, su njihove ljubavne scene, tj. erotske. Tu je Stephanie majstor da docara strastveni odnos i da nas stalno drzi u neizvesnosti sta ce se sa njima do kraja romana desavati. Dok strast izmedju glavnih junaka samo raste.... i raste, mi uzivamo u jedinstvenoj, pametnoj i isto tako samosvesnoj Alathei i isto tako ocaravajucem Gabrijelu. Ne mogu da se odlucim ko mi se vise svideo, bas divni likovi. Moram da ponovim - cista petica za erotski dozivljaj, skoro nisam procitala tako dobro napisane ljubavne scene. Samo zbog toga vredi citati ovaj roman i to kada savladate prvih 100 strana i sve komplikovane odnose sporednih likova, a ovde ih ima punoooooo! Brace, sestre, deca, tetke, majke.... skoro da mi je doslo da im napravim porodicno stablo da pohvatam ko je kome sta. Ali i to je deo sarma ovog serijala, ta velika familija koja se drzi zajedno i svi svakome pomazu, cuvaju ledja i kad je neko od njih u nevolji, priskacu bez pitanja. Videla sam da ceo serijal ima 28 delova i bas me interesuje da li ih je neko sve procitao? Za sebe znam da cu ih ipak citati do god ih Znanje prevodi.
May 7, 2021
I love the Cynster family. They are a big, loving and protective family. The male cousins, the Bar Cynster, were all confirmed bachelors until they meet their one true love. Then, they turn into over protective Neanderthals. There is just something your have got to love about these guys. Anyway, I wasn't as impressed by this book as I had been with the previous books. The touch of mystery/suspense is still here, which I really love, but this heroine, I just didn't care for. She made the hero jump through all kinds of hoops and put herself in terrible danger.
Lady Alathea Morwellan has known Gabriel Cynster her whole life and when she finds out that her family is in danger of losing everything, she can think of only one person that can help. The problem is - she doesn't think he would help her. Sooooo, she disguises herself as a mysterious widow and bets Gabriel can't turn down the challenge or the mysterious lady. Alathea soon learns that there is a price for the help Gabriel provides. Paying his price is the most sensuous experience of Alathea's life.
Keeping up the charade becomes difficult and when Gabriel discovers her true identity, he is disappointed that Alathea thought she had to go to such length. But since they could scarcely spend any time in each other's presence without bickering, well she felt justified. The plan to save her family is a dangerous one and the threat is a very real one. The price may end up being Alathea's life. 3 1/2-Stars
Lady Alathea Morwellan has known Gabriel Cynster her whole life and when she finds out that her family is in danger of losing everything, she can think of only one person that can help. The problem is - she doesn't think he would help her. Sooooo, she disguises herself as a mysterious widow and bets Gabriel can't turn down the challenge or the mysterious lady. Alathea soon learns that there is a price for the help Gabriel provides. Paying his price is the most sensuous experience of Alathea's life.
Keeping up the charade becomes difficult and when Gabriel discovers her true identity, he is disappointed that Alathea thought she had to go to such length. But since they could scarcely spend any time in each other's presence without bickering, well she felt justified. The plan to save her family is a dangerous one and the threat is a very real one. The price may end up being Alathea's life. 3 1/2-Stars
November 18, 2019
*** 3 stars ***
My first for a Stephanie Laurens book. What can I say other than that, unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. I am fairly disappointed. But it's safe to say it was an ok read. Not great. I never really felt the love or attraction between the H/h. Chemistry and sparks were missing. I also never got a chance to deeply know the characters. As a reader, I wasn't let into the heart & mind of Alathea or Gabriel. So both H & h seemed stiff like I was watching a puppet show. There was no drama at all. So it was hard to keep me highly interested, but I managed to pull it through to the end. It also wasn't realistic when Alathea played masquerade and Gabriel was intimate with someone he didn't know. This doesn't happen in real life.
And what's with the stiff dialogue? It wasn't smooth especially between H & h and seemed like it was scarce. The whole novel was mostly 3rd person narrations, and dialogue was few. There wasn't a good balance. I also didnt like too many characters. They were introduced all at beginning of storyline & made it pretty confusing & a hassle to remember who was who. This should've been done gradually.
My first for a Stephanie Laurens book. What can I say other than that, unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. I am fairly disappointed. But it's safe to say it was an ok read. Not great. I never really felt the love or attraction between the H/h. Chemistry and sparks were missing. I also never got a chance to deeply know the characters. As a reader, I wasn't let into the heart & mind of Alathea or Gabriel. So both H & h seemed stiff like I was watching a puppet show. There was no drama at all. So it was hard to keep me highly interested, but I managed to pull it through to the end. It also wasn't realistic when Alathea played masquerade and Gabriel was intimate with someone he didn't know. This doesn't happen in real life.
And what's with the stiff dialogue? It wasn't smooth especially between H & h and seemed like it was scarce. The whole novel was mostly 3rd person narrations, and dialogue was few. There wasn't a good balance. I also didnt like too many characters. They were introduced all at beginning of storyline & made it pretty confusing & a hassle to remember who was who. This should've been done gradually.
September 30, 2021
"El mensaje era simple, una línea manuscrita: Tienes mi corazón en tus manos. No lo destroces".
Este quinto libro de Los Cynster también me gustó mucho. La relación entre Alathea y Gabriel me fascinó por el hecho de que se conocían desde niños y tenían cierta tensión entre ellos que no sabían identificar pero era claro que se debía a una fuerte atracción y reconocimiento de la presencia del otro.
Me gustó que Alathea pidiera la ayuda de Gabriel de forma anónima al disfrazarse de otra persona y que él estuviera tan cautivado por esa "Condesa" pero aún así siguiera la tensión con Alathea y cuando se descubre que ambas mujeres son la misma persona, él hará lo necesario para proteger a Thea y lograr que la mujer que quiere sea suya.
Sin duda es un libro muy bonito y entretenido, a pesar de ser algo extenso me lo leí muy rápido por lo enganchada que me tenía. Fue una lectura agradable con su buena dosis de romance y drama.
Este quinto libro de Los Cynster también me gustó mucho. La relación entre Alathea y Gabriel me fascinó por el hecho de que se conocían desde niños y tenían cierta tensión entre ellos que no sabían identificar pero era claro que se debía a una fuerte atracción y reconocimiento de la presencia del otro.
Me gustó que Alathea pidiera la ayuda de Gabriel de forma anónima al disfrazarse de otra persona y que él estuviera tan cautivado por esa "Condesa" pero aún así siguiera la tensión con Alathea y cuando se descubre que ambas mujeres son la misma persona, él hará lo necesario para proteger a Thea y lograr que la mujer que quiere sea suya.
Sin duda es un libro muy bonito y entretenido, a pesar de ser algo extenso me lo leí muy rápido por lo enganchada que me tenía. Fue una lectura agradable con su buena dosis de romance y drama.
October 16, 2016
3 stars
The concept that drove this story was a little weird but I went with it. The story had a solid and entertaining beginning but somewhere around the 70% mark it all started to get boring and unbelievable, especially the ending itself. And the romance itself was just kind of meh. Ok, so it wasn't my favorite but it was ok.
The concept that drove this story was a little weird but I went with it. The story had a solid and entertaining beginning but somewhere around the 70% mark it all started to get boring and unbelievable, especially the ending itself. And the romance itself was just kind of meh. Ok, so it wasn't my favorite but it was ok.
January 18, 2015
Nice story, liking it ;)
Recommendations :D
Recommendations :D
October 27, 2020
Well...this is a thing I've read now I suppose. I can't tell if I hated it because it was bad or if I hated it because I don't like romance. Considering that this book has a high average rating (and there's ~20 books were published after this in the series!) it was probably just me. However, I literally didn't like anything about this. I was annotating it for a friend, so that was super fun, but other than that this was just complete trash. The characters, plot, and writing were all truly terrible. And I enjoy some good literary trash, so that’s saying something.
The characters were just cardboard cut-outs of a protective™ male and an independent™ female. I get that some people are into possessive, domineering love interests, but personally I find it quite gross. That's just personal taste though, so I'm sure other people really loved that about Gabriel. I was more disappointed in Alethea’s character because she had the potential to be a good character. Unfortunately, she was reduced to someone who was allegedly independent and intelligent but was also constantly doing something that Gabriel told her to do or something incredibly stupid.
Also, there was absolutely no chemistry between the main characters which is kind of a necessity given that this is a ~romance~ book. It's like the author confused bickering with chemistry. Yes, everyone likes some good banter, but not all talking is flirting. Sometimes it's just a conversation between people that don't like each other all that much. At least their bickering was somewhat amusing. The second half of this book replaced all of it with angsty conversations since neither character would say “I love you” cause of ~angst~. It got tiresome very quickly and showed that neither of these two were mature enough to get married (even though they're 30 or something?).
I'm not going to really touch on the somewhat problematic characterization and personality of the romantic lead because (1) this was written 20 years ago and (2) that's a trope in the romance genre that a lot of people really enjoy and, provided that people understand that it's not ok in real life, I don't think there's anything wrong with including it in fiction. That being said, the alpha-male archetype is not my thing and that definitely added to my lack of caring about Gabriel. Same thing goes with Alethea. She’s probably super bland because then readers can project themselves into her. I just don’t understand why people like these two, either independently or together.
Part of me wants to give this 5 stars because I had a fun time annotating it, but a bigger part of me wants to give it 1 star because it was horrible. I wasn't planning on ever reading another romance book (no offence to romance readers, it's just not my thing) but this pretty much solidified those plans.
The characters were just cardboard cut-outs of a protective™ male and an independent™ female. I get that some people are into possessive, domineering love interests, but personally I find it quite gross. That's just personal taste though, so I'm sure other people really loved that about Gabriel. I was more disappointed in Alethea’s character because she had the potential to be a good character. Unfortunately, she was reduced to someone who was allegedly independent and intelligent but was also constantly doing something that Gabriel told her to do or something incredibly stupid.
Also, there was absolutely no chemistry between the main characters which is kind of a necessity given that this is a ~romance~ book. It's like the author confused bickering with chemistry. Yes, everyone likes some good banter, but not all talking is flirting. Sometimes it's just a conversation between people that don't like each other all that much. At least their bickering was somewhat amusing. The second half of this book replaced all of it with angsty conversations since neither character would say “I love you” cause of ~angst~. It got tiresome very quickly and showed that neither of these two were mature enough to get married (even though they're 30 or something?).
I'm not going to really touch on the somewhat problematic characterization and personality of the romantic lead because (1) this was written 20 years ago and (2) that's a trope in the romance genre that a lot of people really enjoy and, provided that people understand that it's not ok in real life, I don't think there's anything wrong with including it in fiction. That being said, the alpha-male archetype is not my thing and that definitely added to my lack of caring about Gabriel. Same thing goes with Alethea. She’s probably super bland because then readers can project themselves into her. I just don’t understand why people like these two, either independently or together.
Part of me wants to give this 5 stars because I had a fun time annotating it, but a bigger part of me wants to give it 1 star because it was horrible. I wasn't planning on ever reading another romance book (no offence to romance readers, it's just not my thing) but this pretty much solidified those plans.
May 24, 2023
Very much enjoyed this one. How he finally declares his love is nearly tear inducing! chef's kiss! And then he starts calling her Thea! Be still my heart.
Lady Alathea Morwellan must save her family from the financial idiocy that is her father (after sacrificing herself just before her first season for exactly the same reason.) Not wishing anyone to know how close to insolvency the family is, especially not to an old family friend Rupert "Gabriel" Cynster, whose help is needed since discovering financial fraud is his specialty.
So Alathea approaches him in the disguise of a widowed countess needing his help, not quite thinking through that a young widow (as compared to a virgin) is exactly who a Cynster would want to seduce. Thus Cynster is attracted to this unknown countess, while also exceeding hot and bothered by Lady Alathea and her spinster's cap as she shepherds her younger step-sisters come out.
Alathea is a strong, family oriented heroine and Gabriel is another possessive, protective Cynster male willing to finally tell the woman he loves how much she means to him. Chillingsworth makes another welcome appearance as do a few of the Cynster cousins.
Obviously a few things are simply ludicrous but just roll with it and enjoy another Cynster male walking down the isle, forever in love with his wife.
Lady Alathea Morwellan must save her family from the financial idiocy that is her father (after sacrificing herself just before her first season for exactly the same reason.) Not wishing anyone to know how close to insolvency the family is, especially not to an old family friend Rupert "Gabriel" Cynster, whose help is needed since discovering financial fraud is his specialty.
So Alathea approaches him in the disguise of a widowed countess needing his help, not quite thinking through that a young widow (as compared to a virgin) is exactly who a Cynster would want to seduce. Thus Cynster is attracted to this unknown countess, while also exceeding hot and bothered by Lady Alathea and her spinster's cap as she shepherds her younger step-sisters come out.
Alathea is a strong, family oriented heroine and Gabriel is another possessive, protective Cynster male willing to finally tell the woman he loves how much she means to him. Chillingsworth makes another welcome appearance as do a few of the Cynster cousins.
Obviously a few things are simply ludicrous but just roll with it and enjoy another Cynster male walking down the isle, forever in love with his wife.
September 14, 2024
A fun read!! Out of all the Cynster books I’ve read so far this one has my favorite plot. The intrigue and investigation was so fun, and Althea’s character gives the plot more depth. Love the reveal of her disguise!
March 19, 2020
-Držiš moje srce
nemoj ga slomiti ♥
nemoj ga slomiti ♥
July 16, 2018
Me volví a encarretar con la serie
Me gusto como la química entre los dos protagonistas se presentara desde antes, por eso se odiaban era como frustración sexual, también me pareció chevere que Alathea fuera como una mujer moderna que hubiera tomado las riendas de su casa frente al inútil de su padres para los asuntos económicos y como ella y Gabriel eran tan parecidos que se compenetraban
Me gusto como la química entre los dos protagonistas se presentara desde antes, por eso se odiaban era como frustración sexual, también me pareció chevere que Alathea fuera como una mujer moderna que hubiera tomado las riendas de su casa frente al inútil de su padres para los asuntos económicos y como ella y Gabriel eran tan parecidos que se compenetraban
November 15, 2024
gabriel is def one of my favorite cynsters! he had a great response to the big reveal.
my only complaint is how dumb alathea was at the end. girl. listen to a true crime podcast, take a cybersecurity training, read a book, come on
my only complaint is how dumb alathea was at the end. girl. listen to a true crime podcast, take a cybersecurity training, read a book, come on
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