What do you think?
Rate this book
Cynara
Violated sadistically by a man with an insane lust for cruelty, Cynara Rossalyn is maliciously accused as the seductress and sent off penniless to Australia. To survive, she must suffer relentless degradation at the hands of men who rule by fear and abasement.
Her days are filled with an obsessive need for vengeance...her nights with unfulfilled longing for Evan Calder. Arrogantly handsome, magnetically appealing, he awakens fires of passion in her that can never be satisfied. For Evan was there that awful day, and he is a constant reminder of her shame; a tie to a past that must be vindicated.
Even when her life-long enemy is destroyed, true triumph eludes Cynara. Her love for Evan can no longer be denied but he will not claim what they both most ardently desire...
Her days are filled with an obsessive need for vengeance...her nights with unfulfilled longing for Evan Calder. Arrogantly handsome, magnetically appealing, he awakens fires of passion in her that can never be satisfied. For Evan was there that awful day, and he is a constant reminder of her shame; a tie to a past that must be vindicated.
Even when her life-long enemy is destroyed, true triumph eludes Cynara. Her love for Evan can no longer be denied but he will not claim what they both most ardently desire...
538 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
4 people are currently reading
145 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 5, 2020
Another bodice-ripper hit for me and it was the best. I admit I've been reading the books readers are talking about, I've yet to take a wild read. This book has almost every elements and it has a big fat secret that wasn't revealed until the end of the book. (annoying)
Cynara is the story of an 18-year-old girl who has endured every kind of brutal ways of living alone. Only 16-years of age Cynara Rosslyn lost her father suddenly when a pervy solicitor states her father left her penniless and has to move to a distant cousin (John Ward) who is also her guardian. Instead of being treated as a houseguest, Cordelia Ward (John's wife) treats Cynara as a servant and later that night she was raped by John. Fighting off sexual advances of Myles (John's son) she was also raped by him and later accused of offering sexual favours to him. She was then shipped of to Australia branded as a convict. Among the Wards worked a stable boy, Evan Calder who was moody, rude, contemptuous and arrogant. He prefers his horses more than people. He has a temper and a lot of pride. Evan and Cynara fall in love but never confresses and are misunderstood.
When Cynara and Evan meet again in Australia, Cynara is in a fake marriage and Evan making a good deal of money. Whenever they meet they argue. This arguing separates them and that stretches the story. Cynara already went through rape, miscarriage, sham marriage, abuse and more rapes.
There is a mysterious past of Evan about his parentage. I didn't like how the people who knew the secrets where so conspicious, it's like they are choking on english language and are being purposely dense! And then their was their missed opportunities of meeting each other; how can they be in one place and not see the other!
I liked the heroine's strength, she doesn't self-pity, no matter what she went through she picks herself up. In a way it's the memory of Evan that gives her solidity.
The book wasn't rushed, every scene was taken time to happen. There are a lot of triggers which are decriptively detailed. My favourite characters are Vincent Oliver, LeCroix and Sarah, they deserve so much. I'm looking forward to other books from this author.
Cynara is the story of an 18-year-old girl who has endured every kind of brutal ways of living alone. Only 16-years of age Cynara Rosslyn lost her father suddenly when a pervy solicitor states her father left her penniless and has to move to a distant cousin (John Ward) who is also her guardian. Instead of being treated as a houseguest, Cordelia Ward (John's wife) treats Cynara as a servant and later that night she was raped by John. Fighting off sexual advances of Myles (John's son) she was also raped by him and later accused of offering sexual favours to him. She was then shipped of to Australia branded as a convict. Among the Wards worked a stable boy, Evan Calder who was moody, rude, contemptuous and arrogant. He prefers his horses more than people. He has a temper and a lot of pride. Evan and Cynara fall in love but never confresses and are misunderstood.
When Cynara and Evan meet again in Australia, Cynara is in a fake marriage and Evan making a good deal of money. Whenever they meet they argue. This arguing separates them and that stretches the story. Cynara already went through rape, miscarriage, sham marriage, abuse and more rapes.
There is a mysterious past of Evan about his parentage. I didn't like how the people who knew the secrets where so conspicious, it's like they are choking on english language and are being purposely dense! And then their was their missed opportunities of meeting each other; how can they be in one place and not see the other!
I liked the heroine's strength, she doesn't self-pity, no matter what she went through she picks herself up. In a way it's the memory of Evan that gives her solidity.
The book wasn't rushed, every scene was taken time to happen. There are a lot of triggers which are decriptively detailed. My favourite characters are Vincent Oliver, LeCroix and Sarah, they deserve so much. I'm looking forward to other books from this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2020
5 stars, y'all! I was glued to the story from beginning to end; none of it dragged, & equal facetime between hero & heroine made no difference to my eagerly turning the pages.
Our heroine is Cynara, a well-educated teenager who is robbed of her inheritance by a skeevy solicitor. She goes to live at Lyrebird Manor, the sprawling estate of a distant relative...& there her adventures begin. The master of the house rapes her the night she arrives, & his grotty son follows suit within days. Meanwhile, the mistress forces her into servitude & the staff look down their noses at her educated upbringing. Her only solace comes from brief snatches of quiet time with a young stableboy named Evan.
Evan's past is mysterious. He's lived at Lyrebird his entire life, but knows almost nothing about his heritage. He's badass; he's broody; he's anti-social. He's more at home with animals than people. He's prickly, self-conscious, & angry that he feels shy around those who he perceives as his social superiors. He has a violent temper & lashes out at the slightest affront to his pride. His first reaction to anything remotely tender is to glower & put up another brick wall. He'd rather eat broken glass than admit to having the smallest introspective emotion.
...I just LOVED him. <3
Through an outlandish bodice-rippery setup, our hero & heroine travel to Australia. They also meet up with a pair of 'spirit guides' to balance their fiery traits; for Cynara, it's a golden-hearted prostitute named Sarah, while a swanky importer/exporter takes Evan in hand & teaches him about business & bedding hookers (one of whom is Sarah -- GO, NAMESAKE! Lucky bitch. :D) But while Evan builds a name for himself, Cynara isn't so lucky, falling in with an abusive husband & then an even more abusive tavern owner...poor girl. Eventually she hooks up with Evan again & they return to Lyrebird Manor for a final confrontation with the initial villains.
NB: Some of the rapey moments are rather graphic & not for vintage bodice-shredding wimps. Cynara bends but refuses to break; like all the best heroines of this genre, she has a tenacious will to survive amidst ugly, abusive scenarios. She & Evan definitely earn their HEA.
The prose isn't perfect. But I can forgive rough spots if a romance novel has what I love, & CYNARA falls into that category. The characters are well-rounded & the story sweeps along with their emotions & tribulations. There's brutality, secretive tenderness, a splash of gothic, a hottie badass hero, & a resourceful (but not annoying) heroine. The secondary characters are vivid; nobody has a cheap cardboard extra feel.
An honorable mention goes to Sandi for passing this one along. :D I'm sorry you didn't like it...but not too sorry, otherwise I couldn't have adopted it. ;)
Our heroine is Cynara, a well-educated teenager who is robbed of her inheritance by a skeevy solicitor. She goes to live at Lyrebird Manor, the sprawling estate of a distant relative...& there her adventures begin. The master of the house rapes her the night she arrives, & his grotty son follows suit within days. Meanwhile, the mistress forces her into servitude & the staff look down their noses at her educated upbringing. Her only solace comes from brief snatches of quiet time with a young stableboy named Evan.
Evan's past is mysterious. He's lived at Lyrebird his entire life, but knows almost nothing about his heritage. He's badass; he's broody; he's anti-social. He's more at home with animals than people. He's prickly, self-conscious, & angry that he feels shy around those who he perceives as his social superiors. He has a violent temper & lashes out at the slightest affront to his pride. His first reaction to anything remotely tender is to glower & put up another brick wall. He'd rather eat broken glass than admit to having the smallest introspective emotion.
...I just LOVED him. <3
Through an outlandish bodice-rippery setup, our hero & heroine travel to Australia. They also meet up with a pair of 'spirit guides' to balance their fiery traits; for Cynara, it's a golden-hearted prostitute named Sarah, while a swanky importer/exporter takes Evan in hand & teaches him about business & bedding hookers (one of whom is Sarah -- GO, NAMESAKE! Lucky bitch. :D) But while Evan builds a name for himself, Cynara isn't so lucky, falling in with an abusive husband & then an even more abusive tavern owner...poor girl. Eventually she hooks up with Evan again & they return to Lyrebird Manor for a final confrontation with the initial villains.
NB: Some of the rapey moments are rather graphic & not for vintage bodice-shredding wimps. Cynara bends but refuses to break; like all the best heroines of this genre, she has a tenacious will to survive amidst ugly, abusive scenarios. She & Evan definitely earn their HEA.
The prose isn't perfect. But I can forgive rough spots if a romance novel has what I love, & CYNARA falls into that category. The characters are well-rounded & the story sweeps along with their emotions & tribulations. There's brutality, secretive tenderness, a splash of gothic, a hottie badass hero, & a resourceful (but not annoying) heroine. The secondary characters are vivid; nobody has a cheap cardboard extra feel.
An honorable mention goes to Sandi for passing this one along. :D I'm sorry you didn't like it...but not too sorry, otherwise I couldn't have adopted it. ;)
September 13, 2018
Pass-Around-Polly-Theme
Went to Sarah
This review is for why I cant continue this book.
It seemed to start out well, as all these older BR do.
The Heroine loses her father & there is no money to support her. and she is sent off to be a ward to a family friend.
Cordelia Ward is a mean old broad, and makes Cynara work as a servant in the home and of course her husband lust's after his "ward"
With a clue to Cynara's solicitor being in on "there is no money" with the couple she stay's with, it seemed like I was going to get a good story..maybe some mystery, suspense, drama..etc.
Well here is where it goes downhill for me.
Cynara is raped by John Ward (Cordelia's husband) not even 20 pages in.
Now how does poor Cynara deal with this? How does she get over her "trauma of rape?"
Well now.. she has a sexual fantasy of said Hero Evan the stable boy..come on..really?
III add here the said "hero" Evan, is a moody, mean, and violent tempered fella.
So a few more chapters in now Cynara is raped by their son Myles..again Cynara, poor wee lass pulls herself out of it by having another "sexual-Evan-fantasy" brave girl is she not?
So at this point to make a long story short which it will be for me, the nice Ward family ships Cynara off t
But I did skim threw to a few parts just to make sure what I was thinking was going to happen before I turn this book away.
Yes indeed, as the back of the book says..MANY..I mean MANY men will have her,
Akk..cant take any more of Evan-pull-out-sexual fantasy..please.
Does he have her? Oh I think so..but not in a nice way, and I glimpsed a part where she maybe pregnant and her thought is "oh there is so many dark curly hair men" who will know?
Now I love a good Bodice-Ripper, and I dont mind the "going's-on" far-fetched or not, but I prefer it to be with just the Hero and the Heroine and I just wasn't up for a "pass-around-Polly" story with a "hero" that was so not to die for.
This maybe just perfect for some but Im bailing at this point..on to a better read.
I think I was generous with 2 stars, the extra was for the cover..
Went to Sarah
This review is for why I cant continue this book.
It seemed to start out well, as all these older BR do.
The Heroine loses her father & there is no money to support her. and she is sent off to be a ward to a family friend.
Cordelia Ward is a mean old broad, and makes Cynara work as a servant in the home and of course her husband lust's after his "ward"
With a clue to Cynara's solicitor being in on "there is no money" with the couple she stay's with, it seemed like I was going to get a good story..maybe some mystery, suspense, drama..etc.
Well here is where it goes downhill for me.
Cynara is raped by John Ward (Cordelia's husband) not even 20 pages in.
Now how does poor Cynara deal with this? How does she get over her "trauma of rape?"
Well now.. she has a sexual fantasy of said Hero Evan the stable boy..come on..really?
III add here the said "hero" Evan, is a moody, mean, and violent tempered fella.
So a few more chapters in now Cynara is raped by their son Myles..again Cynara, poor wee lass pulls herself out of it by having another "sexual-Evan-fantasy" brave girl is she not?
So at this point to make a long story short which it will be for me, the nice Ward family ships Cynara off t
But I did skim threw to a few parts just to make sure what I was thinking was going to happen before I turn this book away.
Yes indeed, as the back of the book says..MANY..I mean MANY men will have her,
Akk..cant take any more of Evan-pull-out-sexual fantasy..please.
Does he have her? Oh I think so..but not in a nice way, and I glimpsed a part where she maybe pregnant and her thought is "oh there is so many dark curly hair men" who will know?
Now I love a good Bodice-Ripper, and I dont mind the "going's-on" far-fetched or not, but I prefer it to be with just the Hero and the Heroine and I just wasn't up for a "pass-around-Polly" story with a "hero" that was so not to die for.
This maybe just perfect for some but Im bailing at this point..on to a better read.
I think I was generous with 2 stars, the extra was for the cover..
September 26, 2024
This story is really very funny because it seems like the universe is doing everything it can to make Cynara and Evan's paths cross, they're fated to know each other no matter where they go, but every single time they communicate with one another they fuck it up so badly that it's almost impressive. Soulmates destined to misunderstand each other every time they open their mouths because they're both just that stupid.💕
Despite the wonderful writing, they really had me stressed, which wasn't fun. Also, Cynara should have legally been allowed to execute every single evil man that abused her in this book idc
TW: numerous sexual assault scenes, murder, physical abuse, victim blaming, misogyny, sexism, animal abuse
Despite the wonderful writing, they really had me stressed, which wasn't fun. Also, Cynara should have legally been allowed to execute every single evil man that abused her in this book idc
TW: numerous sexual assault scenes, murder, physical abuse, victim blaming, misogyny, sexism, animal abuse
April 30, 2020
Meh not as good as I was hoping...good bodice rippery elements but suffers from several of my book pet peeves “missed encounters” (ie he walks in front door she walks out back, he rides by the inn not knowing shes inside etc etc on and on) and the “obstinate and retarded misunderstandings” between H & h. With a crazy a$$ plot or good writing there’s no need to sprinkle your story with so so much of this...I was quickly turning the pages to start then slowly started losing interest.
Plus all her sexual encounters are bad - mostly rape & more repetitive & equally bad sex (she doesn’t even get the classic super horrible bad/weird creepy sex with a creeptastic villain) - but the only actual “love/sex scenes” (as in hot sex) in the first %90 of the book are all the Hero having sex with others including his “hooker with a heart a gold” (i mean give our heroine a break...she puts up with all this whack schlong and doesn’t even get a courtesy or hot revenge bang along the way...meanwhile the hero continues to give & get all kinds of good loving...le sigh 😔). I don’t mind “long separation” or “pass around polly” tropes if they are layered with all kinds of cray or adventure (which this wasn’t).
The whole thing just kinda irritated me into greater levels of disinterest...there was just no fun amongst the muck of angst and rippery here. That being said the end was good so despite my annoyance of certain aspects a solid 3 stars.
Plus all her sexual encounters are bad - mostly rape & more repetitive & equally bad sex (she doesn’t even get the classic super horrible bad/weird creepy sex with a creeptastic villain) - but the only actual “love/sex scenes” (as in hot sex) in the first %90 of the book are all the Hero having sex with others including his “hooker with a heart a gold” (i mean give our heroine a break...she puts up with all this whack schlong and doesn’t even get a courtesy or hot revenge bang along the way...meanwhile the hero continues to give & get all kinds of good loving...le sigh 😔). I don’t mind “long separation” or “pass around polly” tropes if they are layered with all kinds of cray or adventure (which this wasn’t).
The whole thing just kinda irritated me into greater levels of disinterest...there was just no fun amongst the muck of angst and rippery here. That being said the end was good so despite my annoyance of certain aspects a solid 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 4, 2013One of very favourite books.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews