The Untamed Bride

Black Cobra Quartet #1

by Stephanie Laurens

The first book in a brand-new series, The Black Cobra Quartet, from New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author Stephanie Laurens, The Untamed Bride is the story of a bold, beautiful woman with a scandalous past and a battle-hardened, sinfully wealthy, completely unstoppable man who must join forces to fight a deadly foe known only as the Black Cobra—and who must also confront the dangers of the heart . . .

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Regency, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Stephanie 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.

Reviews

[Carol Kerry-Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cue rant...

I've just finished reading Stephanie Laurens' new book - The Untamed Bride - book one in the Black Cobra series. I really enjoyed it, like the premise of four heroes each racing back to England with important information that must reach the Duke of Wolverstone (aka Daziel from the Bastion Club) aided by characters from the Bastion series and all of the Cynster cousins. Talk about putting all your apples in one cart! But it worked, mostly.

I don't know if it's just me, but I do like historical accuracy in my Historical Romance novels, as in any other historical novel I read - and in this one, Laurens' for me, dropped a clanger. It probably won't mean much to the majority of readers of her books, or indeed to this review, but her main characters, Del Delborough and Deliah Duncannon both hail from an area known as the Wolds, he from Middleton on the Wolds, which is great I thought, it's not far from where I live! Then she dropped the clanger by consistenly saying it was in Humberside - all throughout the novel this jarred, and I admit if I hadn't have been enjoying the plot, I would have chucked the book away in disgust - it's sloppy research. Humberside as an administrative county only existed between the years of 1974 and 1996, until then and indeed afterwards it has always been in the East Riding of Yorkshire! In 1822, the year in which the novel is set, Humberside wasn't even used as a descriptive for the area around the Humber, it was either Yorkshire or for the south bank Lincolnshire! As I was reading the novel I then started to question the rest of the historical geographic information, so far haven't found any other clangers there.

I was reminded of the other time Laurens sloppy research annoyed me, it was in one of the Bastion books, and they were trying to find out who the bad guy was, they had a name but nothing else - so what did they do, but go to St Catherine House to search for his birth! No, no, no. This book was set in 1816, general registration in England didn't start until 1837 - before that births were only recorded if someone was baptised, and that information in 1816 would still be in the individual churches, so I can see whey Laurens did it - and St Catherine's House as the deposit for birth registrations didn't start until 1970, before then they were held at Somerset House on the Strand in London from 1837-1970. - Sorry, I'm a genealogist, so that misinformation really annoys me!!

I mean, I accept that for HR novels, the characters, usually members of the British Aristocracy are made up, the Dukes of St Ives and Wolverstone weren't real Dukedoms, and I accept that, they are fiction. But it's were historical accuracy is needed is around the period that the books are set in, so if a book is set in 1816 or whenever, then only those places that existed historically in 1816 etc. should be mentioned, etc.

Anyway, rant over!

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Del and four comrades-in-arms stationed with him in India for the last seven years have been tasked with identifying the Black Cobra, head of a violent, oppressive cult terrorizing Indian villages with rape, pillaging, torture, and gruesome murders. When the five soldiers determine the Black Cobra is a fellow Englishman and son of a powerful, ruthless lord, they know they will need incontrovertible proof of his guilt in order to bring him to justice. When the youngest member of their group gives his life to obtain that evidence, the remaining four split up to return to England by different routes, one with the genuine evidence and three others with copies acting as decoys, knowing the Black Cobra and his cult will do anything to keep the evidence from reaching their contact in England. (Four weaker, slower targets were better than one strong, fast target? Shrug. I dunno. It’s the plot I was given.)

I appreciate the time and effort the author devoted to coming up with an original story and adding adventure to her romance, but this plot is so full of holes it could do double duty as a colander. It was too complicated, requiring too much explanation and the explanations were, well, boring. I presume each book in the series features one of the four soldiers, and this book is Del’s story. Del might have been a great soldier and a good fighter, but he was an incompetent operative. He made erroneous assumptions. He miscalculated. He didn’t think ahead. He ignored obvious problems. Several times he ended up in precarious situations, unarmed and outnumbered, and needed to be saved by Deliah, a beautiful female traveling companion he acquired once he hit English shores. Deliah had an uncanny—some might say nonsensical—ability to extrapolate exactly what the villains were thinking or planning to do, so she became the strategist of the group. I like an intelligent, bold, decisive FMC, but the author made the mistake of making her FMC look strong by making her MMC look weak and stupid.

Weak and stupid aren’t sexy.

But if you can set aside the ridiculous Black Cobra aspect, which truly defies credulity, the romance here is nicely done. Deliah is a worthy FMC, having been “too” her whole life: too forceful, too independent, too sensual, too assertive. Her family has tried to subjugate her into a socially-accepted mold of what a proper young lady ought to be, and she just doesn’t fit, no matter how hard she tried. With Del, though, she fits perfectly. Del is used to being authoritative, giving orders, and protecting, and Deliah is too much her own person to obey. But he desires her, then admires her, then starts seeing a future with her. Both are guilty of overthinking and under communicating, but the romance evolves in a genuine way, and I enjoyed it.

I also enjoyed the authentic small moments the author inserted: how Del notices the cobblestones under his feet and realizes he’s walking on English soil for the first time in many years. The bite of the wind of an English winter, and Deliah’s and Del’s childish delight in experiencing snow for the first time in years.

I didn’t enjoy the glaring historical inaccuracies. At one point, for example, Deliah walks into a modiste’s establishment, and is shown dozens of gowns available to try on and purchase on the spot, like she’s just walked into a fully stocked Macy’s Department Store. Puh-lease.

Will I continue the series? No.

[Heidi (can’t retire soon enough) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rollicking fun read with a lot more swashbuckling than usual for a "bodice ripper." Dare I admit, I'm looking forward to the next installment? Pure escapism is a great way to cleanse the literary palate!

[kris · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's this evil club in India known as the Black Cobra club, and they're killing more people than the British government is comfortable with. So this group of Manly Men is tasked with beheading the snake or something. 42 page prologue later, and 4 Manly Men are still alive (one wasn't quite Manly enough, seriously) and they have Important Evidence and must make it back to England before Shit Goes Down.

Del is the hero. He's a colonel; he's tall and handsome and authoritative. Deliah is the heroine. She's a Ruined lady; she's tall and beautiful and stubborn. Because of Lust, he ends up taking her along on his ~mission and they have torrid, overly-descriptive sex and eventually fall in love.

1. I legitimately laughed out loud when Del & company showed up at the Cynster's house and the bunch of them were described. How dreadful for Laurens, to line up all your various characters throughout the years and be able to sum them up as all tall and handsome and authoritative! How ridiculous that in the 7? 8? 10? couples present in the final chapters, none of them stand out at all. I couldn't even keep the hero straight from the rest of them once Demon and Devil and Dave and Dexter were thrown into the pot. Come on.

1.5. On a similar note, the ladies. None of them looked the same, but they were all "confident, assured and assertive, not afraid to state their opinions and make their wishes known." Which--great? It's ... forward thinking (for the time period) and whatever, but it's also so dull. I kept wanting a Milly to offset all the Strong, Determined Women.

Ultimately: I love Strong, Determined Women, but when I can't tell one wife from another (except by their ridiculous names), there's something immensely flawed with your characterizations.

2. The prose needed a thorough revision. While I get that sentence fragments are ultimately a stylistic choice, there's style and then there's beating your reader over the head with them until they forget what a subject-verb agreement looks like.

3. Didn't care about the sex even remotely. I scanned all the sex scenes looking for dialogue tags and ultimately realized that no, the hero wasn't about to ~tell the heroine how he felt--he was going to bang it into her. Repeatedly. Forcefully. Authoritatively.

Gross.

[Hazel · Rating 1 out of 5]

My sister used to collect Stephanie Laurens books, so I’ve read several of them. I remember the formula, and was interested to find that in this book she gathers together some half a dozen heroes from previous novels. In this book she tells us repeatedly that they’re identical, :-), so the profile of Laurens’ idealised man is clear. He’s tall and handsome, unsurprisingly rich. But he’s also extraordinarily commanding, an acknowledged leader among men; possessive and protective , but emotionally vulnerable towards his mate. He’s virile, sexually demanding and willing to indulge in a little bondage, but also a closely involved and attentive father, an early 19th century ‘new man’. He isn't described changing nappies, but that's about it. Laurens didn’t seem to think there’d be any tension at all in a houseful of these uber-alpha males. As for the women, naturally each is a raving beauty. They’re also intelligent, strong-willed and combative, so that their warrior-husbands have to conspire in order to keep them from joining in to fight the bad guys. More about that later.

I’ve spent more time than usual thinking about this novel, because in the Bodice Rippers, we’ve been considering romance novels and trying to understand their themes. This seems quite defferent to the other books we’ve read in the group. I think Laurens is technically superior to Emily Bryan and the Skye-writer. Her plot is rubbish, of course. No spoilers, but the mystery/adventure elements are very weak. The Black Cobra is a sinister criminal master-mind comic-strip villain (not comic-book:this is the kind of guy the Phantom would have gone after, seeking justice and swearing revenge), whose murderous thugs are wholly laughable. The ‘mystery’ serves just to provide contrived encounters which allow the hero to be victorious and masterful and the heroine to be feisty and spirited. Yawn. The rest of the characters are plastic, not an individual among them. But there are elements of interest here.

There’s more sex and each encounter lasts several pages. (Did I mention how virile the hero is?) But it’s all enthusiastically consensual; nothing like the disturbing rapefest we encountered in Skye O'Malley. One thing that strikes me about Laurens’ book is her focus on the hero’s point of view. We spend page after page on his ruminations, his examination of his physical and emotional reactions to the heroine, the development of his attachment to her. For a 19th century tough guy, his EQ is impressive. I’m also interested in Laurens' deliberate use of sex for communication. Her hero consciously sets out to woo and win his lady by making love to her, but also aims at some almost mystical communication of his deepest need for her. Somehow this non-verbal communication is remarkably clear, and they understand each other perfectly. So the idealised romantic couple are not just a good physical match, they are soulmates. Of course it’s all somewhat purple: ‘their wills met and merged in a clash of fire and passion’ etc.

Which brings me back to bondage. I’m no prude, but isn’t there something odd in a houseful of husbands conspiring each to distract his wife with a little S+M, and then simultaneously, to leave her tied-up in bed? I half-expected them to meet downstairs and throw the car-keys into a bowl. So, S+M and group sex. :-) How titillating.

[Isabel Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como ya mencioné, no entiendo cómo nunca antes había sentido curiosidad por esta autora. Por años he leído reseñas sobre los Cynster y he tenido sus libros en reserva. Y ahora finalmente cuando empiezo con ella, lo hago desde el final, jajajaja
Cuestión q es una historia increíble. Aunq me habría encantado que tuviera de escenario la India, la mayor parte de la trama se desarrolla en Inglaterra. Es una historia de aventura muy bien contada, con un caballero recién licenciado de la vida militar q sin embargo todavía está al servicio de su país, para atrapar a un enemigo malísimo y a su culto sanguinario q se hace llamar la Cobra Negra. No hay suspense en el sentido de q no sabemos quien es el antagonista. Sí sabemos eso desde el principio, de hecho, tenemos varios dialogos interesantes entre los involucrados en el lado de los malos y tengo q reconocer q me sorprendió gratamente el q la intriga q se va tejiendo parece ser mucho más compleja de lo q se dijo al principio y la vamos a ir desenredando conforme vayamos avanzando con los libros de la serie, q son otros tres.
Sobre los protagonistas, Del es coronel, es militar, es macho alfa e inglés. Un estereotipo muy bien pintado q no tiene más complejidades q las propias del personaje. No hay pasado doloroso q lo haya marcado aunq sí ha vivido momentos traumáticos en su carrera militar. Deliah por su parte, es un personaje q se sale del molde. No es una debutante, no es la hija de un aristócrata, no es virgen. Ha vivido fuera de Inglaterra bastante tiempo y al regresar cae sin saberlo en medio de una misión q pone en peligro su vida y la de todos los q la rodean. Me encantó Deliah xq no es una protagonista remildagada q se desmelena, ella ya está desmelenada aunq se ha resignado a vivir su vida en sus propios términos pero en soledad; así q no tiene remilgos a la hora de aceptar a Del como amante cree ella....él tiene otros planes. Tomando en cuenta su personalidad, se entiende perfectamente lo de Novia "indómita".
Buena intervención la de los Cynster y algunos del Club Bastion como actores secundarios, xq como dije, empecé x la cola y esas series todavía no las leí, pero ahora es cuando...Empezando una nueva saga...o varias, jajajajaja

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Governor General of India, Marquess of Hastings, orders five soldiers (Colonel Derek “Del” Delborough, Major Gareth Hamilton, Captain Rafe Carstairs, Major Logan Monteith, and Captain James MacFarlane) in the East India Company to discover and dispatch the leader of a rebel cult, the Black Cobra. After nearly exhausting their search for proof of the identity of the Black Cobra, Captain MacFarlane discovers, almost by chance, the needed proof while escorting the Governor of Bombay’s niece. While on their way, the cultists attack and Captain MacFarlane sacrifices himself in order to make sure the proof (a letter) gets to the right hands. He enlists the aid of the Governor’s niece who brings the proof to the remaining four officers. They then make copies of the letter and each set off on different paths to return to England with the proof of the Black Cobra’s identity.

Colonel Delborough is the first to leave with his copy of the letter. His route takes him directly to London. Once he arrives at the predisposed inn, he discovers that he has been saddled with escorting Deliah Duncannon to their hometown. While Del is trying to get out of his escort duty, the Black Cobra’s assassin strikes, but Deliah warns him in time. Since she has seen, and been seen in return by the assassin, Del decides to take Deliah with him. Del is surprised to discover that Deliah is quite the ally in his goal in catching the eye of the Black Cobra’s men. Not only are these two a good team in the field, but in the bedroom as well.

Since this is the first book in the series, there is some backstory to get through. Once the main character begins his journey, we are treated to a cookie-cutter plot, especially if you have read other novels by Laurens. The main characters are somewhat interesting and fleshed out, but at times become predictable. If you have read any of the Cynster or Bastian Club novels, then be prepared for the onslaught of visiting characters. Overall, a decent read with some action (both in and out of the bedroom) and some tender moments.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Untamed Bride
4 Stars

Series note: This is a spin-off of the Bastion Club and Cynster series, and several characters from these books put in an appearance. Plotwise it is not absolutely necessary to have read the Bastion Club and the first 7 Cynster novels, but it does make it more entertaining.

India, 1822 - A cutthroat gang of thieves, rapists and murderers is terrorizing the countryside. The East India Company is convinced that an English gentleman is behind the attacks, and 4 soldiers are tasked with uncovering the evidence, transporting it back to England, and placing it in the right hands. After two assassination attempts, Colonel Derek Delborough is relieved to find himself back on English soil to deliver the evidence, but his relief is short-lived when Miss Deliah Duncannon arrives to intrude on his carefully laid plans.

Anyone who has read Stephanie Laurens before will recognize the characters and the romantic relationships. Nevertheless, the stories are entertaining and her writing has, thankfully, become more concise albeit not less awkward over time.

Del and Deliah are well-matched in temperament and the hero-in-pursuit trope is engaging (as it always is with Laurens' books). They have strong chemistry and there is no unnecessary angst or conflict.

In terms of the suspense plot, there are some good action scenes but no real mystery as the identity of the villain is revealed early on. Moreover, the excitement at the end is somewhat anti-climactic as there is no real danger to speak of (unlike the Bastion Club where there is always a convenient

In sum, this is an intriguing beginning to the series, and I particularly enjoyed tracing the path of each messenger using Google Maps. Gareth Hamilton's journey is next and I already like the heroine.

[Maqluba]

30% of the way into the book, while skipping, and I thought I was at 80% so yeah not a good sign....

Man this story had way too many problems for me to enjoy it...

I think talk like that of Britain taking over India to “protect them” and the “cotton and sugarcane trade” in Jamaica and the illusion to Muslim-extremism as represented by the Black cobra cult just really messed with my brain. Indians were used as props, Muslims were seen as villains, and our white British hero and heroine were seen as the good guys. Yeah no thanks.

Honestly I don’t normally let this stuff get to me but for some reason this book just really dug in and I couldn’t enjoy it at all.

On top of all of that it wasn’t even written well so yeah that’s the end of that series...

[Ailin Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

El inicio de esta pareja puede ser muy curioso, una misión que se ve torcida por un pequeño encargo y que desajusta ciertos planes. Dos personalidades fuertes que se verán unidas en una aventura peligrosa en donde las persecuciones, los giros de la historia, el peligro y esos malos malísimos te dan un argumento en donde solo te faltan las palomitas para no comerte las uñas mientras el amor va despertando al reconocer al alma perfecta para el otro. Yo solo puedo decir que me perdí en este romance, los disfrute en su apasionado descubrimiento mientras los enemigos se hacen presentes y los planes estratégicos tienen que cambiar por el bien común. Haciendo de UNA NOVIA INDÓMITA una lectura que me ha dejado sin palabras, con ganas desesperadas de descubrir lo que venga.
Me moría por descubrir a Stephanie Laurens, y la verdad es que creo que he perdido mucho tiempo en no haberlo hecho antes, cosa que espero enmendar muy pronto porque es maravillosa, no digo más ¡Feliz lectura!

[Patricia G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. Me ha emocionado reencontrarme con mis Cynster: ver a Demonio, Honoria, Vane, Richard... una gozada. Y la historia de Del y Deliah es perfecta. Un diez. Muy recomendable.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good read, though I did enjoy The Adventurers Quartet by her more. I feel like her hero in this book, Del, is a little overpowering. The Black Cobra plot was pretty good, and added the suspense I like in Laurens writing.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 estrellas
Mi interés por la historia ha ido de menos a más, no solo por la forma en la que se va hilando la relación entre ellos, tanto física como anímica, que creo que está muy bien llevada, sino también por la trama en sí, la huida, la búsqueda, la lucha contra la Cobra Negra, que ha sido como una aventura «on the road»

Opinión completa
https://millibrosenmibiblioteca.blogs...

[Mojca · Rating 1 out of 5]

A villain and cult-leader named Black Cobra is terrorizing early 19th century India. Five English officers are appointed to finding out who the man is and bring his reign of terror to an end. It turns out he’s also English, a member of the East India Company, but the five have no way of proving it.

Month later, one of them is killed, providing irrefutable proof of the Englishman’s wrongdoing and the four remaining are tasked with getting the proof, a letter, back to homeland. Three copies are made and the four embark on their long journeys home, each via different route…

This is the story of their “commander” Colonel Derek “Del” Delborough. He takes the sea route to Southampton where he encounters an unpleasant surprise in the form of Miss Deliah Duncannon, who he’s charged with escorting home. He has all intentions of leaving her to her own devises when she saves his life, sees his attacker, and Del has no choice but take her with him…


I have a few of Stephanie Laurens’ books in my library and I remember trying to read one back in the day, but didn’t get past the first few chapters. I thought maybe it was a fluke, so, since I love espionage story set in the regency/Victorian era (thank you, Celeste Bradley), I decided to buy this one and its sequel…Well, my inability to read that first book long ago wasn’t a fluke. I simply don’t like Ms. Laurens’ narrative style.

The pacing was extremely slow, there was too much tell and not enough tell, I simply couldn’t relate to the characters, Del was too introverted for my taste, Deliah was an utter pain in the rear-end, I didn’t see the attraction between them, the bedroom scenes were cold, detached and clinical, and even the hope that the suspense would compensate for everything else, quickly dwindled. Ms. Laurens apparently realized she was writing a suspense historical only toward the end, and she tried to liven up the plot by inserting an action scene, but it was too late and frankly, the “action” was boring.

This would’ve ended as an DNF if I didn’t have the second book in the series to read for the same challenge as this one…Yup, it will be a challenge. 1 ½ stars

[Penny Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Untamed Bride by Stephanie Laurens

After the disastrous final installment of The Bastion Club series (Mastered by Love), I was reluctant to dive into the new Laurens' series, The Black Cobra Quartet. I bought this book at the grocery store on a whim and figured....What the heck, I'll give Stephanie another chance!

Well, lo and behold, Stephanie Laurens got her mojo back! The suspense part of this book is absolutely riveting. I adored the prelude to this book, which takes place in India, 1822. It made me remember one of the reasons I used to love SL so much....she is truly a gifted writer. The beginning of this book, which is purely setting the stage for the suspense portion of the story and has nothing to do with the romance, is superb.

Laurens does not disappoint with the romance part of this book either. There is a terrific chemistry between the hero (Del) and heroine (Deliah) right from their initial meeting. (I can't believe SL's editor let her get away with those names! Are you kidding me?). Deliah is SL's best type of heroine...feisty, determined, strong-willed and sexy. Their first love scene is great--a scorcher! In fact, I found all of the love scenes to be sexy and emotionally fulfilling, something that had been lacking lately in her novels.

Other strong points of this novel: including old favorite characters (the Cynsters, the Bastion Club guys, their wives), lots of action-packed scenes with swords, pistols, assassins and thugs, and incredibly emotionally satisfying love scenes at the end (especially when Del professes his love for her and proposes....sigh! so romantic!!!). My only complaint was that the book seemed a little short, and the climatic scene at the end when Larkin is confronted in the church was sort of a let-down. But who really cares? Stephanie got her mojo back, and I for one am a happy, happy camper. Grade: B+

Penelope

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black Cobra itu ternyata adalah kelompok gangster hitam di India yg melakukan banyak kriminal kekejian tanpa batas. Maka 5 org perwira yg handal ditugaskan utk menyelidiki siapa dedengkotnya. Selidik punya selidik, adalah seorang bangsawan Inggris pula yg mengepalai Black Cobra. Kali ini si bangsawan sembrono dan bakal menyeret rekan-rekannya ke tiang gantungan. Mau tidak mau dia hrs berlomba dgn waktu utk menemukan surat asli yg menggunakan cap miliknya beserta salinannya.

Kolonel Derek “Del” Delborough adalah yg pertama dari 4 perwira yg selamat yg membawa bukti asli maupun salinannya (mereka sengaja berpencar utk mengecoh Black Cobra) ke London. Dlm perjalanannya dia bertemu dgn wanita cantik yg pemberani dan menyukai ketegangan dlm uber-uberan dgn Black Cobra. Deliah Duncannon rela mengorbankan apa saja demi menghadapi pertarungan. Del buru-buru ke Somersham Place, tempat para Cynster berkumpul dan merundingkan cara menjebak para antek Black Cobra.

Sebenarnya novel ini cuma seru di awal dan di klimaks cerita saja (juga saat penyelidikan siapa pencuri tabung surat milik Del). Seperti biasa romansa yg ditawarkan author terasa datar walaupun banyak adegan intimnya. Nama tokoh yg mirip Del & Deliah terasa tidak kreatif amat (malah mengingatkan saya pada merk saos tomat). Deliah walaupun digambarkan sbg wanita anti konvensional ternyata menyimpan kegalauan, ketakutan tidak akan diperistri oleh Del. Jadi kocak juga saat Del melamar Deliah, sekaligus utk meredam rasa kepo Deliah. Apaan tuh? Dibaca saja sendiri.

Baiklah, sementara pending sebentar utk membaca lanjutannya krn novel ini panjang-panjang ceritanya (padahal kalau dipungkas bisa gak lebih dari 500 hlm, terlalu banyak repetisinya). Yg pertama ini sepertinya yg terpendek ceritanya ketimbang sequel-nya yg lain. Bayangkan lanjutannya "The Elusive Bride" brp lembar terjemahannya.

[Megg · Rating 1 out of 5]

so many thoughts... The white saviour is strong with this one...

don't think i'm fully capable of expressing everything but I don't really want to read more about these colonisers, which i understand is a bit tricky if you're after historical accuracy and reading this genre... I'm happy to miss out on the accuracy personally. I especially didn't like a lot of the language in this.

Apparently Indians should be thankful to the British for protecting them and getting rid of the Black Cobra (who was one of them).

Also her bragging about how successful her investments in the cotton and sugarcane trade in Jamaica were....

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mom and I found it to be an awesome read. The chase was great and the bed sense at the end was sweet. Mom did think that it took her a little while to warm up to the heroine, just be because her demanding information came off as whinny instead of curious or worried to her. We definitely give this a read, the only reason the rating was a little low is it just did not suck mom in and make interested enough to keep turning the pages until the last hundred pages which seems just a little bit off a wait in a three hundred page book.

[Lisa the Tech · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laurens wrought a fun romp with this book. Smex to spare, bondage, hot powerful men, women who know what they're about, an evil cult, and a letter with the power to wreck the lives of some very bad people. I hope that this series does not become formulaic by the end of it. Novels of this nature have that tendency.

[Amberlie McInroy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was by far the most engaging aspect of this book, and I don't mean that as a compliment to the plot. The male protagonist had no personality and the female protagonist was Stephanie Laurens' stereotypical fierce, strong, and independent woman who "doesn't like shopping" like all other women, who are super duper lame and shallow.

There is a scene where she is surrounded by all of the happily married heroines of Stephanie Laurens' other novels, and she thinks "hey, I'm not the only fierce, strong, and independent woman in the world, I've just been hanging out in the wrong circles!" and then literally a couple of sentences later thinks "who would ever want a fierce, strong, independent woman like me?! Del will never marry me!".

Also, the word "lush" was used to describe Deliah just an insane number of times.

[TLuvs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big SL fan and appreciated that this book is told from the male POV. It has a good plot, the story line moves at a good consistent speed, some super spicy scenes, and the lead female is strong. Just lacking that little extra something that gives a chef's kiss... 3.5 stars

[Erica Anderson]

If this hadn't been an audiobook, I wouldn't have made it 100 pages. While I don't expect romances to feature plots nearly as complex as, say, Dorothy Dunnett, I do expect them to hold together logically. The Untamed Bride was nonsensical, and I'm trying (right now) not to rant.

Okay, here goes: There is an evil cult run by a Brit in India. Why? We don't know. There is no apparent reason for the cult, but members will fight to the death for their leader, The (Evil) Black Cobra. The Black Cobra kills people and will stop at nothing to prevent a critical piece of evidence against him to fall into the hands of . . . someone. It's not clear who this evidence should go to. (I, personally, would recommend sending it to the Home Office. But no. It actually should go to Devil Cynster. Who knew?)

Most of the book involves the hero and heroine trying to outwit and entrap the Evil Minions of the Black Cobra. They do this by going shopping in London, leaving doors unlocked, and a host of other activities, all the while holding on to The Critical Piece of Evidence. Because we all know that the right bonnet is more important than stopping the killing of defenseless women and children in India.

Finally, our hero and heroine (whom I actually liked), get to the Cynster Fortress (it's not really called that). The Evidence will be safe in the Fortress because tall, scary guys named Demon, Scandal (really) and Warthog (not really) will eliminate Evil Minions with the force of their collective glares.

I'm still not sure why the Evidence must go to Devil Cynster, who happens to be rusticating. I found this confusing, since the country is not the center of England's political and economic life. One would think that Evidence should go to someone official. Like, say, in London. (But perhaps the Home Office has a branch in Cambridgeshire?) Once inside the Fortress, our hero leaves The Evidence in his room in a drawer. Unlocked. And GUESS WHAT? It's stolen! No, really, it is.

I am pretty sure that if Devil Cynster looked, he would find a safe or a vault or a freaking lockable drawer somewhere in the Fortress. But no one seems to think of this (except me). (But if one is a duke and one is rich, wouldn't one have to have somewhere safe to put jewels and stuff? Even in the country?) Anyway, the Evidence is found again, but in order to trap the Evil Mastermind, everyone has to go to Ely Cathedral where someone will pretend to give the Evil Mastermind the Evidence. This is a very dangerous endeavor, since there are cultists everywhere (except no one knows where, because people who speak no English and wear Indian clothes are very difficult to locate in the English countryside.)

A lot of time is spent trying to figure out how to watch all the doors to Ely Cathedral to prevent the Evil Mastermind from escaping. I, personally, would suggest locking doors, since I am pretty sure that even in Olden Tymes, Ely had locking doors. But no. Locking doors is too simple. At this point, I gave up. Too much ridiculousness, even to listen to on audiobook with half an ear.

On the positive side, I really liked the hero and heroine, and Laurens does a perfectly respectable job of making their romance interesting and believable. But even they couldn't save the book from plot holes large enough to accommodate an obese hippo.

No star rating, since this was a DNF for me.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the blend of a spy thriller, historical fiction, and romance in this book. I’ve never read any Stephanie Laurens before and I was quite intrigued by her writing style. The characters are great. The story spends a good chunk of time at the beginning establishing who and what the Black Cobra is and why he’s a bad guy and why these guys have to stop him. Then it goes on to where Dell meets Delia and their relationship is really entertaining.

If I had one quibble, it was the part where Dell was willing to let anyone into his confidence about his mission soon after he first met Delia. He said something about, had Delia been a man he would have asked his assistance, but he didn’t want to put Delia in danger. But I have to wonder - why ask ANY stranger for help at this point? Particularly someone you just met upon coming back to the country after several years away. This mission is highly secretive (these days, we’d say “classified”) and the enemy could send any number of infiltrators to screw things up. They did send the young boy in to steal the scroll holder, why not a lady? Tactically, that attitude makes no sense. When you’re a spy, you probably shouldn’t trust random strangers willy-nilly, and I don’t care what kind of plumbing they have.

Happily, everything turned out okay and Delia was a big help to the group’s mission. The romance between the two worked out great. A well-written love story can be pretty tropeish and there are certain beats that they all pretty much have. But that is something that appeals to me, so I was completely fine with it. I will be looking to read more Stephanie Laurens in the future.

Also, I listened to the audiobook version and Simon Prebble is a FANTASTIC narrator. His voice is both soothing and entertaining. I could probably listen to him read the phone book (those still exist, yes?) I’m sure that lots of people know this already. In fact, I found this book specifically because I was looking for books that he reads (I saw his name recommended on a romance author Facebook page I follow). So I am pleased to have another favorite audiobook narrator as well as another favorite author. I’ll also be on the lookout for audiobooks - romance and otherwise - that Prebble narrates.

[Amanda]

I downloaded this from the library because I had to paint my fingernails and wanted to read while they dried. The book sounded decent enough. (This is a pretty normal "Let's get a book from the library!" thought process.)

Skipped most of the prologue, then had the weirdest sense of book deja vu where I remember reading the scene -- from a different character's POV. Checked Goodreads, but according to my shelves, I haven't read anything by Stephanie Laurens.

Read the synopses for other Black Cobra books, but none of them give any detail about what the book was about, so I went back to reading, plagued by the sense I should remember books I've read... and skimmed over more portions of this book.

I kept going back to my computer to see if I could figure out why this book was so familiar. Landed on Stephanie Lauren's website, read the chapter 1 excerpt for book 2, The Elusive Bride, in this series, and... BINGO. That's the book I remembered.

Only I didn't really remember it. There was an evening where I started and discarded two books, and it wouldn't surprise me if The Elusive Bride was one. I don't enter those books into Goodreads, and it made sense that's why it wasn't there.

Anyway. Now I have a "Thrown back to the library gods" shelf -- essentially a "DNF" shelf -- and The Untamed Bride may be the first to be on it. I'm sitting at 33% right now, but while there's nothing terribly wrong with this book, there's nothing holding my interest either.

I mean, I did read two books yesterday and didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about neglecting this one. And while I normally might be willing to power through, I've got three JQ books up for reread, and my desire to pick this up again is nil.

I don't even remember much about it, other than the Black Cobra thing and an MC with secrets she wouldn't even share with the reader. (Something that's only recently begun to bother me.) Too much I don't know and I'm too likely to skim all the descriptions. Never a good sign.

Sorry book. Tis time we part ways.

[Beckie Treble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy Moly. This book was amazing. I loved it. The plot is just amazing. Who would have thought you can get some great English noblemen serving in India, and then somehow get them back to England and then try and get some evil pricksters to come after them?! Pure bloody genius. I bought this book and the others in the quartet a few years ago and I have no effing idea why I haven't read them before today! Mental.

I love seeing the guys from the Bastion Club back. I loved those characters and missed seeing them in the Cynster series seeing as the Bastion Club novels happen before the Cynster series. It's like greeting some old friends that you haven't seen for a while. Sounds weird really. But that's HOW involved you get in a book by Stephanie Laurens. You fall in love with the characters yourselves. God how I wish the guys in her books are real. Sadly not. Unless there are. Please message me.

But I love seeing them and how even though the Bastion Club members have never met the guys fighting these bad guys. It's amazing to see that they're there just because they're needed and also to jump back into the action. Even their wives get involved. It's a family reunion!

I loved everything about this book, and I have literally read it ALL day. Done nothing else. 'nough said. It's THAT gripping.

What are you waiting for????

Go pick a copy of this up NOW! Even if you've not read a book from Stephanie Laurens! You'll find her world enchanting.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A traitor in India may be ensnared at home. Col. Derek Delborough and three of his companions in arms set a trap and head for England on different routes. When Del arrives in Southampton, he discovers his aunts have committed him to escorting a neighbor home. It is entirely too dangerous with the Black Cobra dogging his tracks, but an assassination attempt turns Deliah into an at risk witness. They must run together.

The two households, one Indian, one Jamaican, make for an exotic mix and a bit of confusion. They try to draw out the Cobra and his minions hoping for irrefutable proof of his guilt. There is a final run to Cambridgeshire and the home of Devil Cynster, a snow storm, and a battle in a cathedral which leaves readers poised for the next in the series. Highly recommended for readers of historical romance and suspense.

Readalikes:
Karen Robards – Shameless; Julia Quinn – Mr. Cavendish, I Presume; Catherine Coulter – Pendragon; Sabrina Jeffries – To Pleasure a Prince; Johanna Lindsey – Pursuit; Kathleen E. Woodiwiss – A Season Beyond a Kiss; Linda Howard – Touch of Fire; Linda Lael Miller – Angelfire; Julie Garwood – For the Roses.

Pace: Moderately paced
Characters: Well-developed characters; strong women; exotic characters; very evil villains; and the Cynsters
Story: Character-driven
Writing style: Engaging
Tone: Suspenseful; steamy
Frame: Calcutta, Bombay, London, Cambridgeshire; 1822

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find much to like about this book, in spite of the reappearance of characters from previous books that I did like. The pace was slow to the point of tedium until nearly the end. Somehow the story did not really gel for me even then. Maybe it was because the last book by this author that I read was so unexpectedly good (The Masterful Mr. Montague) that I was disappointed in this one, and maybe the second in this series will catch my interest more.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was delighted to see the Cynsters and Bastion Club members. But neither the hero nor heroine appealed to me particularly. And I did not "get" the attraction as anything other than lust. Still, good lust. :-)

Better the second time through. Probably familiarity. And the characters from other series.
2019--It does a good job of establishing context for the series.

[Susan (susayq ~) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was pretty good. There was a lot of action going on here. I'll have to read the rest of the series to see how things turn out with the villain (all books in this series are closely intertwined). I loved seeing all the Cynster family; however, of a reader is unfamiliar with that series, they may be a little confused and not understand the close relationships the men have.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book loved it