The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae by Stephanie Laurens

The Earl of Glencrae is running out of time -- and running out of options. With the unsuccessful kidnapping of the 2 older Cynster sisters, her mother's constant threats and the coming deadline for the goblet, he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands and handle the youngest, and last, of the sisters.

Like her sisters, Angelica is also looking for her hero and she believes that the new face across the ballroom might be the one. She is intrigued by the intensity and raw power that emanates from the man -- and so she finds a way to get closer.

One minute she is talking and flirting with him -- the next, she is kidnapped and brought to an unknown location -- as her captor plots his next move.

But Angelica, ever the Cynster, makes plans of her own.

I liked that Angelica was clever and strong enough to turn the tables on Dominic -- instead of being a helpless captive, she becomes his equal and co-conspirator (against his mother) and makes decisions for herself (and for him) --

This is the last part of Stephanie Laurens' Cynster Sisters series. I had read the first two and had mixed feelings about them -- but I ordered the last book because I wanted to see how Laurens would conclude the series. She did a good job building up the mystery of the Earl of Glencrae and this is partly the reason why I wanted to read this book.

The Earl of Glencrae has loomed in the shadows of the first two novels in the series -- is he truly a villain? Why is he targeting these sisters?

Since this is the last novel in the series, Laurens is left with the burden of having to cast light on all the details and puzzles she staged. And the untangling of it all has weighed down this book immensely -- and not in a good way.

It begins with a near-monologue from Dominic, Earl of Glencrae which spans pages 35 to 48 of the book. He details the history of his family and how it is connected to Angelica's family, etc. etc. etc. --

I also felt that the recitation of Cynsters and their wives from previous books was almost gratuitous. I understand that Laurens is trying to tie this mini-series to the greater Cyster stories --
p. 58 - 59
p. 74 = 2 paragraphs of Cynster names

This is a double-edged sword -- readers new to Laurens will get lost in the multitude of references to previous books; while fans of her previous books will be delighted to read about their favorites.

There's also a lot of explaining and telling too much, which doesn't allow the reader to decode the nuances in the actions of the characters or their dialogue. There is also a terrible case of repetitiveness --

Dominic Guisachan, Earl of Glencrae, a highland laird accustomed to absolute rule, absolute command ... p.52

He was accustomed to wielding power -- in his case more or less absolute power. p. 110

Stephanie Laurens is a talented writer -- her previous books are proof of that talent. And one finds a glimpse of that talent in this novel:

For the first time, he allowed that realization to fully form, to rise in his consciousness, then sink to his bones. p.92

That line is memorable -- there is a wonderful economy of words but the choice of words are very evocative of the feelings between Dominic and Angelica.

I had hoped to read more of that in the almost-400 pages left -- but, sadly, I did not.

Stephanie Laurens has a good story to tell -- but the story got lost in too many words, too many details, too many mentions of traveling -- just too many of everything.

What is interesting, though -- is that I did not feel there was chemistry between Angelica and Dominic. It is stated in the book how attracted they are to each other -- but I did not get a sense of any deeper devotion between the two.

There is a bonus novella at the end of the book, but I did not read it anymore.



Final note: I did like how the identity of the laird was uncovered. I like the reference to Burke's Peerage. ^_^

In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster by Stephanie Laurens

 It took me awhile to finish this book -- I felt it was too long and over-written.

This is the second book in the Cynster Sisters series and it is Eliza's turn to find her hero.

 I think Stephanie Laurens did a good thing by introducing us to an atypical Cynster -- Eliza is not like her siblings or cousins.  She isn't bold or daring.  She can't ride a horse.  She's not overly fond of being social.  She is quiet and introspective.

Jeremy Carling is also not your typical Laurens hero.  He is a scholar and leads a quiet and contemplative life.

I felt Laurens could have done more about Eliza and Jeremy -- both out of their element in an adventure better-suited for their siblings/friends.  Instead, Laurens does the same thing -- she rehashes the same plot -- and has Eliza kidnapped and brought to Scotland.  And Jeremy and Eliza go through chapters and chapters of traveling ... on foot.

I am fine with Laurens using the kidnapping as the device to tie the three stories together -- but I don't think it should be as easy as changing the names of the kidnapper, the kidnapped and the rescuer -- (even the end destination was the same!)

I had to keep putting the book down because it was a lot of walking and walking and walking and not a lot of adventure.  Laurens did the convenient thing and made sure to draw out their travel to Wolverstone.  Of course there was an explanation -- and we accept (but don't understand) Jeremy's rationale for choosing such a roundabout route to a place he is very familiar with --

This is also where Laurens commits the error of over-writing -- the tedious discussion of routes and directions -- the ever-present and quite-often consultation of a map --

This story lacked focus.  It also lacked direction. This should have been Eliza and Jeremy's story -- and we should have seen some growth and transformation in the two of them.

In the end, when Eliza realizes that she had changed, I am unconvinced that she had.

When Eliza finally rose from the tub, and wrapped in a robe, toweled her hair dry, she felt ... like her old self, but not. 


She was increasingly certain she could never go back to that earlier self, her previous incarnation. Whatever changes the last week had wrought, they were irreversible.

What Laurens has succeeded in doing is to make the Laird (I assume he is the Earl of Glencrae) a very appealing character.  It is explained in this second book why he was so hesitant in the first book.

He is a reluctant villain -- and it is because of him that I have pre-ordered the third book and will read it.

This book was released one month after the first book was released ... but the third book won't be out until January -- I am hoping that Laurens has used this time to work out the kinks in her story.

Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue by Stephanie Laurens

This story had potential --

We are told, at the beginning of the story, that Heather and Timothy, Viscount Breckenridge, hate each other. They are somewhat, distantly related by marriage and they are nemeses.

They meet at an infamous soiree where Heather has sneaked off to -- she is determined to find a man to marry. (It's a strange place to find a prospective husband, considering it is a gathering with questionable purpose.)

Breckenridge compels Heather to go home, threatening to inform her brothers of her outing. On her way to her carriage, Heather gets kidnapped. Breckenridge witnesses this and decides to chase after Heather and her kidnappers.

He catches up to them -- but, instead of escaping, Heather is determined to discover the identity of the mastermind to her kidnapping. She decides to stay kidnapped to try to get information.

This whole part felt odd -- and partly defies logic. But I guess Laurens wanted to use this time for Heather and Breckenridge to develop a relationship. (They meet at night to discuss what they have discovered during the day.)

Finally, (after about 6 chapters), they decide to escape. The mastermind of Heather's kidnapping follows them. (Again, weird: he never seems to catch up. He's riding a horse and they are on foot -- but he never seems to catch up!)

Heather and Breckenridge decide to travel to Vale, to seek help from Richard (Scandal) and Catriona --

When they arrive there, the story changes.

They have forgotten about the mastermind (and the kidnapping) and Breckenridge is intent on marrying Heather. Heather does not want to get married and plans to devote her life to taking care of children. (Um... she sneaked out to a soiree in order to find a man!) She demands his love and he can't give it because of something that happened to him in the past.

There was one moment when Richard and Breckenridge decide to track the mastermind -- but, at this point, his trail is cold. (They should have done it when they arrived at the Vale, when Breckenridge and the mastermind had a standoff. Instead, they wait a few days so he could escape.)

It takes a deus ex machina (in this case, a tauri/bull ex machina) to push Heather and Breckenridge to give in to their feelings. And live happily ever after.

This story had a lot of potential. It would have been nice if Laurens had stuck to one story and saw it through to the end (preferably the kidnapping story). She also needs to edit her work better -- to avoid such lines as:

Their hearty breakfast of porridge and honey stood them on good stead as they marched steadily on. O_o

Some things Laurens failed to address:
1. Why do Heather and Breckenridge hate each other?
2. Who is Helen and what did she do to Breckenridge? (It is implied that she broke his heart but a lot of the details are left out -- I think this is an important part of the story since this is the reason why Timothy can't seem to open his heart to Heather.)
3. What happened to the letter Breckenridge left with Heather's coachman? Why didn't anyone come after them?

Laurens succeeded in piquing our interest about the mastermind of the kidnapping and the reasons behind it -- (which is why I am reading the next book) --

The greatest challenge Laurens has to overcome (IMHO) is creating unique characters. She has written about the Cynsters for more than 10 years and has introduced over 15 of the Cynster children. It becomes difficult distinguishing one from the other -- and one's story from the other.

In the word of her own characters:
The same thing we've all had to do--prostrate ourselves at their dainty feet, swear undying love, and mean it. - Richard to Breckenridge

Whoever your hero is, he's definitely like your cousins... - Catriona to Heather

She tried to step out of the Cynster mold with the Black Cobra Quartet -- but there is a reason why she has decided to return to writing about the Cynsters.

I have the next book and I'm interested enough to continue reading this series.