Scandal's Bride - Cynsters 3 - Stephanie Laurens
Jul 19, 2018 22:08:05 GMT -7
Banana Boat, bonnieg, and 2 more like this
Post by secretromancejunkie on Jul 19, 2018 22:08:05 GMT -7
Scandal's Bride - Cynsters 3 - Stephanie Laurens
Rating 4.0 / 5.0
Heat 8 / 10
Genre Regency, bit of paranormal
The H of this book is the younger (illegitimate) half brother of Devil, Duke of St. Ives, from Devil's Bride. He's been called to Scotland to receive a bequest from his birth mother. Her husband withheld it until his own death and bequeathed it to the H in his will.
The h is known as the Lady of the Vale. She is the spiritual leader of the people of one particular Vale and the earthly representative of the spiritual being known as the Lady of the Vale. People call her a witch, but she's more of a healer. The Lady of the Vale could be thought of as somewhat akin to Mother Nature. The h has also been called to the reading of the same will. She goes with the full knowledge (imparted by the LotV) that she goes to meet the father of her future children.
The conditions in the will are designed to force them to marry. If they do not, then the family of the deceased will be left destitute and all the money will go to charity. Everyone assumes the H will simply refuse and return to London.
At this point a scene occurs that many reviewers strongly objected to. I understand their objections but the scene only bothered me a little. The h drugs the H with a sedative and an aphrodisiac. Then she comes to his bed in order to use him as father to her future children. Many people complained that this was rape. Think about the reverse here and no one would put up with it. Because of the time frame, and the fact that the drugs only partially worked on him, I was able to still enjoy the book. The next two nights the h thinks he's drugged as well, but in fact he has not drunk the drugged whiskey and is fully aware and compliant in their encounters.
The H uses the incident to convince the h to marry him, even though she had not intended to. She thinks he's too strong of a personality to act as her consort. She thinks he will try and take over the running of the Vale.
The rest of the book is about their trying to find a way forward that gives them both what they need. There are a couple of bad guys and some near death experiences thrown in for a little excitement. Many other Cynsters make an appearance as well.
I liked this book. It isn't my favourite in the series but I did enjoy it.
Rating 4.0 / 5.0
Heat 8 / 10
Genre Regency, bit of paranormal
The H of this book is the younger (illegitimate) half brother of Devil, Duke of St. Ives, from Devil's Bride. He's been called to Scotland to receive a bequest from his birth mother. Her husband withheld it until his own death and bequeathed it to the H in his will.
The h is known as the Lady of the Vale. She is the spiritual leader of the people of one particular Vale and the earthly representative of the spiritual being known as the Lady of the Vale. People call her a witch, but she's more of a healer. The Lady of the Vale could be thought of as somewhat akin to Mother Nature. The h has also been called to the reading of the same will. She goes with the full knowledge (imparted by the LotV) that she goes to meet the father of her future children.
The conditions in the will are designed to force them to marry. If they do not, then the family of the deceased will be left destitute and all the money will go to charity. Everyone assumes the H will simply refuse and return to London.
At this point a scene occurs that many reviewers strongly objected to. I understand their objections but the scene only bothered me a little. The h drugs the H with a sedative and an aphrodisiac. Then she comes to his bed in order to use him as father to her future children. Many people complained that this was rape. Think about the reverse here and no one would put up with it. Because of the time frame, and the fact that the drugs only partially worked on him, I was able to still enjoy the book. The next two nights the h thinks he's drugged as well, but in fact he has not drunk the drugged whiskey and is fully aware and compliant in their encounters.
The H uses the incident to convince the h to marry him, even though she had not intended to. She thinks he's too strong of a personality to act as her consort. She thinks he will try and take over the running of the Vale.
The rest of the book is about their trying to find a way forward that gives them both what they need. There are a couple of bad guys and some near death experiences thrown in for a little excitement. Many other Cynsters make an appearance as well.
I liked this book. It isn't my favourite in the series but I did enjoy it.
I usually skip that part when I reread! I do love the part where he's put in danger; she works to save him & many Cynsters come due to the concerns. And the fire; that's good too! Yeah, I do enjoy this book!