I really liked this book. I cried and I laughed and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I adored Francesca and Gyles! Francesca was a breath of fresh air compared to the other Stephanie Lauren's books.

Yes, it was predictable and is your classic cheap romance novel, which is what I expected!

The only con I have with this book is; the advice given to Francesca, by her MIL. It was truly detestable to me. It hurt because I used to be young and stupid enough to listen to this type of advice.

semi -
When a man tells you he only wants one thing and is clear about it, you can't expect him to change. It's not fair to either of you. We always say we want honesty from our partners, but when they're honest and say, "I'll never love you, I'll have other lovers," we shouldn't be surprised when they do! And for Francesca's mother-in-law to be like "ohh, haha, he doesn't mean it! Just keep trying!" is just abhorrent and sets her up for failure and heartbreak.

Admittedly, this is a romance novel, so the outcome diverges from reality.

Overall- I really enjoyed this book! It's on my favorites list for Stephanie Laurens ( )

Typical Stephanie Laurens. Her character development is always good. She draws you into the story and makes you care about the characters. They do things that you'd expect and some things that you don't, but rarely do they do things that would be out of character. I know that most of my book ratings end up being a 4 or 5, but I don't stick with a book that I don't really enjoy and I definitely enjoyed this book ( )

Overall just kind of below average for me. I was willing to allow for the hero's initial misconception about his ideal wife, and the mistaken identity plot which was a bit much, but I could move past it. The book didn't really ever get going for me though, the hero holds to his previously conceived notions entirely too long, there's sort of a half hearted mystery and kind of cliche villain, it dragged. The couple were alright but never really pulled me in. Just kinda meh. ( )

I really liked this latest installment of the Cynsters series. It did get off to a slow start but I'm glad I stuck with it. Franchesca is definitely one of my favorite heroines of the series, behind Honoria. ( )

All About Passion
4 Stars

Gyles Rawlings, Earl of Chillingworth, has vowed never to succumb to the allures of love. Required to marry in order to secure the family line, Gyles selects the perfect candidate for a pliant wife, Francesca Rawlings, and proceeds to arrange the nuptials. Fate, however, has other plans as Gyles's betrothed is neither timid nor obedient. Rather, she is a proud, passionate and opinionated vixen who evokes all of his possessive, barbarian traits. Will Francesca be able to capture his heart as well?

The appeal of Chillingworth's character in the previous installment lay in his rakish yet enigmatic persona. This mysterious air held the potential for an incredible romance. Unfortunately, although his story is entertaining enough, the tropes are all very familiar and there is nothing unique or original to make it particularly noteworthy.

Gyles and Francesca's relationship contains several themes that are common to historical romance including a mistaken identity, a hero resistant to love, a feisty heroine determined to win her husband's devotion not to mention the trips round Hyde Park and waltzing at Almack's. It has all been done before and by Laurens herself no less.

That said, Gyles and Francesca are exceedingly likable and their chemistry is tangible. The minor mystery plot increases the tension even though it is rather predictable and easy to guess the villain.

All in all, an easy and entertaining read. Looking forward to the next one.
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