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whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
3.0
3 bad injuries and a sympathetic villain, for once
clairey_fairy82's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
balletbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Backtracking from [b:Loving Rose: The Redemption of Malcolm Sinclair|18759903|Loving Rose The Redemption of Malcolm Sinclair (Casebook of Barnaby Adair, #3)|Stephanie Laurens|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399278397s/18759903.jpg|26655810] to pick up Malcolm's start only to find that he was in one of the Bastion Club novels [b:To Distraction|399897|To Distraction (Bastion Club, #5)|Stephanie Laurens|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388205028s/399897.jpg|1829572]. The dangers of interlinked series.
This one was quite nice at times, but Charlie was probably the worst of all the Cynster heroes in that he more or less lied to Sarah.
This one was quite nice at times, but Charlie was probably the worst of all the Cynster heroes in that he more or less lied to Sarah.
bookaholic_kim's review against another edition
2.0
It was an OK read. the characters are well written but I find it repetitive so I skipped some chapters.
zcammack's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
laurenjodi's review against another edition
2.0
The Taste of Innocence
2 Stars
Charles Morwellan, Earl of Meredith, has decided to marry. To his mind, Sarah Connigham is the perfect candidate - beautiful, intelligent and mature enough to welcome a marriage of convenience. But Sarah is determined to marry for love and Charlie will have to use all of the weapons in his arsenal - wit, charm and skills in seduction - to win her over.
Series note: This is book #14 in the Cynster series but takes place after the Cynster Sister Trilogy (books #16-18). It is also linked to books #6 and #7 in The Bastion Club series. I strongly recommend reading Laurens' works in chronological order as they appear on her website - here.
After a string of engaging stories, Sarah and Charlie's book falls rather flat. The first half is tediously repetitious as Charlie tries to convince Sarah that he is worthy husband material. While the pacing picks up in the second half as the conflict between them emerges and the suspense plot gains momentum, it is still too drawn out.
The chemistry that characterizes the previous romances in this subset of Cynster brother-in-law novels is sorely lacking as Charlie and Sarah's interactions, both verbal and sexual, are more mechanical than emotional. Also, Charlie's reason for keeping his distance from Sarah is completely non-sensical and undermines his hero status.
In addition, the mystery revolving around the railway land scheme is overly convoluted and descriptive, with pages and pages of financial information, geographical details and train schedules (or so it seems). Moreover, readers coming into the series here without having read The Bastion Club will be lacking backstory on a major player in the story. While some information is provided, it is not sufficient to truly appreciate the character's personality and motivation.
In sum, this is one of the more disappointing installments. Hopefully, the next one will return to the tried and true.
2 Stars
Charles Morwellan, Earl of Meredith, has decided to marry. To his mind, Sarah Connigham is the perfect candidate - beautiful, intelligent and mature enough to welcome a marriage of convenience. But Sarah is determined to marry for love and Charlie will have to use all of the weapons in his arsenal - wit, charm and skills in seduction - to win her over.
Series note: This is book #14 in the Cynster series but takes place after the Cynster Sister Trilogy (books #16-18). It is also linked to books #6 and #7 in The Bastion Club series. I strongly recommend reading Laurens' works in chronological order as they appear on her website - here.
After a string of engaging stories, Sarah and Charlie's book falls rather flat. The first half is tediously repetitious as Charlie tries to convince Sarah that he is worthy husband material. While the pacing picks up in the second half as the conflict between them emerges and the suspense plot gains momentum, it is still too drawn out.
The chemistry that characterizes the previous romances in this subset of Cynster brother-in-law novels is sorely lacking as Charlie and Sarah's interactions, both verbal and sexual, are more mechanical than emotional. Also, Charlie's reason for keeping his distance from Sarah is completely non-sensical and undermines his hero status.
In addition, the mystery revolving around the railway land scheme is overly convoluted and descriptive, with pages and pages of financial information, geographical details and train schedules (or so it seems). Moreover, readers coming into the series here without having read The Bastion Club will be lacking backstory on a major player in the story. While some information is provided, it is not sufficient to truly appreciate the character's personality and motivation.
In sum, this is one of the more disappointing installments. Hopefully, the next one will return to the tried and true.
meuyi's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
helenephoebe's review against another edition
4.0
Review - In this book, Simon Cynster isn't married, but he was actually married five books before this one. I loved Sarah and how she insisted on keeping the orphanage and got involved in it, and how she was sure Charlie loved her. I think that The Taste of Innocence is my favourite of the post-Bar Cynster novels. I just felt that the getting married earlier and exploring their married relationship worked really well. I also loved the mystery, although I did guess right at the beginning who was responsible, which hadn't happened for example with Devil's Bride. What does confuse me about this series is that the books don't seem to be in chronological order.
Genre? - Romance / Historical / Erotica / Mystery
Characters? - Charles Morwellan / Sarah Conningham / Simon Cynster / Malcolm Sinclair
Setting? - England
Series? - Cynster #14
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 18/20
Genre? - Romance / Historical / Erotica / Mystery
Characters? - Charles Morwellan / Sarah Conningham / Simon Cynster / Malcolm Sinclair
Setting? - England
Series? - Cynster #14
Recommend? - Yes
Rating - 18/20
bbckprpl's review against another edition
That everyone in Stephanie Lauren's historic England will eventually either be a Cynster or an 'honorary Cynster' by the time she finishes this series.
vpalmer0508's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0