A Secret Love (Cynster Book 5)

Cut to the Chase:This is Laurens at her best – an engrossing blend of mystery, an especially well characterized heroine, and of course, her trademark steamy sensuality. Though Laurens’s characters are always attractive and intelligent, they sometimes feel a little interchangeable; this is one of the few examples to the contrary. Alathea is a twenty-nine-year-old spinster who willingly sacrificed the possibility of marriage to become the titular financial head of the family and Gabriel, though he’s a little more of the stereotypical strong, protective, masculine trope, is nonetheless engaging enough to follow. You need to take a small leap of faith at the set-up: that Alathea and Gabriel are childhood friends, but when she needs his help, she comes to him in disguise (one that he doesn’t see through). Once you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well their dual day/night relationships develop, and be engrossed in what is a very enjoyable read.Greater Detail:Alathea Morwellan is the twenty-nine-year-old daughter of an earl. She’s far more independent than a lot of the other historical heroines you’ll see, and more believably so – she’s been more or less running the earldom’s finances over the past decade, and acts as a chaperone to her many younger stepsisters and stepbrothers. Her father, the earl, is apparently known for making very foolish financial investments, and has signed away the entire family’s fortunes in what is essentially a ponzi scheme. Alathea believes that Gabriel Cynster, a man she more or less grew up with as a family friend, has the business knowledge and connections to investigate and litigate before all the money is lost – yet for some reason, she decides that he will pay more attention to her request for help if she approaches him in disguise, something she pulls off quite spectacularly: Gabriel is immediately attracted to the mysterious masked countess Alathea pretends to be, and vows to help her. He even eventually seduces her, all while having no idea of her true identity.The set-up is a bit of a doozy – but if you’re familiar with Laurens, they almost always are. Yes, there is a reason for everything; for example, Alathea doesn’t want others to know it’s her family, and so that’s why she approached Gabriel (even though he’s a trusted family friend) in disguise. And Alathea wears heels, a mask, and a different perfume when she masquerades as the countess, which is apparently enough to make Gabriel not recognize her voice, her body, et cetera. While Laurens is very skillful at surrounding her characters with murder, mystery, and mayhem, the plots often take a bit of a larger suspension of disbelief than might otherwise be required in this genre.That said, this is truly the best example of her work – Laurens is always an articulate, engrossing writer, but her men always seem to be too good to be true, the women always seem to be too independent and headstrong, and there is rarely enough backstory to make the characters feel multidimensional. Because Alathea and Gabriel have known each other their entire lives, and because Alathea’s backstory gives her a believable reason for being this headstrong, this independent, the relationship that develops between the two feels deeper, far more balanced and fleshed out, than many of her other stories. We get to really see not only the passion, which Laurens writes so well, but also the friendship between the two, and the real vulnerability that each of the protagonists associates with the idea of being in love, or being exposed to the other. This is not only her best work, but the most repeatable. It’s an excellent start for anyone who’s been interested in trying something out of Lauren’s rather prolific library.Other Things to Know:This is chronologically the fifth book of (originally) six in Laurens’s Cynster series. The six original members of the Bar Cynster are: Devil (Devil’s Bride), Vane (A Rake’s Vow), Richard (Scandal’s Bride), Demon (A Rogue’s Proposal), Gabriel, and Lucifer (All About Love), six cousins who are all amongst the most sought out, elusive bachelors of the town. Don’t be deceived though – while the series follows the six different male protagonists, Laurens’s masculine heroes are more or less interchangeable, they are all exceedingly handsome, accomplished lovers and rakes who are overprotective but fiercely loyal, and they all have the kinds of faults that aren’t really faults. It tends to be the women – the high strung governess that Devil pursues, the witch (yes, literally, a witch) that seduces Richard, and the spinster whom Gabriel falls in love with, that really set the books apart.While many make cameo-like appearances in one another’s novels, the series is barely connected, and truly does not need to be read in order. The common thread is chronology (which never impacts the plots) and the Cynster name — something Laurens must have recognized as many of the Cynster cousins, brothers- and sisters-in-laws, and even some of their friends, all later got spinoff books of their own. There’s also at least one prequel following some of the parental Cysnters.Still, the original six are by far the best – and A Secret Love (followed fairly closely by Scandal’s Bride) are the two with the strongest character and relationship development, and by far the most satisfying and enjoyable.Comparisons to Other Authors:Laurens is a very prolific writer, and if you like passionate historical romances that are well-written and articulate, especially if you like to have a dash of mystery along with your romance, Laurens is a top contender by any standard. But she’s so prolific that it sometimes feels as though she’s not necessarily taking the time to edit herself and really individuate her protagonists. She’s definitely more sensual and writes more intense lovemaking scenes than Lisa Kleypas (though Kleypas has better character development and layering) or Samantha James. She also writes longer love scenes than someone like Kat Martin, and tends to spend a little more time on the ending feelings and consequences than Martin does.The best direct comparisons I can think of are probably Amanda Quick (which is the pen name for Jayne Ann Krentz, who tends to be also quick and prolific with slightly domineering male leads) and Virginia Henley. Of the three, I would probably pick Laurens – she’s got less sex than Virginia Henley (it’s hard for me to think of an author that has more scenes devoted to intercourse than Henley), but her characters are far more developed relative to Henley, and the plot proceeds at a less break-neck pace. Depending on the book, it’s a toss-up between Quick and Laurens for me, but overall, I think I’ve read and reread more Laurens than Quick.

My rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.This book is well-written, because Stephanie Laurens is a talented writer. I read it several years ago, but recently decided to re-read the entire Cynster series, since I had enjoyed them all. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I still like this book -- maybe not quite as much as the first read, but I still liked it a lot.Gabriel was OK, but it seemed like he was mostly in lust, not love -- especially at first. It really bothered me that he thought it was fine to seduce the "Countess" just because she was a widow. He never even asked her if she was interested in that, just immediately began trying to seduce her.It also irritated me that Gabriel was so determined to never admit that he loved a woman, and could have lost Alathea because of it. He finally did tell her he loved her, but it took him a long time to realize he needed to. What is it with men thinking that a woman has too much power if she knows she is loved? This is a common theme in many romances, but it still bugs me.I liked Alathea, but thought she did some really stupid things in trying to solve the mystery. Gabriel kept having to save her from herself, and she was just too stubborn to stop getting herself in bad situations.My rating system is below.1 star -- Hated it, or did not finish. I usually only give this rating if some of the content is truly objectionable to me, like if one of the main characters does something really awful, and gets away with it.2 stars -- Didn't like it. This rating usually means that I thought the writing wasn't very good, the editing was terrible, I didn't like the characters, or it had other major flaws.3 stars -- I liked it, but had some minor issues with it. This rating means that there were minor editing issues, the story needed more character development, it was just too unrealistic, or had some other fairly minor issue. The majority of books I read get this rating – I do not consider it a bad rating.4 stars -- I liked it a lot. This is a high rating for me, and I rarely give a higher one.5 stars -- I loved it, and will probably read it again. Very few books are good enough to get this rating from me. The ones that do are usually classics.

There's nothing like discovering a new author you love and settling in to read the backlist. Stephanie Laurens is my new favorite, and I am having a great time reading all the Bar Cynster novels. These are the best Regency romances I've read in years. Don't worry about reading them in order. Other Cynsters make enough of an appearance to whet your appetite for more but not so much as to reveal the plots of the books you haven't read."A Secret Love" is the fifth in the series, and it is Gabriel's story. Althea Morwellan, Gabriel's childhood friend, is in dire financial straights and deperately needs his help. For a variety of reasons, she doesn't want to come right out and ask for his assistance; instead, she creates "the Countess", a mysterious figure deliberately designed to entice Gabriel. Now this next part requires a certain suspension of disbelief. Gabriel and the Countess, aka Althea, have some very steamy encounters, but Gabriel doesn't figure out that the two are one and the same. I, too, didn't buy it, but if you're willing to believe that Regency England was awash with gorgeous, sensitive, masculine, sexy men, you can probably live with this plot device. It leads to a very sweet story about two people finding love where they least expected it. Because of their shared history, there's a certain depth to Gabriel and Althea's romance that is quite appealing. Additonally, the story benefited from the fact that the characters were full-grown adults (32 and 33 years old) and approximately the same age. I really get tired of spunky, independent 18 year old virgins and jaded older males. All in all, this is a great regency romance and you'll have a great time reading it!

I really love the Cynster boys! So reluctant to love but when they do, the protective instincts, care and possessive love is total and absolute!!!Alathea and Gabriel are childhood friends that have not seen each other since she left town, 11 years ago, leaving behind her first season and any hope of marriage and children. After years of working hard to bringing her family from the brink of bankruptcy, she is able to bring her 2 stepsisters to have their first season. However, the worst happen and the only person that can help her is Gabriel. Masquerade as a widow she meets him. The last thing she expects is the instant attraction between them and soon they embark in a red hot passionate affair. But what will happen when Gabriel discovers her true identity?! Pack with action, adventure, intrigue and hot red romance. Highly recommended

This is a book that I reread when the mood takes me. I love how childhood friendships are explained when they move from child to adult. How awkwardness in adulthood could mean the change in the relationship especially when boys start to notice their friend is a women. Yes it follows similar Cynster story line mystery solving turning into love. But this was also about childhood blossoming into love and that it is never too late to find it.

I like this whole series but this book is one of my favourites. It's the initial intrigue and then that ballroom scene! Sets the heart racing. While the book can be read on its own there are a number of characters from Stephanie Lauren's earlier four books in this series so would suggest starting with Devil's Bride - my other favourite book Cynster book. In this book, Alathea is strong yet vulnerable and Gabriel is a Cynster but also shows his vulnerable side. Good story, sensual and sexy, with good dialogue and humorous touches. If you like Julia Quinn you'll like this.

I enjoyed the etiquette, the historic references. I found my self engulffed with the female character. Wishing to be protected and wooed by the elegible young bucks.The interwoven intrigue of the story kept my mind searching forward to uncover the devloping game to its ultimate end of love and satisfaction.

Another excellent book by Stephanie Laurens.I just wish she wood reduce the "gushing" prose.We realise that high emotions are depicted, and don't need this overabundant verbiage.