The twenty-third book I finished in 2014 was The Taste of Innocence by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 4/4/14. This is the 14th book in the Cynster family series by Laurens. Previous books in the series were discussed in earlier blog posts this year, specifically 2014 – Book #21, 2014 – Book #13, 2014 – Book #12, 2014 – Book #10, 2014 – Book #6, and 2014 – Book #4. I rated this book 3.25 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Charlie Morwellan, brother to Alathea Morwellan from book #5 in the Cynster series. Charlie has decided that it is time for him to marry and he plans to go about it in the least passionate way possible. In his mind, passion leads only to distraction and will only harm him in the long run. Charlie believes that he needs to stay focused on the earldom and protecting his legacy.

So he decides to offer for the hand of his neighbor’s daughter, 23-year old Sarah Conningham. They have known each other their whole lives and Charlie believes they would be a good match. What Charlie doesn’t expect is to quickly become addicted to her kisses, addicted to what he believes is the taste of innocence but is in reality his addiction to Sarah herself.

I found this book a little difficult. Charlie is cold and unfeeling to Sarah for part of the story where he has to come to terms with his feelings. And while he does eventually come around, it was painful in parts to read. The back story was intriguing though. Sarah becomes the target of a villain who wants to own the orphanage she oversees and when she refuses to sell he basically tries to kill her so that he can buy it from Charlie.

While this was a good book it wasn’t my favorite in the series. Good addition to the series though and many of the previous characters were included in this story as well, which was interesting.

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Taste-Innocence-Cynster-Novels/dp/0060840870/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1396888358&sr=8-1&keywords=the+taste+of+innocence

The twenty-first book I finished in 2014 was What Price Love? by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 3/30/14. This is the 13th book in the Cynster family series by Laurens. Previous books in the series were discussed in earlier blog posts this year, specifically 2014 – Book #13, 2014 – Book #12, 2014 – Book #10, 2014 – Book #6, and 2014 – Book #4. I’ve rated this book 3.5 stars out of a scale of 5. This book tells the story of Dillon Caxton, cousin of Felicity (Flick) who was the heroine in Cynster book #4 A Rogue’s Proposal. Dillon was still a young man in Flick’s story, but in What Price Love? he has grown into a responsible and trustworthy man. Priscilla Dalloway is trying to help her twin brother escape from the serious predicament he is currently in, and in the process she must obtain the Dillon’s help.

Since his part in Flick’s story, Dillon has redeemed himself in the eyes of his family and has proven himself to be trustworthy. Now the Keeper of the Registry, he holds the one thing that Priscilla believes will help her brother. As she attempts to flirt her way into getting Dillon to do her bidding, Dillon finds himself not only curious and suspicious about her motives but also drawn to her personality and her courage. When she finally entrusts him with her brother’s secret, he devises a plan to help her brother and also to put a stop to the villain’s evil plan. What Dillon doesn’t plan for, however, is her stubborn nature getting in the way of them getting married.

Dillon ends up having to fight for his lady’s hand for about the last 100 pages of the book, fighting the whole time only against the lady herself. This was one of the only things I found frustrating about this story is that Priscilla for some reason failed to ever see how much she meant to Dillon. I understand that at first she might have been hesitant but based on their interactions and how close they were, I find it hard to believe she could be that obtuse and not see that Dillon truly cared for her.

Overall though this was a very good book, especially exciting towards the middle when the villain’s plan fails. I also liked seeing Dillon return for his own story and seeing how much he matured between Flick’s story and his own. Great addition to the series!

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com/

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/What-Price-Love-Cynster-Novels/dp/0060840854/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396205336&sr=1-1&keywords=what+price+love

The thirteenth book I finished in 2014 was The Truth About Love by Stephanie Laurens. I finished this book on 3/9/14. This is the 12th book in the Cynster family series which I’ve discussed in previous blog posts. I rated this book 4 stars out of a scale of 5.

This story is about Gerrard Debbington (brother of Patience from the 2nd book in the Cynster family series). One of the things that I love about the Cynster family series is that characters can be introduced far before they star in their own novel. When we were first introduced to Gerrard (in A Rake’s Vow, the story of Vane and Patience), Gerrard assisted Vane in discovering who was stealing items from his aunt’s house party guests. Gerrard was charming and still then a boy and it was hard not to see his devotion to his sister Patience. Now starring in his own novel, Gerrard is a well-respected painter and the uncle to Patience and Vane’s 4 children. Gerrard is commissioned to paint a  portrait of Lord Tregonning’s daughter. At first he refuses, but Tregonning’s promise to give him access to his famous gardens are too tempting an offer for his painter’s soul to refuse.

Upon arriving at Hellebore Hall however, he discovers that this is not to be any ordinary portrait. Lord Tregonning’s daughter, Jacqueline, has been accused of murdering her mother and the portrait has been commissioned in the hope that in it her father would see the truth of either her guilt or innocence. As Gerrard gets to know Jacqueline, at first in order to portray her accurately and then because he can not resist her, he realizes that the real murderer is still among them. He enlists the help of his friend, Barnaby Adair (a character discussed in my earlier blog post “2014 – Book #10”) to help him solve the mystery.

One of the things that I enjoyed most about this novel was the gardens of Hellebore Hall. The gardens are well known and are extensive. There are multiple sections to the gardens, each one portraying a different Greek or Roman god. The description of the gardens was riveting, I would have loved to see such a garden in real life. The author drew up a rough sketch of the garden’s outline so reader’s can easily follow the discussions of the gardens throughout the book.

The plot was very well-paced and I was riveted throughout. Overall this was an excellent book and I would recommend to any reader!

Link to author website: http://www.stephanielaurens.com

Link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Love-Cynster-Novels/dp/0060505761/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1394403365&sr=8-3&keywords=the+truth+about+love