All About Love

I enjoyed this mix of murder mystery and romance between two quite strong-willed people who find love while investigating the murder of a man they both respect.

When Lucifer Cynster flees London after the wedding of one of the Cynsters, he takes up the invitation of his old friend, Horatio Welham, who had invited him down to Devon to see something he had happened on while buying and selling antiques. Lucifer and he had a mutual interest in collecting antiques and Lucifer regarded Horatio as a mentor. When Lucifer arrives he happens on the dead body of his friend and is knocked out.

Phyllida Tallent has accidentally knocked out an intruder into the house of a neighbour. After knocking him out she realises that he isn't the man who show more murdered her neighbour and in fact she may have resulted in making him the prime suspect in the murder. She knows it isn't him and he's strangely attractive. She's sworn off marriage but this man just might tempt her.

It's an entertaining read, nothing too deep and I enjoyed it. show less

All About Love
4 Stars

Lucifer Cynster, the last unmarried member of the Bar Cynster, believes he can escape his fate by leaving London. Little does he know that his destiny awaits in the small village of Colyton in the countryside of Devon where he literally stumbles over a body. Soon Lucifer finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation while wooing the willful and independent, Phyllida Talent, a woman even more averse to marriage than Lucifer.

One of the best in the series thus far.

Phyllida's spirit and Lucifer's protectiveness make for highly entertaining reading as these two unlikely lovers push each other's buttons at every opportunity. Phyllida is cool, calm and collected and her aversion to marriage is quite understandable show more given the poor choice of suitors in her vicinity.
Lucifer is a totally swoonworthy hero and his attempts at wooing the reluctant Phyllida lead to some very amusing scenes.

The Agatha Christie type mystery is an added bonus as Lucifer and Phyllida question the various villagers and uncover the secrets of a small town. The climax and resolution are exciting and all the loose ends are tied up neatly.

The final epilogue is wonderful and gives the reader a sense of coming full circle :0) show less

I don't remember this story at all of course it has been 12 years since I last read it. I do love how fate just slaps these men up side the head with the woman that will be their love. I have loved all these guys and Alaisdair "Lucifer" is no different. They are all kind and considerate when they are around children and old ladies. They are honorable and loyal to a fault. They are also passionate, possessive, and overly protective. I did like that Lucifer was willing to let Phyllida help with the investigation of Horatio's murder. The villain in this story was a different surprise as well as the motive for all the killings. I was glad that Ms. Laurens didn't shy away from not keeping Phyllida all safe and happy and secure in the show more knowledge that no one would hurt her just because she was a woman and rule her world. That is a mistake so many writers make. If a man wants to hurt or kill a woman chances are very good it will happen I don't care who the woman is.

I also like the setting of this story. The reader get to see what like is like in a small village not far from the coast. Ms Laurens writes about smugglers and the attraction it had for the men that lived in these villages. She also brings to life the differences between life in London and life in the county. I was glad that Lucifer finally found a place to settle and someone that would keep him happy. I also enjoyed the last chapter with all the cousins together with their wives and children. It was nice to get an update on what has happen and how everyone is doing. This story is a wonderful addition to the series and readers will be very pleased. show less

2.5 stars rounded up. This was a bit tedious in places and had multiple, considerable, holes in the plot. I feel like with a bit more effort Laurens could have come up with *good* reasons for things playing out how she wanted, but instead just settled for 'reasons'. Often that necessitated the characters being daft, which is also irritating. But, I didn't dislike either of them, and it was otherwise kind of 'meh' so I'm okay with rounding up.

I read this for the "Headless" Woman square for Romance Bingo and my Series Headway selection.

This was pretty slow moving, its mostly a cozy mystery until 60% and out of nowhere we get something like this,



Then the story becomes a mystery with some pretty steamy sex scenes, quite the wake up call those scenes were, lol. Its well written but I found myself a bit bored, story just wasn't to my taste. The epilogue was sweet as we get reminiscing and looking to the future generation scenes from Honoria's (heroine from first in the series) point of view. It was a nice way to close out the Bar Cynsters and usher in the new, who look to be an honorary member and the girls of the Cynster pack to carry on the series.

Good but unmemorable as a story. Lucifer's offering has a lot more sex than many of the other books, which is saying something considering the books are very much about the sex. Unlike some of the earlier Cynster books, this one is not very good in that the story does not stay with you after reading it. This is the first tbook in the decline of Stephanie Laurens' writing style. The Cynster series very rapidly degenerates into unreadable pap after this book.

I adore this series!! Stephanie Laurens is a master at the Alpha Rake!! I love the men pursuing their ladies!! Lucifer is another favorite of mine!!