Customer Reviews

All About Passion

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The character of Chillingworth always intrigued me. He seemed the ultimate rogue - the eternal bachelor. And I hoped his downfall would be exciting and passionate. Well, it was and it wasn't.

First of all, the whole thing about Francesca learning about sex from watching her parents (on multiple occasions) was more than a little disturbing. She didn't just walk in on them. She spied on them and learned her sex moves from them. Can you say, creepy?! Come on, that is downright bizarre. But, if you could get past that, the story was decent.

This book was all about Chillingworth. The author gave very little insight into Francesca's character. We know nothing about her parents, her life growing up in Italy, and what she thinks and feels. She is a very 2 dimesional character. She is half-Italian, passionate, and hot-blooded. But rarely does her passionate nature shone through. She is content to rein herself in to capture Chillingworth's heart - noble? Maybe. A little boring? Definitely.

This was a nice read (aside from the whole sex/parents thing). Definitely not my favorite, but decent.

Due to bad weather my connecting flight was cancelled. So, left with 5 hours to kill in the middle of the Atlanta airport I went to the bookstore and picked up this book. I was enthralled! I had never read Stephanie Laurens before. I spent the whole 5 hours sitting at my gate reading this book!! I never took a break! The book was sensual and fun! Others have wrote very nice storylines so I won't do that but I will say that I enjoyed this book so much that as soon as I got home I ordered all the rest in Stephanie Lauren's Cynster series and her new Bastion Club series!!!

Stephanie Laurens has created a wonderful series of great dashing male characters with her Bar Cynster series. This is book 7 in the series.
All About Passions is a wonderful addition to the series. Gyles Rawlings (a cousin this time) is the handsome Earl of Chillingworth but he is determined to not be a member of the Bar Cynster. He's watched all his friends fall to a fate he finds worse than anything "LOVE". Refusing to let that emotion overtake his destiny he decides to arrange a marriage based on property and bloodlines rather than love. Luckily for him he discovers that the heiress to a piece of property that he desires is just what he is looking for. He sends his man to investigate the girl to discover she is of breeding and sounds like the meek woman he needs to give him an heir and a spare. Francesca Rawlings is just what he's looking for, but when he stumbles upon a wild gypsy girl at the estate he finds himself drawn to her even though he has offered for her Francesca. Unlike Frannie the blond, fair creature he sees sitting in the garden this gypsy stirs other things in him.

He wants nothing more than to marry Frannie and at the same time wants to fulfill his desires with the wild dark haired beauty who stirs his passions. On his wedding day though he finds a very big surprise when the woman he sees at the alter isn't the mild mannered Frannie, but his gypsy Francesca Rawlings. Gyles had no idea that there were two Frannie's or Francesca's as he soon finds out. How can he ever explain to Francesca that while he was trying to seduce her he'd planned on marrying her cousin?

Stephanie does a wonderful job of creating a very well written romantic story. This is my favorite Bar Cynster story so far. The scenes between Francesca and Gyles are electric and very erotic. Their passion erupts from the pages. Add in the discovery that someone is trying to kill one of them and the search for a killer only adds to a wonderful romantic novel.

This story doesn't end at the bedroom door so if you don't like spice in your romance then this isn't the book for you. If you do, well, Gyles is a very wonderful leading man and the chemisty between him and the fiery Francesca/His Gypsy is wonderful.

Beyond the romance/erotic/seductive storyline is a tale of family bloodlines, madness and a wonderful family of Rakes who think LOVE is a dirty word until they find it for themselves.

Stephanie Laurens keeps continuing to write about a wonderful family of men with great strong female counterparts. Add in a little mystery and you've got a fun romance with lots of passion.
A perfect way to spend time with a book.

5 Stars for the Bar Cynster and hopes that Stephanie Laurens will find even more family members to add to the series!

You must read the others as well Devil's Bride, A Rake's Vow, Scandal's Bride, A Rogue's Proposal, A Secret Love, All About Love and the upcoming The Promise in a Kiss: A Cynster Christmas Novel.

My last Laurens book.

Standards re-hash of the tired old Cynster novel. I did not even finish the book it was that bad. Mystery plot was as transparent as a window and the ending entirely contrived.

Laurens either needs to change her template or just hope that her readership is not filled with people who read more than one book of hers.

One star was for actually getting an editor to release this book to the public, second star was for having less than the normal amount of typos and also the overall legibility of the novel.

I do not agree this boook be given 5 stars. Although I admit the story suit the title. However, the story line is quiet boring. The sparks actually worn off... for me it is. The bedroom scenes are passionate, but it is just that. I honestly don't know how the hero and heroine could develop that kind of realtionship.. especially in the 18th century. Odd...

I have not quit a book halfway through in years and years, but this one I did - after getting tired of skipping the innumerable sexual trysts. Actually, I found there were some bits of plot between the various sexual acts in various places. I have nothing against sex, but a little substance is required as well. This was my first Stephanie Laurens book, and will be my last.

Gyles Rawlins, the Earl of Chillingworth, was a minor character in several of the earlier Cynster books. Now that the Bar Cynster members are all married off, Laurens turns her attention to other characters in their environs, and her first - and very welcome - choice is Chillingworth. Of course, this development was trailed very clearly when, at the end of All About Love, the Duke of St Ives declares Chillingworth to be an honorary Cynster. He's determined not to go the same way as his friends, however, when it comes to matters of the heart.

So, yes, it's another hero who is determined not to fall in love. But Chillingworth seems to mean it; he has decided to contract an arranged marriage with a suitable female, and preferably the sort who will be indistinguishable from the wallpaper in his various homes. If she happens to come with strategically-important land, such as the segment which was cut out of his own lands some years ago, so much the better. Such as his distant cousin, Francesca Rawlins.

Francesca, he believes, is quiet and dull; the kind of woman he can marry, bed and then leave safely buried in the country while he carries on with his normal lifestyle. What Chillingworth doesn't know is that the young woman he saw wasn't Francesca but her cousin Frannie (why Laurens felt the need to give the two women such similar names is beyond me. It certainly wasn't necessary for the plot).

Anyway, Chillingworth and Francesca marry, and are very attracted to each other - this is not the kind of marriage Chillingworth was looking for, however! He's determined not to fall in love, and so his behaviour towards Francesca is very odd; he keeps sending her mixed signals. He's warm and passionate in bed, and yet very distant elsewhere. She, on the other hand, is finding her new husband more and more irrestible. But if he doesn't want her, is there any hope of happiness?

My sneaking liking for Chillingworth in the earlier books was confirmed in All About Passion, and I also liked Francesca very much. This is quite a bit better than a number of the other books in the Cynster series, largely because it's *not* a carbon copy of the other books. It's still similar, but at least this time I didn't feel as if I was reading exactly the same book yet again. This could have been a very enjoyable and interesting study of an arranged marriage which turned out to be something other than what Chillingworth had intended. But, as usual, Laurens had to bolt a dramatic plot onto it, in this case murder attempts. The villain, as ever, was predictable, and in this case it was a particularly offensive use of stereotypes. I wish this book had been purely about the relationship; if it had been, I would have rated it more highly.

Full of mystery and romance. I really enjoyed this book. It is a fast paced page turner any romance lover would enjoy. It is one of my favorites of late along with Fantasy Lover by Kenyon and Anything, My Love by Cynthia Simmons. All great reads that should not be missed.

favorite scene with francesca-
the final showdown with franni.

favorite scene with gyles-
rescusing francesca on the horse.

favorite scene together-
the final showdown with franni.

Sorry to see this was the last of the Cynsters to be written about. It is her usual romantic love story. I loved his character. Didn't like her as well. But there is a lot of great sex and sexy men. One thing I like about all the Cynsters is when they do decide to make a commitment they stay true to their spouses. This is probably an unreality at that time but is nice to dream about.