2 1/2-3 really. 1st to the good:
It was a nice change to see the woman propose to her man in the beginning, that she knows (or in this case thinks) that it will only be because of her very large dowery. It was also nice to see Devil confess out loud his love for his Duchess Honoria (which he never has done in the years since Devil's Bride). The little Ashfords were cute and I glad at least one family member isn't being kept on the shelf until her 20s.
The things that Bugged:
Amelia, whilst thankfully less 21st C type wild than twin Amanda come of as something of a cypher in her own book, you almost get more of her personality in the previous book. She's perfect at everything, everyone adores her, she knows immediately how to run a large country estate, her mother in law adores her and her younger sisters in law immediately go to her over their own mother for everything. Now this would be all very well if the rest of the plot were more than 10 page sex scenes interspersed with 2 pages of dialogue planning the next sex.
The main angle is 2 people madly in love who for a not exactly convincing (IMO) can't tell each other for 400 pages because of the "power" each would gain over the other. They are convinced each married the other only for convience and money, which is fine except for the passionate sex 5 times a day.
Laurens regular mystery plot is weaker than usual, the plot itself never became interesting to me (petty theft from various aristocrats homes) and the villain was even more transparent then usual and is case closed in a couple of pages at the end. And the whole sub plot about it being for Edward (the previous villain) doesn't really get resolved too well.
The book is also too long by at least 100 pages and feels drawn out for the sake of it. I love a good sex scene as much as the next reader but tehy happen so often and are so techincal that they become boring and redundant, especially with a thin plot to begin with. I enjoy Laurens writing style but it does start to become *too* wordy.
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His family has been in finacial straights for years and now a deal has come in and he is wealthy again. As he is coming home Amelia Cynster is waiting for him she tells him she knows that he needs money and she knows it's time to get married and if he marries her he'll get her trust and she'll have some freedom. After some thought Lucien realizes that Amelia is the kind of wife he wants for reasons he can't explain.
Four years of searching through the ton Amelia Knows for sure who she wants Luicien Asford. She's always known he was the one she wants to share her life with now she's found the perfect way to get him. She wants a marriage that has it all Love, and respect and she won't settle for less! A battle of the wills insues.
There relationship has it all plenty of s3xuality and the slow easy slide into love. With a bit of mystery and plenty of Cynsters it's great book to read and reread! I can't wait for Simons story Stephanie Laurens is at the top of her game! I would also like to recommend Tino Georgiou's masterpiece ... The Fates ... if you were one of the few who missed it!
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Having read all the Cynster Stories i have to say that this isn't myfavorite (IMO Devil's Bride was the best story). I read this story forthe first time before reading Amanda's story and found that i was a littledisappointed as it kept referring to things and people from the previousbook. Having then read Amanda's story found the second reading of thisbook much better. Still a good story if you liked the other books in theseries.
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| I didn’t think the Cynster series could hit a lower nadir than Scandal’s Bride, but On A Wicked Dawn does it. The book is stretched to at least twice its natural length, and staying awake while reading it was a real chore. As a 60-page novella, it might have been worth reading, but as a 400+-page novel, it is a waste of good trees and ink. Ms Laurens should have taken the advice of other Amazon reviewers and stopped writing this series once the original six books were published. Amelia Cynster, unlike her sister Amanda, had decided to continue looking for her future husband within the ranks of those men attending Society events. It was already obvious from On A Wild Night who her choice would be: Lucien Ashford, Viscount Calverton - so old and so close a friend of the Cynster family that we didn’t know he existed until On A Wild Night. So much an old friend of Amelia’s that we don’t even get any sense that they’ve known each other for years, either. Amelia, obviously not at all stricken with shyness or reticence when it comes to approaching men, lies in wait for Luc outside his home one night. When he finally rolls home drunk in the early hours, she strikes. (And again, how was it that her family had no idea that she was out? Would the faithful footman really not tell anyone where she’d been? Would no-one notice that a servant was absent?). Amelia tells Luc that she knows he’s in financial difficulty and that her dowry could rescue him. And she proposes. No dragging out of the will-they-won’t-they here: Luc accepts immediately, but says that he wants a proper courtship. We know that Luc loves Amelia, but had never imagined that she might be within his reach. (Why the heck not? He’s easily high in status enough for the granddaughter and cousin of dukes). Amelia loves Luc, but never thought he’d looked at her - again, why not? She’d spent a lot of time with him in On A Wild Night. The rest of the book is a long, slow progress towards marriage (achieved by halfway through), and then yawn-inducing, mundane post-marriage scenes, including the inevitable, and by now extremely tedious, lengthy sex scenes. By now I not only skim them; I skip them. There is nothing worth reading in these twelve-page excerpts from porn novels. We’re supposed to be able to tell from these scenes that Luc and Amelia love each other, but all we see is graphic, acrobatic sex involving a variety of different positions, as if Laurens wants to impress us with her knowledge of the Kama Sutra. The ‘reason’ why the book is stretched out so long after the wedding has to do with the ‘need’ for Luc and Amelia to tell each other that they love the other, and for Luc to tell Amelia the truth about his fortune. (The highly ironic thing here is that it is the Duke of St Ives who lectures Luc about the need to confess his love to Amelia, while St Ives himself has never told his wife the same thing). The ‘control’ thing as an explanation for why neither was willing to say the L word was really not at all convincing. Both characters came across as idiots unable to see what was under their noses. As for the characters, of course Luc is not a Cynster, but we’d never know it. Just like all the Cysnter males, he won’t show that he’s vulnerable. Just like all the Cynster males, he won’t tell his chosen woman that he loves her. Just like all the Cynster males, he throws his weight around and becomes overweening in his protectiveness. And Amelia... Little Miss Perfect! As soon as she marries, she becomes the perfect matriarch and wife, knowing just what to do and what to say in every situation. Hardly realistic, when she’s just taking over the reins of running a household! And she’s far better than Luc’s mother at advising his sisters, which she does at every possible moment - and yet there is not even the tiniest bit of resentment or jealousy from Luc’s mother. Suuure!!! Yes, as ever, there is a mystery plot: someone is stealing valuables from the ton. I guessed who the thief was as soon as the plot was introduced; there is an early scene with the thief talking with Kirby, who is apparently some contact of Edward Ashford’s (banished in the previous book). The identity of the female thief was immediately apparent, and so the delay in unmasking her was pointless. That scene, in any event, was about as incredible as much of the rest of the book. None of the Cynster books ‘fit’ properly into the Regency period; the ever-present pre-marital sex alone indicates that, as well as the lack of adequate chaperonage for the heroines and their completely unlikely behaviour. This book is no exception and is in some ways even worse: an unmarried young lady able to sneak around and sleep with her suitor at a house party? Where was her mother? Other Society matrons? Her maid, come to that? I gather that there is now another book in the series, but I have no intention of buying it and no desire at all to read it. In fact, I’ll be getting rid of the nine Cynster books I bought, in some moment of madness when I thought that they might actually be worth reading, just as soon as I can... I believe there’s a charity shop collection due soon! This book is one to avoid! wmr-uk
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i only bought my first few stephanie laurens novels last week and, having read them all, am beginning to wonder if i am reading the same books as the rest of the people who gave her such high reviews! i chose her books because everyone seemed to give her the thumbs up but i found the same plot(and i use that term loosely) being revisited in each story. the characters were one dimensional and the villain in each embarrassly obvious. i would recommend julie garwood or judith mcnaught to anyone who wants a good story, an actual mystery and likeable characters. i feel a bit guilty now but the books were awful!!!!!especially on a wicked dawn! every second page towards the end of the book was a sex scene! i know its a romance novel but come on!!!!more time should be spent developing the actual relationship between the characters!!
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