Sixteen year old Helena de Stansion, Comtesse D’Lisle, is spending Christmas Eve wandering around the gardens of the convent where her sister is recuperating from illness when a man suddenly drops down into the convent garden pretty much on top of her. Assuming the man is fleeing from something clandestine, she lies to the nuns and the guards when the approach her to ask if she’s seen someone on the grounds. As a thank you for protecting him, the handsome stranger gives her a kiss.
Seven years later, while in England trying to find a suitable husband, Helena discovers that the man who kissed her is none other than Sebastian Cynster, the Duke of St. Ives. Helena’s autocratic guardian has signed a document giving her permission to choose her own husband, should his title, wealth and landholdings be equal to or surpassing her own. Helena is determined to get away from the demands of her guardian and want someone as different from him as possible as her husband. A nice, kind man who won’t try to control her. One short meeting with St. Ives, and it’s obvious that he is just as controlling and arrogant as her guardian, if not more so. He has also sworn not to marry, but delighted to see her again, offers to help her find a suitable match. Helena is convinced that he has designs to be her lover, and if he aids her in finding a biddable husband, she will be more easily seduced.
St. Cyr hasn’t really forgotten Helena either, and while he is not announcing his intentions to find a wife publicly, the machinations of his tiresome sister-in-law has made him reconsider his vow never to marry. When he discovers that the lovely girl he met seven years ago is now a beautiful and spirited young woman, with a temper and an iron will to match his own, he’s pretty sure he’s found the woman he wants to share his future with. He pretends he wants to help her find a match so he can spend more time with her and get to know her better. He finally manages to convince her that he wants her as a wife, not just as a mistress, when further complications occur.
It turns out that Helena’s guardian and St. Cyr have a history, and that St. Cyr once won a valuable dagger in a wager. Now Helena’s guardian wants it back, and he intends for Helena to steal it, or her sister will be in terrible danger. Helena has to decide whether she will betray the man she is growing to love or the sister she adores. More on my blog.
I read a couple of Laurens early in my romance phase. Does she still have 30 page love scenes?
They certainly seemed to go on for quite a bit. I’m not going to pretend I don’t like a bit of smexy time in my romance (although I am also very fond of chaste books by Georgette Heyer where an embrace is considered pretty steamy), but yes, I found these love scenes did take up a lot of page space. I don’t need every single move graphically described for page upon page.
I remember a lot of explosions and landing in the stars.
I like [insert funky baseline here]; unlike you, I insist on [insert funky baseline here] in my romance, but Laurens is too much for me.
There were a lot of cosmic comparisons, yes. Based on this book, which was fun enough (I think the vague similarities to What I Did for a Duke and the exciting finale helped), I might check out more of her books if they are cheap enough on Amazon – but I will totally skim read the love scenes next time, because I have better things to do with my time.