The Ideal Bride (Cynster Book 11)

This book was published after The Perfect Lover, but takes place a decade earlier. (TPL late July 1835; TIB late June 1825.) This is one of the first of the series where no actual Cynster is part of the lead couple; the male lead is Michael Anstruther-Wetherby, the brother of Devil’s wife Honoria, an MP who is being considered for a Cabinet post in the upcoming Parliament, but has been warned that he must be married first. (I don’t know if they were really that particular in those days, but maybe.) He had more or less decided, after working his way through the Season, that Elizabeth Mollison, the 19-year-old daughter of the previous MP for the district he now represented, would be his ideal bride. The female lead is Caroline Stafford, the widow of a former ambassador to Portugal (among other places, but she was his third wife and that was the only place she’d been with him). She’s also the sister of Elizabeth’s father. Elizabeth had already formed a strong attachment to Caro’s secretary Edward (formerly her late husband’s), and is deathly afraid that Michael is going to offer for her, so she and Caro and Edward form a scheme to persuade Michael that Elizabeth isn’t quite ready to become a politician’s wife. As anyone who’s read any of Laurens’s other books knows, Michael and Caro are going to fall in love, but there are a lot of shenanigans going on besides their courtship (which doesn’t take long). For one thing, someone seems to want Caro dead. For another, some people connected with the Portuguese Embassy seem to think that there’s something in Caro’s late husband’s papers that may be damaging to…someone or something. So among the love and sex, there’s also one of her better mystery plots.

I really enjoy all of Stephanie Laurens books, but most especially the ones about the Cynster family. Characters from the first books reappear, and her writing is very thorough to the story lines to tie them together, yet each could stand alone. Very well written and highly recommended.

This book by Stephanie Laurens is one in a series she has written about the Cynster Family. A HistoricalNovel with some of the strange ideas and things that went on in early 19th century England of fictionallicense. I really enjoyed the book. The characters were believable and interesting and catch you and bring you into theirlives so you want them to win. There is a mystery here too for someone is trying to kill &/or have killed the heroine. I was3/4 through the book before I found the would be killer.

I will not go into plot here as many others have done this expertly.I liken vintage Stephanie Laurens to a Georgette Heyer romp with the addition of sex scenes.( Think about it - when Georgette penned her first novel in the early 1920s even the non-explicit sex scenes from a 'sweet romance' could have resulted in a banned book and this held true until the late 1960s. D H Lawrence faced ;prosecution for the explicit sex in Lady Chatterly's Lover.)The Ideal Bride has it all. We get to know each character and meet a few again from previous Cynster novels. This is an expertly delivered Comedy of Manners, with the addition of a murder plot to add a little spice. Reading closely it is possible to spot the murderer here.I found the more recent "Black Cobra" series very difficult to read and realise that these books more closly resemble modern "Intrigue" novels, but set in the Georgain era. I have never been fond of 'Harlequin Intrigue" and dislike the linear pattern and geography of the route march, which these follow. These later books should be pitched to a different buying public.

Lauren's novels are best read in series order. That said, they can be read as stand alone novels.The heroines can be stubborn and annoying. They lead the hero on a merry chase as the villa is defeated.You really get your money's worth. All Lauren's novels are lengthy long reads.I highly recommend the recent audible editions of her books. The narrator selected is exceptional.

The woven stories of the Cynster family and the extended family that surrounds them never fails to intrigue me. Ms Lauren's brings the characters from the other books into her stories as she needs them and somehow manages to balance the story she is currently telling with the rich back story told in other novels.

Love Love Love this book! One of Ms. Laurens BEST!! Love Michael & Caro!!! Love all of Cynster books!!! One of the best series!!!!! I have read this book 5 times & love it more every time I read it!!!!

Love anything Cynster! Another gem

I really felt for Caroand her disastrous marriage. Totally understood her reluctance in been plunged into the political life. We have been briefly introduced to Michael in the first book of this series ( Devil's bride) and I was curious to know more a out him. He is a politician and with familial connections with the Cynster's family, his future in parliament it appears assured, except that he needs a wife and Caro seems the perfect choice. When her life is in danger he has to bring in all his seductive powers to the forefront to convince her to a future together. Fantastic plot, packed with a6,adventure, danger and very hot steamy romance. Highly recommended

Disappointing addition to the Cynster canonIt was nice to have a hero who wasn’t a duke or a reforming rake and the story using an identifiable part of England. Ms Lauren’s continues to write well but...Loses one star for long and frankly boring descriptions of sex taking up large chunks of the book rather than moving the story forwardLoses another star for glaring historical inaccuracies. The story is set in 1825 and the heroine’s dead husband is supposed to have been the British ambassador to the Portuguese court in Lisbon for many years up until 1823. But there was no court in Lisbon for most of that time. From 1807 to 1821 the Portuguese court was in self imposed exile in Brazil. So a major feature of the storyline just grates. Also, in 1825 Belgium didn’t exist as a country, nor did Poland, and...Oh and British MPs don’t have ‘districts ‘, they have ‘constituencies’

Stephaniie lauyrens is one of my favorite authors and this is up to her high standards. It is a love story which is interwoven with a good mystery

I always enjoy her books and this one can be added to the list

Great book