And Then She Fell: Cynster Sisters, Book 5

If you've listened to more than one Cynster novel, you probably know the formula, and yet, like me, continue to buy because the characters are cozy and familiar.

This one is better than some - less repetitive description, more interaction between hero and heroine, and reappearance of characters from older books.

If I had one complaint, it would be the paucity of Lady Osbaldestone's acerbic dialogue.

(Has anyone else noticed that change of narrators means change in pronouncing her name?)

I liked it, which means I will listen to it again - my personal benchmark for any book.

I picked this up with a forlorn hope, but it seems that someone has gotten though to Stephanie that we enjoy her novels for the stories! I definitely don't object to a well done bodice ripping in support of the plot and character development but I'm not interested in gratuitous sex. I've seen a lot of complaints, and obviously agree with them all, that her recent books have completely neglected the story and characters for the sex scenes, which is disappointing and tiresome. HOWEVER, this book takes it back to the basics, I don't think there is a full on sex scene in the entire novel and it's wonderful. I didn't have to skip 3/4 of the book!! I love SL's stories and I hope this means that she's bringing them back!

Oh, and, the reader is abysmal. He's got a radio announcer voice which really would have been better as a straight read; too bad someone told him to try and voice characters. It takes an effort to ignore that he sounds like he'd be more comfortable announcing a horse race or game of golf. But the story is good if you can get around it.

Stephanie Laurens writes a lively story, but Matthew Brenher drains the life from it.

Sadly no, especially to a first-time listener. It would discourage further purchases.

He reads like a failed actor, droning through the prose and only animated during the dialogue. He is unable to manage long sentences, inventing pauses where none exist (presumably he reaches the edge of the page or runs out of breath), yet at the same time he appears to ignore the correct punctuation. The end result is at best irritating and at worst utterly nonsensical.I shall avoid this performer no matter how much I like the author.

No

Ms Laurens has been badly let down.

I love the Cynster family novels. Strong characters who try, but ultimately fail, to avoid the ONE fate has in store for them. It is Henrietta Cynster who seems to have successfully avoided fate. She is 29, firmly and determinedly on the shelf. But you can't really outrun fate if you're a Cynster, even if it takes a while to catch you. The crux of this story is that there is a time constraint there hasn't been on others, and Henrietta is actually trying to find a wife for James, a man whose marriage plans she had upset. Although, as in every romance, there is a happily ever after, the suspense lies in whether James will have to choose between his apparently fated bride or give up on his honorable goal. Will he? Won't he? The narration was good, though when I listened to the first Cynster novel, hearing a male reader (even though Simon Prebble is one of my faves) for a romance was a shocker. But with the first several, the main protagonist was male, so I got used to male readers for all the Cynster novels I have (13 at this point) and Matthew Brenher did not disappoint with this one. Production values are good, as usual.