A Family of His Own

The Cynster Next Generation Series, Book 14

By: Stephanie Laurens

Narrated by: Matthew Brenher

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the quintessential question of what family means to a Cynster in this tale of the last unmarried member of the Cynster Next Generation and the final mission that opens his eyes.

Toby Cynster is not amused when informed that his new mission is to be his last in the shadowy service of Drake, Marquess of Winchelsea. Courtesy of Toby being the last unmarried Cynster of his generation and the consequent martial obsession of his female relatives, he will be given no more excuses to avoid society and, instead, expected to devote himself to finding a suitable bride. But Toby sees no point in marrying—thanks to his siblings, he has plenty of nephews and nieces with whom to play favorite uncle, and he has no thoughts of establishing a family of his own.

But then the mission takes an unexpected turn, leaving Toby to escort the irritatingly fascinating Diana Locke plus the three young children of a dying Englishman from Vienna to England.

Diana is no more enthused about their journey than Toby but needs must, and forever practical, she bows to events and makes the best of things for her godchildren’s sakes. She is determined to see them to safety in England and does her best to ignore her nonsensical and annoying awareness of Toby.

But then their journey becomes a flight from deadly pursuit, and their most effective disguise is to pass themselves off as a family—the sort of family Toby had been certain he would never want. Through a succession of fraught adventures, Toby, Diana, and the children lean on each other and grow and mature while furthering their ultimate aim of reaching England safely, and along the way, Toby and Diana both learn what having a family actually means to them, individually and together, and each discovers the until-then-missing foundation stone of their future lives.

©2024 Savdek Management Proprietary Limited (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing

Great storyline

The last to get married but the first with starting out with a new wife and adopting 3 wonderful children.

He was the last to fall

I loved hearing about how the last Sinster in that generation succumbed to love & family!

intrigued, a little romance, and some action

like the way the action intertwined with the drama and romance. like that the Cynster line is mentioned at the end.

SHE JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER

Stephanie Laurens' stories only get better. This was Toby's tale and apparently is the last of the children of the six Cynster cousins. I've enjoyed every one of their stories and am only sad that this is an end. But, having read every Laurens' book, I know that she's got more stories to tell.
This book had excitement, romance, family and love as only Stephanie Laurens can create. I had tears of sorrow, and tears of joy. What else can I ask for?

One of her best stories.

I loved the ending. It moved quickly with suspense and solutions keeping my interest. A throughly good story.

Slow

In the end I had to speed up the pace because Matthew Brehner reads so slowly. Compared to some of her earlier Cynster novels this was so-so. Glad I read it if only to tie up the plot lines and re-visit the characters. Wondering where she’ll go from here….

Intrigue, love and children

I absolutely loved Toby and Diana’s story. Drake sent Toby on a mission to Vienna to retrieve papers and escort the Doctor and his daughter safely home.
Diana was still shocked her father was gone but she was determined to find the dispatches her father hid to give to Drakes man. When Toby arrives he finds out the Doctor had died and his daughter was at a friends home taking care of 3 children. When he locates her they decide to try and find the dispatches but when they arrive at her father’s home was torn apart and the culprit still in the home. Diana was shocked to find out it was her father’s partner. That’s when she realized he had poisoned her father. He escapes but then killed, that’s when Toby realizes he needs to get Diana home to England. The children’s father asks Toby and Diana to escort his children to their Great Aunt. They agree and decide to say they’re a married couple traveling with their children.
A wonderful intriguing story with a beautiful ending. The narrator was absolutely magnificent.

This one is different then her others

So, here’s the thing. I can’t pinpoint what it is about this book that doesn’t feel like her others. Don’t get me wrong it’s good, it’s just not great. There are bits and pieces that make me smile, or laugh. But as a whole there’s a piece missing compared to other books in the Cynster series. Yo say I love me my Cynsters is an understatement!
The spice is low there a couple of scenes that are spicy but only a couple. Which is fine, but not what you get in her other books. You don’t quite get the tension from these two leads you get from all the other Cynster books, which is somewhat disappointing.
The story gives you false leads here and there but I feel like the book drags a little. I do love the dynamic between all the characters. But I also feel like the adults don’t act realistically when it comes to some of the things the little girl does. I have four children and if I was in a stressful situation like these adults were I don’t think there’s away I would be upset with the child for what they had done.
Overall the book is good, would it be the first Cynster book I would recommend, no. But once someone has fallen in love with the Cynsters then I think they would enjoy it.
I hope this helps you find your next Tantalizing Tome.

Pretty boring

Brenner is not a favorite narrator- always has pronunciation mistakes (Liège) The characters were bland

lack of her usual drama - sad ending to series

One of her more lackluster efforts. Usually much more thrilling and some intrigue. This was easy to conclude early on.