All About Passion

August 6, 2001
Appealing characters and red-hot chemistry breathe new life into a familiar story line in the latest entry in Laurens's Regency-era Cynster series (following All About Love). This time, Cupid's arrow fells Gyles Rawlings, the Earl of Chillingworth and an "honorary Cynster." Gyles realizes that it's time to take a wife and carry on the line, but he's determined to go about it in a businesslike fashion—with an arranged marriage. Fortunately, country heiress Francesca Rawlings, a distant relation, seems to be the perfect candidate. She's well favored, pleasant and endowed with an estate that will nicely complement his own. On his wedding day, however, he discovers that the serene, docile woman that he spied in the garden a few days earlier was not Francesca, but her cousin Frannie. The heiress he's contracted for is the passionate hoyden he's met galloping across the downs. Nevertheless, he goes through with the marriage, seizing the opportunity to complete his estate and indulge his passion for the spirited Francesca. She, in turn, is determined to make the earl admit his love for her. The stubbornness of the hero and heroine, though the center of the story's conflict, may irritate some readers, but Laurens's twist on the bride-switch, arranged marriage formula is fun, spicy and sure to please.

The incomparable Simon Prebble makes for racy good fun. Never faltering, even when reading about the most peculiar sexual positions, his narration creates a mood of pleasure and excitement that give the listener plenty of escapist entertainment. We are so pleased for Gyles, Earl of Chillingworth, and his fabulous cousin, Francesca. They seem to have the idyllic marriage . . . except for the mysterious accidents that continue to befall Francesca. Great horses, odd relations, and even friendly high-society types fill out this whimsical and adventuresome romance. B.H.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine