The Edge of Desire

<b>***4.0 "Widows Deserve a Second Chance" stars***<br /><br />It was love at first sight for Christian and Letitia. She vowed to wait for him when he went off to war. That was 12 years ago.<br /><br />Christian is the last single member of the Bastian club. All of his friends have found love and married strong intelligent women. He suspects he may never marry because the only woman he has ever loved is already married.<br /><br />What a pleasant surprise this turned out to be because I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one so much. I loved the turn this one took and enjoyed the murder mystery that developed.</b>

<b> <i> “I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. I’ve always loved you, every day through all the years. I never stopped loving you. Even when I lay with Randall, it was you I was with in my heart.” She smiled softly. “That was yours from the first, and will be yours to the last." <br></i> </b> <br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1424685863i/13791201.jpg" width="367" height="367" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>This book was beautifully fast paced and well written....to me this one 'Bastion Series ' Best ! The best thing about this book was that there was an ACTUAL reason for the hero and heroine to have fallen apart...and it was just any other normal communicational misunderstanding :P <br><br>I'll be proudly stocking this book as one of this years 'Favourites ' ! Loved..loved..loved it ! Especially the ending...Just 'awwww' :')

I'm giving this one 4 stars, but that might be a little generous because though I did enjoy this one quite a bit, there were still some things I didn't like.<br /><br />Christian is the last remaining bachelor of the Bastion Club, a group he and he friends formed so that they could find wives THEY wanted, not who they got pushed with. Like the others, he wants to marry, but his heart still belongs to the woman he loved and lost years before. She'd broken his heart and was unreachable. Until he receives a dire message from Letitia. She desperately needs his help. Her husband has been murdered and her brother stands accused. Though he knows he should stay away from her, he's helpless when it comes to her. But as he spends time with her, working on her husband's murder, he learns that things from the past aren't all that they seem. And he also learns that the passion and love that existed between them so long ago is anything but dead. The only problems are convincing Letitia to believe in a future for them, and finding out who really murdered her husband.<br /><br />Like the other Bastion Club books, this one has got a decent mix of romance and moderately suspenseful plot. Though I'll admit I thought the other books has a better plot than this one, which seemed a bit predictable and obvious. I knew pretty much what was going to happen and there weren't any surprises at all with the plot resolution. But the story was still interesting enough to keep me reading.<br /><br />Romance wise...I did enjoy Christian and Letitia a lot. There's an obvious chemistry between them. And their backstory adds a nice reunion element. Laurens did a great job of conveying the emotions of the characters and making me believe in them as a couple.<br /><br />One of my complaints, though? A little too much sex in the book. There just seemed to me to be a lot of sex scenes...or maybe it was the fact that some of the scenes were really long. There was one that was approximately 15 pages (I counted) and halfway through I was bored to tears and just wanted them to get on with it. It made the book drag a bit at times. And it just wasn't necessary.<br /><br />Another small quibble I had was the constant references to the Vaux family and their notorious reputation for being histrionic, emotional, etc. I couldn't count the number of times there were statements like "being a Vaux, and everybody knew about them" and I was just like, okay, I got it the first 10 times it was said. No need to repeat it!<br /><br />So yeah, though this was mostly an enjoyable book, it had some issues. It was a pretty good edition to the series. I think if you've been reading the series, you'll probably like it. The epilogue, though? Super frustrating! Why? If you've been reading the series, you know about the mysterious Dalziel...well, the epilogue is basically an intro to his story, which whets your appetite...and then you see that his book won't be out until Fall 2009. Almost a whole year away. I don't want to wait that long! LOL. It should be an interesting story, though!

The heroine was a haughty conceited and unpleasant posh. Completely unlikable.<br />Moreover the author kept the mystery behind her marriage to another man, while secretly betrothed to Christian for over 110 pages, 1/3rd of the book, and that definitely killed all feelings I might have had for her if I had learnt all before.<br />I hated how she ordered him around, without giving him the tenth of the information he needed to pursue the investigation. Honestly in those conditions, I would have simply refused to help her. But on page 30 something, the hero wondered "what sort of self-flagellating moron" he was. I wondered too. And kept wondering that until the end of the book.<br />I deeply dislike when one member of one couple is completely dominated mentally by the other and behaves like a puppy. That's the case here and the reason why I did not enjoy this book.<br />Otherwise the investigation behind the mysterious previous husband and his business ventures was really interesting.

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Sep08<br /><br />“The Edge of Desire” is Stephanie Laurens sixth book of her ‘Bastion Club’ regency novels. In short, the heroes of these novels have returned from the Napoleonic wars and found themselves prime bait for the matchmaking mamas of the ton. They formed their own club (hence the name) and decided to make their own decisions regarding their future wives as they have each now succeeded to their titles and need to marry to carry on the family name. I’ve read each of her Bastion Club novels, and I think this one is my favorite so far.<br /><br />Christian returned from the war to discover the woman he loved hadn’t waited for him as she promised. He feels anger and bitterness that she broke her vow to him and has done his best to avoid contact as much as possible -- until he receives a visit from her, asking for his help. As much as he would like to turn her away…he just can’t.<br /><br />Lady Letitia would rather handle problems by herself. But when her despised husband is murdered and suspicion falls on her beloved (and missing) brother, Letitia knows that only Christian can help her now. She’s well aware of what he thinks of her and knows that this would be the perfect opportunity for him to gain revenge for her ‘desertion’, but the honor of her brother and family is at stake. There’s NOTHING she won’t do to gain Christian’s assistance.<br /><br />I, like many of Laurens’ fans, had begun to feel her novels had become stale, that I was reading the same novel over and again, just with different characters. I’m glad to say that with only a few exceptions, this novel has the mystery and pacing and fire of her earlier works. Ms. Laurens is a master of description, at times she tends to go a bit overboard, but she sets a stage that allows the reader to practically ‘see’ the balls and gowns, and houses and streets of London. This pacing of this novel was also much better than previous ones. The intricacies of the relationship and the mystery were slowly unfurled at an even pace throughout the book. There were only a few times that I felt any kind of lag in the plot.<br /><br />My only real complaint, and how shocking is this, is her handling of the love scenes. She writes with passion and sensuality as she always does, but I also felt she was a bit TOO ‘flowery’ in this book. It came dangerously close to ‘purple prose’ and it felt like her editors had requested her to make the love scenes longer, so she added adjectives. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hot. It just felt more forced than her earlier works (and this is just MY opinion).<br /><br />In any event, if you like regency romances and you haven’t read Stephanie Laurens, I really think you should. As her wildly popular ‘Cynster’ novels are now all first released in hardcover, these Bastion Club novels are the only paperback-first releases left for her fans. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Christian and Letitia and the battles they faced together and within themselves to finally come together after all their struggles and sacrifices. I’m also eagerly awaiting the last book of this series where the mystery of Dalziel will finally be revealed. His book which, according to her website, is “The Mysterious Dalziel” is to be released in Fall 2009. It’s already on my ‘buy’ list.<br /><br />Til next time<br />JJ<br />

<b>The Edge of Desire</b><br />2 Stars<br /><br />This is the most disappointing installment in the series. While the mystery is interesting enough, the romance falls completely flat. <br /><br />The heroine, Letitia Randall, is supremely unlikable. She is a shrew and a termagant who enjoys throwing temper tantrums, and the repeated excuse that her behavior, an apparent family trait, is acceptable and even welcomed by the <i>ton</i> wears very thin, very quickly. The hero, Christian Allardyce, seems quite happy to tune her out, which hardly adds to the romance. <br /><br />Speaking of Christian, he has been on the fringes of the series thus far, and little information about his family and actions during his time undercover in France is forthcoming even in his own book. Most of the backstory revolves around his relationship with Letitia and the misunderstanding that serves as the basis for the second chances plotline. <br /><br />The couple lack chemistry and their sex scenes are overly long, repetitive, and more mechanical than intimate. Aside from their physical attraction, it is difficult to understand what they see in one another. <br /><br />The investigation into the death of Letitia's husband is much more interesting and the reason for my continued reading in the face of such an annoying heroine and lackluster romance. The locked-room-style mystery is entertaining and it is fun reading as the clues are uncovered and the villain is revealed. The ending is quite exciting, and the epilogue focusing on the enigmatic Dalziel makes me want to read his book right now. Alas, I have to wait for my hold at the library to come in. <br /><br />On a final note, there is a factual error throughout the book that grates on the nerves. Letitia is constantly referred to as Lady Randall. This is inaccurate. As the daughter of an earl, her correct title would be Lady Letitia. Her husband, George Randall, was not a peer, and as such, she would not be Lady Randall.

Oh, man, this book kind of got pushed to the back of the shelf and I took a long hiatus from my quest to read through this series... Whoops. Well, I'm back on it now, only got this one and Dalziel's and I be done! Then I can maybe work on that one quartet of hers, Adventurer's maybe? Lol, I'd have to look it up. Anyway, back to the last Bastion boy! (Sounds like a boy band or something, no?) :D<br>Finished! <b>3.5 Stars.</b> <br>Took me a minute to get back into Stephanie Laurens mode, and out of Jo Bev's Mallorens mode, as I have been absorbed in that series lately. Seriously, I kept thinking to myself, why are they not looking into this, investigating that, checking here or there? Dammit, where's Rothgar, he would have already thought of the right avenue of investigation. He'd have this sorted out in a trice! Ha! Nothing of the author's fault, just my own quirk for being stuck in that world. So once I refreshed my mind with the Bastion guys (and Dalziel, lol, he's totally the Rothgar of this series) and put myself back into the proper setting of this series, I was all in. The mystery, as usual, was totally the draw of this story. Laurens shines when there is mystery and mayhem afoot, and the lust and romance takes a secondary seat of importance for me. Yes, I liked Letitia (who, despite my never having mind-cast a previous Bastion heroine, my brain inserted Eva Green into her character (seriously, she could totally play up Letitia!) <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="2dbd8fbb-e6a2-4044-a7e6-992360b97a1b" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="2dbd8fbb-e6a2-4044-a7e6-992360b97a1b"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1471824576i/20111524._SX540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </label>. I liked Christian as well. For him, I'm thinking to cast Pedro Soltz <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="0919e39f-4bdd-43a0-b9a6-fac3484d6395" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="0919e39f-4bdd-43a0-b9a6-fac3484d6395"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1471824576i/20111525._SY540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </label>. So yea, there's my casting. Anywho, back to the story.<br>As I said, I liked the mystery, figuring out the truth behind Randall's death, and also the truth behind all of his mysterious business dealings, and his past. All very interesting. It was cool seeing Heathcote Montague pop in as the go-to man for financial dealings, as he's been a known character for a good while now. Also cool, the small cameo (or not-so cameo) appearances by good old Lady Osbaldestone and the Dowager Duchess of St. Ives (aka Devil Cynster's mum). That's a thing I always enjoy about SL's novels, is seeing other known characters, like it's all one big world, seeing different things they are up to besides the exploits of their own individual tales. When the truth comes to light about what Randall's business is, we get introduced to another one of those characters, Neville Roscoe. Least I think it's his intro, I could be, and likely am, wrong there. But yea, he turns out to be important in other books and gets his own tale as well, all of which are on my TBR. So it was cool. Made me look forward to learning about the enigma that is Roscoe. But, again, I digress! Back to this story!<br>The mystery was good, had me guessing, though there were only a handful of likely suspects. I was eyeballing more than one character to figure whodunnit. Meanwhile though, some of the little society scenes had me kind of looking askance, like, in what world other than this glittering SL world, would some of the things Letitia and Christian were doing, be acceptable? Like, nothing naughty in public, but like, her being in mourning, and only like a couple days into it, and yet going to salons and soirees and dinners, the theatre... Not to mention him, a man who is not a relative (though he is her ex lover) escorting her everywhere, popping in and out of her home freely at whatever hours he chooses. Just seemed as if, despite her family name, and their shared past, and the fact nobody really liked her dead husband, people wouldn't have really turned such a blind eye to the behavior of such a recently widowed (and in such scandalous fashion) high-society lady. Ah, but whatevs, this is the world of SL where powerful men and their wonder-women live, and even if I'm sighing and rolling my eyes at times, I can't help but enjoy every minute of it. Bring it on! Ok, maybe don't bring on so many long, metaphorically phrased love scenes next time. I was back to skimming em again after the first few in this one. It got to the point where they had some investigating, had some dinner, had some tea, got it on. Lather rinse repeat the next chapter. And the next. A couple scenes, ok, I can get down with that to establish/re-establish their bond and figure out their feelings. But by like, the tenth scene (I could be exaggerating :p) I was like, ok, got it, back to the investigation!<br>Mystery was solved in suitably exciting way, and I liked that. Still, despite only being briefly mentioned, there is still the over-arcing mystery of the secretive master spy guy who the Bastions and Dalziel have been after throughout the series. That should be solved next in Dalziel's book, and it should be interesting finally getting to know the real man behind Dalziel. His real name and title are now known to the crew, and it's his turn to claim his place in society, as well as his primal protective warrior status and a love of his own. At last! :D</["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>

My second book by Stephanie Laurens, I have read my first one only few months ago and I was eager to read another one. Although, I think this one was not as good as the previous one - <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/952852.A_Gentleman_s_Honor__Bastion_Club___2_" title="A Gentleman's Honor (Bastion Club, #2) by Stephanie Laurens" rel="noopener">A Gentleman's Honor</a>.<br /><br />I enjoyed the suspense part. It was interesting and well-constructed. It kept me guessing, even though it was not really innovative. But it had the atmosphere and it was enough complicated, even if a little bit slow sometimes. The suspense part definitely dominated the plot, the romance part was minor.<br /><br />I also liked the characters - Letitia and Christian, both alone and as a couple, especially the heroine with her unusual for a romance book temperament. It was also nice that the characters from the previous books had such a great appearing in The Edge of Desire. <br /><br />Even though, this book didn't grab me like the first one I read, I enjoyed the time I spent with it. And this is definitely not the last book by Stephanie Laurens or in this series I read. I'm looking forward to know the story of Denziel and other characters. It would be also great to read a book on Justin or Hermiona.

This is about the same quality as the other Bastion Club novels - that is to say, mediocre at best. <br />It's a good thing that Stephanie Laurens includes a mystery to solve in the plot, because I don't think she does a very good job of building up romantic suspense between characters. Too much sex and not enough personality.<br />Her books proclaim her heroines to be strong, opinionated, intelligent, feisty women well able to negotiate society and manage a family. But somehow, other than proclaiming this, no character development actually shows any strength or intelligence. In this book, the heroine marries for money to save her family - and after her husband's murder, she has no idea where his money came from! And they've been married for many years!<br />I'm tempted to quit reading her novels, but I've been hooked by the little hints throughout the book about Dalziel, the Duke of Wolverstone, so I'll probably read that one when it comes out.<br />Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Me ha gustado mucho este libro y los personajes guauuuu!!!! ella me ha divertido con su caracter vaux y el todo consideracion y aguante... ha habido momento divertidos y la trama del asesinato me ha encantado, ademas te deja con la incognita del jefe del club bastion asi que a leer el ultimo. Muy Recomendable!!!