stephanie laurens

This is the third book in the Cynster sisters trilogy and in my personal opinion, the best of them! It helps (a few scattered references) if you have read the other two, but no way diminishes the reading experience if you are a total newbie to the Cynster family tree.

Like all books by Stephanie Laurens, the heroine is a strong-willed character, smart resourceful and beautiful. In this story, the heroine Angela is only 21, yet thankfully not portrayed as dumb, naive or starry eyed idealist. I myself was stubborn, ambitious and super-focused at 18, so I totally related to the heroine! Cheeky disclaimer, I married a large, dark-haired hunk and knew he was Mr.Right the moment I saw him, so I might be a little biased in my judgement! 😛

  • Title – Capture of the Earl of Glencrae
  • Author – Stephanie Laurens
  • Series – Cynster family series, Cynster sisters trilogy

REVIEW SCORE = 4.5/5 *****

Some reasons why I loved this book:

1] Set in the gorgeous mountains of Scotland (Woohoo!)

2] Hero = Kidnapper! Definitely, not the usual romance plot. When I read the blurb, I had so many Qs – Why? What!!!! that doesn’t sound right? How does the situation change? Is this a case of Stockholm syndrome? Read the book to find out. I will say the author uses these questions to build up the suspense (and chemistry). Most of her stories involve some sort of drama or mystery, but this was the most intriguing among all.

3] The usual charm of Victorian romance – balls, gowns, castles and a villain.

4] The love scenes were tasteful, but she does tend to get repetitive. If you’ve read one, you’ve read them all. Won’t recommend this author to anyone under 16, but I admit I am a bit orthodox in many ways!

Overall, a great read, especially on winter days when you just want to curl up in bed with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and an exciting book.

Similar Works

  • Books – Other books by Stephanie Laurens. Similar authors with historical romance series include Elizabeth Rolls, Emma Leech & Julia Quinn.
  • Movies – Pride & Prejudice.
  • TV Series – The Tudors without the extreme violence
  • Genres – Historical Romance
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Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8th is International Women’s Day, so this month is dedicated to all the amazing women authors out there, as well as books that advocate for women. Below is my reading list for the month, so also hoping to accomplish a good chunk of my reading goals and “clear the clutter” Goodreads challenge. So many birds with one stone! 😉

March 2020 Reading list

  1. Presence, by Amy Cuddy.
  2. Women Still Don’t Get the Corner Office. Author Lois Frankel.
  3. Squeezed by Alyssa Quart
  4. America for Beginners. Author = Leah Franqui. (Fiction)
  5. Head over Heels, Lila Monroe. (Fiction)
  6. Husband Material. Author = Emily Belden. (Fiction)
  7. You are a BadAss, by Jen Sincero.
  8. 365 Days of Facebook. Author = Nirupama. (Fiction)
  9. Achtung Baby, by Sara Zaske.
  10. You Woke up Worthy, Britny West.
  11. To Winter at Wildsyde, by Emma Leech. (Fiction)
  12. Mirror Work, Louisa Hay.
  13. The Profitable Content System, by Meera Kothand.
  14. Evening is the Whole Day. Preeta Samarasan. (Fiction)
  15. HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership. Harvard Business Review.
  16. Secrets of Six-Figure Women. Barbara Stanny. Non-fiction business.
  17. The Big Book of Juices. Natalie Savona. Health & Living.
  18. Why Not Me? Mindy Kaling. Non-fiction business.
  19. The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae. Stephanie Laurens.
  20. The Marriage Clock: A Novel. Zara Raheem.
Go Girl Power!

Happy Reading!

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FEB = month of love, and amazing romance authors

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, here are the Top 10 Romance authors you should absolutely try as a gift to yourself or your favorite bestie!

Historical romance, contemporary or medieval time travel series or plain old classics – this post presents (in no specific ranking order) a list of romance authors in multiple niches. So you are sure to find something you love!

  1. Stephanie Laurens – Historical Romance. Absolutely love the Cynster series, though you can read them in any order.
  2. Emma V Leech – Historical Romance. Girls Who Dare series starring members of the Peculiar Girls Book Club. Just the book club reference would have attracted me, but the stories are riveting!
  3. Julia Quinn – Historical Romance. I loved the Bridgerton Series, but “The Secrets of Sir Richard Kenworthy” from the Smith-Smythe series will be #1 favorite by this author.
  4. Nora Roberts – contemporary. Almost all her books are fascinating, but “Blithe Images” is the one I adore the best.
  5. Susan Elizabeth Phillips – Romantic Comedy. My favorite book by this author is “It had to be You.”
  6. Jane Austen – Pride and Prejudice. Countless plays, movies – this book is such a classic that it is even referenced in other historical romance books! Classic Romance.
  7. Nicholas Sparks – “The Notebook” was made into a movie, and my personal favorite – “Safe Haven”. Contemporary Romance.
  8. Jude Deveraux. I read her book “The Summerhouse” as a teenager, and thought it was beautiful! Contemporary Romance and chicklit fiction.
  9. Alyssa Cole – Contemporary Romance. I loved “Duke by Default” because it combines sword designers, social media and Instagram influencer and a realistic way of showing people’s biases and insecurities.
  10. Karen Marie Moning – Normally I don’t read fantasy or paranormal (except Harry Potter as a teen), but her Scottish Highlander series are Time travel romances mixing fantasy, medieval romance and contemporary ideals.
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