The Edge of Desire (Bastion Club Novel)
by Stephanie Laurens
List Price:
Our Price: $1.96
You Save: $6.03 (75%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Stephanie LaurensEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-01
ISBN: 0061246360
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Avon
Book Reviews of The Edge of Desire (Bastion Club Novel)
Book Review: a downward spiral
Summary: 2 Stars
I've just finished reading many of the other postings. It seems like many of us are in agreement. But where to start....?????
I have read all of Stephanie Lauren's Bastion Club and Cynster novels and have the following to say:
Her books have become so predictable and irritating and I think that most of her readers simply buy the books because we feel we have to know how the series will eventually conclude. Not so much of an endorsement, huh? I got roped into the trend by stumbling on the third book in the Cynster series and I thought, "wow, what an exciting new author" The book was a fresh approach and had interesting characters and plot. The love scenes were well and thoroughly written. I immediately obtained the prior two books and subsequently read all of the remaining releases (the intital 6 or 7) and was very well pleased. I felt the other books tied up the family very neatly. Then came the Bastion Club and, again, the first couple of books were different, fresh and intriguing -- with a more mature and responsible leading man (I thought it interesting that the focus of these books was predominately from the man's point of view) Anyway..... things started to go wrong around the third book in this series (or thereabouts) Then it dawned on me that the exact woman was being portrayed in each story; that the love/sex scenes were seemingly recycled and that more and more annoying traits were popping up with regularlity..... making it very difficult to finish the book (any of them) and less able to even care about the lead characters.
As many have said about this particular story (Edge of Desire), how many times do we have the Vaux excuse? The misunderstandings, the irrational behavior, etc etc??? I think Ms Laurens is trying to introduce a different kind of heroine; a gal who stands up for herself, her beliefs, her family and who really doesn't need (or so she thinks) a man in her life. She's the "modern" woman in an era where woman truly would never be represented as the rebel, know-it-all, iron-willed, bossy creature that so many of these "heorines" are portrayed as. Why is it that so many of these ladies are dead-set against falling in love and relying on a man and settling down with one? Are they somehow less than a woman if they fall in love? (isn't that why we read romance??) Almost without fail, Ms Lauren's leading ladies (in this series) are so eager to break the mold of the typical female lead character, that they become so unsympathetic and unrelatable. In this series, I liked the men a whole lot better.
Additionally, the love scenes -- as so many have said -- have become so gratuitous and repeated that they lose their appeal. Most fans of the genre will say they enjoy a well written and steamy love scent but I am finding myself skipping over these scenes as they are getting boring and monotonous. I can't believe I'm saying that! But it's true... they are written practically word for word as in other novels.
In a nutshull, I am sorry to say that I am losing my devotion to Stephanie Lauren's books. I will probably read the final book in the series since Dalziel seems an intersting sort. But I hope that she takes a different approach and introduces a fresh stream of characters. It's sad that this series (which started out promising) is losing it's steam -- and she's losing her creative touch if she has to keep recycling the same old prose. You can't keep going to the same well and expect to pull up a full pail of water. Same goes for the "Cynster" series. She's squeezing every last drop from that as well. Now, every person to have bumped into a Cynster has their own story. I snoozed thru Charlie & Sara's story, barely got thru the one before that (see what I mean... they're becoming forgettable!) I'm about a third thru the Barnaby Adair story but am skipping here and there. I'm a little nervous because of the number of children on the Cynster family tree.... do we have 20 more novels on the back burner....waiting for these youngsters to grow up????
I would have given this higher than a two star rating but the whole Vaux thing did me in. I liked Christian and admire him more simply by his putting up with such a woman -- he must have the patience of a saint!
It would be nice if these comments were collected and forwarded to the authors. I really don't know that they understand that their loyal readers have become so disenchanted. I'll take quality over quantity any time. If there is a quota and a deadline that authors must fulfill, then this is a detriment to the reader and the story is being sacrificed. I have boxes of books stored away in my attic. Books that are worth reading over and over again. I'm sorry to say that the last few years have not produced many books that fall into the 'keeper' category or that which I could recommend whole-heartedly.
Sorry that this is a long post. But I enjoy sharing my thoughts as much as I enjoy reading what others have to say. I have made some smart buying choices by reading the comments of other readers.
Summary of The Edge of Desire (Bastion Club Novel)
They proved their bravery fighting for His Majesty's Secret Service and were rewarded with brides of great beauty and breeding. But one member of the Bastion Club has remained a bachelor . . . until now.
"Christian, I need your help. There is no one else I can turn to . . . L."
When Christian Allardyce, 6th Marquess of Dearne, reads those words, his world turns upside down. Lady Letitia Randall is a woman like no other, and the day he left her behind to fight for king and country was the most difficult of his life. He never forgot the feel of her lips against his, but never expects to see her again. Yet now she seeks his help, and Christian knows he will not resist her plea.
Letitia believes that Christian abandoned her when she needed him most, and she hates to call on his aid. But to clear her brother's name, she has sworn to use every weapon at her command, even if it means seducing her ex-lover. Yet all the while, Christian is waging a war of his own-a campaign of pure pleasure and sweet revenge that will take them both beyond the edge of desire.
Australia & New Zealand Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Reading in the autumn
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Waoby Junot D?az
Riverhead Trade; Published: 2008-09-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.10
Price in other shops:
Downtown Owl: A Novelby Chuck Klosterman
Scribner; Published: 2008-09-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.44
Price in other shops:
Bridge of Sighs: A Novel (Vintage Contemporaries)by Richard Russo
Vintage; Published: 2008-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.28
Price in other shops:
Chasing Harry Winston: A Novelby Lauren Weisberger
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-05-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.11
Price in other shops:
Crippled Dreams & Love and Madnessby David Rehak
CreateSpace; Published: 2008-05-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.95
Love the One You're Withby Emily Giffin
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-05-13; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $7.67
Price in other shops:
When the Soul Mends (Sisters of the Quilt, Book 3)by Cindy Woodsmall
WaterBrook Press; Published: 2008-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.93
Price in other shops:
The Lucky Oneby Nicholas Sparks
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2008-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.45
Price in other shops:
Smoke Screen: A Novelby Sandra Brown
Simon & Schuster; Published: 2008-08-12; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.25
Price in other shops:
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2)by Julia Quinn
Avon; Published: 2008-09-30; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.49
Price in other shops:
Similar Books and other products
After the Kiss: The Notorious Gentlemenby Suzanne Enoch
Avon; Published: 2008-07-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.87
Price in other shops:
Before the Scandal: The Notorious Gentlemenby Suzanne Enoch
Avon; Published: 2008-08-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.42
Price in other shops:
A Wallflower Christmasby Lisa Kleypas
St. Martin's Press; Published: 2008-10-14; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.78
Price in other shops:
Beyond Seduction (Bastion Club)by Stephanie Laurens
Avon; Published: 2007-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.12
Price in other shops:
The Lost Duke of Wyndham (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 1)by Julia Quinn
Avon; Published: 2008-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops:
It Happened One Nightby Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D'alessandro, Candice Hern
Avon; Published: 2008-10-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.50
Price in other shops:
Seduction of a Proper Gentleman (Last Man Standing)by Victoria Alexander
Avon; Published: 2008-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.50
Price in other shops:
Where the Heart Leads (Cynster)by Stephanie Laurens
Avon; Published: 2009-02-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
Seduce Me at Sunrise (The Hathaways, Book 2)by Lisa Kleypas
St. Martin's Paperbacks; Published: 2008-09-30; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.22
Price in other shops:
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume (Two Dukes of Wyndham, Book 2)by Julia Quinn
Avon; Published: 2008-09-30; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.64
Price in other shops: