Reviews for The Promise in a Kiss (Cynster Series)

The average rating for The Promise in a Kiss (Cynster Series) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-12-29 00:00:00 Michael Langarica In Dark Angel, Jennifer has been engaged to a man although she hardly knows but loves deeply for the past five years they've been engaged, as the engagement announcement t draws closer, she finds herself the object of a notorious earl's attention Gabriel Fisher, the Earl of Thornhill. Gabriel is playing a game of revenge and using Jennifer as a pawn, but when the game soon becomes a game of love, one neither are winning to lose! Like many Mary Balogh fans, it's very hard to find books on her backlist without making a huge dent on the pocketbook. These re-issues are a true gift to use fans, giving us not only the chance to read more of her amazing works but save us from the outrageous cost of these out of print books. While reading Dark Angel and Lord Carew's Bride I couldn't help but have a few old live lesson sayings pop up in my head one such in Jennifer's case was "Love is Blind" for Jennifer, her love for Lord Lionel Kersey truly blinded her to the man he truly is. While a good character, she sometimes wished the blinders would come off before it was to late, with MB her books show that life teaches hard lessons and for Jennifer life did, but instead of getting her down, she finally picked herself up and dusted herself off and became a stronger and better woman out , this also made her able to forgive Gabriel for the game he played, which only made her stronger and amazing in my eyes, showing her growing from a naive young girl to an wise woman. With Gabriel "revenge is a dish best served cold" instead of thinking of his actions before her set out to do harm in his game, Gabriel quickly became one of the victims and hurt the woman he loved. Gabriel also showed another human side in all of us, wanting to hurt those whom have done wrong to our loves one. What we forget is the innocent are the ones that usually get hurt. Gabriel's learns this lessons the hard way, but he's willing to make amends, and while he also made me made in his actions in the end I like Jennifer couldn't fault him when he finally broke down hiding his tears to ask for Jennifer's forgiveness and love. Mary Balogh's Dark Angel shows sides of human nature, but also shows the good in all of us and the healing power that love and true forgiveness can do... 5 out of 5 stars In Lord Carew's Bride, Jennifer's cousin Samantha Newman has been hurt deeply by love and doesn't trust her emotions, willing to go on in life alone, she's surprised at the deep connection to feels to a disabled gardener Hartley Wade, Hartley secretly Lord Carew, but enjoys just being with Samantha as himself and not some wealthy peer, but soon he'll risk everything on the chance of love to be with Samantha as they start to heal the wounds of their hearts Lord Carew's Bride I saw shades of a later favorite novel of Mary Balogh in it, Simply Love, not because of the disable lead character but because it showed the true inner strength of heart and love. "Once Bitten Twice Shy" Samantha was used and tossed away by Jennifer's old evil and thankfully ex-fiancee Lord Lionel Kersey, not trusting her heart and love, she decides she rather be alone, until she meets Hartley Wade whom she feels finally at peace for the first time in a long time with, just being with him brings her a great joy. Even after six years, Samantha hasn't been able to forgive herself for being played the fool by Lionel and for even for thinking she was in loved with the jerk, she doesn't trust herself or her emotions, placing a great doubt in her mind, about her love for Hartley if it's love or isn't it? Even when Lionel returns she doesn't know if she's still in love with him. Samantha is finally learns to move on and let go and to let love into her heart. She also decides that she could care less for Lionel and shows him by a well place kick to his groin and a few slaps across his face where he stands with her. I cheered for Sam in the moment and cried when she finally told Hartley "I Love You" Hartley was A-m-a-z-i-n-g, I was surprised how quickly he fell in love with Samantha, but it works. It's Hartley's love that pushes him to go and find Samantha again, it's love that gives him the strength to protect his lady love and give Lionel his just dues! Hartley lived with a lie that caused him to become disable, but this disability didn't break him it only made him a stronger man, with a kind heart. Hartley proved over and over again his love but also a greater inner strength. I adored Hartley and everything about him, he held a deep understanding of people and their emotions, and knew what Sam was feeling and going through, he never gave up hope and I was so happy Hartley and Sam got their HEA together. In Lord Carew's Bride, Love showed that it will find a way, and sometimes it'll take you totally by surprise and bless you with a truly great gift.... 5 out of 5 stars Overall: two amazing books, that show the human heart's breaks and heals and the truly amazing gift we could ever receive: Love

Review # 2 was written on 2010-08-21 00:00:00 Stephen Dorril Of the two, I definitely liked Lord Carew's Bride the most. Neither was an OMGWOW sort of read though. I'd give Dark Angel a 3 and Lord Carew's Bride a 4. Dark Angel Miss Jennifer Winwood is in town for her very first Season and positively vibrating with the excitement of it. Unlike other girls on their come out, though, she's not here to snag a husband. That was set for her five years ago, when she was 15, when her viscount father arranged her betrothal to a the heir to an earldom, Viscount Kersey. For five years she has constructed and worshipped a mental image of Kersey and the wonderful life they'll no doubt enjoy as a married couple. The joy of finally seeing Kersey again and having their betrothal made official is almost more than she can bear. Gabriel, the Earl of Thornhill, is recently returned to London after a long stay on the Continent with his stepmother. The conventional wisdom among the ton is that he had absconded with his stepmother after getting her pregnant, leaving his father to die of a broken heart, and then abandoning her in Europe when he tired of her. The truth is, of course, much different, and he's decided to get his revenge on his stepmother's faithless lover. Hearing that the villain is recently engaged, he sets out to break the engagement, hoping to embarrass Kersey in the process. All of this is laid out in the first few chapters. Balogh establishes Kersey as your stereotypical 80s and 90s movie villain early on. He's blond, blue eyed, drop-dead gorgeous and unfailingly charismatic. Unless you live under a rock, this description screams "sociopathic douchebag alert, DO NOT GO IN THE BASEMENT" to you. Nothing he says can be trusted, his motives are inherently suspect and so on. Unfortunately, Jennifer didn't get the memo. This being the Regency, she lacks HBO and Lifetime. She doesn't know that blond guys are invariably panty-invading villains. The story is now perched upon her ignorance and the reader must watch her idolize the villain, trusting every word out of his mouth, and play right into a disaster you can clearly see off in the distance. I found this profoundly uncomfortable and unpleasant to watch. I rather wished I was left a bit in the dark along with Jennifer so I could've been confused with her, rather than cringing on her behalf. Other than this quality, which may not bother other readers as much as it did me, it's a perfectly well-written book. The romance between Jennifer and Gabriel is drawn out slowly and organically through wonderful bits of dialog. The voice is pitch-perfect Regency throughout, and I loved watching the interplay between all the characters. The love was evident not only between Jennifer and Gabriel, but also between Jennifer and her poor cousin Samantha. If I didn't have to spend three quarters of the book watching Jennifer make an unwitting fool of herself, I'd have liked this much more than I did. As it was, I'd rate it a weak 3 star or maybe a 2.5. I did consider quitting it a few times. Lord Carew's Bride After her cousin Jennifer's fiance, Viscount Kersey, used her in a scheme that wounded her and and her cousin's feelings quite deeply, she's decided that the volatile nature of love is emphatically not for her. Six years after her London debut, and her disastrous run-in with Kersey, Samantha Newman is quite happily unmarried. Now visiting her cousin in the country, she decides to take a long walk to put some space between herself and the happy young family. She encounters a charming landscape artist named Hartley Wade when her walk leads her onto the property of the Marquess of Carew. Instantly she's at ease with him, falling effortlessly into easy conversation and lapsing into comfortable silences. Quickly they develop a friendship, meeting secretly in the afternoon to walk the marquess' lands and chat amiably. Hartley is a bit more than just the well-spoken, limping gardener she presumes him to be, as he's the Marquess of Carew himself. Surprised to find the stunningly beautiful woman recognizes neither his person nor his name, he plays along with her misperception. Crippled at a young age, leaving him with a twisted arm and a lame leg, he's wary of women pursuing him for his fortune alone. When Samantha seems as taken with him as he is with her, despite believing him a mere gardener, he can hardly believe his luck. Suddenly it seems he could have what he had always assumed could never be - a woman to love who loved him for who he was. This is a love at first sight story at its heart. Immediately upon meeting Samantha, Hartley acknowledges to himself that he's in love with her. Samantha clearly does as well, though she won't use that particular word herself. Balogh does a smashing job of showing their mutual attraction through their easy conversation, peaceful silences and shared thoughts. I immediately came away with the impression that they were old dear friends meeting one another for the first time. Having a hero be enthusiastic about finding a woman to love and comfortable to admit it to himself was a wonderful change of pace. I liked how Balogh stretched the story out on the characters insecurities without resorting to a Big Misunderstanding. Lord Kersey's reappearance upsets and confuses them both in different ways. While they both react poorly to the stresses, they do it in a way consistent with their personalities and their dynamic as a couple and grow closer as a result of it. Definitely a cute story about the fine line between love and friendship. I'd give it a 4, I think. It's good, but it's not amazing.