Mastered By Love (Bastion Club Book 8)

This is one of my favorite SL stories ever. Dalziel/Royce's background didn't end up being quite as scandalous as I anticipated, but that was okay since his romance with Minerva was so brilliant. I love Minerva! She's such a strong female lead, one who knows her own heart and isn't afraid of her feelings, but doesn't let her emotions rule her - she keeps a cool head while dealing with Royce and all the assorted issues that come up. She actually reminded me quite a bit of a very mature Honoria Prudence (Devil's Bride). I love, love, love their pillow talks - they're both pretty open and candid with one another about their feelings without getting too gushy and neither are quick to rush into a more committed relationship before they're ready.

I like the twist with the last spy at the end. I'm not sure if it was necessary to have the entire Bastion Club/Cynster ensemble in on the climax, but whatever - it was nice. And it was awesome to see Minerva not take any crap off of anyone.

Seriously, I re-read this novel all the time. One of her best!

As usual, I find myself in almost mirror disagreement with other reviewers. Of all her books, Cynster or Bastion Club, this is probably my favorite, with The Bastion Club being my favored series. I, too was led to expect a lot from Dalziel's book, and in some ways it did not live up to that (hence the 4 star rating, instead of 5). What I loved, though, is that the cypher that was Dalziel became the Duke of Wolverstone, Royce Varisey. Royce puts a very stern face out to the world. He's an ex-assassin, he is an ex-spy-leader, an exiled son, and from a family that is not known for showing any emotion. After a 16 year absence, even someone who *should* know him the best (Minerva, his parents' ward and his chatelaine), doesn't really know the "new" him.

Coming home has been emotionally wrenching for him. The hoped for reconciliation with his father has been denied him. The homecoming is, therefore, bittersweet. In his grief, Royce becomes a bit more vulnerable than he was ever able to be as Dalziel. Which is something I liked. Most of this authors characters are from the exact same mold, to a point where it's like reading the same book, different day. In this case, while the same characteristics exist (the "alpha" attitude, the commanding and protectiveness, etc.), they were tempered by the flesh-and-blood man that Royce was able to become. Minerva is second only to Alicia Carrington (A Gentleman's Honor) as my favorite heroine, with Penny Selborne (A Lady of His Own) coming up third. She is not the obnoxious kind of strong, but a loving foil for a man like Royce who needs someone who *won't* fear him, because she sees that the persona he had as Dalziel is the one that was fake.

Unlike other readers, I was quite happy to have "the last traitor" be a back-story to the romance. I prefer it that way. And let's be honest here, without pages and pages of VERY hot sex scenes, it just wouldn't be a Stephanie Laurens book. The development of feelings from a man who has felt nothing for 16 years was a rough road. Royce knew he cared, but that was a large leap for him. Minerva was aware of her feelings, but afraid of loss. Why? Because he must marry. And so far as everyone knows, he fully intends to follow in the family footsteps -- marriage for social and financial gain, for status, not love (or even like). The family history is to choose more or less randomly, and that is what everyone expects.

Contrary to what is claimed, it is entirely possible that the Prince Regent would institute an effort to reclaim the Varisey holdings. As mentioned, it wasn't likely to succeed. But if he were to marry, that threat would be removed. The "grandes dames" just didn't see a need to dally. And Royce, while resenting being pressured (and hurt by the crown's treatment of him) recognized this. It just took him a while to figure out what he DID want. At that point, he could capitulate without the fight, so why argue? I don't know why being willing to play society's rules (especially after being a fish out of water for over a decade), could be considered being a pushover.

Much like in other books by this author, the heroine often feels unworthy or unlikely to be the lady of choice. In this case, Minerva had more reason than some. So while the feet dragging was a little annoying, it was at least understandable. I liked Royce's efforts to seduce her and his pleas for help from his half-brother Hammish. Royce had no experience seducing a woman! And given what we'd known of Dalziel, that I can believe. So his hesitance, his unsurity, is actually a boon to me, not something negative. I especially loved the "compromising" that took place! That was a GREAT scene, and the book should be read just to see how Dalziel can handle an undesireable circumstance.

Ultimately, I liked how Minerva accepted his past. How she was respectful of him, not overbearing and controlling. I liked the ending (which, unlike SOME reviewers, I will not divulge). Even the reveal of the traitor was not unexpected -- the other books led up to the fact that it HAD to be someone with a personal vendetta against Dalziel; remember, he never NEEDED the treasure. He did it for the fight, which was always pitted against Royce alone. The only complaint with how this was handled is that my favorite BC members weren't really mentioned (Anthony and Charles).

And, again unlike others... I really, really liked the sex scenes. Hoo-boy! The one where he literally carried her off to his bed on his shoulder? THAT was hot. These scenes were probaby some of SL's best, in that Royce was forceful yet vulnerable to Minerva's participation, and not the "leader" in everything, like in other books. She may not have known everything, but Minerva could hold her own. And Royce's description? Yummy! We'd only really gotten a rather vague sense of him before. But this? This was everything to hope for. And more. :D

Ultimately, I'd consider this about a 4 1/2 star read. The characters were how I would have wanted them to be. My complaints are minor. The one thing I AM upset about is that, while the Cynster books are now extending to something like 3rd cousins twice removed, the Bastion Club series has come to an end. I would have loved many more. And just because it is my way, some of the phrases in this book were laughably funny. Which, for me, is only an added benefit, as we can then use it on our blog.

If my review appeals to you, then you will probably enjoy the book. If what I enjoy isn't what you look for, you will probably be disappointed. I hope you're in the former group, because I feel as if this book does the series justice, especially for the end.

The men of the Bastion Club are spy veterans from the Napoleonic Wars. After their duty to the army was done they returned home to begin the quest for a wife. Dalziel is the mysterious ring leader of them all and he has had us sitting on our hands waiting for his story for ages!

I have to say that in general Stephanie Lauren's books are a good read although she does tend to get a little too generic at times. For those who are familiar with her already, her Cynster Series has some real gems and just like that series, The Bastion Club is worth a read. All in all, Mastered by Love is a solid foray and satisfying conclusion to the Bastion Saga and I would recommend it if you just want something to read.

However, my complaint with this title is that it once again has some of those elements that make you go- Hmmm- that wasn't quite plausible. Both characters are strong headed, especially the heroine, and their interaction and the dialogue exchanged can get a little bit painful, but still, a decent read if you are looking for some light entertainment, but not of the first water.

For a real gem, the early Cynster novels are still the best.Devil's Bride (Cynster Novels)

Like other fans, I've been waiting for this final episode of the Bastion Club. There were two key problems with this book: Wolverstone's character is not consistent with the way Laurens portrayed Dalziel in the other books and the writing seemed to be inspired by Dickens - that is, an author paid by the word so the more words, the better, however unnecessary. Many, many pages could be skimmed as very little happened.
More verbs and adjectives used in love scenes than in almost any other book that I can recall. It became exhausting to read, which wasn't the point.
By the way, the "last traitor" portrayed in the last section of the book was wholly inconsistent with the sneaky, clever, brilliant strategist who had managed to get away in each and every other Bastion book.

Best thing about the book was the relationship between Royce and Minerva and the way he tried to be different from his father. I liked his outlook on what a duke SHOULD do and how he implemented his ideas. Whether that was consistent with the time period, I don't know, but it was great reading.

I never write reviews, but I feel obligated after reading this crap. I have Loved all the other Bastion Club Novels, so when I bought this one I expected it to be even better than the others. This is Dalziel's story. Master Manipulator and Spy Ringleader. His story(in my mind) should be fast-paced, exciting, romantic(duh!) and have that element of danger lurking nearby.

Unfortunately it has NONE of those things. What you do get subjected to are...extremely long, tedious and frequent sex scenes(I was astonished at how much time she spent in the bedroom. I was skipping pages at a time to get thru the boring and never-ending sex crap. I'd say 60-65% of the book is spent in the bedroom), slow moving story lines that resolve simply with no real conflict between the main characters and a very quick and unsatisfying ending. The lack of an epilogue bothered me a great deal. I felt like I had been ripped off~ I really wanted a look into the future, and not just theirs, but all the club member's lives.

In the end, if Ms. Laurens had spent less time with her characters in the bedroom and working on developing an actual plot, this COULD have been a good book. But it's not one I'll read again.

DaBee

Like quite a few others, I was anticipating reading this final (I hope so) book in the Bastion Club Series. I too thought Dalziel would prove to be the most intriguing of all the Club members. But there were several aspects that resulted in only a 3 star rating. The whole premise of the "last traitor." If we are to believe that this person(Phillip) was behind a good portion of the betrayals and dangers experienced in the previous books, he ended up being weakly represented here. And for the most ridiculous of reasons; more or less like a spoiled child who wasn't paid enough attention --- this was the driving force behind his years of carefully plotted revenge? I wasn't buying it.

Then there were the usual "Laurens-isms" that have peppered majority of all her books since the original Cynster stories. (at least those were her earlier books and there was a freshness to them; character-wise and plot-wise) Her disjointed sentences, I know, are scripted thusly to have an impact -- like the heroine is so overwhelmed by the depth of her emotion and physical reaction that she can barely think clearly and in full thoughts so the description of same needs to be in half sentences so we know what she's feeling. The first few times that tact is used gets the point across; all subsequent readings like this are annoying.
Then there's the frequency of the sexual encounters -- mind you -- with women who have sworn that they will not fall under the seduction of the man -- "you won't have me so easily --I have strong moral fiber!" Then suddenly, they're all over eachother. I have said in prior reviews that I am surprised to find myself saying this but the constant sexual episodes -- described in recycled prose -- get to be boring after reading the exact same lines in every book!

Next, Ms Laurens nearly fell into the "Vaux" trap that she employed in the book before this one (Christian's story) If I had to hear one more time about Letitia's "Vaux" anger management issues, I think I would have thrown the book into the fire. There were borderline references to the "anger" trait in Royce's family tree as well, however, this didn't get out of hand so I'm letting it slide..... but the chance that this "excuse" would rear it's head was keeping me on edge.... Now onto the dragging in of the grand dames of Stephanie Laurens' ton. Completely unnecessary to the tone of this novel. And, as someone else noted, the trumped up reason why Royce had to marry and marry swiftly stretched the imagination way too much. Really, the highest ranking member of English aristocracy being chastised into marriage as if he were a school boy... too far-fetched... goes hand and hand with the thin plot of evil.

And of course, my usual gripe. The leading lady. Why oh why is it necessary to portray EVERY heroine as an tougher-than-nails, know-it-all, doesn't need a man, the store of a woman? Lately, she embodies all of her leading ladies with these characteristics (with only a few exceptions -- but back in the Cynster days) I'm all for women who are not portrayed as spineless, weak willed and wishy-washy, but surely there is some happy medium. I read romance novels to escape the real world, to go to a place where happily-ever-after exists, where men are the stuff that dreams are made of, etc etc..... There are tons of well written stories where a heroine is strong yet still embraces her feminine side -- the side that longs to be cherished and desired, who --even if her moral compass is trying to point in the right direction -- is caught up in the seduction of a man she can't resist. The conflict and the tension add so much to a story. In Ms Lauren's books of late, these women are so determined to resist the very man she wants so much. In her defense, however, she HAS created women who are beyond the first blush of youth, who have assumed certain responsibilities in life and are not the fresh young debutantes.... because who in the Bastion Club would want or need a chit right out of the schoolroom?? So I get that -- I just wish she would temper the "strong" woman with a few more feminine traits--ya know, soften her up a bit?

Sorry, got a little sidetracked. You would think I'm bashing the whole book but, honestly, I'm not. It's just that with each book, I'm hoping to see some improvement -- more originality; that which was present in the Cynster series and the first couple of books in the Bastion Club. Can it be that she is simply overwhelmed by publishing deadlines that she isn't putting as much creative thought into the stories?? My guess is that most of her readers are fans like me, who read just about anything she puts out; especially because we feel caught up in the lives of these characters and want to see how everything turns out. Another reviewer commented that she would have liked to know how the other Bastion Club members learned exactly WHO Dalziel was... me too. There was mention that Letitia (last book) knew, as well as some of the other ladies. So how do these ladies know and their men (all well trained, intelligent spies??) NOT be aware of some things. And that brings me to another point that I thought of as well as noting that others mentioned it too. If Royce was the leader of this amazing group of undercover men, working for the good of king and country... .why are they portrayed with glaring flaws such as not being in tune to the evil deeds or nefarious plots going on under their very noses? How do men who are described as men of the world, irresistible to women and careful enough to have avoided the pitfalls so prevalent in their society (gambling, debts, mistresses, illegitimate children, etc) be so out of touch their emotions and with women.

So why do I continue to read Stephanie Laurens? She IS a talented writer. She is in touch with the time period she is writing and easily brings that to life. I would have given this a higher ranking but some of the loose ends prevented me from doing that. Plus (and again, another reviewer said this)... the books always seem to end in a rush... Why? would ten more pages of text take her over the limit? I would like to have, at least, an epiloge -- to tie things up neatly for me. This easily can be done by culling some of the pages of the sex scenes -- they're all repeats anyway!

Although the review is supposed to be for Mastered By Love, it is hard to avoid bringing up other books... as I think that I and other readers can share information and thoughts and benefit from them. (I know you can read every reveiw on every book but......) I've been reading Stephanie Laurens for nearly 10 years now and wish SHE would re-read some of her earlier stuff.... Those are the books that got me hooked and, sadly, there have been a few lately that have ended up in the recycle pile or traded in at the half-price book store -- unfinished! There are just some stories I can't get into and others still where I could not care any less about the characters. Simply not worth the effort.

I will probably continue to read her; seems there's another series in the works. But she can't resist those Cysters can she? !!! I guess when you're so well-connected socially, you're bound to run into the pages of another book!

Okay, so I agree with the criticism that too little time was spent on the last traitor and the cover model looks nothing like the Royce of my mind's eye. However, in my opinion, this story definitely lived up to its title--the love scenes were pretty hot, and hero became consideraby more beneficent as he took up the reins of his dukedom. It was nice to see the duke evolve into a "humane" being (given his history as Dalziel). I also liked the way the other Bastion Club wives offered support in a non judgmental way. The heroine was smart, focused and determined. The hero was strong, open-minded, and essentially fair. I liked the way the storyline dealt with the complex family/emotional issues-drama (much left unresolved as in real life). I like the way it skimmed the politics underlying the transitions that were occurring in the the social relations of production. Thank you Stephanie for an entertaining and 'masterful' read.

Anyone who enjoys Stephanie Laurens needs to read this book - The last of the Bastion Series, but just the begining of merging the Bastion series and the Cynsters. Talk about overload!!!!

This book is Royce's story - formally know as Danziel. After years of being the Spymaster, he returns home to take over the mantle of Duke. I really enjoyed his bewilderment - he who knew all the answers suddenly doesn't understand the questions. His love interest, Minerva, has grown up with his family and has known him in the past.

I do agree with the others that the final traitor's story leaves a bit to be desired, but I think it was included to allow Daziel closure to his past life as the spymaster.

This is one wedding that he doesn't get to avoid. Read it for a pleasurable visit to the past and find closure.

In Mastered By Love, Royce Varisey, the wealthy, powerful tenth Duke of Wolverstone, who also happens to be the master spy called Dalziel, is retiring from the ministry and needs a wife to protect his title and estate from the crown. Estranged from his family, Royce returns to the family estate, Wolverstone Castle after the unexpected death of his father to bury him and claim the title. He is shattered that he never reconciled with his father, but his late parents' chatelaine, Minerva, gives him startling news about his father's last words concerning his son. Soon, Minerva, trying to tamp down a long held infatuation for the virile Royce, becomes indispensable to him. She plans the funeral, takes care of hordes of visiting family and grand dames, and skillfully acquaints him with the running of the estate he has not been part of for 16 years. She also encourages him to heed the warnings of the grand dames and find a wife immediately. Royce soon realizes, however, that the wife he wants is Minerva-though she is not as high bred as the ton would like-and sets out to seduce her. No problem there. She's more than willing to be seduced. The problem is, he has a terrible time of actually proposing to her!

Stephanie Laurens' storytelling abilities only seem to get better with time, and Mastered by Love, the final volume in the Bastion Club novels, is perhaps her best Bastion Club entry. This richly textured and viscerally erotic romance pleases on just about any level. Laurens so makes her characters a part of us, we readily identify with their emotions and sensual awakenings. Her graphic love scenes are to die for.

Review by MyRomanceStory.com [...]

Stephanie Laurens is a good writer most of the time, but in this one she is short on plot and character building, so she proceeds for page after page, chapter after chapter, to detail the sexual going-ons of her hero and heroine. Sorry, but a good book uses sex to enhance the plot, not to overtake it. If I never see the word "satiation" again it will be too soon.

I've read the other books and really looked forward to Dalziel's story. But where was the story? There was no real plot or intrigue given he lead and organized covert government operatives. Also, how is it that everyone in the ton knew what he did, but none of the previous Bastion Club members could ever find out who he really was? There were about 300 pages of him & Minerva--who's no meek miss--but it's all him instantly wanting and going after her as soon as he makes the long journey back home.

I was looking forward to a really good, intriguing plot that kept you guessing until the end, but the more I read, the more I felt compelled to skip to the end of the book. As one reviewer stated, you do get tired of hearing the words "Varisey" and "crimson satin sheets" repeatedly. There were so many people in this book, I felt like telling everyone to go to their own homes.

It's a decent story, about 200 pages too long with no real mystery.

I've always been a fan of Stephanie Laurens, despite the obviously repetitive nature of many of her books. Her characters still were more than worth reading about, especially the Cynsters.

The Bastion Club books never quite measured up, in my opinion. But this one...I had to force myself to finish reading. Totally implausible, and I have to admit, my opinion of Dalziel's character ended up in the dumper. He's written here as an overbearing yutz without a smidgen of appeal, despite his apparent angst over his family relationships. Nothing makes up for his behavior.

Initially impressed with the heroine, her behavior and actions quickly devolved as the "hero's" arrogance evolved, to the point where I stopped caring what happened to either of them.

The preposterous premise of the grande dames of the ton constantly badgering this "war hero" to marry and the reasons why was laughable; it could have been done in a much more interesting way, rather than parading through the pages all the female characters from previous novels (including Cynsters) such as Helena, Dowager Duchess of St. Ives and even old lady Obaldestone! Completely implausible and overdone in the most ham-fisted way.

I want my money back.

Plenty of beefcake, little beef. Like so many others, I was really looking forward to this climax-of-series book about the legendary Dalziel, spymaster extraordinaire. I'm still waiting. This could have been such a strong story, with Dalziel/Royce pitted against his wily nemesis. Instead of the expected clever villain, though, we get a moron who lurks through the story and then turns out in the last few pages (spoiler alert) to be a crazy bumbler whose motivation was "Grandpa always liked you better than me." This guy outwitted the entire Bastion Club for seven books? I don't think so.

On the other hand, Royce and "his chatelaine" spend so much time in his red-sheeted bed, he couldn't have noticed the bumbler if he'd walked into the room with a carving knife. If you read bodice rippers mainly for the ripping, this is your book. It could probably win the award for Most Porn Stephanie Laurens Has Ever Crammed Into One Book. And believe me, there's major competition for that award among her creations.

But if you prefer a strong story enhanced rather than dominated by the sex scenes, look elsewhere.

I really enjoyed this finale to the Bastion Club Series. I was anxious to see how Dalziel would meet his fate - I mean bride - and he did it will a great deal of aplomb. Loved reading about the other characters, and I would have liked to see even more of them. Nevertheless, I loved Minerva and the fact that she was so practical, pragmatic, and so unfocused on a title or her beauty or appeal. It made for a fun read and if you are following the series, you can't be disappointed to read this right through to the final page.

I adored MASTERED BY LOVE. A 10+. I love Stephanie Laurens' use of the English language. She excels at revealing how a character thinks as well as how he or she FEELS. And in this story she deftly interwove many historical and societal aspects. Her Dalziel/Royce is a man who sacrificed a major portion of his life for love of country. He deserved to be happy - especially since it was revealed in the book preceding MASTERED BY LOVE that, unlike other members of the Bastion Club - he had not had a very happy childhood. Every single one of his spies HE handpicked - and, consequently, they ALL had qualities and traits very similar to him. BUT unlike the others - while growing up he had been abused and neglected. In all the other novels he had been the brooding, feared character - but he was the one the other members of the club knew they could go to - the one who ALWAYS helped them. He could have become like his self-indulgent and abusive father, but instead he observed, absorbed, LEARNED and chose to set a different course. And I think THAT is the moral of the of the ENTIRE Bastion Club series. How the one everyone expected to have the hard "cold" heart - was MASTERED BY LOVE and broke away from his childhood abuse. He wanted to be more than what historically had been for members of his family - what the ton had expected him to be, what the ton felt, in spite of all he had accomplished and sacrificed, he was entitled to. He wanted to set his own course and destiny, choose his own woman - as much as he wanted Minerva - he desperately wanted her love. At first I was infuriated by the ladies of the ton who demanded he marry ANYONE - as a form of "duty" - as soon as possible after he returned home. Then I realized in their own way they were trying to protect his heritage as they had protected his true identity while he had protected them and their country. Here Laurens had ably incorporated the real life politics of the day - the ladies of the ton as well as Royce and Minerva were determined to prevent the horrid Prince Regent (the son of the mad King George was known for his many excesses and debts was considered a blight on England during that time in history) coveted Wolverstone, Royce's ancestral home. But once the ladies of the ton realized Royce and Minerva were marrying for love - they redeemed themselves and rallied around the couple. Laurens also gave us great insight into how ducal homes functioned at that time in history and how Royce set out to change things - to break from tradition and "modernize". He was determined to make a difference in the lives of the people who worked for him - he was ahead of his time - a Renaissance man. And I thought Minerva his equal in every way - in bed and out. (Their love scenes were beautifully done and incredibly vivid.) Through Minerva we learned his parents had not only led very unhappy lives and had deep regrets for what they had done to him, but before their deaths had left messages with Minerva for him. Minerva's parents had married for love - and it was that love which shaped her and kept her going while she waited for Royce to return home. In one very touching scene - Minerva left Royce alone in the dark to grieve and come to grips with his past. I didn't want the book to be about the traitor - I wanted it to be devoted to Dalziel/Royce - and it was! I wanted to know what he gave up and how he dealt with it while he "hid" in plain sight - and I wanted Royce to find love and Laurens delivered. And finally, I think the cover is incredibly romantic & sensual, & the absolute epitome of what Dalziel/Royce would look like. Stephanie Laurens repeatedly told us he was very handsome, looked younger than his years, had dark bedroom eyes, dark wavy hair and was well built - and he had a fierce temper he controlled and used to his advantage. I would love to see more of Royce and Minerva's romance in follow up books - not just "visits" - but MORE of their lives together with whatever children they may have. I couldn't put the book down, I've re-read it several times. I highly, highly recommend this beautiful book.

Having read everyone else's reviews, I thought I'd add my own because I disagree so much. I really enjoyed this story - in fact, it's one of my favorite Bastion club novels, because it is so in depth. You get a real feel for what it's like to live in Dalziel's world and I enjoyed the love story quite a lot.

However, I will say that, if you are looking for something that has a lot of action and is very fast paced, this won't be your book. It's more about the life that he is creating for himself than about the life that he's left behind, and as such, does not deal with "traitors" as much as it allows you to explore, with him, the lifestyle of someone who has to come home from war and adjust and learn to be a different kind of leader for his people.

The final capping novel to Ms. Laurens' bastion club series is a captivating read. Much like all of her heroes Rovce "Dalziel" Varisey is every bit an alpha male. Fortunately his heroine is as alpha as he is, even able to hide her attraction to the master spy from his keen eyes. And the irony of the man who sacrificed his family for the crown having the crown potenially destroy his legacy is not lost on the reader.

As with ALL of the bastion club novels, there are steamy love scenes, Grande dames playing matchmaker (both Cynster ladies & another glimpse of Lady O who I hope will get her own story one day), Meddling family members(all of which seem to be more of a Varisey than our hero in that they don't buck the tradition), status reports on the other bastion club members, along with other friends of the master spy(I'm hoping we might get their stories as well) and of course our final traitor.

While others may feel that the traitor gets too little to do in this novel, I feel he has stayed true to his character. The final traitor has in ALL of her novels been one who orchestrates & manipulates things how he wishes them. I don't believe he was ever meant to be more then someone behind the scenes playing puppet-master. And as Royce has made the decision to walk away (allowing his nemesis to "win" as he says), the focus of this novel should NOT have been as much on the intrigue as one the man behind the mask that was Dalziel & his lady. All in all, the novel was very satisfying and definately worthy of being the cappy novel of this series

Really, I expected that at least Dalziel would have a slightly different story from the others of the Bastion Club. It seems to me that all these men are interchangeable and all their love interests ditto. And enough already with the ten+ page romantic interludes. A paragraph would get it across to me. If I don't skip Ms. Laurens' love scenes and try to read them I get all mixed up in what on earth is going on where and frankly don't really even care.

I thoroughly enjoyed all of the 'Bastion Club' novels, of which this is the last. The Cynster ones are good as well. A series of good romantic who-done-it's, that are a bunch of good reads. I even had to look up some of the words for definitions, and realized they would be good words for our family game we called The Lie Game before Balderdash was invented.

A fitting end to the Bastion Club series, although a bit clumsy on behalf of the master traitor, Phillp. Realize he was spiraling down into madness, but considering he'd managed to stay hidden for so long, would have expected a bit more finesse at the end. Otherwise, a wonderful read.

For the most part I enjoy Ms. Laurens books. But the one thing she does that irritates me to no end is giving people and places such ridiculous names. I spend half the time I read her books trying to figure out how to pronounce her dumb names! What's up with that?

Excellent as always, Stephanie Laurens shines through with another Bastion Club winner.
The tale of Dalziel, Royce , (Wolverstone), is a welcome addition to the series.
As with most of Ms. Laurens books, I could not set it down until totally read, right to the end. and you will too !!!
Indulge and be delighted !!

Others have stated all the obvious reasons this last in the Bastion Club series lacks the buildup over the years on Dalziel's character. Oh well, with all the good authors of old falling by the wayside and delivering shabby work, it's no surprise this author has joined them. Won't be buying more of her books.

Steamy, romantic, and endearing! Great ending to this much loved series. All the characters from this series were fun and interesting to follow as they came home from wartime then entered home and society life.

I was disappointed with the ongoing story arc of the secret traitor and was actually glad that it wasn't prominent in this book. It was great, nice tight story, great sex scenes and it was good to see so many old friends come back. Daziel finally gets his own life and it was worth the wait.

IF SHE USES THE WORDS EVOCATIVE OR EVOCATIVELY ONE MORE TIME I"m Never reading her again !!!! Somebody please buy her a thesaurus !! SHE USED THE WORDS about 80 times.IF you condense all of the book it would've been 50 pages long . She turned my stomach waxing poetically about everything.There were 8 pages of kissing and foreplay and only 1 1/2 of sex, my question is why? We didn't need it. I would've rated it a zero but you can't

I am an avid reader of Stephanie Laurens and shall continue to be after reading Mastered By Love. She does a great job of the characterization of Royce (aka Dalziel) and we really find out who he is (after getting glimpses of him throughout the series). The sparks fly between him and Minerva - as always Laurens delivers with her sensual love scenes. I highly recommend reading this book. It was a great ending to the Bastion Club series.

My wife had purchased this book and didn't finish it for some reason. I decided to give it a try and I loved it! I didn't know the Bastion series history and I didn't get too involved with the traitor plot line but the romance between Royce and the strong-willed Minerva was captivating, sensual and wonderfully erotically charged. Now, I need to decide what to read next - should I go back and read the Bastion Club series from the start, begin the Cynsters books or her read her latest Black Cobra bride series? Looks like I have lots of choices :)

After reading the other books in the series I could hardly wait for this one. It was very disappointing. Not
anywhere near as good as the others. No real plot no depth, just didn't live up to what I expected.

although i would have enjoyed a bit more intrigue and suspense throughout the story this novel is still a wonderful book. laurens shows such a beautiful command of the english language that you cannot help but appreciate this great read.the romance is also extremely passionate yet tasteful......

This was a disappointing end to this series. Previous books built up the mystery of Royce and this book failed to build any of that. Also a good quarter of the book was filled the love scenes and longings. I read Historical Romances for the drama of the people and the times; not for the bedroom scenes. I will hesitate to purchase another by this author as it appears her publisher has allowed or encouraged this format. Too bad, her earlier books were more to my liking.