Play Book Tag discussion
This topic is about
Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols
Archive: Other Books
>
Lady Osbaldestone and the Missing Christmas Carols by Stephanie Laurens - 4 stars
date
newest »
newest »
I’m part way through this one and really enjoying it too. This and the first Lady O book are a bit of a departure from Stephanie Laurens’ usual steamy romance books (which usually bring on a massive attack of cynicism for me - just call me Nicole, lol)... But her characters can be interesting and she’s nailed a nice balance in these stories.
Fine. Y’all convinced me. I’ll get to this before January 1!
I just finished this one myself! So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, this is a departure from Laurens' more steamy regencies, but the wit and charm and characters are just as deftly written. You can also read these without having read any of Laurens' series because none of the characters except Lady Osbaldestone have appeared in any of her others. And Lady O appears in all those in her Grande Dame of the Haute Ton role, before whom most, especially young gentlemen, quail. If you want to explore more of Laurens' books, you can read certain shorter series even though there are characters interwoven from other, longer, series: i.e. the Bastion Club series, Black Cobra Quartet, and Adventurers Quartet - all have a suspense/mystery/adventure component in addition to steamy romance.
The main family that's the focus of most of her books from main series to numerous offshoots - and where Lady Osbaldestone repeatedly makes appearances -- are the Cynsters. Best to start at the very beginning with them: Devil's Bride.
Yes, I am very fond of this author and her books. Several are comfort rereads too!
I've picked up the first book of the Barnaby Adair series, as that seems more my speed, being a mystery type story with a Sherlock Holmes-like protagonist. I'll give Devil's Bride a try too - I'm curious to see Lady O in her element.
Barnaby is introduced in some of the later Cynster books. In fact Devil's Bride starts with a murder that takes the entire story to solve. Many have some mystery theme.
OMG Devil’s Bride frustrated me so much. I just re-found my scathing review of the thing. I haven’t read any others, though the quartets sound interesting. Maybe I’ll bite the bullet and try another one
KateNZ wrote: "OMG Devil’s Bride frustrated me so much. I just re-found my scathing review of the thing. I haven’t read any others, though the quartets sound interesting. Maybe I’ll bite the bullet and try anothe..."The Adventurers Quartet takes you to Colonial Africa. The first volume suffers from introductory laying the foundation syndrome and a couple that was not all that appealing ... until met again in the 4th volume. Liked 2nd and 3rd best.
Okay .. when I get back home I'm going to library to look for Lady Osbaldestone1
But I don't care, because this book was delightful! I finished it in a day. And I will be reading book 1 next.
This being my first book by Stephanie Laurens, I was not familiar with any of the characters, who obviously starred in previous books. But I loved the character of Lady Osbaldestone, who just before Christmas welcomes her two grandsons and two granddaughters into her home to spend some time with her before the big family Christmas gathering. They get involved in the search for the church's missing book of Christmas carols, without which their new organist cannot perform for the annual traditional Carol Service. Along the way we have a romance on the side.
This was a fun read, exactly the kind of feel-good light Christmas read I was looking for. The characters were sensible and interesting, and the romance had a nice light touch and felt sincere. I'm not a big fan of romances, but I may check out other books by this author to get acquainted with the other characters introduced here in the background, after I finish book 1 of this series. And next year I hope to read book 3 when it comes out.