Temptation and Surrender
In this sixteenth Cynster novel, Lucifer’s brother-in-law, Jonas Tallent, is the hero. In 1825 Jonas’s father is away, and Jonas is managing the family’s property in Devon, including the local village inn which had been badly managed and fell into disrepair and disrepute. Desperate to find a new manager, Jonas agrees to hire Emily Beauregard and subsequently falls deeply in love with her. He suspects her resume is not entirely truthful, but she does such a great job with improving the inn that he and the whole village of Colyton accept her at face value. Emily’s ulterior motive for wanting the job in Colyton is that she is secretly a Colyton (Beauregard is her middle name), and she is there to find a family treasure hidden several centuries earlier. Guided by an esoteric rhyme, Em and her brother and sisters search diligently without result and contend with a selfish, abusive uncle hindering their search. Finally, she enlists Jonas’s help, confessing the truth to him and enlisting his help.
Stephanie Laurens’ legion of fans will not be disappointed. Temptation and Surrender is standard Laurens fare, encompassing her strengths as a storyteller including love, sex, and mystery.
