The Taming Of Ryder Cavanaugh (The Cynster Sisters Duos #2) by Stephanie Laurens
Historical Romance
June 25, 2013
Avon

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “If you think I’m going to be the first female in my family to go to the altar a virgin, you’re mistaken.”

The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh is a romance story in the truest form and provides us with a wrap up to the original Cynster series. We witness the last Cynster (of age) to marry-Miss Mary Cynster. I have been a huge fan of this series since reading the first book-Devil’s Bride. Mary is first seen in Devil’s Bride as a young child who holds vigil with the rest of the family when her brother Tolly is killed. That being the catalyst to bringing  Honoria and Devil together. I am astounded that it’s been fifteen years since the first book published .

Mary Cynster is thrilled when her sister, Henrietta, finally finds her true love and the family necklace comes to her. This talisman is supposed to direct the wearer to her hero. Unfortunately for Mary, it seems to be directing her towards someone she is positive is not the one for her-Ryder Cavanaugh, the Marquess of Raventhorne. Mary doesn’t want a man whose temperament and willpower rivals hers. She wants a man that she can direct; as to retain her independence. Mary knows deep down that Ryder is not a man who will ever dance to her tune. Besides, she is convinced it is his half brother, Randolph, who is her perfect match.

Ryder Cavanaugh has never been particularly interested in marriage, but from his first meeting with Mary and her seemingly lack of interest in him, he finds himself taken with this woman and the challenge she presents. Everyone knows the quickest way to send Ryder running the other way is to lavish him with attention; her lack is her undoing. Once Ryder learns she has her eye on his younger brother, he proceeds to shadow her, showing up at various functions and striving to prove to her that Randolph is definitely not the one for her. Ryder decides she is to be his future marchioness and proceeds to set the stage for her conquest. Mary has other plans, though .

“I’m not going to allow you to seduce me.” A reckless challenge. He was curious as to how she thought she might stop him, but all he said was, “Just don’t try to avoid me-trust me, that won’t work.”

He wouldn’t allow it.

When Ryder is attacked by footpads and suffers a potentially fatal wound, Mary finds him and uses her formidable skills to rally the troops and saves his life. She decides to stay at his home to oversee his recovery. Ryder’s stepmother swoops down on them with two gossipy friends in tow, effectively catching Mary and Ryder together alone. She seals their matrimonial fate and Ryder finds himself getting exactly what he wanted.

Though still not as action packed as earlier novels, The Taming Of Ryder Cavanaugh did have the dry humor and a steamy romance that are trademark to Ms. Lauren’s novels; it just lacked the intrigue and suspense. You discover early on who the villain is and the reasons behind their criminal activities. A smooth plot line that delicately reveals itself along a steady paced story, I found it was the characters who completely dominate this story.  Mary and Ryder are perfect for each other. Both are intelligent, sensuous, natural born leaders who complete each other-like two halves of a puzzle. While Mary have never seriously contemplated marriage to Ryder, she realizes once he proposes that she has already begin to fall for him. He effectively wooed her all those weeks as she was chasing his brother. Mary decides that she will tame her “lion” and her plays of seduction leave him both confused and enchanted. He has met his match in Mary and he, unlike some alpha heroes, chooses to nurture and uphold her spirit rather than attempt to crush it. Ryder doesn’t want or need to dominate her, though he is fiercely protective of her. He doesn’t ask she surrender all her control to him. They are equals and that in itself further wins Mary’s heart.

Ryder is quite the gentleman though when his growly side comes out, you understand just why Mary went willingly into marriage with him. Seductive, playful, and experienced; he uses all his tricks to bind Mary to him both in and out of bed, but only ends up trapping himself. A place he is very happy to be. This is not to say he is a pushover. Not at all. He is just like Devil (Devil’s Bride-book one) in alpha-ness, but he realizes that his happiness is dependent on Mary’s so he does everything possible to make sure she never regrets marrying him. Their love scenes are more tell then show (Laurens has always had a bit of a heavy hand with the lyrical prose in her love making scenes) but their smoking hot chemistry leaps from the pages. I love that while Ryder may be the more experienced, he has no qualms about letting Mary take control in the bedroom. And when he realizes she likes to watch him undress…the gloves, err, I mean, the waistcoats, come off slowly. ;) Plenty of humor in their relationship makes for some hilarious scenes and dialogue.

Ryder cast his eyes assessingly over the mare, then lifted Mary to her saddle. He watched as she settled and accepted the reins from the groom. “I take it she’s from Demon’s stables?” “Yes.” She looped the reins through her gloved fingers with casual expertise. “He provides all the family’s horses.” “I’ve heard he’s careful about matching horses to riders.” Clearly recognizing the question behind his statement, she smiled and nodded. “Indeed—­he refuses to let us ride any beast we can’t control.” Leaning forward, she smoothed a palm over the mare’s glossy neck. Arched a brow as she met his eyes. “So we all learn to control the animals we ride.”

The majority of the book is watching Mary and Ryder dance, spar, fall in love, and settle into marriage. No real conflict between them at all. That surprised me. I expected a bit more coercing on Ryder’s part. Maybe a past lover putting up a fight to keep Ryder in her bed or resistance from the Cynster circle as to Ryder’s age or past escapades.. Their journey to marriage and even beyond is all very easy and tame. The action doesn’t pick up until the last quarter as our villain goes to extreme lengths to destroy this couple. I would have liked some explanation as to some of the accidents that happened. We never learn exactly HOW they were accomplished and it bears reasoning that in some instances, they should have never been able to happen. I did enjoy the various Cynsters that were woven in throughout the story. It isn’t often we get so many of them in one book and with such stage time. The main conflict is climatic in that all is explained (though, as I stated earlier, it’s very easy to figure out) and the ending wraps everything up nice and neat. We even get a wonderful long epilogue showing all the Cynsters, what they have been up to, and their plans for the future.

All in all, I enjoyed this installment though I would venture to say that unless you are a faithful reader of this series, this one may be a tame historical in comparison to what’s available and also very confusing in relation to all the characters involved.

 Rating: B-

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