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A review by attytheresa
A Conquest Impossible to Resist by Stephanie Laurens
5.0
Enjoyed this historical romance set amidst the 'horsey set' of Victorian England and Ireland - a lot! And I'm not even particularly mad about horses! There's a lot about superior race horses in this one.
It's the early years of the Victorian Era, and Prudence Cynster, 29 year old spinster, exceptional horse woman and head of her family's race horse breeding program, is on the hunt for new breeding stock to refresh the bloodlines in her family's stable. The Cynster Stables are racing royalty, and thus their standards are high. Pru's hunt takes her to West Coast Ireland, to the Fitzgerald family holdings, whose deceased patriarch was obsessed with fine horseflesh and had a "collection" of what are essentially the equivalent of purebreds in the world of racing equines - called "foundation bloodlines". There Pru meets the first man to excite any kind of sensual response in her, the current head of the Fitzgerald family, the Earl of Glengarah. Of course, he's a former rake now dedicated to pulling his family's estates back from the brink after the Great Famine, and setting up a breeding agreement between the Cynster Stable and his pater's 'collection' of horses is imperative.
The Earl isn't exactly ready for the sparks flying between the two of them either. In truth, their romance while key, moves rather quickly, without real impediment, into an affair, then true love, and finally a wedding. What really is captivating and drives the story is all the information about the horses (I repeat - I'm not into horses and I found this fascinating), race horse breeding, and the 'accidents' and attempted murder that begins to disrupt Pru's and the Earl's negotiations of a breeding agreement and life-long marital relationship.
What's also nice about this particular historical romance from Laurens is that neither Pru nor the Earl expect to find love in their lives. Pru in particular had carved a life for herself the assumed she would never marry, given no one she'd ever met sustained her interest or elicited a passion in her to equal her love and knowledge of horses. The Earl never expected to find a woman who shared his passion and sense of responsibility for his estates and, of course, horses.
It's the early years of the Victorian Era, and Prudence Cynster, 29 year old spinster, exceptional horse woman and head of her family's race horse breeding program, is on the hunt for new breeding stock to refresh the bloodlines in her family's stable. The Cynster Stables are racing royalty, and thus their standards are high. Pru's hunt takes her to West Coast Ireland, to the Fitzgerald family holdings, whose deceased patriarch was obsessed with fine horseflesh and had a "collection" of what are essentially the equivalent of purebreds in the world of racing equines - called "foundation bloodlines". There Pru meets the first man to excite any kind of sensual response in her, the current head of the Fitzgerald family, the Earl of Glengarah. Of course, he's a former rake now dedicated to pulling his family's estates back from the brink after the Great Famine, and setting up a breeding agreement between the Cynster Stable and his pater's 'collection' of horses is imperative.
The Earl isn't exactly ready for the sparks flying between the two of them either. In truth, their romance while key, moves rather quickly, without real impediment, into an affair, then true love, and finally a wedding. What really is captivating and drives the story is all the information about the horses (I repeat - I'm not into horses and I found this fascinating), race horse breeding, and the 'accidents' and attempted murder that begins to disrupt Pru's and the Earl's negotiations of a breeding agreement and life-long marital relationship.
What's also nice about this particular historical romance from Laurens is that neither Pru nor the Earl expect to find love in their lives. Pru in particular had carved a life for herself the assumed she would never marry, given no one she'd ever met sustained her interest or elicited a passion in her to equal her love and knowledge of horses. The Earl never expected to find a woman who shared his passion and sense of responsibility for his estates and, of course, horses.