This was a tough book for me to grade because I think there are two types of romance fans who will pick up this novel and your reading experience with The Perfect Lover will likely depend on your previous acquaintance with Laurens’s series of Cynster novels.

For Cynster followers like myself, this book delivers the expected goods pleasantly enough, but without innovation. I had a strong sense of déjà vu all over again as I worked my way through The Perfect Lover. It is what you’ve come to expect from a Laurens Cynster novel and it is an inoffensive but also unexciting addition to the series. The hero is arrogant and alpha, the heroine is independent and smarter than your average bear, the prose is purple, and the path familiar. I know from my own experience that sometimes the lack of surprise is comforting in a new TBR, while at other times it’s boring or frustrating. I think whether or not you like this book will depend on your own mood.

For newcomers to the Cynster family, I would recommend others in the series before The Perfect Lover, but on its own merit this is still an enjoyable historical romance set in 1830’s England. The hero and heroine are interesting (if formulaic), the love scenes are plentiful and extremely sensual, the dialogue is good, and the murder at the house party plot holds up fairly well.

Fictitious members of the British ton, the Cynster cousins (predominantly male, gorgeous and wealthy, if not always titled) are on their individual quests to find/avoid brides and each book in the series chronicles the adventures of a single Cynster cousin and his/her chosen mate as they make their way to HEA. The Perfect Lover is Simon Cynster’s story and it is the eleventh in the series.

Simon, who has determined it is time he finds a bride, doesn’t want to wed just for convenience, but wishes instead to marry for love, or at the very least, affection and lust. Enter Portia Ashford, a woman Simon has known for years and with whom he has battled fiercely throughout their long acquaintance.

Male Cynsters, despite their rakish tendencies and habit of seducing virgins into marriage, have strong protective streaks and prefer not to flout convention if they don’t have to. Most of Portia and Simon’s disagreements stem from his overzealous guarding of her person (all in the name of propriety), while she would prefer to go her own way (within the confines of genteel behavior, of course).

Portia doesn’t particularly want a husband, but she does desire a family, so she realizes the time has come to seek a mate. Despite her years in society, she believes herself to be inept at attracting men and doesn’t know what she really wants in a potential husband, or what might bring such a man to her side. She decides to use her sojourn at a local house party as an experiment to further her cause. Her plan is to spend time with each of the gentlemen in attendance to identify male traits she admires and to practice her flirting skills before returning to London for the Season.

Portia is at the house party as a companion to Lady Osbaldstone, a fixture in the Cynster series and a fun character throughout all the novels. She plays a larger part in The Perfect Lover than in some of the previous books, and her presence is welcome. The house party itself is made up of a variety of high society members, and much time is spent early on introducing the characters and making sure we know who is who. This was tedious, but became more understandable later on when one of the party is killed and nearly everyone else falls under suspicion.

Portia and Simon strike sparks off each other from the very beginning, and their push-pull dance is enjoyable. Simon knows Portia is up to something because she’s seeking out men and flirting more than usual, and he is definitely not amused. He doesn’t know what she’s doing or precisely why he’s irked by it, so he sets out to disrupt her activities by monopolizing her time (to keep her from mischief, of course). Portia figures she can practice her wiles on Simon just as easily as any other man, so she doesn’t object to his previously-unwanted attentions, something that confounds Simon all the more.

Before you know it, Simon has decided that Portia is the woman he must marry, and Portia has decided that it’s okay for Simon to educate her in the, ahem, arts of love, as long as she doesn’t have to marry him. Here, as in many historicals set in this time period, a reader must suspend disbelief long enough to ignore the fact that these two very single members of the ton are able to disappear into summerhouses, gazebos, bedrooms, music rooms and everywhere else you can think of, for hours on end, without anyone being the wiser.

In Simon’s case, his wolfish behavior can be excused (if you buy into the Cynster code) because he plans to marry Portia anyway. Strictly historically speaking however, Portia’s behavior is truly “beyond the pale” in terms of her position in society, her own character, and the time period. The love scenes between these two during those times when they are alone are extremely sensual. Hot, hot, hot. The writing is a little over-the-top, and for a while it seems that the plot merely functions as a path to get from one steamy encounter to another, but in many ways it works.

When a murder occurs, the focus necessarily shifts away from Portia’s sexual awakening, at which point the plot picks up again. Portia and Simon take a lead role in helping a Bow Street runner solve the murder, all while coming to terms with their own increasingly complex feelings for each other and learning the delicate art of compromise, something that doesn’t come naturally to either character.

The Perfect Lover is a pleasant ride over a road that was paved long ago by this author. As long as you don’t expect too much, I think you’ll enjoy yourself. I do not, however, think this book deserves its hardcover status. Wait for the paperback, if you must buy it. If you really need a Cynster fix or if you’re new to the saga, I suggest you go back to Devil’s Bride, the very beginning of the series. It’s the mold in which all other Cynster novels were cast, and it remains my favorite after all this time.