New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins is back with a brand-new, sizzling series featuring three unforgettable, untamed brothers who must marry or risk losing their inheritance. Dashing Scottish privateer Conner Douglas must marry a respectable, well-born woman–and soon, if he wants to secure his rightful inheritance. Determined to still explore the high seas as well as his mistresses’ … well as his mistresses’ beds, he aims to find a pliable wife who’ll turn a blind eye to his antics. And he knows just the woman–childhood friend and mousy spinster Miss Theodora Cumberbatch-Snowe.
Unbeknownst to Conner, meek and plain Theodora has been hopelessly in love with him for years. But unwilling to wait forever for what will never happen, Theodora plans to wed a kind–if unexciting–local landowner, leaving behind the wild Highlander of her dreams.
Yet Conner refuses to let his perfect wife get away. He chases her to Gretna Green and is shocked to discover the real Theodora is an ardent and wildly sensual woman. Soon he realizes his passion to win her has nothing to do with securing his inheritance and everything to do with earning the love of the unforgettable woman who has vowed to leave him in her past forever. But have his wandering ways chased the woman he loves away for good? Or can Conner convince Theodora to give him one last chance before she marries the wrong man?more
The plot:
A sister and three brothers lost their parents. The sister is older and basically raises the three boys. She frets and worries about how wild they are and fears they are wasting and ruining their lives. She wants them to marry – now. She has married a duke who loves her very much and when she dies in childbirth, he implements her plan to force her brothers to marry. He’s not polite about it. They have three months to marry good, suitable brides. If they do not, their inheritance will go to their family enemies, the Campbell’s.
NOTE: Love the book, but there is something I don’t understand here. This is the Regency period and I thought that it was against the law (or at least a standard requirement) for a female to inherit over the males in her family AND that any underage children, particularly the males, must have a male guardian. This was a wealthy family, though evidently not of the titled variety. So, I wonder how the sister ended up responsible for her younger brothers and particularly their inheritance. How is it that she, rather than her parent’s wills, determined when and how the brothers would receive their inheritance. I don’t know – just seemed a bit off to me. It didn’t intrude on my enjoyment of the story but puzzled me enough to make me think about it all through the story. I thought it might be explained somewhere, but it wasn’t. Maybe it has to do with Scottish law rather than English.
The Story:
When Connor Douglas receives the news that he and his brothers Jack and Declan must marry within three months or forfeit their inheritance to the Campbell’s. He rejects the idea outright and argues. However, the duke, who is carrying out his wife’s final wishes, will not budge. Finally, he relents because, even though he doesn’t need the money, he cannot abide the idea of the Campbell’s getting it.
Connor knows just the bride for him, Thea (Theodora Cumberbatch-Snowe), who is the younger sister of his best friend Derrick. He’s sure she’ll accept him right away and will be happy to live in the country managing his home while he continues his life as it is. Yes, we all know how well that is going to work out, don’t we? So, Connor spends some time drinking, womanizing and carousing around and finally decides to go and get his bride. Only, when he gets there he finds she has eloped to Gretna Green with the local squire. Well – shut my mouth!!!
Thea has been in love with Connor since she first met him when he came home from school with her brother. He’s been a constant visitor to them ever since – even visiting them when they were posted in other countries. However, she has finally determined that Connor doesn’t even notice she is alive much less holding any tender feelings for her. So she decides that if she wants a home and family of her own, she must look elsewhere. Enter the young, wealthy and handsome squire who lives about an hour away. He’s pretty staid and dull, but Thea has convinced herself that she at least has an affection for him and he’s in love with her. When he proposes that they elope, she accepts and off they go.
Connor goes tracking Thea and the squire down in order to convince Thea to marry him instead. Thus begins the adventure. You’ll love the way Connor keeps convincing the squire to do things that will irritate Thea – and the way Thea thwarts him. There are lots of humorous times interspersed with some angst – just enough of each to keep you flipping the pages to see what happens next. I just know you’ll love the story as much as I did.
The Characters:
Connor – I just loved him. I loved that he was absolutely flummoxed when Thea didn’t just fall into his arms when he asked her to marry him. I also enjoyed watching him grow and realize that he actually loved Thea, then realize that he could very easily lose her.
Thea – she was very smart and stubborn. Once she made up her mind it was almost impossible to change it. She had decided that she would not marry Connor even if she didn’t end up marrying the squire. She fought the idea that she still loved him, but finally realized she did. However, she’s also decided that she cannot live the life he wants for them, so she still refuses to marry him.
The Squire – Lancelot (Lance) Fox. He’s young, handsome, wealthy, predictable and a bit dull. He was raised by a dominant mother along with his sisters. He was a bit deferential to females – especially his mother – she ruled the roost. He wasn’t sure what to do with headstrong, forceful Thea. Maybe he needed someone more retiring.
Miss Simmons – Lance is persuaded (by Connor) to hire a companion for Thea in order to protect Thea’s reputation. That chaperone is Miss xxx. She is diminutive, shy and retiring – and she gets overtaxed and ill easily.
Alice – Connor hires one of the maids from an Inn they stopped at – she is to be Thea’s Ladies Maid. She is brash and outspoken, but remarkably efficient. You’ll get a kick out of her.
Connor’s Crew – they are all wonderful and in on the plot to slow Thea and Lance’s progress to Gretna Green.
I can highly recommend this book. There are a number of quotes I’d love to share with you, but since this is a pre-release version, I cannot do so. I’m sure you’ll find those gems as you read through the book!
“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”
4.5 stars
I love Ms. Hawkins writing style – funny and light one page and then deep and emotional the next. This book was no exception, Connor and Theodora aka Thea are very likable leads with an undeniable chemistry. There banter was vastly amusing but there was a lot of deep emotion as well.
Connor must marry, his sister has just passed away and has stipulated that if the three brothers do not marry within 3 months, their inheritance will be given to the Campbell’s – their greatest enemy! None of the three really need the money, but they will be damned if they let the Campbell’s have it!
Connor has the perfect woman in mind for his bride – his best friend’s sister, Theodora. They have been friends for ages and she would be the perfect wife for him. She would be no hardship to live with and even less to leave behind when he goes to sea. Thinking she will jump at the chance to marry him, he takes his time setting out for her home. When he finally arrives he learns that Thea is not home – she has eloped! Determined to retrieve his bride, Connor follows them.
Thea is having a really bad day and is wondering if she has made the biggest mistake of her life by eloping with Lance. She is not in love with him, but he will give her a stable home and a family, which is what she longs for after years of moving with her family from one diplomatic post to another. But now sitting in an inn in the middle of nowhere, banged up from a carriage mishap and drenched from being tossed into a ditch – she is rethinking her decision. And to make matters worse – the only man she has ever loved has just walked into the inn. When Connor enters the room, her heart leaps and she has to remind herself that she cannot love him anymore – so imagine her shock when Connor announces that he has decided to marry her!
The tale that follows is a delightful road trip romance of sorts – with Connor scheming to win his lady and Thea neatly deflecting him.
I really enjoyed the story, it is well written and covers just about the entire emotional spectrum – but it did kind of stall a little in the middle, but once you get past the 65% mark, the story gets its second wind and takes off without stopping until the very last page! With an entertaining cast of secondary characters, some passionate kisses and a couple of warmish love scenes this was a delight to read.
I would be happy to recommend this book and look forward to the rest of the series!
* I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by Netgalley and the publisher*
This is the BEST BOOK Karen Hawkins has written! Absolutely loved it. It’s witty, at times laugh out loud and just plain fun.
Conner Douglas finds himself in a bind. His beloved older sister Anna, who basically raised her three younger brothers, dies in childbirth. She’s been caretaking their Douglas inheritances for them. In her will she expressly states that if the boys want to see their Douglas inheritances, and not have them go to the hated Campbells, they all have to be married to respectable women within 3 months. Every one of the “boys” is a love them and leave them kind of guy and have no interest in settling down. What to do, who to pick… Conner, a privateer, suddenly remembers his best friend’s little sister who he’s been friends with for ages. She’ll do and she’s already “on the shelf” at 27. He’s so confident in Theodora that he spends the first month having a last fling with a married woman. When he does finally arrive at Dora’s home he finds she’s eloped with the local Baron! Off he races to rescue her and offer her a “better deal” with him.
This is one of the most original romance adventures I’ve ever been on. The journey of Connor to realize he has loved Dora for years and he’s not so “all that”. The way he plots to try to make Dora see the Baron is not suited for her at all and involves his ship’s crew is priceless. Poor Dora didn’t have a chance especially since she’s been in love with him forever. Dora had given up on love and Conner and was ready to accept “good enough” to finally have a home of her own. She finds out when confronted by a full court press by Conner that good enough is not enough.
All I can say is this story is an absolute delight! Thank you Karen and Pocket Books/NetGalley for the ARC for review.
Book one in the Made to Marry series. You know you can find a lot of good books when you go shopping on your bookshelves. Dashing Scottish privateer Conner Douglas and Miss Theodora Cumberbatch-Snowe’s story I ended up smiling as I read and I loved it. I would recommend this book.
Caught by the Scot by Karen Hawkins, read by Gary Furlong (Chrip)
Karen Hawkins brings the dashing Scottish privateer, Conner Douglas to life by making him both flawed and honorable.
When their sister dies giving birth to their nephew, her will states each of her rowdy, untamed brothers must marry within a month or their inheritance will be given to the enemies. While none of the men need the money, they cannot stand the thought of it going to the hated enemies.
Conner knows a woman who’ll marry him, and takes his time going to claim her. When he arrives, he learns she has eloped to Gretna Green with a local landowner. Conner tells her family he’ll go after her and bring her home. Though his true plan is to catch up to her and convince her to marry him instead.
Theodora Cumberbatch-Snowe maybe a plain, meek spinster but she’s no weak miss. She’s been in love with Conner for years but knows there is no chance of a happy union between them. She is tired of traveling about and he his little more than a pirate. She sees no way they can ever be together. She would not be content to sit home while he sails the seas half the year.
Conner knows Theodora is the perfect wife and is determined to wed her. It is soon apparent that it is not just about the inheritance, he truly wants Theodora to be his wife.
The road trip to Greta Green becomes a real trial for the eloping couple as Conner manipulates events and her intended into doing things to prove he is not the man for her. While Theodora soon realizes her mistake in her marriage plans, she is equally determined not to marry Conner.
This friends-to-lovers story is actually two love stories for the price of one. It is a road trip, coming of age and understanding, and what are you willing to do for love kind of story. It was a great read both funny and sad. It has definitely made me a fan of the author, Karen Hawkins.
I’m a big fan of Ms. Hawkins’ work. She is one of my “I don’t have to even think about grabbing her books because I know I’ll be reading something I love every time” authors.
I loved Conner and Thea together! Their chemistry and clashes were believable and I love that they have a strong friendship. The side characters added a nice bit of levity but while I like the story, I did feel that there was a little too much focus on the subplot so it took a lot longer than I would’ve thought for the H/h to come together. Also there was a deadline obligation mentioned but not really resolved that I saw. It was kind of left hanging as to which way it really went to that would be nice to know so maybe it will be mentioned in future books.
I can’t wait to read about the other brothers and how they each find their HEA!
Another great read from Karen Hawkins. A tale of love, tragedy, persuit, deception, and compromise.
Love Karen Hawkins new series. Connor Douglas has to marry in three months to receive his inheritance.
Connor decides has to marry he should find a lady who wouldn’t mind him being most of the time since he is a privateer for English.
Connor decided his friend’s sister Theodora would be a perfect fit. Unknown to him, Thea had other plans.
Connor went to offer Thea his hand in marriage only to find out Thea ran away to elope with Squire Lance. Connor wasn’t going to let Thea get away. So he chasing down the couple to stop the wedding.
After finding the couple, Connor had to find a way to convince Thea, she should abandon her plans and marry him instead.
Thea was stubborn and refused to even consider changing her plans. She knew if she married Connor he would be traveling most of year and she would be left behind to care for their home and children. She wanted a true marriage and partnership.
Connor and Thea both had to find a way to overcome their feelings and what they wanted in a marriage.
Squire Lance was the safe and comfortable excuse for Thea to not want to marry Connor and be left alone while he lives his life at sea.
Connor decided only way she could have a marriage and life with Thea is if he was willing to make changes in his life. He decided to give his fleet of Privateer ships and buy inti a merchant ship instead.
Only problem was Thea didn’t believe he was willing to leave his old life behind.