He would do anything to protect her. Even marry her… The son of a cold-hearted duke, Nicholas St. Mauer isn’t one to involve himself in society…or open his own heart to anyone. But driven by honor, the reclusive Earl of Somerton feels obliged to keep a watchful eye on Lady Emma Cavensham. She possesses a penchant for passions unbecoming a woman that finds Nick in constant peril of losing his … peril of losing his well-structured solitude. She even dared kiss Nick once–an utterly unladylike, and delightful, lapse…
Emma can’t deny the appeal of the earl’s attention, and occasional affection, but she has no need for a man. There are worse fates than spinsterhood, as Emma knows too well. She still mourns the loss of her dear friend Lena, and is determined to prove Lena’s husband responsible for her death before he lures another innocent woman into a brutal marriage. But as Emma pursues her prey, a compromising moment upends all her plans. Now, with gossip swirling and her reputation in tatters, Nick may be the only man brave enough to join in Emma’s cause. . .and fight for her heart.
Praise for Janna MacGregor’s THE BAD LUCK BRIDE
“Full-bodied romance…with intelligence and heart.”–Cathy Maxwell
“Sparkling.” —Publishers Weekly
“Will leave you swooning.”–Sabrina Jeffries
more
I love Regency novels, and this one is quite good. The plot is not standard, and the characters not the usual. A fun read; what a friend used to call mind candy.
This is an entertaining, well-written, steamy, historical romance novel. It has likable, engaging characters, a strong and capable female protagonist, the heartbreak of domestic violence, a wedding toast that brought tears to my eyes, a fabulous, empowering wedding gift, a heart-warming romance, and a happily ever after ending. I am looking forward to reading the other entries in Ms. MacGregor’s Cavensham Heiresses series with great anticipation. I listened to the audio version of this novel and the narrator, Ms. Rosalyn Landor, has a lovely voice and does an outstanding job depicting the voices and expressing the personalities of the characters.
This is one of those books that leaves you in a daze when you’ve finished. To me that’s the sign of a good book. Emma seeks revenge against the man that mudered her best friend and her baby. Nick, unbeknownst to himself, loves Emma and will do anything to protect her. But what if the only way to protect her is what he promised himself he would never do. You might need a few tissues for this one.
I loved this author. The characters were great and I just could hardly put the book down! I just finished another one of her books and loved it just as much.
I liked the premise of the book, and I enjoyed it for the most part, only the end did I have issues with, I like the happy ever after’s but I like them to feel realistic. This one finished up too cleanly and quickly. Hundreds of pages twisting in the wind over the villain and it’s all cleaned up in a page or two. The villain was too evil, and the resolution and ending was too quick and tight for me to give this 5 stars.
This was my first book by author Janna MacGregor. Now to order the next one in the series. Great book.
4.5 stars
Nicholas St. Mauer, the Earl of Somerton is the of the cold-hearted Duke of Renton, he doesn’t involve himself in society nor open his own heart to anyone. However he’s driven by honour & ever since he & Lady Emma Cavensham shared a kiss he feels obliged to keep a watchful eye on her. Emma can’t deny the appeal of the earl’s attention, and occasional affection, but she has no need for a man. There are worse fates than spinsterhood, as Emma knows too well. She still mourns the loss of her dear friend Lena, and is determined to prove Lena’s husband Aulton responsible for her death before he lures another innocent woman into a brutal marriage. Emma journeys to Portsmouth, Nick follows & a compromising moment upends all their plans.
The second book in the series & whilst it could well be read as a stand alone novel I’d definitely recommend reading the first in the series & I so look forward to the rest of the series too. Another well written engrossing book. Nick & Emma are both strong characters who want to abide by their principles & at times both are very blinkered & unwilling to stray from the path they’ve chosen. I wanted to shake them both at times but their eyes were gradually opened. The pace was good & I wanted to reach the end hoping that Aulton would get his just desserts. There was plenty of humour, some spice & also some tear jerking moments, in fact everything you need in a good romance. I found a couple of things implausible but it’s fiction so I could live with them as overall the book was so good.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I had the pleasure of meeting Janna MacGregor at a book conference several years ago and I obtained a copy of the first book in the Cavensham Heiresses series, The Bad Luck Bride. I read the book during breaks at the conference and just loved it. So when I saw the next book in the series, The Bride Who Got Lucky, was available on NetGalley, I snagged up a copy… and then never read it. Until now.
I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to read this book. I was sucked into the story from page one and I was enthralled until I read The End. Right off the bat, Ms. MacGregor introduced Nick and my heart just ached for him and I couldn’t wait to see how his story turned out. Nick’s childhood was quite lonely and it carried over into adulthood. He has a very limited group of friends and refuses to acknowledge his father. But Emma is on the edge of that circle of friends and after coming to her rescue, it seems they’re forever bound.
I really enjoyed both Nick and Emma. Nick’s a self-made man, not depending on his father the duke for anything. He has very strong personal views that Emma tests… in a good way. Nick’s drawn to Emma, but he doesn’t want any sort of attachment since it always leads to heartache. Emma on the other hand had very strong feminist beliefs. She doesn’t want to get married because she’d lose what little rights she has. And she believes her best friend lost her life to her husband and she doesn’t want to even consider that it could happen to her as well. Emma’s a bluestocking, preferring books and dreaming of a bank for women rather than attending ton events (which she goes to for her friends and family). Emma and Nick together are so good. They test each other and there are definite sparks flying off the page.
I love that Ms. MacGregor tackled a couple of difficult issues such as marital abuse and women’s rights in Regency England. And Ms. MacGregor was playing with my emotions in that first chapter and it continued until the last page was turned. I haven’t read such a good tear-jerker in a while and I had to keep the tissues handy. I’m so glad I picked up this book and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series, The Luck of the Bride.
My review originally posted at Novels Alive.
Emma is an irresistible force; Nick is an immovable object – perfect for each other.
The Bride Who Got Lucky, by Janna MacGregor is a romantic light read for her book lovers and new book lovers. Janna whisk her readers imagination on a ride, with Nick and Emma leading the love story. Janna’s details provides the vision that heightens the drama which impacts the characters at each step in the book. As usual Janna’s story telling does not leave the reader disappointed. Page after page of this poignant story places the readers in London, where Nick is at an end pass with his father and Emma makes it her mission, to bring her best friends murder to justice.
But before old wounds can heal and justice has been handed out. Nick and Emma explores the passion that is growing between them. Both characters are adamant about never getting married. What do they say about the word never? Never say never, I believe? Nick claims the reluctant Emma to be his. I believe his exact words are, “ you are mine”. Once the possessive words are spoken, our romantic mystery solving duo has been caught in the cross hairs with two brothers who sees only blood. Pushed, but not forced. The duo, Nick and Emma stands together as one.
Together, they battle against the evil that has challenged them to learn to heal, while seeking vengeance for one devastated family and close friends. I recommend this book. Until next time my fellow readers…read on. I voluntary reviewed this ARC after receiving a free gifted copy.
What a delightful book! Ms. MacGregor has a flair for creating real characters–their wants, passions, regrets and mistakes. I loved Nick, Earl of Somerton. He had been treated horribly by his cruel father, the Duke of Renton, as a child, but Nick was a survivor and when he grew older, he built a trading empire that made him a very wealthy man. Lots of money and no one to share it with, that is, until he meets Emma Cavensham. With her brother as one of his best friends, he was present at many Cavensham’s family events and his admiration for the strong-willed Emma grew. When a scandal threatens to ruin her, Nick steps up and weds her.
The book kept my interest throughout and I eagerly kept turning the pages to find out what would befall Emma and Nick next. I was not disappointed as Ms. MacGregor painted a masterful stroke of Nick and Emma’s relationship. Their passion for each other was undeniable, but even with great love comes misunderstandings and heartache. Would Nick ever learn how to open his heart and fully embrace Emma as his wife and partner in life? Fans of Regency romance will definitely enjoy this book.
I enjoyed Emma and Nick’s story as they grew from two people who thought they would always remain independent and alone to a couple who could help and support each other. I liked this book so much better than the first book in the series. The writing flowed better and it was not as flowery, except in the parts where the characters realized they were being super flowery because they were silly in love. I liked that the author showed a character who was having a hard time dealing with the grief over her friend’s death months later, instead of just putting it in the past like everyone else seemed to want to do. Her grief and guilt wasn’t easy to deal with and it really drove Emma to do all she could to get justice for Lena. Which I suppose is why Emma does some very reckless things. I just wish characters who claim to want to be independent women didn’t get into compromising situations where they know they are going to have to marry somebody. It would be great to find some other plot device for an independent woman in a historical novel to find love on her own terms without everything being arranged behind her back by her male relatives.
Nick tries to be sensible, keep his focus on business, and not get too close to anyone, mostly because his father convinced him he was unworthy of love after abandoning him at boarding school. While he’s made a fortune in business, he still craves a family relationship, so he is often a guest of his friends, who happen to be Emma’s brothers and her cousin’s husband. Nick seems to look out for Emma more than her brothers do as she gets in the occasional scrape with impropriety.
I liked how Emma and Nick work out their business arrangements and then were able to let down their guards to really love each other in a true marriage. It was also a very satisfying ending for the bad guy!
Loved this book! (But then, I enjoy all her books 🙂 !) It’s definitely a page turner!
Loved it. We met Nick & Emma in the previous book. She doesn’t ever want to marry due to witnessing what her friend suffered at the hands of her husband and the fact that once a woman marries, she has no rights at all. He was made to feel unlovable by his loathsome father. As he helps keeping her out of trouble, and she learns to trust him they fall in love – but don’t realize it of course. This book had a little bit of everything – adventure, lust, romance, etc. Am working my way through the whole series.
Lovely book. I liked the style
The Bride Who Got Lucky is book two in the Caversham Heiresses series by Janna MacGregor. What a ride! This book is so intriguing. I loved the characters and how they grow throughout the book. When Lady Emma’s best friend Lena is murdered by her spouse, Emma seeks justice for her. But societal rules and an evil man threaten that goal. When Lord Somerton threatens to hinder Emma from accomplishing her goal, a mighty clash occurs and both are left stripped bare of their inner fortresses. Attraction like lightning strikes. Will Emma see the wicked spouse judged? What will she do with the incredibly handsome Lord Somerton – who carries his own heart breaking secrets. Loved the book. Can’t wait to read the next one.
I actually won this book in a giveaway.
I listened to the audio version of this book. I don’t read historical romance all that often, but I have discovered that I really like this author. Her heroines are strong women in a time when that was frowned upon and women had few if any rights. Nick, the hero in The Bride Who Got Lucky, was strong but loving. The things he said! He just melted my heart. He was also very strong and seemingly ended up marrying Lena because he was caught in a compromising situation with her, but he was amazing!
The narration of this audio book by Rosalyn Landor was fantastic!
Lady Emma Cavensham is stubborn to a fault, fearless with her safety but she is intelligent. loyal & beautiful. Her entire focus at the present time is to find justice for her murdered best friend, Lady Lena Eaton (Countess of Aulton), who Emma needed to prove was killed by her husband, Keith Mahon, Earl of Aulton. This obsession led so many dangerous situations for Emma.
Nicholas St. Mauer, Earl of Somerton is a handsome man, self-made riches after being rejected by his father when he was very young & was told not to ever come to the dukedom again, so sixteen years later he has never seen his father or talked to him which was fine with Nick. His mother died in childbirth & his father had turned him out, so Nick made his way alone – after the final words with his father at Eaton, Alex Pembrooke saved Nick from a group of bullying boys & this friendship enables Nick being accepted as part of Alex & Emma’s families.
Nick watched over Emma per a request from Alex as he had married Emma’s cousin Claire. One night when she left a ball to go buy a book in a bad part of town without anyone know – well, guess who found her, Nick. Even though they had been around each other often at family dinners & holiday, this night brought their first kiss, Emma’s father found out about her escapade & sent her to the country. They did not entertain any feeling for three years and then her obsession with finding justice, getting in trouble & being in danger brought Nick back into the picture & I love their friendship & the attraction they could no longer deny but it took a lot of ups & downs to get to their HEA. I loved the ending and the last few scenes left me full of tears, but they were happy tears!
Nicholas St. Mayer, the Earl of Somerton was alone. His mother died giving him birth. His father very publicly deserted him at Eton. He enclosed his heart in stone, vowing to never be hurt again. Lucky for him, Alex Hallworth, the Marquess of Pembrook became his friend. As it turned out, Alex’s family, especially his sister, Emma would be his saving grace. Just how did she manage to chip away at the ice covering Nick`s heart? What would win? Nick`s desire to one up his father’s fortune or would love conquer all? I have read several of Janna MacGregor`s books and enjoy her storytelling. In addition to telling the characters stories, she also makes a comment on the social issues of the time. In this book she addresses the status of women in Regency England and spousal abuse. Seems like we are still combating these issues. I recommend this read and any others of MS. MacGregor.
This book made me a little crazy to finish and see what happens liked it a lot.