One of Book Riot’s “9 Not-To-Be-Missed Romances Hitting the Shelves this Summer” Can a woman who’s down on her luck find love with a dashing Duke-to-be? Find out in The Luck of the Bride, the next Regency romance in the Cavensham Heiresses series from Janna MacGregor. She’s leaving nothing up to chance. Not even love… March Lawson is an orphan who, for the past eight years, has struggled to … Lawson is an orphan who, for the past eight years, has struggled to raise her siblings on a meager allowance. Most women March’s age would be picking out ball gowns for the upcoming season. But March’s focus is not on finding a husband. First, she must devote her energies to just one man: the coldhearted skinflint who refuses to release her inheritance.
Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin, is not a heartless man. When he learns that Miss Lawson has been forging his name to procure funds, he can’t bring himself to have her arrested–not when the bold-faced embezzler is so enchantingly beautiful. Instead, McCalpin agrees to visit her home to assess the situation more closely. March has no choice but to accept. But how can she manage the handsome trustee who controls her purse strings–when he tugs at her heart strings as well?
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Another fabulous book by this author. I cried, I laughed, I smiled throughout her book. Please read and enjoy The Luck of the Bride.
Miss March Lawson had to grow up very quickly. Her parents died suddenly and left her with three young children to protect. Years later when she is struggling to make ends meet, there is one last thing she can try.
Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin has a terrible secret that he has kept hidden from everyone except his brother. That secret makes him feel vulnerable and at times unworthy of his birthright.
Theft is theft, even if it’s a small amount, but if the money should be yours anyway does that count???
This is an emotional romance with both our characters dealing with uncomfortable issues. When someone sets out to profit from the troubles our poor heroine faces, it could destroy a whole family. Our hero needs to dace up to his difficulties before they ruin everything.
A fascinating story that will have you crying and laughing.
I loved it.
It’s 1:30 in the morning, my eyes are red & my nose running. I’ve cried through 90% of this touching tale. I couldn’t stop until I’d reached the happy ending. March & her Michael have such a long hard battle to reach happily ever after. I hate to give too much away but each is flawed & desperate in their own way & perfect for each other. It’s a story of loyalty to family & friends. Of doing any & everything to keep loved ones together. Of believing the worst & fighting to believe the best in yourself is true. Do yourself a favor & get your hands on this book. Read & keep a box of tissue close at hand. I’m so happy that an arc was sent my way, I might have missed this wonderful journey otherwise.
This new author is continuing to improve and refine her craft in this, her third book. While she still has issues with modern concepts and language creeping into the story, they are fewer than in the previous books – and maybe they’ll be caught and corrected before actual publication since I have an advanced copy. This book could have, so easily, been a full 5-star book, but the last part changed that. I thoroughly enjoyed the book up until about the 80-85% mark where there were some very contrived situations and some very unnecessary pain and suffering and the forgiving was much too easily won. I’d love to re-write that part of the story so that trust is unquestionably given and then working together to find the villain rather than the way it was written.
I loved all of the characters in the book. They were all fully developed, likable and very relatable. I particularly liked all of the Lawson family. They were so supportive, sweet and loving – everything a family should be. I particularly loved Bennett, the young Viscount, who was wise beyond his years. They were an awesome family and anybody would have loved to be a part of them.
March, Faith, Julia, and Bennett lost their parents eight years ago when March was just one week shy of her seventeenth birthday – Faith was eleven, Julia was ten and Bennett was just a one-year-old baby. They were now March’s responsibility to care for, raise and nurture. How was she going to do that when she was still a child herself, just getting ready to have her first season? She didn’t know how she was going to do it, but she definitely was going to. Unfortunately for them, her father named a man who was going mad as their guardian. That guardian also had very poor solicitors and as he descended into madness and subsequently died, the Lawson’s were forgotten and lost in the shuffle. No funds came in to support them or to maintain the estate. March was doing the best she could to keep food on the table and basic repairs done by raising sheep (she even sheared them herself) and offering her mathematical skills as a bookkeeper to various merchants in the village.
The Lawson’s situation was getting more and more desperate. Unexpected storm damage had caused major roof damage as well as damage to their only remaining tenant’s home. They had no food – and March was desperate. Why wouldn’t their new guardian answer their pleas for funds to manage the estate – after all, it was their money and his responsibility to see to their care. She’d written to the guardian as well as his solicitors as he had requested and still – no answers and no funds. Desperation leads to desperate acts – and March was desperate.
Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin and heir to the Duke of Langham has a warm and loving family. He also has a secret. His secret failing makes him feel unworthy and inadequate and therefore very insecure. His brother William is the only one who knows his secret and William is very, very protective of his older brother. This insecurity is what is supposed to be the driver behind his actions later in the book – but – well – I’ll let you read and decide what you think of it. I thought it could have been written differently.
McCalpin is stunned to discover that someone is using his name and seal to embezzle funds from a Trust account he is responsible for and he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. He summons March to London to make an accounting of herself – and is struck by her bravery and tenacity. As he meets the family to whom the Trust belongs, he is stunned to see how they live – and he can’t believe it. Their circumstances are dire – they have little food, a home in disrepair and a cousin who is bent on causing them harm. He immediately has himself declared their guardian as well as the one who is responsible for their Trust –and he takes those responsibilities seriously.
The first 80% or so of the book moves along quickly and you come to know and love all of the parties involved. Neither March nor McCalpin are prone to trust others, for very different, but very valid reasons. So, it is nice to see them grow to love each other and to trust each other. That is what made the last 20% so sad. This author does tend to choose the darker route when a much nicer uplifting route is available. While I am not an author, I certainly read enough to know that there was a much more uplifting way to handle the issues that were thrown in their path. Had McCalpin, who supposedly loved March beyond all else, chosen to believe in and trust her, then they could have worked together to find and identify the villain. That isn’t what happened. Since the author chose another path, I think she made the reconciliation and forgiveness much, much, much too easy. It was just basically an “I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” And a “Yes” and that was it. After what he did and the heartache and suffering he caused for March and her siblings because he couldn’t/wouldn’t trust – it should have been much harder than it was. Then – the villains – one is punished – probably more than he deserved given what he did and the other one was actually rewarded. Say what!!! The dude who was rewarded is the one who was actually responsible for the heartache, suffering, and damage that was done to March and her family — yet — because he had a sad story he is rewarded.
So – for my rating – the first 80% of the book gets a full 5-stars, but the last 20% gets a 3-star rating. That comes out to my rating of 4-stars. I’ll look forward to the next book.
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“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.”
Publisher’s Description:
Can a woman who’s down on her luck find love with a dashing Duke-to-be? Find out in The Luck of the Bride,
the next Regency romance in the Cavensham Heiresses series from Janna MacGregor.
She’s leaving nothing up to chance. Not even love…
March Lawson is an orphan who, for the past eight years, has struggled to raise her siblings on a meager allowance. Most women March’s age would be picking out ball gowns for the upcoming season. But March’s focus is not on finding a husband. First, she must devote her energies to just one man: the coldhearted skinflint who refuses to release her inheritance.
Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin, is not a heartless man. When he learns that Miss Lawson has been forging his name to procure funds, he can’t bring himself to have her arrested—not when the bold-faced embezzler is so enchantingly beautiful. Instead, McCalpin agrees to visit her home to assess the situation more closely. March has no choice but to accept. But how can she manage the handsome trustee who controls her purse strings—when he tugs at her heart strings as well?
My Thoughts:
This is book number three of The Cavensham Heiresses series.
I never read book #1 but I did read Book #2 and found it to be mediocre at best. This one, however blew me out of the water. I couldn’t put it down. Having not read the first book I can’t label this one as the best one of this series, but it is the best one that I have read. It was a pleasurable and heart wrenching tale from the prologue on.
I only put it aside for brief breaks for meals and other necessities.
I wanted to know what would happen next!
Struggle is the only thing March Lawson has known since the death of both of her parents. The oldest of four children the raising and care of her two sisters and baby brother have been left to her. With uncaring guardians and people in charge of their monies, how are they to survive?
Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin has never even met the Lawson family. He has virtually inherited the care of their inheritance with the death of his uncle the former Marquess.
When he learns that March has been embezzling from her inheritance he can’t find it in his heart to have her arrested. Instead after seeing the state of their finances and home he brings the whole family to London to live with his family and give the young ladies a season.
Will Michael’s attraction to the forger and embezzler lead to an everlasting love or will his trust in her end badly?
I gave this sometimes humorous but mostly tear jerking romance 4.75 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization. Both of the main characters appeared briefly in book #2 of this series but nothing could prepare me for their well deserved Happily Ever After.
The sensual rating I would give this book is 3 of 5 flames. The intimacy is brief but has an impact on this story.
I received a complimentary Digital ARC of this title from the publisher via Netgalley to read and review. This in no way affected my opinion of this book which I read and reviewed voluntarily.
March Lawson is an orphan who, for the past eight years, has struggled to raise her three siblings on a meagre allowance. Most 25 year old women March’s age would be picking out ball gowns for the upcoming season. However March’s focus is not on finding a husband. but she must devote her energies to just one man the cold-hearted skinflint who refuses to release her inheritance but who looks like David. Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin, is not a heartless man. When he learns that Miss Lawson has been forging his name to procure funds, he can’t bring himself to have her arrested not when the bold-faced embezzler is so enchantingly beautiful. Instead, McCalpin agrees to visit her home to assess the situation more closely. March has no choice but to accept. Michael has also been hiding a secret all his life, his problem with numbers.
I laughed, I cried & I was totally lost in the book. This is the third in the series & although it could be read on its own I’d recommend reading the first two books to fully appreciate this engrossing lovely book. For me this is the best in the series so far, the characters just spoke to me. The story flows very well & I didn’t want to put it down & I was totally engrossed. This story really pulled at my heart strings & I was in tears several times. I did find that the epilogue took place the next day a tad quick for so much to be accomplished
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I totally enjoyed reading The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor, book 3 in her Cavensham Heiresses series. I will warn that I needed the tissue box close by while reading this wonderful story. March Lawson did not deserve all the struggles or neglect that she had to deal with during the eight years since losing her parents. From the time she was seventeen, March raised her siblings on a meager, if not underfunded, allowance; this meant no debut season or searching for a husband. All of her energy was spent on the coldhearted skinflint who would not release her inheritance. Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin, was really not a heartless man, more likely unaware of his duties to the Lawsons. Michael is surprised to learn that the beautiful March has been forging his name to access funds from her trust. Instead of having her arrested he decides to visit her home to assess the situation more closely.
The demands on March have made her a strong and resilient woman. The love and care she gave to her siblings was evidenced in the way they handled themselves as well as how the ton received them. McCalpin was an intelligent man with a secret; he could not handle or deal with numbers. Fortunately for him his younger brother assisted him with this duty. March was the perfect match for him as she was a whiz at numbers. I loved the flirting and conversations by these two. McCalpin was attracted to March but he also respected her, which is so important in a relationship. I loved how he took over guardianship of the Lawson children and provided for them to live the life they deserved. Michael’s parents were also wonderful with assisting him in helping the Lawson girls enter London society. This couple was also helpful in bringing March and Michael together in the end. The one person I disliked immensely was the Lawson’s cousin Rupert. He was cruel to one of March’s sisters and wanted to marry the other in order to get his hands on their money. I couldn’t understand why his family did not offer help to March once her parents died.
This book was quite enjoyable and I had trouble putting it down. Ms. MacGregor wrote a wonderful story which drew me in, making me forget the world around me and did not let me go until I turned the last page. I highly recommend this book to other readers.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
I have not read the earlier books in the series YET, but intend to, so read this one as a stand alone. Life has not bee n easy for MarchLawson, daughter of a viscount. At the age of 16, dreaming about her upcoming season, her dreams were shattered. Her mother came down with the flu, her father sent her and her younger siblings away from Lawson Court for their protection. However, shortly after her mother succumbed to the disease, so did her father. Now she is responsible for her 1-year old baby brother, and 2 sisters, ages 10 and 11. Hart Pennington, the Viscount’s personal assistant and secretary, stays to help them. While their father had set up guardians and trusts, the elder guardian forgot about his responsibilities and his solicitors ignored March’s letters asking for funds. By the time she had run out of savings the guardian had died to be replaced Lord McCalpin, who was already over his head in responsibilities. When she didn’t hear from him she took matters into her own hands and forged his signature and seal to transfer monies from her trust to her bank account, so they wouldn’t starve.
Michael Cavensham, the Marquis of McCalpin and heir to the Duke of Langham suffers from Dyscalculia, which he keeps as his dirty little secret, know only to his brother William. He thinks himself an idiot with numbers, though very accomplished in logic, literature history, languages …etc. When William discovers the deception, March is ordered to London. When she first see him, she thinks of him as Michelangelo’s David. He is ashamed that he has ignored their plight and goes to Lawson Court to see if the situation is as dire as she described. He finds that it is worse and beings them all to London to stay at his parent’s home, where the duchess decides she is going to sponsor the girls for their season. The Duke and Duchess are delighted to have them in their home, but there is a snake hiding in this paradise. Michael is enchanted with March and she falls in love with him, but the villains have their own plans for March and her siblings. Will Michael be strong enough to protect March as he has promised, trust in her and not believe the lies or will he lose her as she makes her own sad plains to protect the ones she loves?
This is a beautifully written book, with appealing characters and an intriguing plot. The love between siblings and parents, is not often found in this genre. I look for forward to reading the previous 2 books and any future ones.
I read an uncorrected ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.com. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.
Janna MacGregor continues her Cavensham Heiresses series with The Luck of the Bride. Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin and ducal heir, is the trustee of the funds set aside for the Lawson sisters. The Lawson sisters, along with their younger brother were left orphans eight years earlier upon the death of their parents. McCalpin is informed that the eldest Lawson sister, March, has been forging his name to secure funds. He knows that he must step-up and look into just what is going on with the Lawsons. In the meantime, March Lawson has been struggling for the past eight years leading her siblings through lean times and has become desperate. The funds due to her on her twenty-fifth birthday from her father’s estate have not been dispursed to her by the trustee. After trying to contact the trustee with no response she resorts to procuring the funds by the means at hand. McCalpin insists on addressing this issue with March Lawson and visits her home. Thus the path to finding true love begins.
The author has a wonderful ability to make her characters come to life on the pages of her story. She draws the reader into their lives, emotions and passions. March Lawson is depicted as a brave, strong, loving lady. Addressing all the troubles facing her family, she strides forward each day to protect her siblings and provide for them as best she can. She has put her feelings and her life on hold until McCalpin enters the picture. Upon meeting March Lawson McCalpin is enchanted with this lovely lady. He can’t have her arrested for her misdeeds and decides to help the family. Janna McGregor has painted a picture of McCalpin as a fair man who believes in doing the right thing.
The Luck of the Bride is an engaging read with wonderful glimpses of London and the fickleness of society of the time. This story has fun interactions amongst the characters with witty dialogue and some poignant moments. I really enjoyed the meeting of March Lawson and her “David,” the Marquess of McCalpin, and the delightful road to their HEA.
This is an entertaining, well-written, steamy, historical romance novel. It has likable, engaging characters, family secrets, a heart-warming romance, an adorable younger brother, a wonderful sense of family, and a happily ever after ending. I enjoyed the cat’s antics tremendously! I am looking forward to reading the other entries in Ms. MacGregor’s outstanding Cavensham Heiresses series with great anticipation. I listened to the audio version of this novel and the narrator, Ms. Elaine Wise, has a lovely voice and does an outstanding job depicting the voices and expressing the personalities of the characters.
Will review when I re-read:)
March Lawson is desperate. Because of some stupid mistake, she has not received her inheritance when she turned twenty-five. Her parents died when she was only sixteen and she was left to care for an estate, two younger sisters, and the heir to it all, her one-year-old brother. Practically destitute, she begins the unthinkable when no man will help her, she begins to embezzle her own money by forging the trustees signature, the Marquess of McCalpin.
Micheal Cavesham, the Marquess of McCalpin, became the trustee of the Lawson estate in some strange way that I still don’t fully understand. Several men died and somehow McCaplin became the trustee without really knowing it. Once he learns of the embezzlement, he sets out to find out what March Lawson is all about.
Once the pair meet in the flesh, the attraction is instant. Several things stand in the way, including a secret Michael has closely guarded his entire life. Somehow, MacGregor makes it all work.
MacGregor follows through and brings the spark she created in the first two books then makes it explode on the page for March and Michael. March is a proud and dynamic character who works through so many obstacles but never once does she give up on herself or her family. Micheal somehow learns to love and to trust someone who he should stay away from if all her faults were listed on paper. Knowing March in body and soul brings the character a peace he has never known.
I don’t know what is next for Jenna MacGregor, but if it is anything like this series, I can’t wait to find out!
I received this book for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
March was an AMAZING heroine!! Side characters are lovely as well, great storyline. Definitely recommend.
Since March Lawson’s parents died eight years ago, she has struggled to raise her siblings on a meager allowance. Their previous guardian neglected the family to the point of almost starvation. They have a new guardian, the Marquess of McAlpin, and he has not responded to her requests for more funds.
March has had to take matters into her own hands and remove money from her own trust by forging the Marquess’s name. When McCalpin finds about the bold embezzling, he confronts March and finds out about the family’s situation.
McCalpin insists on bringing the family to London and giving March’s sisters the Season March missed. Slowly, McCalpin falls for March. When additional monies are embezzled, the culprit makes it look like it was March that did it. Can McCalpin trust his fiancee or will March go to America to make a fresh start?
This book was quite the emotional roller coaster. How March and her siblings survived with the neglect of their guardians was amazing. March was a strong young woman to support her family. McCalpin is sort of a tortured hero because of his disability with numbers. He is so ashamed that he does not want to fully trust March. The characters in this book, from March and McCalpin to their families were great. This was a book with a great supporting cast.
I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Thank you!
This is the 3rd book in the Cavensham Heiresses series from Janna MacGregor and they just keep getting better and better. Every now and then a book makes me have that pang in my chest because my heart is breaking for someone in the story. I loved March Lawson and her strength through all of her hard times and I had some of those chest pangs/heart breaking moments during her story. That is definitely a sign of a great book! I hope more books are coming in this series.
March Lawson has been down on her luck her whole life. Since the sudden passing of her parents when she was 16, right before her first season, she’s had to take care of her siblings as best she could. After years struggling to keep the estate and her family together, March is becoming desperate for funds and does the unthinkable by posing as the man in charge of their trusts.
The Marquess of McCalpin has a lot of responsibilities and the last thing he needs is the 4 orphans whose trusts are now under his control. Upon he summons the eldest Lawson to London and he learns how desperate their real situation is, he’ll ensure to change their circumstances and give them the future March has been aiming to achieve.
Secrets, intrigue and misunderstandings fuel this lovely story of a proud guardian and the woman who becomes his charge.
This was my first read by this author and I was pleasantly surprised. Ms. MacGregor’s writing is accurate and has a great flow. Her characters are relatable and believable in the most charming way.
I really loved most of this book, but I felt it started dragging after 75% when the conflict got a little too complicated for my taste. The pace seemed to slow down and I wasn’t as enthralled as I’d been most of the book, but it still makes for a good, entertaining read and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.
3.5 stars
*I received an ARC from the publisher via by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing it.
What a delightful story! Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the dual POV that the book was written in. It was charming to see the male protagonist having some issues and not the perfect alpha male. It really made for a more humanizing character. I could have fallen for McCalpin myself!!!! As for March, oh my word. That poor girl. She just had such a hard life and it seemed like everything that could go wrong did for her. Yes, Ms. MacGregor really out did herself. The plot was such that you can’t put the book down because there was so much going on that one has to keep reading. This is the first book in the series that I have read. Now I have to go back and read the prior stories. The characters from other books make many appearances here and I am so interested in reading their stories now.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great historical romance that is FULL of action!!!!
This is a terrific story that proves that crime really DOES pay! In this third book of this series, March is the eldest of four children of and English lord and his wife who died due to an enfluenza outbreak. At the young age of fifteen March, along with just a couple of family servants, is left to be the head of her family. After several years, and no assistance from her father’s assigned
trustee, she takes matters into her own hands to secure the funds necessary to survive.
Lord Michael is the ducal heir now tasked with the financial trust of March and her siblings. He and his brother have noted a few accounting irregularities which brings them straight to March. March takes his responsibility quite seriously as trustee and goes a step further to become their legal guardian. He brings them all to London to give the sisters a season and their young lordling brother an education.
This is where the intrigue and plot thickens as the antagonist, who wants control of March, her siblings, and their size able funds, decides to take action. There is also a conflagration of heat building between Michael and March, and a host of other characters that add color to the tale.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read and highly recommend this book and the series to historical romance readers who enjoy intrigue and definite heat and emotion with their hea.
I read this as an arc on netgalley which affected my review in no way at all.
A hero with a learning disability, a smart and hardworking heroine, and a Big Misunderstanding resolved in a manner that reminds me of books by Judith McNaught and Julie Garwood – these are the reasons why I enjoyed this book.
March and McCalpin are both likable characters with complimenting qualities and enough flaws that you can’t help but root for them to be together. I especially liked the vulnerability of McCalpin’s inadequacy. It makes for a wonderful deviation from the normal Regency heroes who can do no wrong.
I also liked the secondary characters, especially the young Viscount Bennett. He brought a lightness to a story that sometimes gets maudlin. It was also lovely to see the other characters from previous books in the series like Emma and Nick.
The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor is book Three in The Cavensham Heiresses series. This is the story of March Lawson and Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin. I have read the previous books (and Loved them!) but feel this can easily be a standalone book.
March is the oldest of her sisters and when their parents died she took charge to help keep food and a roof over their heads. Their Guardian at the time was not in his right mind really and they ended up being lost in the shuffle of things. So March has step up to raise her sister and keep them going.
McCalpin has a secret they would ruin things if it was found out so this makes him less trusting…guarded. But when he gets wind of someone using his name he calls them forward. McCalpin soon discovers that March is behind it and he learns her story and moves forward to help. But things are never easy when dealing with love.