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Thursday, May 3, 2018

ARC Book #Review: The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor .@JannaMacGregor #TheLuckOfTheBride #NetGalley

Book Title: The Luck of The Bride (The Canensham Heiress 3)
Author: Janna MacGregor Website| TwitterFacebook|
Publisher:  St. Martin's Press
Genre: Historical Romance
Series/Standalone: Series Book 3
Format: ebook, Mass Market
Cost: $7.99
Pages: 384
How I got it: NetGalley
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
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Synopsis:
Family secrets, mistaken identities…love and money make people do crazy things in The Luck of the Bride, the third Cavensham Heiresses novel.

March Lawson has never had much luck, and in a desperate move to save her family, she's been posing as the Marquess of McCalpin. But when she's summoned to a meeting with the Marquess himself, March expects jail time…not to be bewitched by dark hair and sapphire eyes.

Michael Cavensham, the Marquess of McCalpin and heir to the Duke of Langham, finds himself drawn to March despite the judgments from his peers. He isn't sure he can trust March, especially since Michael has a secret that could ruin him and his family.

But society conspires to keep March and Michael apart, and when March is accused of not being who she says she is, will Michael toss her aside or fight for the woman he's come to love?
This was a very emotional read and I loved it. I so understood the struggle of the main female character and fell in love with both of them and their struggle to be who they needed to be for their families while finding who they wanted to be for themselves.  I absolutely loved the characters of the book, even though I didn't read the series in order of publication, you don't need to as the book is written in a way that you can read it without the knowledge from the other books.   Michael is a future Duke who is struggling with a major secret. March is one of his charges that the future Duke has regulated to his stewards to take care of and in so doing left her to fend for herself and her family.  March was doing her best to take care of her siblings, she's struggling and she comes up with an idea to be a little more successful to protect them and in doing so comes to the attention of Michael.

Some of my favorite characters in this book were Lord Bennet Lawson the youngest of the Lawson siblings and seriously the funniest as he attempts to fill in as Lord while still being a child who hasn't learned all there is to know about the job.  I loved how his letters helped to further the story, bring grace to his sister's struggle and also injected the much-needed humor into the story.  March is the second favorite character because she's loyal, loving and despite her plans going awry she still protects everyone she loves even if it means she's in pain herself.

One of my favorite scenes has to be March's trip to London, the different sights described to show the countryside, her journey from there to proper town was mirrored in her eventual journey financially and socially as well.  I loved that she loved her country home but realized that for her siblings to have the proper futures she needed to adapt and leave and she was willing to do so.  The author does a fantastic job making you feel as if you are apart of the world of the aristocracy, the dizzying journey from where they were to be the Belles of the ball and the fears that the journey brings. As I was reading I kept thinking about Downton Abbey and it's inhabitants; this felt like an episode of the show in a way that felt right at home and this made me love the story even more.

While this is a romance and the ending is almost guaranteed to be a happy ending the journey to get there is the part I read for and until the very last few pages, the author kept us right on the edge of the seat.  I was uncertain how it would end and I was freaking out as the pages flew by and the final confrontation didn't happen.  ahhhhhhhhh so nerve-wracking, and emotional.  I wanted to cry, sobbed a few times and anxiously read to get to the ending. There are several times I wanted to reach into the book and knock Michael in the head because he kept stumbling, he so desperately wanted to hang on to his secret that he was willing to believe the 'evidence' of March's betrayal and yet claimed to love her.  Ugh silly man, the biggest part of love is trust and if you don't trust her then you can't really love her like you claim.

There was a moment in March's home estate that Michael confronts her but because he's struggling with his secret he didn't look beyond the surface and March had communicated with him however due to a misunderstanding Michael missed the letter.  Those moments as they stood there hurting each other without really knowing the full scope of the others pain made me want to cry, poor March was unaware that he hadn't read the letter and he was too prideful to admit to wanting her for himself and they both just. Ugh the tears. I wanted to scream at him to go home and find the letter, and at the same time beg March to hold out hope.  It was just a roller coaster ride of emotions and even writing this now remembering that scene I'm getting a little misty-eyed.

I do definitely need to read the other stories in the series because the glimpses of the secondary characters were wonderful and they were such good friends to both Michael and March when they needed them.  Michael came from a great strong family and his parents really reminded me of Downton's family and I just absolutely loved the way they embraced the Lawson children.  I loved that they discussed how the secret was handled and when Michael finally owns it that it doesn't bring him to his knees like he thought it would. I would, however, like five minutes with his former nanny. I loved his brother and their relationship and I can't wait until we get his book, he's so fiercely loyal and loving, he certainly deserves a great story as well.  There were a few great discussions about the laws that affected so many and I just really loved how the book touched on so many things including how women couldn't handle their own money unless they were widows.

I highly recommend this story and I can't wait to get to the other books because I'm sure they're going to be good emotional reads as well.  It was fun, it was sweet, emotional with smart women and loving charismatic men.  Even the mystery that needed to be solved was complex in its reasoning. I just loved it.
 ★★★★
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Happy Reading my loves, 

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