Series: The Cavensham Heiresses

Sunday Spotlight: Wild, Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor

Posted February 23, 2020 by Casee in Features, Giveaways | 4 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Sunday Spotlight: Wild, Wild Rake by Janna MacGregorWild, Wild Rake by Janna MacGregor
Series: The Cavensham Heiresses #6
Also in this series: The Luck of the Bride (The Cavensham Heiresses #3)
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: February 25, 2020
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 368
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
Series Rating: four-stars


Her first marriage was an epic failure.

Lady Avalon Warwyck never did love her husband. Arrogant, selfish, and cruel, it’s a blessing when she’s widowed and left to raise her son all by herself. Finally, Avalon can live freely and do the work she loves: helping fallen women become businesswomen. She’s lived these past ten years with no desire to remarry―that is, until Mr. Devan Farris comes to town.

Can he convince her to take another chance at happily ever after?

Devan Farris―charming vicar, reputed rake, and the brother of Avalon’s son’s guardian―is reluctantly sent to town to keep tabs on Avalon and her son. Devan wishes he didn’t have to meddle in her affairs; he’s not one to trod on a woman’s independent nature and keen sense of convictions. But she’ll have nothing to do with vicar with a wild reputation―even though he’s never given his heart and body to another. If only he could find a way to show Avalon who he really is on the inside―a good, true soul looking for its other half. But how can prove that he wants to love and care for her. . .until death do they part?

Excerpt

Avalon read the first line in the letter from her son’s guardian, Gavin Farris, the Earl of Larkton. By all appearances the words resembled something innocuous, purely designed to lull a person into thinking it contained real concern with a touch of whimsical affection.

My dearest lady, I do hope this finds you and your intrepid son well.

“Avalon, did you hear the news?” Seventeen, on the cusp of eighteen years of age, Avalon’s sister, Lady Sophia Cavensham, looked up from her embroidery and smiled. Her gaze darted to her friend Miss Penelope Rowley, the one and only niece of the wealthiest gentry landowner in the shire. Though she was two years older than Sophia, Penelope had become somewhat of a fixture at Warwyk Hall over the last six months since she’d moved to her aunt and uncle’s home. The two women were inseparable.

Penelope let out a dramatic sigh then collapsed in a swoon across the pink-and-gold brocade sofa. In the process, she kneed the table, upsetting the delicate pink china cup and saucer. “Oww.”

Avalon tried to ignore their chatter. The Earl of Larkton’s correspondence had increased in frequency over the last several months. The weekly letters were turning into biweekly posts. Each one wanted more and more control over the Warwyk estate and more decision-making control over her ten-year-old son, Thane Pearce, the Marquess of Warwyk. She doubled her concentration on the letter as she read the entire first paragraph.

The purpose of my correspondence is to inform you that I’ve appointed a new vicar for the village of Thistledown. The man comes with impeccable standing and experience. In addition, his educational training is second to none. He’s a protégé of Lord Bishop Marlowe.

“He’s extraordinary.” Sophia’s dreamlike whisper floated through the air like a dandelion seed.

“He’s . . . simply exquisite.” Penelope’s voice joined Sophia’s in a chorus of dazzled fascination.

My dear Marchioness, it’s my pleasure to announce that my brother—

Avalon swallowed the sudden onrush of bile that marched up her throat. It couldn’t be. Fate was not that hateful.

“Mr. Devan—” Sophia sighed.

“Farris.” Penelope finished the sentence and slowly drew her hand against her forehead as if saying his name caused her to faint.

“No. Not him.” Avalon murmured the words aloud. The sanctimonious prig had arrived to make her life a living hell. Avalon grimaced to keep from casting her accounts. Now she was just exaggerating like the girls. She wasn’t really physically sick, but the news could make a person ill. “When did he arrive in the village?”

Clueless as to how the news affected her older sister, Sophia scooted to the edge of the crimson-and-white striped club chair that sat adjacent to Avalon’s matching one. “Two days ago. Penelope and I just happened to be walking in front of the vicarage when we saw the Earl of Larkton’s coach arrive. The new vicar followed behind on horseback.”

Penelope nodded vigorously as if Sophia’s story needed affirmation.

Avalon wanted to roll her eyes. The two women “never just happen” to do anything. They orchestrated and connived everything from shopping to men. God save anyone who crossed their paths. If one of the girls took a shine to any of the ton’s marriageable men, then London’s finest would soon understand what it meant to be hunted.

As the girls continued their chatter, Avalon devoted her full attention to the rest of the letter. Better to finish the horrid task, then take a long walk through her gardens. Though it was January and bitterly cold outside, a brisk hour of exercise would help Avalon clear some of her unease at the news that Mr. Devan Farris had invaded her village.

I’ve considered your request that the young marquess continue his studies at home, but at the age of ten, his interests would best be served by attending Eton sooner rather than later. That’s where boys turn into men. Your suggestion that he attend Harrow won’t do. His father had insisted that I promise he attend Eton. However, since his Latin skills are somewhat lacking, I’ve decided to hire my brother, Mr. Farris, to tutor him in the subject.

Her blood simmered at the words. The earl’s declaration was nothing more than gilding the lily. Everyone within fifty miles of London knew that Devan Farris sought to marry an heiress. Until he found one, the fortune-hunting vicar thought to use her son’s marquisate to pay double for his services. Since her son’s estate paid for the vicar’s wages, Mr. Farris would receive another wage from the coffers for tutoring lessons.

But what really brought her blood to boil was that the smug vicar would be nosing into her business, and that wouldn’t do at all. She and only she ruled the parish with a fair and impartial hand. No one, including Devan Farris, would upset her world.

The Cavensham Heiresses

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: February 2020

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About Janna MacGregor

Janna MacGregor author photo

Janna MacGregor was born and raised in the bootheel of Missouri. She credits her darling mom for introducing her to the happily-ever-after world of romance novels. Janna writes stories where compelling and powerful heroines meet and fall in love with their equally matched heroes. She is the mother of triplets and lives in Kansas City with her very own dashing rogue, and two smug, but not surprisingly, perfect pugs. She loves to hear from readers.


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Guest Review: The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor

Posted May 11, 2018 by Tracy in Reviews | 2 Comments

Guest Review: The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregorReviewer: Tracy
The Luck of the Bride (The Cavensham Heiresses #3) by Janna MacGregor
Series: The Cavensham Heiresses #3
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 1st 2018
Format: eARC
Point-of-View: Third Person
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 352
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

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?

When is March Lawson is just a teenager both of her parents die.  The estate is left in the hands of a guardian who basically ignores the family – March and her siblings (two sisters and a brother, Bennett, the heir who is only a baby when the parents died).  The keeper of the girls’ dowries went to a friend of March’s father but when he died it passed to his nephew.  March tries to take care of her family the best she can, but now it’s been eight years and with no funds, and everyone ignoring her pleas for help, she takes matters into her own hands.  She works out a scheme to forge the Marquess of McCalpin’s signature and starts taking small amounts out of her own dowry.  She is 25 and not married so that money should have come to her anyway.  When she’s caught things don’t really go how she planned.

Michael Cavensham has a problem with numbers.  I don’t think it could be classified as dyslexia as he apparently has not issue with the written word.  It’s with numbers that things get jumbled up.  His brother helps him out and being a Marquess he can delegate things.  Unfortunately he didn’t catch on to March, his solicitors did so Michael asks to see March.

Despite March’s criminal acts the family is taken in by the Cavensham family and treated as family.  They sponsor the girls in their seasons but March feels she’s too old to be out.  Michael can’t stop thinking about March and wants to be with her but he’s afraid of what will happen when she finds out that he’s and idiot (those are his words, not mine).

This was a really cute book.  It wasn’t action packed or too terribly angsty – although there was some strife towards the end of the book, of course – and I liked that.  I was proud of March for doing such a good job of raising her siblings with little to no help from anyone.  She did what she had to do in order to keep her family fed.  I liked that once Michael found out about the true reason March was forging his signature that he took the family under his wing so that they would suffer no more.

I would have liked to have the truth about March’s age come out.  They said she was 24 while she insisted that she was 25 but it was never resolved in the end.  I guess as she got married it didn’t matter, right?  Ugh.  Lol

The siblings didn’t have too big of a role except for little Bennett.  He was 9 in the book and was feeling his way in the world.  March had done a fine job trying to get him ready for his role in life but having Michael’s father step in and mentor him was fun to see.  Little Bennett was an absolute treat and I loved reading his parts in the book.

Overall I liked the book.  I really didn’t like the issue at the end of the book between the H/h because I didn’t think it was truly realistic, but that’s me.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The Cavensham Heiresses Series

four-stars


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