The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor

The Luck of the Bride by Janna MacGregor

Third in the Cavensham Heiresses series

3 stars

March Lawson has been down on her luck. Her parents fell sick and died leaving her and her three siblings without a proper caretaker and destitute. She has raised her brother, the future heir, and hopes that her sisters can enter into a London season to find their match. However, she can’t access her trust until she is twenty-five and her family is starving. She takes upon herself to pose as the Marquess of McCalpin. When she is summoned to meet him, she is expecting her family to meet ruin, but she is charmed by Michael Cavensham. He isn’t sure if he can trust her, but he can’t stop thinking about her. The Luck of the Bride is your typical historical romance romp. It doesn’t offer a whole lot of substance to the genre and MacGregor’s writing style is simple and wracked with clichés. It’s not a horrible novel and it is a lot of fun, but I can’ see myself heralding this as a must read in the genre because it doesn’t stand apart from the countless romance novels within the market. It’s fluffy and fun, which is a plus in all HRs, but I must admit, I want substance with this genre. I want dark and gritty topics that are touched on and not just glazed over. The Lawsons live in poverty, but I don’t feel like MacGregor took much time to really portray its effect on the family as in individuals. The dialogue is forced and stilted. The most famous and cliché line in HRs is found here and repeated in a multitude of different ways:
“Even if it was his complete undoing.”
This novel gave me second-hand embarrassment, not only for the characters but for the lines that are written. Like this one:
“My God, she was a seductress without even knowing it. His little embezzler was temptation incarnate.”
How embarrassing to read and it is just laughable. It is a fun novel and it does read rather quickly. It’s biggest drawback besides the diction usage is its pacing. It can definitely feel a little boring at times and then all of a sudden, something will occur to change the game. It doesn’t change the game believably though. It just feels like an abrupt shift in the narration because it has to happen or else the story can’t go on. It doesn’t feel natural.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 2.5

The main female character is March. March is sassy and headstrong. She is incredibly compassionate and deeply loves her siblings. She is very much the mother hen character and I can relate to that. However, her stubbornness seems contrived at times and almost completely unfounded in reality. It doesn’t fit her sensible nature and just left me feeling annoyed.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 3

The main male character is Michael. Michael isn’t a bad romantic lead, but he doesn’t really speak to me. He is just kind of there. He says all the right things (when they aren’t the cringey dripped lines in the throes of passion that haunts all HRs), but he feels just as frustrating as March. He is kind of dramatic and he contradicts his passions with others’ opinions. It became really annoying towards the end when the novel was reaching its climax. I don’t think he is bad by any means, but I am not swooning whenever he is on page.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 3

The Villain- Predictable. I have been reading HRs this year that have upped the ante when it comes to villains, but this one falls into the usual run-of-the-mill HR villain who is out to thwart true and everlasting love usually for money.


Villain Scale: 2

I did love the secondary cast of characters. Faith, Julia, and Bennett were wonderful and I would definitely read a novel that follows any of their perspectives because I adored them. Bennett was my favorite and towards the end he was the only character with any sense which says a lot because he’s still a kid. Also, he’s obsessed with sweets and has some of the funniest lines. Faith and her buddy romance with the Scottish doctor who was healing her had me shook. I was invested in them so hard. Kind of wish this novel had followed them. I also loved the Cavensham clan. They are so funny and they made the novel fun. The secondary characters are definitely where this novel shines and that is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to novels.


Character Scale: 4

Overall, The Luck of the Bride has its fair share of faults. I do think it will be loved by many HR fans, especially those who love the Cavensham series. I recommend for the hopeless romantics and anyone just looking for something fun that doesn’t require a lot of brain power and can transport to the London ton with balls, dresses, scandals, and romance.


Plotastic Scale: 3

Cover Thoughts: A wedding dress on a HR! I feel like I don’t see those often. There’s always a dress, but never a wedding one and this one is cute.

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

 

Have you read The Luck of the Bride? What are some of your favorite HR novels? Do you like wedding dress covers or think books should stick to eye-catching dresses? Let me know down below in the comments!