The Luck of the Bride: The Cavensham Heiresses, Book 3

The strong third Cavensham Heiresses Regency features likable characters, but the promising story is overwhelmed by purple prose (“the words gutted him as no knife could”) and culminates in a lazy, too-easy conclusion. Plucky March Lawson shows resourcefulness and determination as she raises her three siblings after their parents’ untimely deaths. Since the family trustees never responded to her pleas for help, March forged the most recent trustee’s signature in order to funnel her inheritance to an account she could access. When Michael, the young, likable Marquess of McCalpin, is notified of her crime, he brings the Lawson family to his home while investigating their circumstances. He hopes to acquit the lovely March, but new evidence of embezzlement comes to light, and the spreadsheet threatens to reveal his shameful difficulty with numbers. Will the burgeoning scandal cancel their growing romance, or can they learn to trust each other despite evidence that doesn’t add up? Unfortunately, all the tension fizzles out well before the end of the book. While sexy and entertaining, this one will likely leave MacGregor’s fans disappointed. Agent: Pamela Ahearn, Ahearn Agency. (May)