Rogue Most Wanted

May 13, 2019
MacGregor’s bold fifth Cavensham Heiresses Regency (after The Good, the Bad, and the Duke) once again provides a decadently delightful love story that refuses to conform. Thea is a 25-year-old countess in her own right, heir to her grandfather’s estate, Ladykyrk. Having taken care of her ailing grandfather for the last seven years of his life, she’s still grieving him when she learns she could lose her claim to her beloved lands. Enter William Cavensham, second son of a duke and great-nephew to Thea’s neighbor, meddlesome mischief-maker Stella. He’s a guarded man who understands a bit of Thea’s experiences with the London gossip rags, as well as her sense of duty and loyalty. After only one meeting he’s taking up her cause, trying to ease her way into proper society, supporting her bold moves to protect her inheritance, and losing his heart. Filled with delightful characters and an impish innocence, the novel eschews many of the common Regency romance elements, blazing a new trail of complementary character weaknesses and strengths. Readers will lose their hearts (and a few tears) to the Cavensham clan. Agent: Pamela Ahearn, Ahearn Agency.

July 1, 2019
An earl's daughter raised in the wilds of Northumberland must fight for her title and home with the help of a dashing lord who has sworn off love. When dementia afflicted her beloved grandfather, the Duke of Ferr-Colby, Countess Theodora Worth stepped in. They retreated to his remote Ladykyrk Estate in Scotland for privacy, where she cared for him and managed his estates until his death. The new duke, Garrett Fairfax, hopes to take Ladykyrk for its mineral stores, but Scottish law allows Thea, a woman, to inherit. A London gossip rag has twisted Thea's hard work and sacrifice into a malicious story of greed and murder, and the new duke plans to press his claim in the House of Lords. Thea, having lived a secluded and informal existence, seeks help from her kind neighbor, Lady Stella Payne. Lady Payne takes Thea to London to prepare for her interview with the Committee for Privileges and, perhaps, to find a husband to strengthen her claim to the earldom. Lady Payne's great-nephew, Lord William Cavensham, has sworn off romance since he was jilted years prior. Will makes a big show of being cynical and withdrawn, yet he instantly responds to Thea's great beauty, bravery, and intelligence and agrees to help her. As their friendship grows, so does their attraction, making for several explicit sex scenes that clash with both Thea's naïve, sheltered personality and with MacGregor's (The Good, the Bad, and the Duke, 2018, etc.) otherwise authentic depiction of Regency law, etiquette, and mores. The threat to Thea's title drags on until it is solved by a simple search that could have been conducted in the first chapter, while she and Will throw up unconvincing reasons that they cannot marry. This installment of The Cavensham Heiresses ranks well below its predecessors thanks to a slow pace, inconsistent characterization, and implausible motivations.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from May 15, 2019
Lady Theodora Worth must do three things if she wants to save her family's Scottish estate from the greedy machinations of the new Duke of Ferr-Colby. First, she needs to find the charter that her late grandfather hid away that granted Thea's family the estate and its title. Second, Thea needs a suitably connected husband to help back up her claim. And, third, given Thea's lengthy absence from society, a refresher course in etiquette would not be remiss. As far as the task at the top of her list goes, she is doing everything she can to locate the missing document. When it comes to items two and three, Thea's neighbor Lady Stella Payne believes she can be of assistance. Not only will Lady Payne help Thea polish her social graces, Stella thinks she just might have the perfect candidate for Thea's new husband: her great-nephew Lord William Cavensham. The latest transcendent entry in MacGregor's Cavensham Heiresses series, following The Good, the Bad, and the Duke (2018), unfolds with exquisite care as the author successfully fuses insightful character development, clever humor and smart dialogue, and intoxicating sensuality into another unforgettable love story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)