A very uneven telling. Was almost bored out of my mind listening to the first chapter. Most issues came down to the stupidity of the MMC. At 70%, he thinks to himself: “(I) should have been the one to tell her.” DUH!!! You only had your best friend saying that FOR WEEKS!!! MMC has some instalust going on (only redeeming feature of his, so far).

That annoyance aside, the FMC seems delightful and deserves better- HER story keeps me interested. I have 30% more to read so am waiting to see if the grovel will make up for his prior machinations. Pre-rating it as a 2 (meaning not a TOTAL waste of time). Will re-rate, if necessary, once I get to 100%.

UPDATE: Okay, fine. He started his long grovel and I’m good. Think this is one of those books that might improve upon a rereading bc you then understand everyone’s motivations more. Will try the next in the series. ( )

Fieldnotes:
Pemhill (an estate near Dorchester) & London, England, 1812

1 "Cursed" Daughter of a Duke
4 Former Fiances
5 Unfortunate Deaths
1 Traumatic Carriage Accident
1 Completely Understandable Terror of Thunderstorms

1 Misguided Elaborate Revenge Plot
1 Hot Dummy Marquess
1 Truly Stupid Wager
1 Marriage of Convenience

Intrusively Short Timeline
Insta-Love
Several Betrayals of Trust
Insufficient Grovelling
1 HEA Based More on Pants Feelings Than Actual Affection

0 Balls for Orphans that were Promised in the Marriage Negotiations!!! ( )

Having one fiance die before the wedding is bad luck. Losing another 3 is definitely a curse. So, when Lady Claire accepts a proposal from Alex, the Marquess of Pembrooke on the night of her planned betrothal the fiance number 4, even she is beginning to believe in the curse.
Janna MacGregor has managed to write a delightful story of love, loss, pain and revenge. While Claire and Alex certainly don't start out as a love match, you can see the attraction from the first moment they meet.
Both have secrets that could potentially ruin their marriage and the writer dances around the issues masterfully. The reader can't help but pulling for the couple and wanting to see them get their Happily Ever After.
The epilogue sets up the perfect lead-in to book 2 of this series. ( )

3.5*
THE BAD LUCK BRIDE is the first installment of debut author Janna MacGregor and her series THE CAVENSHAM HEIRESSES. It's the story of Lady Claire Cavensham and Alexander Hallworth, Marquess of Pembrooke.

I really liked this book. It's characters are captivating and relatable. I felt so sorry for Lady Claire because she really had some bad luck with her past fiances. What I didn't understand was the curse. I was kind of left guessing as to whether it was an actual curse (it was hinted but never confirmed) or just a run of really bad luck.

Alex made me want to smack him upside the head. He would've been better off if he'd actually did what he was thinking instead of waiting. But that's a man for you. When all was said and done I _did_ really like him. Like every other man... he has his flaws.

Overall it's a good story and I will be reading the next book when it releases.
I received this book for review on Celtic Dragon Book Reviews. All opinions are my own. ( )

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Claire is on her fourth fiancé when her "curse" strikes again but Lord Alexander Pembrooke miraculously shows up and wants to be her fifth.
Years of planning have finally put Alex in position to destroy his old friend Lord Paul, gaining the beautiful Claire is simply a bonus.
Old hurts and lies by omission will work to keep Alex and Claire apart if they can't figure out how to open their hearts to one another.

"Our marriage is based upon hate and revenge."

First in the Cavensham Heiresses series, The Bad Luck Bride is Janna MacGregor's debut book. The prologue was intense, dark, and intriguing as we get introduced to our hero Alexander and his two friends, Lord Somerton and Lord Paul. There's betrayal, pain, anger, and hurt, all set in a swirling snow storm; I was instantly hooked. As the story went on though, the author had a tendency to overwrite (a bit too descriptive at times for my tastes), the cast of characters became a bit overwhelming, the story started to drag with repetitiveness, and the focus on the lead's chemistry faded away.

Alex misinterpreted a suicide note left by his sister and blamed his friend Lord Paul for her death. This is the catalyst for the story as he works to destroy Paul and leads Alex to marrying Claire. If we would have just had this one misunderstanding, I would have went with it but Alex is a rush to judgment guy and the repeating of him getting angry and then saying oops (not the best apology man) was a bit frustrating.

I liked Claire in the beginning as she seemed unfairly saddled with the "curse" talk but we lose her as the story goes on. The curse was brought up so much, I almost thought I was reading a medieval and it was a big deal because people wanted to burn the witch at the stake. I wish it would have been handled more as a bullying tactic the ton was using instead of the awkward heavier weight it was given, especially since it isn't fully explained until the very end.

When our leads first meet, I loved the chemistry they had, their discourse had some great by-play but as the story went on, due to the overload of the curse talk, overly handful of secondary characters, and forced angst, Alex and Claire seemed to be kept apart more than they were together. Their fights and flushing out of feelings was less interactions and more in their own heads, I prefer the characters to interact more.

I wish the editor had been heavier handed as trimming up side tangents that become repetitive or simply didn't add much to the story, could have made this stronger as more scenes and the focus would have been more on what worked, the chemistry between the leads. There's also some series baiting characters, I'll be interested to see if the author plans on trying to redeem Lord Paul as he seems to have gotten a raw deal but also had a tendency to tell some lies that make him pretty hard to like.

As a debut though, I can see the hints of promise this author has and will be interested in trying her again.
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