Heirly Ever After by Magan Vernon – a Review
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Description:
Sometimes, you’ve got to take a fake date to your sister’s royal wedding…
After pumping the breaks on my college degree and being dumped at the last minute, I’m looking forward to skipping off to a whole new country for the week-long event. But I’ll need the perfect distraction to keep both my sister and mother from finding out about my epic disaster life. So when I meet a charming Scottish stunner on the train, whose chivalry and humor have me swooning, a quick coin toss seals the deal on my hot date.
It’s the perfect plan, until he reveals he is Lord Jacob MacWebley, odd duckling and long-lost cousin of the family my sister is about to marry into. Thanks for the full disclosure. Oh, and apparently no one wants him there because he might have a claim to the inheritance. Wedding week is going to suck, but it’s too late for other options—luckily, I’m a pro at dealing with a little family drama.
But between a gentle countryside horse ride that turns into a chase, and the baking class that ends in a food fight we forget to keep up the lies and start blurring the lines instead… against any available surface. Jacob brings me out of my shell and makes me want to break all etiquette rules, but he’s keeping secrets and if I’m not careful, I might end up royally screwed…
Review:
Natalie and Gavin are getting married! While the beloved protagonists from Heired Lines may no longer be the main characters, their big event is the setting for the equally lovely sequel, Heirly Ever After. Author Magan Vernon returns to jolly old England with a fortuitous meet cute between Jacob and Madison. Would their serendipitous meeting develop into romance or leave a trail of broken hearts?
Madison is Natalie’s out-of-luck younger sister who finds herself with a wealth of time (dropping out of college offers such luxuries) traveling to England for the impending nuptials. Here is where she encounters Jacob, a long-lost-wished-you-didn’t-actually-come-to-the-wedding family member of Madison’s future brother-in-law. Seems family feuds hold long memories *cough* grudges, and Jacob is trying to ingratiate himself with the family by arriving with Madison. Black sheep of the world, unite. Money matters are notoriously nasty in any family, the Webley name is no exception, but transparency is not in Jacob’s wheelhouse because, well…book, drama. Deflect and divert, and you can prolong just about anything! ?
The anticipation of waiting for a relative to recognize Jacob had me tied up in knots, but the insensitivity to involve Madison in his scheme, however justified he thought his claim, was selfish. Having said that, Jacob is also bearing the weight of this reparations matter. Yes, the MacWebleys were ostracized, and possibly owed a fair share, but surely Jacob’s elders could have come to some amicable, albeit legal, conclusion by now. Tension abounds and confronting the issue would be messy, but now he has to consider Madison, whose joyful reunion (though don’t forget she’s got skeletons of her own to reveal), he’s now hijacked. Given his tactics, how can Madison not to be suspicious of Jacob’s motives?
An auspicious beginning too soon mired in doubt. Especially after reading of their natural, developing attraction. But drama is delicious when done right; when nuanced, not heavy-handed. Heirly Ever After accomplishes this. What might have begun as a quest to “restore” his family legacy may soon take a backseat to initiative and personal investment. Madison and Jacob must face their pasts to make worthwhile futures. And if along the way their goals became unified, love is the priceless reward. The Heired Book series continues to satisfy.
Reviewed by Carmen
Copy provided by Publisher
